The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Central African Republic

  • Voting begins as Central African Republic holds general elections

    Voting begins as Central African Republic holds general elections

    Voting commenced peacefully across the Central African Republic on Saturday as nationwide polls opened for the country’s 2025 general elections.

    Polling began at 6:00 a.m. local time in about 6,700 polling units, with an estimated 2.4 million registered voters expected to cast their ballots to elect a president, members of the National Assembly and local government officials.

    Early reports from electoral authorities and observers indicated a calm and orderly process, with no major security incidents recorded during the morning hours. 

    Voting was said to be proceeding smoothly, including in remote areas and regions previously affected by insecurity, such as the central city of Bambari.

    Seven candidates are vying for the presidency. Incumbent President Faustin-Archange Touadéra is seeking another term, having won the 2016 and 2020 elections. His major challengers include former Prime Ministers Anicet-Georges Dologuélé and Henri-Marie Dondra, alongside four other contenders.

    Under the country’s constitution, the president serves a seven-year term and must secure an absolute majority of 50 per cent plus one vote to win outright. If no candidate meets this threshold, a runoff election will be held between the leading candidates.

    Voters are also electing 140 members of the unicameral National Assembly, who will likewise serve seven-year terms. 

    The legislative contest is keenly fought, with 685 candidates contesting parliamentary seats. The field includes candidates from more than 40 political parties, as well as a large number of independents, who make up nearly half of the contestants.

    Observers are paying close attention to the performance of the ruling Movement of United Hearts (MCU), which dominated the 2020–2021 elections and currently holds 61 seats in the National Assembly.

  • European national jailed 10 years for espionage in CAR

    European national jailed 10 years for espionage in CAR

    The Bangui Court of Appeal, Central African Republic, has sentenced a European national, Martin Figueira, to 10 years of hard labor after finding him guilty of espionage and offences against state security.

    Figueira, who holds dual Belgian and Portuguese citizenship, was convicted on six counts, including espionage, undermining state security, participation in a criminal association, and incitement to hatred and rebellion. He was also ordered to pay a fine of 50 million CFA francs to the Central African Republic (CAR).

    The court’s ruling on November 4, 2025, followed a week-long trial that began on October 28. Figueira, an employee of the American humanitarian organization FHI 360, was arrested in Zemio in May 2024.

    Prosecutors had requested a 20-year sentence, accusing the aid worker of maintaining links with armed groups and engaging in unauthorized cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    Read Also: Seven online courses that can boost your career in 2025

    During the hearings, the court heard testimony that Figueira allegedly acted as an intermediary between the ICC and leaders of several armed groups, including Noureddine Adam, Bello Saidou, and Ousmane Mahamat. The prosecution also claimed that funds were transferred to these groups through Figueira in connection with his alleged collaboration with an ICC official, Nicolas Herrera.

    The defense, however, maintained that Figueira’s activities were consistent with humanitarian work and denied all allegations of espionage or subversion.

    The verdict has drawn attention from international observers, with questions likely to arise over the implications for foreign humanitarian operations in the conflict-torn nation.

  • Stranded Nigerians in CAR now at Nigerian Embassy

    Stranded Nigerians in CAR now at Nigerian Embassy

    •Agent identified, to be prosecuted, says NIDCOM

    The agent, who allegedly lured the stranded Nigerian miners to the Central African Republic, has been identified and will be prosecuted, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has said.

    The commission also revealed that the stranded miners have finally arrived at the Nigerian Embassy in Bangui.

    A viral video showed some Nigerian miners calling for help, prompting immediate intervention and swift response from officials of the Nigerian Embassy and CAR security, who accompanied them from their location to the capital.

    Read Also: Homecoming for health: the medical duo committed to reinvesting in Nigeria

    The journey to Bangui took a number of days with the Nigerians, who were victims of a Chinese national and a Nigerian agent who hired them for work in that country and abandoned them there without paying their remuneration for 11 months. Obviously traumatised, weak and distressed, they had called for help to be rescued.

    An update by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission yesterday stated: “They are now in the safe hands of officials of the Nigerian Embassy, who will arrange their return back home.

    “The agent, who lured them into the job scam, is currently based in Nigeria and has been identified and is expected to be prosecuted.”

    The miners expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and staff of countries, the Nigerian Embassy, the CAR Security agencies and Nigerians who shared their stories.

  • FG expresses concern over abandonment of Nigerian Workers in CAR

    FG expresses concern over abandonment of Nigerian Workers in CAR

    Nigerian government has expressed worries over the safety of Nigerian workers currently stranded in the Central African Republic.

    A trending video on social media shows stranded Nigerian nationals in the Bambari region, which is about 850 kilometres from the capital, Bangui.

    The video depicts the Nigerians to have been abandoned by their employers and facilitators.

    The Nigerian government, in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, expressed deep concern.

    The statement reads: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the affected Nigerians have been contacted by the hardworking officials of our Mission in the Central African Republic, and the Embassy of Nigeria in Bangui is actively engaging with relevant authorities to ensure the safety, protection and swift repatriation of the affected Nigerian nationals.

    “Their passports have been retrieved successfully, and a vehicle has been sent to Bambari to evacuate the stranded Nigerians to Bangui. They are likely to arrive in the capital city with a military escort on Saturday, July 26, 2025.

    “Discussions are also ongoing with the company for their accommodation and welfare while in Bangui, and their subsequent repatriation to Nigeria.”

    The Federal Government also reiterated its commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of its citizens everywhere in the world.

    The statement further reads: “However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to advise Nigerians travelling abroad for work to verify the credibility of their employers and ensure proper documentation before departure.

    “Nigerians are also advised to register their presence and that of their employees with the Embassy of Nigeria whenever they are in any foreign country to avert unpleasant experiences in the event of consular issues.”

    Reacting to the report, the Chinese government said investigation had begun to ascertain the fact of the alleged abandonment.

    Read Also: Education under Renewed Hope Agenda undergoing transformation – Shettima

    The Chinese embassy in Nigeria, in a statement, said: “A video depicting Nigerian miners allegedly abandoned by a Chinese mining enterprise in the Central African Republic has recently circulated online.

    “The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria attaches great importance to this matter and has initiated an immediate investigation, which continues to ascertain the facts.

    “The Chinese government consistently mandates that all Chinese enterprises and citizens operating abroad strictly comply with local laws and regulations, ensuring all business operations fully adhere to local legal frameworks.

    “The Chinese side will urge the involved companies to address this matter appropriately, maintain close communication with Nigerian authorities throughout the investigation, and work together to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of citizens of both nations.”

  • Violence-ridden Central African Republic on road to famine -U.N.

    Endemic violence in Central African Republic is pushing the country towards famine with 63 per cent of the population on emergency aid, U.N. humanitarian coordinator said on Wednesday.

    Central African Republic (CAR) has been in chaos since 2013, when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted the president, provoking a backlash from Christian anti-balaka militias.

    The fighting has uprooted more than 1 million people.

    The U.N. humanitarian chief in the country, Najat Rochdi, said 2.9 million of the 4.6 million population needed aid, and 1.6 million were in acute need.

    In August, a food security survey assessed that for the first time, parts of CAR were in an “emergency”.

    Read also: UN provides electoral support in Central African Republic

    That is the level four in a globally recognised food security classification system, where five is “catastrophe/famine”.

    “If the situation is remaining the same and people are not going back to work their fields..

    ”It means that, yes, in a very few years we will have a famine in Central African Republic,” Rochdi told reporters in Geneva.

    Such a catastrophic scenario would not arise immediately, but could threaten hundreds of thousands, she said.

    Violence has continued in the south and east, and Rochdi said the United Nations had had to act as a government to keep basic services running.

    Part of her job was identifying areas that were now stable enough to hand over to local officials, so U.N. staff could be freed up for more urgent work.

    People uprooted in CAR include 620,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) and 570,000 refugees in neighbouring countries, mostly in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad.

    In some areas, security was improving, allowing displaced people to come home and aid workers to get unaccustomed access.

    But in other areas, attacks on IDP sites was putting things “back to square one”, Rochdi said.

    IDP camps at Batangafo in the northwest and Alindao in the south had been torched, obliterating years of work and leaving tens of thousands of people with absolutely nothing.

    Rochdi said that although the residents of both camps were Christian, it was simplistic to see it as Muslim-on-Christian violence, since Muslim and Christian militias were involved in both attacks.

    Ordinary people never talked about hating Christians or Muslims, and just wanted to live in peace.

    However, the armed groups often justify their actions as vengeance for killings of particular groups, producing an endless spiral of violence.

    (Reuters/NAN)

  • Buhari to Theresa May: 2019 Election will be free, fair, credible

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja assured the United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister, Theresa May of his commitment to conducting free, fair and credible elections in 2019.

    He made the remark during a bilateral meeting with the visiting Prime Minister at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    President Buhari, according to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, welcomed UK’s support at strengthening democratic institutions in the country.

    He said ‘‘I assure you that I’m all out for free, fair and credible elections. I’m very pleased that my party is doing very well. The High Commissioner will brief you more. The recent successes in polls in Katsina, Bauchi, and Kogi have boosted our morale greatly.

    ‘‘Nigeria has accepted multiparty democracy and that is putting politicians on their toes, forcing them to work harder,’’ he said.

    On the anti-corruption campaign, the President applauded the British support to the country, noting that the success of the fight was very important to ordinary people in the country.

    He went on “We had great opportunities and resources between 1999 and 2014, due to high oil prices. But when we came in 2015, oil prices plunged to as low as 37 dollars per barrel.

    ‘‘What we have been doing since 2015 is to focus on infrastructure development, despite low earnings. Work is ongoing in roads, rail, power, and many others.”

    On Brexit, President Buhari noted that it provides an opportunity to strengthen the historic ties between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

    Read Also: Buhari visits Theresa May in London

    ‘‘We are nervously watching the development about Brexit because we know that the relationship had been on for a long time.  I assure you that I am prepared to strengthen the relationship between our two countries.’’

    The President also thanked the UK government for the support on security and the fight against insurgency in the North Eastern part of Nigeria, and the improved trade relations between both countries.

    ‘‘I am very grateful to the British government under you leadership for the help in security, particularly your training team that is in our institution in Kaduna,’’ he said.

    Speaking earlier before the bilateral meeting, the Nigerian leader underscored the need for UK support on reviving of Lake Chad, which is a means of livelihood for millions of people.

    The President told the visiting Prime Minister that Europe and China were already conducting an in-depth study on recharging the Lake through inter-basin transfer from the Central African Republic.

    In her remarks, Prime Minister Theresa May, who welcomed the assurance by the Nigerian government on credible elections in 2019, said she was pleased to be in Abuja to continue the ‘‘excellent discussions’’ she started with President Buhari in London in April, this year, particularly on security, trade, asset recovery and the fight against corruption.

    ‘‘Security and defence cooperation are very important steps to address Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa,’’ May said.

    On asset recovery, the Prime Minister told President Buhari: ‘‘We do not want to hold anything that belongs to Nigeria people, but we follow the judicial process, which can be slow.’’

    The Prime Minister appealed to President Buhari to use his position as ECOWAS Chair to keep the issue of human trafficking on the front burner in the sub-region.

    President Buhari and Prime Minister May witnessed the signing of two agreements: Security and Defence Partnership and Economic Development Forum Agreement.

     

  • Russian reporters killed in CAR robbery – Ministry

    Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday a preliminary investigation showed that the three Russian journalists were killed in the Central African Republic on July 30 by assailants who wanted to rob them.

    The three journalists, whose employer said they were investigating Russian mercenaries in the torn country, tried to resist their attackers when they were killed, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing in Moscow on Friday.

    Russian online news organization Investigation Control Centre (TsUR) said in a Facebook post the three journalists — identified as Orhan Dzhemal, Alexander Rastorguyev and Kirill Radchenko — were in the country on assignment.

    Russia’s foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that three people with identification documents belonging to Dzhemal, Rastorguyev and Radchenko had been found dead and their bodies had been brought back to the capital Bangui.

    TsUR said the journalists had been investigating the activities of the so-called Wagner group, an organization of private military contractors which, people with ties to the group have told Reuters, carried out clandestine combat missions on the Kremlin’s behalf in eastern Ukraine and Syria.

    Local and international media have reported that Wagner operates in the country since Russia delivered light arms to the country’s security forces this year and deployed hundreds of military and civilian instructors to train them.

    Reuters has been unable to verify the reports. Russian authorities deny that the Wagner group’s contractors are carrying out their orders.

    Henri Depele, the mayor of the town of Sibut, around 200 km (125 miles) northeast of the capital Bangui, said the journalists were killed at around 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Monday.

    Their driver survived the attack.

    “According to the driver’s explanations, when they were 23 km from Sibut … armed men emerged from the bush and opened fire on the vehicle. The three journalists died instantly,” he said.

    Read Also: 15 killed, 50 injured in Afghan mosque explosions

    TsUR’s statement said the journalists flew into Central African Republic last Friday and that its last contact with them was on Sunday evening.

    The organisation is financed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former Russian oil tycoon who was jailed on corruption charges and now lives outside Russia. He is one of the most vehement critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    TsUR has published a number of investigations alleging corruption by senior members of Putin’s entourage.

    Central African Republic has been ravaged by violence, often fought along religious lines between predominantly Christian and Muslim militia, since a 2013 rebellion overthrew then-President Francois Bozize.

    Most of the country is beyond the control of the Bangui government and a 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission has struggled to keep a lid on the violence.

  • CAR children starve as aid workers flee fighting

    CAR children starve as aid workers flee fighting

    Children are starving to death in Central African Republic because violence has forced aid workers to pull out, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the country said on Tuesday.

    Four years after a conflict began between Muslim Seleka rebels and Christian “anti-balaka” militias, Central African Republic had seemed calm in the early part of the year.

    However, violence has flared since May, turning the southeast into a virtual no-go area.

    “There is no humanitarian assistance there. It’s not even half, it’s nothing, because it was just not possible for humanitarians to stay there.

    “We started already seeing children dying from severe malnutrition,” coordinator Najat Rochdi said.

    Lack of funds had already forced aid workers to halve food aid and in some places stop it completely, in spite of widespread malnutrition in children under five-years-old.

    “What I heard but we have not been able to confirm it is that so far we had 10 kids who died from malnutrition.

    “But as long as we don’t have humanitarians going there, it’s very difficult for us to confirm that,” Rochdi said.

    The violence is often ethnically based and tinged with suspicions of witchcraft.

    The latest UN humanitarian report said four children had been abducted and killed in the town of Bambari, their bodies found with their organs removed.

    “In the town of Kembe, about 40 people were reportedly killed or wounded in a clash between armed groups on Oct. 10,’’ it said.

    The number of displaced people has jumped by 50 per cent to 600,000 this year, in addition to 500,000 who have fled into neighbouring countries.

    Rochdi said 400,000 children were not going to school.

    Overcrowded camps averaging 30,000 displaced people are fertile recruiting grounds for armed groups, so the UN is trying to clear out weapons and fighters and get people back home wherever possible.

    The UN peacekeeping force is only 11,600 strong, in a country the size of France and Belgium combined, and the government is struggling to create an army that can hold territory against marauding gunmen.

    The U.S. and Uganda withdrew their forces after declaring victory in April against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a marauding gang notorious for abducting and recruiting child soldiers.

    Rochdi said their withdrawal left a vacuum and LRA attacks had continued sporadically. (Reuters/NAN)

  •  Kano to enroll 100 children orphaned by insurgency from Borno

    The Kano State Government has requested 100 children orphaned by the Boko Haram insurgency from Borno State Government for enrollment into the special boarding primary school established for them in the state.

    Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje disclosed this when he received the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Kano on Monday.
    NAN reports that the special boarding primary school was established by the immediate past governor of the state , Mr Rabi’u Kwankwaso, to cater for the children orphaned by insurgency, especially, from the North-Eastern part of the country.
    NAN also reports that most of the children currently in the school are from Borno.
    Ganduje said the state government had requested Borno State Government to bring another set of 100 children who would be enrolled in the school this academic session.
    According to him, the state government will take care of the children up to the university level.
    “The school is a full-fledged boarding primary school established by the state government for children orphaned by the insurgency, “he said.
    He said the school, which is fully equipped, would continue to provide quality education to the affected children as most of them had lost their parents and relations and had nowhere to go to as their home.
    He said the state government had received no less than 1, 000 refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) at the initial stage of the crisis in the country.
    He said the state government had to set up a team that screened them and later returned them to their respective areas.
    He commended the commission for the bold steps it had taken to alleviate the hardships of the IDPs by providing them with some relief materials.
    In her remarks, the NCFRMI Federal Commissioner, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, said the commission would partner the state government to rehabilitate and integrate the returnees and IDPs.
    “We want to strengthen our relationship with the Kano State Government through partnership to enable us achieve our mandate.”
    She called on the state government to assist the returnees and IDPs by providing them with farmlands to enable them engage in farming activities for self-sustenance

     

  • CAR reassures Vatican on pope’s safety

    CAR reassures Vatican on pope’s safety

    The Government of Central African Republic has assured the Vatican of the pope’s safety ahead of a visit later in the month, amid plans by the UN to ramp up troops.

    Similarly, political and religious leaders in the country have also said that everything was being done to ensure a hitch-free visit by the Pontiff.

    Pope Francis’ Nov. 28 and 29 visit comes amid intensifying violence in a two-year inter-religious conflict that has pitted mostly Muslim rebels against Christian militias, killing dozens in the capital, Bangui, since late September.

    The pope had recently hinted that the trip could be cancelled, and that was the first indication that the visit may be in jeopardy.

    “The government has put in place a plan to secure the pope’s visit,” Gen. Chrysostome Sambia, Minister of Public Security, said in a statement.

    Also, Deputy Archishop for Bangui, Jésus Dembele, told newsmen that “I will do my very best to ensure the visit is well-implemented” and expressed hope that the trip would proceed peacefully.

    Meanwhile, the UN said its peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA) planed to add 750 troops and 140 police in time for December elections, set to end a transition period.

    “Some reinforcements should be in theatre before the Pope’s visit,” a UN official said, adding that MINUSCA was working closely with both the government and the Vatican on the visit.

    In the same development, former colonial power, France, said earlier on Tuesday that it had halted for now, its drawdown of troops which once numbered 2,000 but had been scaled back as UN reinforcements arrived.

    Central African Republic descended into turmoil in March, 2013, when Seleka rebels seized power, prompting reprisal attacks from militias drawn from the Christian majority.

    Their rebel chief later ceded power to an interim government led by President Catherine Samba-Panza but peace has proven elusive.

    On Tuesday, interim authorities said long-delayed presidential and parliamentary elections would take place on Dec. 27 with a second round, if needed, planned for Jan. 31.