Vol 59 No 7 | GUINEA BISSAU Vaz defies sanctions 6th April 2018 As Ecowas tries to intervene, the standoff between the President and the reformist wing of his own party drags on President José Mário Vaz's conflict with members of his own party and with West African and other international bodies is no nearer resolution, despite fresh attempts to pressure...
Vol 59 No 6 | SIERRA LEONE APC tries to stall election 23rd March 2018 After desperate politicians exploited ethnic allegiances, the ruling party is trying to stop the presidential runoff going ahead Few surprises were produced by Sierra Leone's presidential elections on 7 March, which saw the ruling All People's Congress presidential candidate, Samura Kamara, head to a runoff on...
Vol 59 No 6 | GAMBIA Deep sea intrigue 23rd March 2018 International interest in offshore oil deposits has thrown the spotlight on Gambia's ongoing squabble with African Petroleum African Petroleum, the Norwegian-listed oil company founded by controversial resources magnate Vasile 'Frank' Timis, has lodged three separate court cases against the Gambian government after it cancelled licences...
Vol 59 No 6 | GUINEA Nine angry men 23rd March 2018 During his inauguration in December 2015, President Alpha Condé was warned by Kéléfa Sall, the head of Guinea's Constitutional Court, to 'not fall for the siren call of...
Vol 59 No 5 | NIGERIA Who goes first? 9th March 2018 Timing is everything for top politicians waiting for clearer signals from the President before they launch their own campaigns It was a clear enough announcement on 15 February from the Secretary to the Federal Government, Boss Mustapha, that President Muhammadu Buhari would certainly seek a second term...
Vol 59 No 5 | BURKINA FASO New jihadist alliance strikes 9th March 2018 The Islamist attack on the French embassy and military HQ in Ouagadougou left many asking questions about poor security The 2 March terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou left the wall outside the French embassy riddled with bullet holes, partly wrecked the building of the État-major général des armées...
Vol 59 No 5 | SIERRA LEONE Flights of fancy 9th March 2018 President Ernest Bai Koroma officially launched the Mamamah international airport project and associated 'airport city' for Freetown on 2 March, just in time to boost the prospects of...
Vol 59 No 5 | NIGERIAITALY Abuja comes to Milan 9th March 2018 Grandly billed by anti-graft lobbyists as the biggest corporate bribery trial in history, Italy's attempt to prosecute its national oil company ENI and Royal Dutch Shell for paying...
Vol 59 No 4 | NIGERIA 'Feigned lawsuit' bid to foil US 23rd February 2018 US authorities say bogus litigation is being used to try to prevent the seizure of Nigerian oil traders' assets A string of unusual lawsuits is frustrating law-enforcement agencies' attempts to seize assets belonging to oil traders accused of becoming extraordinarily wealthy because they were cronies of Diezani...
Vol 59 No 4 | SIERRA LEONE 'Usual suspects' face challenge 23rd February 2018 With two weeks to polling day, the field is surprisingly open among those wooing voters for the chance to succeed Koroma To many, the scandal surrounding the government's misuse of IMF funds to prime the electoral pump for the benefit of the ruling All People's Congress typifies the country's...