News
France, European Allies To Withdraw Troops From Mali After A Decade

France and its allies in a European force announced Thursday they would begin withdrawing troops from Mali after nearly 10 years fighting a jihadist insurgency.
A statement signed by France and its African and European allies said that “multiple obstructions” by the ruling junta meant that the conditions were no longer in place to operate in Mali.
The decision applies to both France’s Barkhane force in the Sahel and the Takuba European force that Paris had been trying to forge along with its allies.
“The political, operational, and legal conditions are no longer met to effectively continue their current military engagement in the fight against terrorism in Mali,” the statement said.
The allies, therefore “decided to commence the coordinated withdrawal of their respective military resources dedicated to these operations from Malian territory.”
The announcement was made as President Emmanuel Macron is to travel to Brussels on Thursday for a two-day EU-Africa summit, following an 0800 GMT press conference at the Elysee on the “engagement of France in the Sahel”.
The Mali deployment has been fraught with problems for France. Of the 53 soldiers killed serving in its Barkhane mission in West Africa, 48 of them died in Mali.
France initially deployed troops against jihadists in Mali in 2013 but the insurgency was never fully quelled, and now new fears have emerged of a jihadist push to the Gulf of Guinea.
Even after the pull-out from Mali, however, the allies vowed to remain engaged in fighting terror in other countries including Niger.
“They agreed nonetheless to continue their joint action against terrorism in the Sahel region, including in Niger and in the Gulf of Guinea,” the statement said.
“They have begun political and military consultations with them with the aim to set out the terms for this shared action by June 2022.”
Critical moment
The announcement of the withdrawal came at a critical time for Macron, just days ahead of a long-awaited declaration from the president that he will stand for a new term in the April elections.
It also coincided with Macron seeking to take a lead role in international diplomacy as he presses Russia to de-escalate in the standoff over Ukraine.
Especially with the French elections looming, Macron’s priority is to ensure that any withdrawal does not invite comparisons with the chaotic US departure from Afghanistan last year.
Macron on Wednesday prepared the ground for the announcement with a dinner bringing together the leaders of France’s key allies in the Sahel region — Chad, Mauritania, and Niger.
Officials from Mali and Burkina Faso, which also recently experienced a coup, were not invited to the meeting.
There are a total of 25,000 foreign troops currently deployed in the Sahel region.
They include around 4,300 French soldiers, which under a reduction announced last year are due to fall to around 2,500 in 2023 from a peak of 5,400.
Other forces deployed in Mali are the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA established in 2013 and the EUTM Mali, an EU military training mission that aims to improve the Malian military’s capacity in fighting terrorists.
Some 2,400 French soldiers are deployed in Mali as part of the Barkhane operation as well as the EU Takuba force set up in 2020, which was intended to increase in numbers as French deployment was scaled back.
‘A void’
According to a French source, who asked not to be identified by name, even after the departure France will for a period provide MINUSMA and EUTM with air support and medical back-up.
But Paris’ withdrawal could set the stage for other European powers like Britain or Germany to abandon their roles in the multinational missions.
“The departure of Barkhane and Takuba creates a void,” Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said Wednesday.
In the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea, “national armies will have to deal with problems on our national territories, and that’s our philosophy”, he told broadcasters RFI and France 24.
Relations between France and Mali have plunged to new lows after the junta led by strongman Assimi Goita refused to stick to a calendar to a return to civilian rule.
The West also accuses Mali of using the services of the hugely controversial Russian mercenary group Wagner to shore up its position, a move that gives Moscow a new foothold in the region.
“It is an inglorious end to an armed intervention that began in euphoria and which ends, nine years later, against a backdrop of crisis between Mali and France,” commented the Le Monde daily.
AFP
News
The Academic Staff Union of Universities chapter at Taraba State University has issued a final warning to the Taraba State Government, calling on Governor Agbu Kefas to immediately implement the 2025 Federal Government–ASUU agreement or risk an indefinite strike.
In a statement signed by the chapter chairman, Joshua Garba Mbaver, the union accused the state government of repeatedly failing to honour agreements reached with its members, describing the situation as a threat to staff welfare and the future of the institution.
Declaring that lecturers had exhausted their patience, the union stated:
“Enough of empty promises is enough.”
ASUU said its outstanding demands include the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government–ASUU negotiated agreement, payment of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA), Professorial Allowance, Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), and all outstanding arrears owed to academic staff.
According to the union, these issues have been discussed and documented through several engagements with the state government, but no concrete action has been taken.
“Instead of taking concrete action, our union has been met with silence and neglect by the Taraba State Government,” the statement said.
The union argued that the 2025 agreement was designed to improve staff welfare, strengthen university funding, revitalize public universities, and enhance conditions of service.
It described the government’s continued failure to implement the agreement as “unacceptable, provocative and dangerous,” warning that it undermines collective bargaining and demonstrates a lack of commitment to the survival of the university.
ASUU emphasized that it was not seeking preferential treatment but simply demanding the implementation of agreements already reached.
“We are demanding what is due to our members. We demand respect for labour, fairness, and the comprehensive implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement.”
The union further warned that unless the Taraba State Government addresses its demands within the shortest possible time, it will have no option but to embark on an indefinite strike, a move that could significantly disrupt academic activities at Taraba State University.
News
Ex- AGF Aondoakaa, SAN condemns killings in Benue
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the 2027 Benue State election, Chief Michael Aondoakaa,SAN on Wednesday strongly condemned the current wave of attacks in parts of the state, which have led to the killing of many innocent people and the displacement of thousands of others.
Aondoakaa, in a statement signed by his Media Assistant, James Ian, and made available to Our correspondent in Abuja said one of the unfortunate incidents was the recent killing of the Benue State Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Ardo Risku Muhammed, describing the murder as reprehensible and unacceptable.
He urged security agencies to find the killers of the MACBAN leader.
Similarly, the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice condemned today’s attack on Saai Community in Mbajir Ward of Katsina-Ala Local Government Area, which claimed the lives of scores of innocent people and left many others with varying degrees of injuries.
Chief Aondoakaa SAN said he received the tragic news with immense shock and deep sorrow, describing the massacre as another painful reminder of the worsening security situation in Benue State.
He extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, the people of Saai Community, Mbajir Ward and the entire Katsina-Ala Local Government Area, while praying for the speedy recovery of those injured in the attack.
He also condemned similar attacks on Benue communities in Agatu, Guma, Gwer West, Kwande and other parts of the state.
While condemning the barbaric assault in Katsina-Ala, Chief Aondoakaa, SAN insisted that the primary responsibility of every government is the protection of lives and property, as clearly provided under Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He therefore called on the Benue State Government to rise to its constitutional responsibility by taking proactive and practical measures to secure the lives of the people instead of allowing communities to remain vulnerable to terrorists, bandits and armed invaders.
He noted that the Benue State Government has no justification whatsoever for failing the people on security, especially when unprecedented funds have been accruing to it following the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu to enable states to have the necessary support and resources to confront security challenges within their territories.
According to him, it is both unfortunate and unacceptable that despite the enormous resources available to the present government, many Benue communities have continued to suffer relentless attacks with little evidence of a coordinated state response.
He demanded that the Benue State Government explain what it is doing with the huge monthly security votes appropriated for the protection of lives and property when communities are repeatedly attacked, thousands of people are displaced from their ancestral homes, and innocent men, women and children continue to lose their lives.
He maintained that security votes must translate into visible support for security agencies, improved intelligence gathering, rapid emergency response and concrete measures capable of preventing attacks, rather than becoming mere budgetary figures without corresponding results.
He urged security agencies to carry out a thorough investigation, apprehend those responsible and ensure they are prosecuted in accordance with the law, stressing that every life is sacred and that justice must be served irrespective of the identity of the victim.
He further expressed concern over the deplorable condition and abandonment of rural roads across Benue State, warning that the collapse of critical road infrastructure has continued to undermine security operations by delaying the movement of troops and emergency responders to distressed communities.
According to him, accessible rural roads are not merely development projects but strategic security assets that enable security personnel to respond swiftly to distress calls, pursue criminal elements and protect vulnerable populations.
He called on the military, the police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and all other security agencies to intensify ongoing operations, bring the perpetrators of the Katsina-Ala massacre and other violent crimes to justice, and ensure that no part of Benue State remains under the control or threat of criminal elements.
Aondoakaa prayed for the peaceful repose of the souls of those who lost their lives in the attacks, including the MACBAN Chairman, Alhaji Ardo Risku Muhammed, those who were killed in Saai, as well as all other victims of attacks in the state, asking that God grant comfort to their families and healing to the injured.
News
RMAFC Chairman Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Corrupt Enrichment
The Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Transparency and Accountability (CCGTA) has accused the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, OFR of corrupt enrichment
The coalition, an umbrella body of Nigerian civil society organisations focused on anti-corruption and good governance, has written to the RMAFC chairman seeking clarification over what it describes as discrepancies between the assets he declared in his 2020 Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) asset declaration and his current traceable wealth.
In a letter dated 29th June 2026 and signed by its Coordinator, Comrade Bashir Kurfi, a copy of which seen by our correspondent, the coalition stated that it was concerned about an “inexplicable gap” between the financial assets, personal properties and other interests declared by Dr. Shehu upon his appointment as Secretary of the Commission in 2020 and his present wealth profile.
According to the letter, “we are first of all genuinely concerned with the inconsistencies observed in the 2020 asset declaration. However, that is not our immediate focus at the moment. What’s paramount at the moment is the sudden unexplained wealth.
“Our action is not vindictive but a standard accountability procedure employed by CCGTA, which gives public individuals the opportunity to respond to allegations before further steps are taken.
“Any further action by us, including the decision to organise public protests, petition anti-corruption agencies, institute legal proceedings or publicly campaign on the matter would depend on the outcome of the clarification sought from the Chairman”
The coalition gave Dr. Shehu three days ultimatum to respond to the issues raised and threatened” “to invoke all legal means within its power to pursue the matter to logical conclusion if their request is not adequately addressed”.
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