Daily Watch – Court orders INEC to use TVCs in state elections, Borno attack claims 37

Jihadists have killed at least 37 fishermen in Borno state, militia sources and a local told AFP on Thursday, in the latest violence in the region. On Wednesday evening, three sources told the news agency a dozen fighters believed to be with Boko Haram opened fire on a group of fishermen outside Guggo village, 18 kilometres (12 miles) from the town of Dikwa. “We have recovered 37 bodies last night along the river bank and nearby bushes,” militia leader Babakura Kolo told the news agency. “The figure is not exhaustive and search for more bodies is ongoing in surrounding bushes,” Kolo said. The fishermen were sorting out their catch of the day on the bank of a river when they were ambushed.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the use of Temporary Voter Cards (TVCs) in the rescheduled 18 March governorship and state assembly elections. Justice Obiora Egwuatu gave the order while delivering judgement in a suit filed by two applicants, Kofoworola Olusegun and Wilson Allwell, seeking the use of TVCs in the absence of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). Justice Egwuatu said that the order was made on the grounds that the plaintiffs were duly registered and captured in INEC’s database. The judge, however, said that he could not grant prayer three, which was to allow every eligible voter with a TVC to vote because the suit was not filed in a representative capacity. The court held that there was no portion of the law, both in the Constitution and the Electoral Act, that states that only PVCs could be used. The law only provided for a voter’s card.

Standard Bank Group is ready to re-capitalise its Ghanaian unit after making provisions to cover more than half of its holdings in the country’s debt.  Standard Bank said it had set aside 1.5 billion rand ($81 million) to cover potential losses arising from the West African country’s loan-restructuring programme. The bank said its total domestic and onshore dollar-denominated bond holdings is about 2.6 billion rand.  According to Chief Executive Officer Sim Tshabalala, the government of Ghana has been “textbook” in its approach to restructuring, extracting the appropriate bargain from all stakeholders. The government has “extracted what they consider to be the appropriate bargain, which while appropriate from a policymaker and a government point of view, it’s been painful for holders of that debt,” he added.

Islamist militants killed at least 35 people in an overnight attack on a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in retaliation for a military crackdown on rebel activity, an army spokesperson told Reuters. The assailants were the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) members, Anthony Mualushayi said, referring to a Ugandan armed group based in eastern Congo that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State and conducts frequent raids on villages. The attack targeted the Mukondi village, around 30 km (20 miles) south of the city of Beni in North Kivu province, an area plagued with rebel activity that has been under military administration since 2021 in an attempt to restore order. Mualushayi said the attack was retaliation for the army detaining more than 22 ADF collaborators and closing down pharmacies allegedly supplying the group with chemicals to make bombs.