Daily Watch – Troops kill 11 in Bayelsa, World Bank ups Egypt aid

The troops of the Nigerian Army invaded Igbomotoru community in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, allegedly killing about 11 people and razing houses suspected to be the hideout of a militant leader allegedly involved in the killing of the military men on rescue mission in Delta State. A community leader, Ayibakipreye Solomon Clarkson Suobo, confirmed the military’s arson, saying, “There was need for a better approach rather than attacking and killing innocent indigent people of my community, Igbomotoru 2, that is situated thousands of miles away from Delta State where the gruesome murder of military personnel occurred.” President Bola Tinubu has directed the Nigerian army to bring the perpetrators of the tragic killing of 16 soldiers to justice, vowing that “The cowardly offenders responsible for this heinous crime will not go unpunished.” Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has denied reports of reprisal attacks on the Delta community, where soldiers were killed.

The Nigerian Communications Commission said 90 percent of voice and data services have been restored in Nigeria after disruptions caused by the undersea cable cuts. Reuben Muoka, NCC Director of Public Affairs, gave this update in a statement. “Following the disruption on March 14, 2024, which affected data and voice services due to cuts in undersea fibre optics along the coasts of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal, we are pleased to announce that services have now been restored to approximately 90 percent of their peak utilisation capacities,” he said. He further said, “All operators who were impacted by the cuts have taken recovery capacity from submarine cables which were not impacted by the cuts and have thus recovered approximately 90 percent of their peak utilisation capacities.” 

The Ghana cedi has lost 8.63% in value to the dollar since the beginning of 2024 as pressure continues to mount on the local currency. The country’s interest rates also fell for the 11th week running as demand for the Treasury bills continued to surge. Bloomberg is predicting more tough times for the cedi as the debt restructuring with Eurobond holders drags. Bloomberg said the cedi could continue to weaken despite the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $3.0 billion bailout following the country’s 2022 debt default. During her visit to Ghana, the IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, advised Ghana to reach a better deal with its Eurobond holders, saying failure to do so risks prolonging Ghana’s debt situation.

The World Bank Group said on Monday it intends to provide more than $6 billion of support over the coming three years to Egypt, which has been struggling with a foreign currency crunch and gaping budget and balance of payments deficits. The World Bank Group said $3 billion will go towards government programmes and $3 billion to the private sector, all subject to the group’s board approval. The announcement follows Egypt’s signing on 6 March of a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that expanded IMF support to Egypt by $5 billion and by an announcement on Sunday of $8.1 billion euros in financing from the European Union.