News
One month to go, Biden gives Africa $1billion to fight hunger, poverty
Joe Biden, President of the United States (POTUS), currently in his last months of exiting office, seems to have eventually remembered Africa, with an announcement of more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to the countinent.
He made the pledge during a visit to Angola, where the United States is showcasing a major infrastructure project aimed at countering China’s investments on the continent.
Biden, the first US president to visit the former Portuguese colony, met with his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco earlier in the day and was scheduled to visit the port of Lobito on Wednesday for an infrastructure summit.
Speaking at the National Slavery Museum on the outskirts of the capital Luanda, Biden — who hands over to Donald Trump on January 20 — said the United States was all in on Africa, adding: “I’m announcing over $1 billion of new humanitarian support for Africans displaced from homes by historic droughts.”
According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) the assistance will “address food insecurity and other urgent needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and affected communities in 31 African countries.
Biden, was quoted as describing as “our nation’s original sin, one that haunted America,” while delivering remarks outside the museum that exhibits items used in the transatlantic trade of slaves from Africa to the Americas which spanned three centuries.
Angola was by the 19th century the largest source of slaves for the Americas, according to the Office of the Historian, a US State Department-affiliated website.
The trip, Biden’s first to Sub-Saharan Africa since taking office, signalled a “turning point” in the bilateral relationship with Angola, the Angolan president said.
The 70-year-old leader elected in 2017 said he wanted to increase economic and security cooperation with the United States.
Biden, whose administration has invested in a massive railway project aimed at transporting critical minerals from inland countries to Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito for export, said “the future runs through Angola, through Africa.”
The two presidents also discussed Russia and concerns that weapons may “end up” in Africa, according to a senior administration official.
The 82-year-old did not respond to reporters’ questions about his pardon announced Sunday of his son Hunter, convicted in criminal cases related to tax evasion and the purchase of a firearm.
On Wednesday, he is to travel to Lobito, about 500 kilometres (310 miles) south of Luanda, for a summit on infrastructure investment also attended by leaders from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania and Zambia.
The port is at the heart of the Lobito Corridor project that has received loans from the United States, the European Union and others to rehabilitate a railway connecting mineral-rich DRC and Zambia with Lobito.
It is “a real game changer for US engagement in Africa”, said Kirby.
“It’s our fervent hope that as the new team comes in and takes a look at this… that they see how it will help drive a more secure, more prosperous, more economically stable continent.”
The Lobito project is a piece in the geopolitical battle between the United States and its allies, and China, which owns mines in the DRC and Zambia among an array of investments in the region.
A senior US official said ahead of Biden’s trip that African governments are seeking an alternative to Chinese investment, especially when it results in “living under crushing debt for generations to come”.
Angola owes China $17 billion, about 40 percent of the nation’s total debt.
Human rights organisations have urged Biden to raise Angola’s rights record during his trip.
Amnesty International said last month that Angolan police had killed at least 17 protesters between November 2020 and June 2023. It asked Biden to demand that Angola release “five government critics arbitrarily detained for more than a year”.
“Biden should stand with the Angolan people and seek a public commitment by Angola’s president to investigate rights violations by the security forces and appropriately hold those responsible to account,” Human Rights Watch said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed the judgement of the federal high court in Abuja nullifying the timelines issued for the conduct of party primaries and the nomination of candidates.
Alex Izinyon SAN, leading a team of lawyers of the commission in a notice of appeal dated May 25, raised nine grounds it urged the appellate court to consider and vacate the judgment the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered on May 20.
Apart from raising the issue of jurisdiction, which it said the lower court did not determine, INEC also maintained that the legal action the Youth Party (YP) initiated against it was not only hypothetical but academic.
Arguing that failure of the trial court to make pronouncements on the issues, resulted in the denial of fair hearing to the Appellant, the commission also stressed the lower court misinterpreted the provisions of the electoral act.
It said: “The high court erred in law when it held that: ‘It is clear from the wordings of Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the following can be understood. Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 mandates Political Parties to submit the names of candidates in prescribed forms of the candidates who emerged from its valid primaries which such a political party intends to sponsor at the elections, not later than 120 days before the date of the General Election.
“What is required of Political Parties to do under the Electoral Act, 2026 is to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 21 days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, or any conference or meeting convened for the election of its executive committees, other governing bodies for nominating candidates.
“The Defendant is not mandated to impose a timeframe for political parties to conduct their primaries provided that it will be done and submitted not later than the 120 days provided by the Electoral Act, 2026. See Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.”
It was another day of misery in Kwara State, when daredevil terrorists reportedly stormed Yashikira Community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, and as has been the case in many of the attacks, abducting scores of residents including women and children.
But, apparently to register their authority, the gunmen, who were said to have operated for hours without challenge from the security operatives, were said to have torched the palace of the Emir.
The attackers, which reportedly occurred late Sunday night were said to have announced their presence through heavy firing and after storming the palace of the monarch during the period, set it on fire before whisking away their victims, but a similar attempt at the police station in the community, was repelled.
While some of the residents, narrated how the spent hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community, another account said the villagers were caught unawares as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
However operatives made up of the police and military personnel, were said to have launched a manhunt immediately for the immediate rescue of the victims, including throwing a cordon in the area as part of the mission.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
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