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Tinubu Laments Cost Of Borrowing, Puts 2026 Debt Servicing Figure At $11.6b 

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Nigeria President, Bola Hamed Tinubu has lamented the cost of borrowing by African countries, submitting that this has made it difficult for Africa manufacturers to compete meaningfully with their Europe, Asia and North America counterparts.

 

He said this on Wednesday ,during the Africa Forward Summit held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, explaining that the global financial architecture is largely skewed against Africa, leaving the continent at the receiving end of development.

Tinubu quarried”how an African manufacturer can compete with a competitor in Europe, Asia, or North America when the cost of borrowing in our nations is five to ten times higher?”

Revealing that Nigeria will spend $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026, Tinubu said the amount is half of the projected revenue for this year.

Contained in a statement by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President was further quoted as saying that Nigeria would spend about $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026, representing nearly half of projected government revenue.

“Every single dollar that leaves our treasury to pay punitive interest rates is a dollar that did not go into our steel sector, our textile mills, our agro-processing plants, or our digital industries.

“We export raw minerals, crude oil, and agricultural commodities, and we import processed goods at a premium. This pattern is not an accident.

“It is the product of a global financial architecture that starves our industries of affordable capital, tolerates massive illicit financial flows, and imposes policy constraints that our competitors themselves never observed when they built their own industrial bases,” he said.

The summit, co-hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron, drew leaders and senior officials from more than 30 African countries.

Among those who delivered opening remarks were United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Chairman of the African Union Commission Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.

President Tinubu said Africa’s persistent export of raw materials and importation of finished goods at premium prices was the direct consequence of an international system structured against the continent’s industrial development.

According to him, Africa’s share of global manufacturing value remains below two per cent despite decades of political independence.

The President stressed that Nigeria had undertaken painful but necessary economic reforms through sovereign decisions rather than external impositions.

He listed the removal of fuel subsidies, unification of exchange rates, recapitalisation of the banking sector with over $3.4 billion and Nigeria’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list as part of the reforms already implemented.

President Tinubu said the measures had helped deliver a declining debt-to-GDP ratio projected at 32.3 per cent in 2026, stronger external reserves of $45.5 billion and renewed investor confidence.

He, however, lamented that even reforming African economies remained trapped by an unfair financial system.

“How can an African manufacturer compete with a competitor in Europe, Asia, or North America when the cost of borrowing in our nations is five to ten times higher?

“How can we build cross-border industrial value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area when our infrastructure projects face a financing gap deepened by the very institutions meant to bridge it?”

Declaring that the present financial system had become “an instrument of industrial disarmament for Africa,” President Tinubu said: “Nigeria is not asking for charity.

“We are demanding a financial system that intentionally enables Africa to industrialise; to process its own minerals, refine its own crude oil, manufacture its own pharmaceuticals, and compete fairly in global markets.”

The President advocated stronger regional cooperation in maritime security and blue economy development, describing ocean governance as central to Africa’s future prosperity

He pledged that Nigeria would intensify regional coordination by making its Deep Blue Project maritime intelligence infrastructure available as a shared data hub for willing Gulf of Guinea countries.

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Court Arraigns Journalist In Benue

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A Benue State High Court, presided over by Justice Mary Abounu, has arraigned the Benue State correspondent of Aljazirah Newspaper, Henry Ibya, in Makurdi over alleged cyberstang.

 

The trial judge had sought the prosecution’s response to the defendant’s argument that the journalist was reliable and should be granted bail.

The absence of the prosecution counsel in court did not stop the proceedings, as the defendant’s counsel, Tom Uja, Esq., notified the court of his bail application for his client.

He stated that the prosecution had taken the journalist to two other courts in the state on the same charge and that his client had never failed to appear in court whenever required.

Although the prosecutor’s absence did not affect the judge’s decision to proceed and grant bail, which was also believed to be in the interest of justice, the matter was adjourned until November 5, 2026.

One Terna Abuul, said to be the Director of ICT at Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi, reported Henry Ibya to the Nigeria Police Force, Benue State Command.

The director had accused the journalist of allegedly reporting mismanagement in the institution’s ICT department.

According to Abuul, Ibya’s report accused him of wrongdoing.

On the strength of the said report, the journalist was arraigned before the High Court in Makurdi.

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64 Dead, 80 Injured As Two High-Speed Trains Collide

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At least 64 people have been killed and dozens seriously injured after two high-speed trains collided near Urda, south of Madrid, in one of Spain’s deadliest rail disasters in more than a decade.

 

The Castilla-La Mancha regional government confirmed the death toll as emergency crews continued rescue operations at the crash site. More than 500 passengers were travelling on the two trains involved, according to a regional government spokesperson.

The BBC reports that the collision of the two trains involved a Renfe high-speed train and an Iryo service operating on the Madrid-to-Seville route. Aerial images analysed by the broadcaster showed parts of the Renfe train leaving the tracks, while carriages of the Iryo train also derailed.

The cause of the collision had not been officially confirmed. However, Spanish media cited preliminary accounts suggesting that the Renfe train struck the Iryo service, which may have been stationary following a problem on the tracks.

The scale of the disaster prompted a major emergency response involving ambulances, helicopters, rescue teams and police officers. At least 80 people were reported injured, with about 50 believed to be in serious condition and 15 in critical condition, according to regional officials.

Several victims were transported to hospitals in nearby areas, while others were taken to Madrid for treatment. Hospitals in Toledo, Ciudad Real and Alcázar de San Juan reportedly suspended planned surgeries to accommodate casualties from the crash.

Blood transfusion centres in Madrid and Toledo also appealed for urgent donations to meet a possible surge in demand.

Survivors described scenes of panic and severe destruction. One passenger, Sebastián Herrero, told Spanish newspaper El Mundo that he felt a powerful impact that threw him into the seats ahead. He said injured passengers had broken noses and arms, while smoke spread through the carriages.

Another passenger, Iñaki, told El País that the impact sent him rolling across the floor. After escaping, he saw injured people and bodies around the wreckage.

BBC Verify also examined images and videos appearing to show a section of railway track piercing through a Renfe carriage, with approximately 10 metres of rail protruding through its roof.

The disaster has revived concerns about railway safety in Spain, which suffered another deadly high-speed rail accident near Córdoba in which 46 people died. The country’s previous worst rail disaster occurred in July 2013, when 80 people were killed in a derailment near Santiago de Compostela.

Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said he was shocked by the crash and remained in contact with the transport minister. The Spanish royal family also expressed condolences to victims’ relatives and praised emergency workers.

Meanwhile, the Royal Spanish Football Federation postponed 24 Copa del Rey matches in solidarity with the victims, while most political parties suspended campaign activities.

Rescue and recovery operations continued as authorities worked to establish the full circumstances surrounding the collision.

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Police Arrest Suspected Eiye Cultist, Recover Two Pistols, Cartridges In Ogun

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Operatives of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Squad of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a 26-year-old suspected cultist and recovered two locally made pistols, three live cartridges and a battle axe in the Atan area of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Council of the state.

 

The suspect, identified as Okiki Muhammed Adewusi, popularly known as “Baba Obo”, was arrested in the Ore area of Atan on October 26, 2026, following intelligence received by operatives of SWAT Base 7, Abule Iroko, Sango-Ota.

The Police Spokesperson, Oluseyi Babaseyi, confirmed the arrest in a statement in Abeokuta yesterday.

According to Babaseyi, a search of the suspect’s residence after his arrest led to the recovery of a locally made pistol and three live cartridges.

He added that preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect had allegedly admitted to being a member of the Eiye Confraternity.

Babaseyi said information obtained from the suspect led to a follow-up operation at about 6.30 a.m. on October 27, 2026 during which operatives recovered a second locally made pistol and a battle axe from a separate location.

The recovered items have been secured as exhibits, while efforts are ongoing to arrest other suspects believed to be involved in the activities and recover additional weapons.

The police spokesperson said investigations were ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the case.

The Commissioner of Police, Bode Ojajuni, commended the SWAT operatives for their vigilance, professionalism and effective use of intelligence.

Ojajuni reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to dismantling criminal networks, curbing cult-related activities and tackling the illegal possession of firearms across the state.

He urged residents to provide timely and credible information about suspected criminal activities, assuring them that the Command would act on actionable intelligence to protect lives and property and maintain public safety.

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