SR SahelReporters

By Aviashima Toom, abuja The two-week Seminar on Fruit Processing and Comprehensive Utilisation for Belt and Road Countries has ended in Beijing, China, with participants from nine countries commending the organisers for the knowledge, hospitality and international relationships fostered during the programme. The seminar, held from August 4 to 17, 2026, brought together participants from Jordan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Tanzania, Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, Thailand and Bangladesh for intensive learning and practical exposure to modern fruit processing and comprehensive utilisation. Speaking on behalf of the participants at the closing ceremony, Mr Odita Sunday-Udemaguna described the programme as a “truly remarkable two-week journey,” noting that participants arrived in Beijing as strangers but were leaving as colleagues, friends and ambassadors of a shared experience. He expressed appreciation to the China National Research Institute of ...

By Aviashima Toom, Abuja  The Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) have renewed their strategic partnership with the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening maritime safety and security across Nigeria’s maritime domain. The agreement was signed on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja, in the presence of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola; Principal Staff Officers and other senior officials of both organisations. The renewed MoU builds on a partnership that dates back to 2007 and has been sustained through successive renewals. It is expected to enhance coordination between the two institutions by aligning their mandates, operational capabilities and expertise to deliver measurable improvements in Nigeria’s maritime safety and security. Speaking at the ceremony, the N...

By Aviashima Toom, Abuja. The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has completed the coupling and detailed examination of a seized arms shipment at the Tin Can Island Port Command, uncovering 399 fully assembled Jojef firearms and a significant quantity of additional rifle components. The development comes three days after the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed on Thursday, August 6, 2026, that Customs officers had intercepted a container carrying crates of knocked-down components suspected to be Jojef pump-action rifles. Following the completion of the  examination and inventory of the shipment on Sunday, August 9, Customs officials recovered 89 frames, 16 heat shields, 10 trigger pins, three pistons, 25 locking lugs, 80 charging handles, 39 pistol-grip screws, 34 springs, 57 trigger groups, 66 foregrip latches, 45 foregrips/handguards, four pistol grips and five barrels. The seizure represents a major intervention by the Service in efforts to curb the...

By Aviashima Toom, Abuja.  The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has commended the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for its technology-driven reforms, calling for the adoption of Nigeria’s indigenous customs innovations across Africa. Mene made the remarks on Thursday, August 6, 2026, during a working visit to the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja, where he described the Service’s digital transformation initiatives as practical African solutions to some of the continent’s longstanding trade and revenue challenges. The AfCFTA Secretary-General noted that several African countries still depend heavily on manual customs processes, which contribute to revenue leakages, border delays and barriers to the growth of intra-African trade. He said Nigeria’s progress in deploying technology for customs administration provides a model that could be replicated across the continent to improve efficiency, transparency...

By Aviashima Toom, abuja The Nigerian Navy says it has intercepted about 17,000 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil, AGO, in Rivers State. The operation was carried out by personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder under Operation Delta Sentinel, the Navy’s ongoing campaign against crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering. According to a statement by the Director Naval Information, Nigerian Navy, Navy Captain,  Abiodun Folorunsho in Abuja said, the product was intercepted along the Onne-Okrika waterways, where personnel stopped a speedboat conveying the suspected illegally refined AGO. The speedboat and the recovered petroleum product have been taken into custody in line with established anti-crude oil theft procedures. The Navy says efforts are also underway to identify and apprehend those behind the illegal operation. It says the latest interception is part of its broader efforts to disrupt the illicit petroleum supply chain, protect critical...

By Aviashima Toom, ABUJA  The Nigerian military has recorded major operational successes across the country, including the rescue of hundreds of kidnapped victims, arrest of suspected terrorists and logistics suppliers, destruction of terrorist hideouts and illegal refining sites, and recovery of arms and ammunition. The successes were recorded between July 31 and August 6, 2026, as troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria intensified operations against terrorism, kidnapping, oil theft and other forms of criminality across the country. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday on the military’s operations during the period. In the North-East, troops of Operation Hadin Kai foiled an attempted abduction along the Buratai-Kamuya Road in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State on July 31. According to the military, troops pursued the fleeing terrorists towards Mangari-Dora and rescued 31 persons, compri...

By Aviashima Toom, Abuja  ​The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has moved to deepen the Senate’s understanding of its ongoing digital transformation and operational reforms, urging lawmakers to review its legal framework to align Nigeria’s trade laws with rapidly evolving global practices. ​Speaking at a capacity-building retreat organised for the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs on 5 August 2026, the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, stated that meaningful legislative oversight depends on lawmakers having a complete understanding of modern customs operations. He explained that the retreat was designed to bridge information gaps, enabling the Senate committee to evaluate the Service’s transformation from an informed perspective and provide the statutory backing needed to sustain its modernisation drive. "While some provisions had worked as intended, others had proved difficult to apply or had been overtaken by the rapidly changing trade...