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Thousands of Migrants Stranded In Niger Due To Border Closures

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Over 7,000 migrants are stranded in Niger, unable to be repatriated since the coup by the junta in July and the closing of airspace and land borders.

Niger is an important route both for Africans trying to reach Libya as a jumping-off spot to cross the Mediterranean to Europe and those who are returning to their homes with help from the United Nations.

UN officials estimate about 1,800 are living on Niger’s streets because centres run by the International Organization for Migration, IOM, are too crowded to take in more. The centres hold about 5,000 people trying to get home.

The UN agency had been assisting approximately 1,250 people a month to return to their countries this year, after failing to cross the Mediterranean into Europe.

But the closure of borders and airspace, according to Paola Pace, acting interim chief of mission for the agency in Niger, has forced it to temporarily suspend returns and its centres are now jammed at 14% over capacity,

“This situation poses challenges for migrants as migrants staying in these centres may experience heightened stress and uncertainty with limited prospects for voluntary return and already crowded facilities,” she said.

Pace expressed worries the stall in the transiting of Africans seeking to get home could increase exploitation of vulnerable people by traffickers and smugglers who normally focus on individuals trying to migrate to Europe.

The shelters are helping people who are making their way home, rather than would-be migrants heading to Europe — a northern flow that has seen more than 100,000 cross the central Mediterranean to Italy so far this year, according to Italy’s interior ministry.

COOPI, an Italian aid group that provides shelter for migrants in Niger’s northern town of Assamakka, near the border with Algeria, said since the coup in Niger, an additional 1,300 people have entered its centre, trying to return home.

COOPI assists the UN in hosting people, but has warned that it would run out of food and water if the borders don’t open soon.

Not only are migrants unable to leave but aid groups are also unable to bring in food and medical supplies.

Morena Zucchelli, head of mission for COOPI in Niger, said it had only enough food stocks to last until the end of August, while its funding would run out at the end of September, creating humanitarian crisis.

“If the situation doesn’t change … we can’t guarantee things will continue running,” she said.
Before the coup, Niger worked with the European Union in trying to slow the flow of migrants north to Libya and Algeria.

The EU had been scheduled to provide more than $200 million to Niger to help it address security, socio-economic and migration challenges.

Anitta Hipper, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, could not say yesterday whether cooperation on migration had been suspended, saying only that the EU would continue to “monitor and evaluate the situation.”

Sahr John Yambasu is one of the migrants who, after three months of crossing the desert and watching other migrants die at sea in his failed attempt to reach Europe, gave up on getting across the Mediterranean and decided to go back home but got trapped due to the border closure.

The 29-year-old from Sierra Leone reached Niger in June on his return journey, but United Nations officials said he had to wait for packed migrant centres to empty out before he could be repatriated.

Then mutinous soldiers toppled Niger’s president a few weeks later, bringing regional tensions and the shuttering of the borders.

Momo Kmulbah is another of those trying to get back home in Liberia. He says many of them have nowhere to turn for help, and that UN officials have told him to be patient.

The 36-year-old has been sleeping on the pavement in Niger’s capital, Niamey, with his two daughters and wife since June and now begs for food.

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Clergy Urged To Put Members’ Welfare Above All Else

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At a solemn ordination service in Abuja, senior church leaders have called on pastors to make the well-being of their congregations a top priority, following the example of Jesus Christ.

Speaking during the priesthood ordination and installation of a Sub Dean at the Cathedral Church of Advent, Life Camp, Abuja, the retired Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Okene, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Ajulo, described pastors as shepherds charged with the care of their flock. He urged them to shun worldly distractions and focus on meeting the spiritual and material needs of their members.

Bishop Ajulo also encouraged the newly ordained priests to remain faithful to their calling by teaching God’s word without compromise.

In his charge, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, urged the new clergy to preach the undiluted gospel and foster religious harmony wherever they serve. He expressed confidence that their new roles would help promote peace and unity in society.

The service also featured prayers for national leaders and divine intervention in addressing the current global economic challenges.

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1,000 Prayer Warriors Storm Ilorin for Tinubu, Nation’s Deliverance

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

In a dramatic show of faith and patriotism, over 1,000 fiery prayer warriors from across Nigeria will descend on Ilorin, Kwara State, this Saturday, lifting their voices in intense intercession for President Bola Tinubu’s success and Nigeria’s survival in the face of biting economic woes and mounting insecurity.

The spiritual siege, themed “Walking in Domini”, is the maiden convention of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), with its Kwara State Chairman, Evangelist Thomas Adeboye, vowing that “heaven will hear and respond to Nigeria’s cry.”

Aside from marathon prayers, the gathering will roll out free medical outreach to locals across Kwara’s LGAs, a gesture aimed at touching both body and soul.

Adeboye, lamenting Nigeria’s “troubling economic and security realities”, called for a nationwide prayer uprising, insisting that Tinubu has shown the will to revive the nation but needs massive divine backing to succeed.

“Banditry, a collapsing economy, and political tension demand we seek God’s face like never before,” he declared. “We will storm heaven for wisdom for the President and governors to steer Nigeria to safety.”

The convention will also feature awards to distinguished personalities, soul-lifting worship, fiery sermons, and unity-driven lectures—all capped with thunderous prayers for Nigeria’s redemption.

Adeboye urged the President to ensure every policy has “a human face,” stressing that Nigerians must not only endure but also enjoy the fruits of governance.

With the OAIC promising to reaffirm believers’ authority in Christ and rally spiritual boldness in the face of national challenges, Ilorin is set to become the epicentre of a powerful spiritual warfare for Nigeria’s destiny.

 

 

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Nigerian Anglicans Condemn Lesbian Archbishop of Wales, Deepening Global Anglican Rift

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…Church leaders accuse Welsh counterparts of “spiritual decadence” and “abandonment of faith”

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has issued a forceful condemnation of the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, an openly lesbian cleric, as the Archbishop of Wales. The move is the latest in a series of developments that have deepened divisions within the global Anglican Communion over sexuality and doctrine.

In a statement from Primate The Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, the church denounced the election as a “serious departure from biblical teaching” and a sign of “spiritual decadence” and “an outright abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints.”

Archbishop Ndukuba warned that Bishop Vann’s elevation compromises the Anglican Church’s global mission and could obstruct evangelism. He compared the situation to the controversial tenure of Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church, who also faced intense criticism from conservative Anglicans for her progressive views.

The Primate accused Bishop Vann of being complicit in the “ongoing crisis” around same-sex issues, stating that the election is a “clear revelation that many who claim to be members of the body of Christ cannot endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

The Church of Nigeria called on Anglicans worldwide to reject “rebels” and “apostates” and to instead support conservative bodies like the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON).

“The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) condemns, unequivocally rejects, and will not recognize the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales,” Ndukuba declared. He concluded with a solemn warning that without repentance, the Church in Wales risks losing “complete relevance” and its leaders will face judgment.

 

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