Global Pulse

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  • Madagascar ex-Senate chief sentenced to hard labour over deadly Gen Z protest crackdown

    Madagascar ex-Senate chief sentenced to hard labour over deadly Gen Z protest crackdown

    A little over a year after widespread youth-led protests upended Madagascar’s political order, a high-profile legal verdict has closed one chapter of the island nation’s post-crisis transition. On Tuesday, a court in the capital Antananarivo handed down a 10-year hard labor sentence to retired general Richard Ravalomanana, the former Senate leader and close confidant of ousted former president Andry Rajoelina, finding him guilty of complicity in murder linked to the violent government crackdown on the 2025 demonstrations.

    The unrest, widely dubbed the Gen Z protests, first erupted in September 2025. What began as public outrage over chronic, long-running shortages of electricity and clean drinking water quickly swelled into a mass movement demanding the resignation of Rajoelina’s administration. As crowds gathered across the country to demand political change, security forces responded with force. United Nations figures cited by local Malagasy media put the final death toll from the crackdown at a minimum of 22 people, with more than 100 others sustaining injuries.

    Prosecutors allege that Ravalomanana, who held significant sway over Madagascar’s gendarmerie at the height of the protests, issued direct orders to security personnel to use lethal violence against demonstrators. “He directed violent actions to suppress the demonstrations,” state prosecutors alleged in official filings from December 2025.

    Ravalomanana has repeatedly and forcefully denied all accusations against him, and his legal team has announced plans to appeal the verdict to a higher court. During the trial, a former national police chief who took the stand as a witness for the defense corroborated Ravalomanana’s claim that he played no role in coordinating the crackdown, testifying that the retired general was not part of the operational command chain for security forces deployed during the unrest. His lead defense lawyer further challenged the prosecution’s case, questioning whether any credible direct evidence linking Ravalomanana to the violence exists. “Is there confirmed written or verbal evidence… to accuse him?” the lawyer asked the court, noting that prosecutors had failed to produce proof that security officers received orders from his client.

    The court ultimately dismissed a separate charge of issuing death threats against a political opponent, ruling that the allegation was too old to meet prosecution statutes of limitations. Beyond the murder conspiracy conviction, Ravalomanana also remains the subject of an ongoing separate corruption investigation, one of multiple senior officials from Rajoelina’s ousted administration to face legal proceedings since the political transition.

    Ravalomanana was first removed from his post as Senate president in October 2025, just weeks after the protests first began and as the political crisis surrounding Rajoelina’s government deepened. After failing to respond to a summons from the gendarmerie, he was arrested at his private residence in December 2025, and has been held in pre-trial detention for the past seven months at the high-security Imerintsiatosika prison located on the outskirts of Antananarivo.

    For the protesters who led the movement that ousted Rajoelina’s government, Ravalomanana had already become a prominent symbol of authoritarian overreach. A recognizable public figure known for his signature cowboy hat and open display of his military decorations, he remained one of the most powerful figures in Rajoelina’s government through the final months of its rule. Following the collapse of Rajoelina’s administration, a new government led by Col Michael Randrianirina was installed to lead the country into its post-transition period.

  • PSG reject Man City offers for midfielder Echegini

    PSG reject Man City offers for midfielder Echegini

    As the women’s club football transfer window enters its final 48 hours, top English side Manchester City has hit a major wall in its chase of Nigerian international midfielder Jennifer Echegini, with multiple bids for the 25-year-old turned down outright by French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

    Regarded as a foundational member of PSG’s senior squad, Echegini remains deeply valued by the French club, multiple insider sources confirm. With 12 months still left to run on her existing contract, PSG has made it clear that selling the in-form playmaker is not on the table, even as interest from the Women’s Super League side persists.

    Echegini’s connection to English football runs deep: the midfielder spent the majority of her youth development through English academy systems before launching her senior professional career. After a single season with Italian powerhouse Juventus, she made the move to PSG two years ago, and has since cemented her place as a key contributor to the club’s midfield. On the international stage, Echegini is a national hero for Nigeria: last year, she netted the decisive match-winning goal in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final against host Morocco, helping the Super Falcons claim an unprecedented 10th continental title, a record that extends their standing as the most dominant team in African women’s football.

    For Manchester City, the timeline for completing a deal is razor-thin. The English transfer window closes this Thursday, just days before the new Women’s Super League campaign kicks off this weekend. The club’s push for new midfield reinforcement comes at a critical time: earlier this week, City confirmed that versatile midfielder and forward Vivianne Miedema will miss the opening stretch of the season after picking up a knee injury, leaving a gap in the club’s attacking and midfield options that Echegini was targeted to fill.

    This is not the only outgoing transfer movement at PSG this window. Earlier this week, BBC Sport confirmed that Arsenal has reached a full agreement to sign French international defender Elisa de Almeida from the Parisian club, with sources in France pegging the transfer fee at roughly £550,000. De Aldeida is set to complete her move to London before the Thursday deadline, but remained available for selection for PSG’s key Women’s Champions League third qualifying round tie against Eintracht Frankfurt, held Wednesday evening, before departing for her new club.

    Fans can access additional interviews and exclusive women’s football coverage through the BBC Women’s Football Weekly podcast feed.

  • Bus crash on Egypt’s Red Sea coast kills 16

    Bus crash on Egypt’s Red Sea coast kills 16

    A devastating bus collision in Egypt’s eastern South Sinai governorate has left at least 16 people dead and 28 others injured, according to an official statement from the country’s Ministry of Health. The crash unfolded on Wednesday morning along the key highway connecting the popular Red Sea coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba, a stretch of road that sees heavy tourist traffic year-round.

    Local Egyptian and Jordanian media reports have confirmed that Jordanian citizens are among the fatalities, though full details on the nationalities of all victims have not yet been released by Egyptian authorities. In response to the incident, emergency services dispatched around 20 ambulances to the remote crash site, where first responders administered urgent on-site care before airlifting and transporting injured survivors to local hospitals for further treatment.

    As of Wednesday afternoon, investigators have not yet determined the root cause of the collision, with official inquiries still ongoing. The South Sinai Red Sea coast is one of Egypt’s most popular tourist draws, welcoming millions of international visitors annually who come for its coral reefs, coastal landscapes, and diving sites.

    This latest crash highlights a persistent and deadly road safety crisis that has plagued Egypt for years. Official government data shows that the country recorded nearly 6,000 traffic-related fatalities in 2025 alone. Traffic safety experts and local officials frequently attribute the high rate of deadly incidents to two key contributing factors: widespread reckless driving behavior and chronic underinvestment in road maintenance across much of the national highway network.

    This tragedy comes just one month after another major deadly collision in the country: a crash between two heavy goods lorries in Egypt’s north-eastern Ismailia governorate that killed 18 people and left another 30 with injuries, underscoring how widespread the issue of dangerous road conditions has become.

  • Congo’s Ebola outbreak shows no signs of slowing as deaths top 3,000

    Congo’s Ebola outbreak shows no signs of slowing as deaths top 3,000

    BUNIA, Democratic Republic of Congo – A rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has outpaced international and local containment efforts, crossing a grim milestone this week with more than 3,000 fatalities recorded across over 6,100 confirmed cases, new government data released Wednesday confirms.

    According to figures from Congo’s Ministry of Health, the outbreak has reached 6,186 confirmed infections since the World Health Organization declared it a global public health emergency in mid-May, with 3,007 confirmed deaths to date. Health officials confirm this is now the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in recorded history, with transmission accelerating far more quickly than contact tracing and public health teams can respond.

    The crisis has upended daily life for communities across affected regions, forcing many residents to flee high-transmission zones to seek safety. Jean-Claude Angwanzia, a Bunia resident who relocated from Mambassa in the Ituri province epicenter, described widespread insecurity and a lack of visible public health support. “I had to flee the area because of the danger looming over us,” he said, noting infected bodies were often mishandled and health workers were rarely seen in the hardest-hit communities.

    Local economic and daily activity has slowed dramatically as fear of transmission spreads. Papy Baraka, a public transportation driver based in Bunia, told reporters he has been forced to reduce the number of passengers he carries per trip to lower exposure risk. “The disease puts everyone at risk, and daily life has slowed to a crawl. We are afraid,” he said.

    In recent weeks, the virus has expanded its reach at an alarming rate: just last week, two additional health zones in North Kivu province reported their first cases, pushing the total number of affected jurisdictions to 60 across six Congo provinces. The fatality rate in North Kivu is significantly higher than in other impacted regions.

    A new assessment released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) echoed on-the-ground accounts of failing containment, concluding current response efforts “remained below established response targets.” The report warned that the virus’s spread across dozens of health zones signals “uncontrolled expansion of the outbreak.” CDC data shows only 15% to 20% of new confirmed cases stem from known transmission chains, meaning the vast majority of new infections are occurring through unknown, untraced contacts.

    Multiple interconnected factors have fueled the outbreak’s unrelenting spread. The eastern Congo region where the virus is concentrated has long grappled with ongoing armed conflict, which disrupts access to impacted communities. Health care workers responding to the crisis have also faced repeated targeted attacks, and have staged multiple strikes over delayed pay and inadequate working conditions. A highly mobile population of artisanal miners moving across regional borders, combined with long-underfunded and underdeveloped local health infrastructure, has further hampered response efforts. Even the recent reopening of schools in the outbreak’s epicenter has sparked widespread concern about rapid transmission among crowded student populations.

    The World Health Organization warns the outbreak is on track to surpass the deadliest Ebola event in history: the 2014-2016 West African regional outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people across three countries. The Africa CDC added that official case counts are likely a significant undercount, estimating the actual number of infections could be three times higher than reported due to weak surveillance and contact tracing systems. Even at the current confirmed count, this is already the deadliest Ebola outbreak in Congo’s history.

    Unlike previous Ebola outbreaks that have been effectively contained with existing vaccines, the current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo Ebola virus, for which no fully approved vaccine or targeted treatment currently exists. A small number of vaccine candidates are in late-stage development, however, and last week the Congolese government launched distribution of the Ervebo vaccine – which successfully controlled previous Ebola outbreaks – to front-line health workers in Kisangani, the capital of northeastern Tshopo province. WHO officials note Ervebo may provide at least partial protection against the current variant.

  • Guinea-Bissau referendum approves new constitution that expands president’s powers

    Guinea-Bissau referendum approves new constitution that expands president’s powers

    In a recent constitutional referendum held by Guinea-Bissau’s transitional military government, voters have backed a set of sweeping institutional reforms that will significantly expand executive presidential power, just months ahead of planned general elections that are supposed to return the West African nation to civilian rule. The vote comes on the heels of a November 2025 military coup, launched after a disputed presidential election left both incumbent Umaro Sissoco Embaló and opposition challenger Fernando Dias claiming victory, adding Guinea-Bissau to the growing list of central and western African nations that have seen military takeovers in recent years.

    Provisional data released by the country’s national electoral commission shows that 70% of cast ballots supported the constitutional changes, with 30% opposing them, and overall voter turnout reaching almost 60%. The reforms fundamentally reshape Guinea-Bissau’s existing semi-presidential system, shifting the balance of power firmly away from the office of the prime minister and toward the presidency. Under the previous framework, the national parliament appointed a prime minister drawn from the parliamentary majority, who then went on to form a cabinet – an arrangement the ruling military junta argues fueled chronic political gridlock and instability that has plagued the country for decades.

    The new provisions grant the president unilateral authority to appoint and remove prime ministers and full cabinet members, create or eliminate government ministries, and dissolve the national legislature during what is defined as a severe political crisis. Notably, the reforms retain the existing five-year presidential term limit and cap any individual at two terms, allaying some fears that the current transitional leadership was seeking to extend its hold on power indefinitely. Additional changes include cutting the total number of parliamentary seats from 102 to 65, reducing the number of national electoral constituencies from 29 to 12, and implementing new candidate eligibility rules, including a requirement that all presidential candidates have resided continuously in Guinea-Bissau for five years immediately preceding an election.

    Transitional military leaders, led by interim President General Horta N’Tam, have defended the reforms as a necessary fix for the country’s long history of political infighting between the executive and legislative branches. Guinea-Bissau has weathered at least nine successful and attempted coups since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974, and the United Nations has formally labeled the nation a “narco-state” due to its long, undefended coastline dotted with unpopulated islands that has made it a key transit hub for international drug trafficking networks. Junta leaders argue that concentrated executive authority will cut down on the persistent power struggles that have prevented sustained progress and economic development in one of the world’s poorest countries.

    However, the referendum has faced steep opposition from the country’s main opposition bloc, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which organized a full boycott of the vote. Party leaders argue that the process lacked basic political and institutional safeguards to protect democratic norms, and warn that concentrating so much power in the presidency poses a severe threat to the country’s planned transition back to civilian democratic rule. PAIGC leader Domingos Simões Pereira has gone further, accusing the junta of deliberately undermining democratic institutions and fundamental political freedoms through the referendum. Some local activists have also challenged the official turnout figures, claiming to the BBC that as many as 90% of registered voters stayed away from the polls, casting the process as nothing more than a pre-planned formality to legitimize the military’s new power structure.

    All eyes now turn to the December 2026 presidential and parliamentary elections, which the junta has promised will mark the end of the transitional period and the handover of power to an elected civilian government. The upcoming vote will serve as a critical test of the military leadership’s commitment to restoring civilian rule, as well as an early indicator of how the newly expanded presidential powers will reshape Guinea-Bissau’s already fragile political landscape going forward.

  • Camara’s £47.1m move from Monaco to Chelsea collapses

    Camara’s £47.1m move from Monaco to Chelsea collapses

    On a chaotic final day of the summer football transfer window, a blockbuster move for Senegalese midfielder Lamine Camara to Chelsea fell apart at the eleventh hour, leaving the Premier League club scrambling and angry after they had already cleared space for his arrival. The 22-year-old, who has earned 37 senior international caps for Senegal, had successfully passed a medical examination in France earlier on Tuesday evening, with all signs pointing to the deal wrapping up moments after the 11pm BST deadline. What was supposed to be a major deadline day coup for Chelsea instead devolved into a bitter dispute, after Monaco confirmed in writing that they would not complete the £47.1 million transfer.

    The collapse of the deal is deeply tied to the tangled web of another proposed transfer: Folarin Balogun’s expected move from Monaco to Everton. For weeks, Monaco had resisted two separate bids from Chelsea for Camara, as the Ligue 1 side prioritized offloading Balogun, their American international striker, to meet summer financial targets. It was only when Balogun’s transfer to Everton hit unexpected doubt that Monaco softened their stance on Camara, dropping their asking price to the £47 million figure Chelsea had agreed to.

    Confident the deal would cross the finish line, Chelsea had already moved forward with their own high-profile outgoing transfer: Enzo Fernandez’s British joint-record £125 million move to Manchester City, a sale structured to free up both budget and squad space for Camara’s arrival. But when Balogun’s transfer to Everton unexpectedly got back on track, sources close to the situation told BBC Sport that Monaco reversed their decision to let Camara leave, providing no clear explanation to Chelsea for the last-minute change of heart.

    In the lead-up to deadline day, Camara featured for Monaco in their 2-0 league win over Marseille on Sunday, while Balogun was omitted entirely from the match squad – a clear sign at the time that both players were expected to depart the club. BBC Sport has reached out to Monaco for official comment on the collapsed transfer, leaving the final outcome of both Camara’s future and Balogun’s stalled Everton move unclear as the transfer window closes for another window.

  • Ndiaye’s journey from non-league football to £65m Man City move

    Ndiaye’s journey from non-league football to £65m Man City move

    On the final day of the summer 2026 Premier League transfer window, 26-year-old Senegalese winger Iliman Ndiaye completed a blockbuster move from Everton to English giants Manchester City, in a deal worth an initial £60 million with a further £5 million in performance-based add-ons that could take the total fee to £65 million. The transfer caps an extraordinary underdog journey for Ndiaye, who made his professional debut just over six years ago competing in the seventh tier of English football. Ndiaye has signed a five-year contract with the reigning top-flight side, and opened up about his gratitude for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

    “I’ve worked my whole life for an opportunity like this,” Ndiaye said after the move was confirmed. “City are one of the best clubs in the world and I’ve seen them win everything as I’ve grown up. To be able to write my own chapter in a story that special is the chance of a lifetime and I’m determined to grab it with both hands.”

    The path to Etihad Stadium was anything but straightforward. Earlier in the summer, Ndiaye held private transfer talks with Saudi Pro League powerhouse Al-Hilal, and as recently as Friday night, London-based Tottenham Hotspur had reached a full transfer agreement with Everton for the winger, with a proposed swap deal that would have seen Brazilian attacker Richarlison move back to his former club Everton. However, sources close to the negotiation confirmed that Richarlison was unable to agree personal terms with Everton, collapsing the swap and leaving Ndiaye’s transfer to Tottenham dead in the water. That opened the door for Manchester City, who moved quickly to seal the deal on deadline day.

    Ndiaye’s arrival is City’s second major marquee signing of the day, coming just hours after the club confirmed they had agreed to pay a joint all-time British transfer record £125 million to sign Argentine World Cup-winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea. Ndiaye becomes the club’s eighth senior summer signing, joining Fernandez, Elliot Anderson, Geronimo Rulli, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Allan Elias, Jeremy Monga and Pierce Charles at Etihad Stadium.

    Looking back at Ndiaye’s rise to the top of English football, his journey is one of relentless persistence. As a 19-year-old based in London, Ndiaye was in the youth system of non-league side Boreham Wood, playing amateur Sunday league football when he earned a one-week trial with then-Premier League club Sheffield United. Two impressive trial matches were enough to convince the club to sign the raw young talent, but he would not make his first senior appearance for the Blades for another 18 months. Instead, he spent the second half of the 2019-20 season on loan at Hyde United in the Northern Premier League, six divisions below the Premier League, to gain match experience. It was there that he got his first taste of professional football, making six appearances, and often stayed behind on the training ground to work on his game even if it meant risking missing the last train back to Sheffield. “It’s not always been easy in my career,” Ndiaye reflected. “But I always had the belief that I could play for a team challenging for the biggest prizes and now I’m here.”

    After returning to Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane ground, Ndiaye made his Premier League debut in March 2021 against Leicester City, but it would take another three and a half years for him to secure a regular place in the top flight after Sheffield United suffered relegation to the Championship. Over two seasons in England’s second tier, Ndiaye emerged as the Blades’ leading attacking threat, scoring 14 goals in 43 starts to spearhead the club’s return to the Premier League in 2023. However, that summer he was sold to French side Marseille.

    After a difficult, inconsistent season in Ligue 1, Ndiaye moved back to the Premier League, joining Everton for an initial fee of £16 million in July 2024. He quickly became a fan favourite on Merseyside, earning the affectionate nickname “Skiliman” for his dazzling ball work, and notched 15 goals and four assists across 67 Premier League appearances for the Toffees ahead of this summer’s exit. As part of the Ndiaye deal to City, Manchester City playmaker Jack Grealish has joined Everton on a season-long loan, replacing Ndiaye at Goodison Park.

    In an era of ballooning Premier League transfer valuations, the £65 million price tag for Ndiaye has sparked debate over whether the fee represents good value for Manchester City. On one hand, Ndiaye’s raw attacking skill is undeniable: he is lightning quick, notoriously difficult to defend against on the dribble, and his 73 completed dribbles for Everton last season accounted for nearly 30% of the club’s total completed dribbles, the highest share of any player in the entire Premier League. Everton fans have argued that the club sold Ndiaye for less than his market value, pointing to recent comparable deals such as City’s sale of winger Savio to Tottenham for an initial £75 million earlier this summer as evidence they could have demanded more.

    On the other hand, the deal hands Everton a massive profit on their initial investment: the club is set to earn four times the £16 million they paid Marseille for Ndiaye just two years ago. Critics of the fee point out that Ndiaye’s underlying attacking numbers are not yet elite by top club standards. Last season, he only ranked joint third for goal contributions among Everton players with nine, behind Beto (10) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (12). His creativity also lags behind other top wide players: he created 36 chances all season, good for fourth at Everton, 26 fewer than Toffees midfielder James Garner and eight fewer than Grealish, who missed half the season through injury. Across the entire Premier League, 45 players have recorded more goal contributions than Ndiaye’s 19 since he joined Everton two years ago.

    Most analysts agree that Ndiaye has the raw talent to thrive in Pep Guardiola (Enzo Maresca)’s attack-focused system at City, surrounded by a higher calibre of teammates than he played with at Everton. Even with the large upfront fee, most agree that the £65 million price tag is far from an unreasonable gamble for a club with City’s resources, given Ndiaye’s proven ability to improve at every step of his extraordinary journey to the top.

  • Guinea-Bissau voters back a sweeping power shift, boosting the president and shrinking parliament

    Guinea-Bissau voters back a sweeping power shift, boosting the president and shrinking parliament

    BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau – In a pivotal vote that will reshape the West African nation’s political landscape ahead of upcoming democratic elections, national electoral authorities announced Tuesday that a majority of participating voters have backed sweeping constitutional reforms that expand presidential authority and downsize the national legislature. The referendum, held this past Sunday, comes amid a period of fragile military-led transition and deep regional political unrest, setting the stage for December’s general elections intended to restore full civilian democratic rule.

    Opposition political groups across the country had called for a widespread boycott of the vote, arguing that the proposed changes would concentrate too much unchecked power in the office of the president, opening the door to authoritarian shifts. Yet final data from the National Electoral Commission shows that among votes cast, 70% were cast in favor of the reforms, with just 30% opposing the amendments.

    The constitutional revisions fundamentally alter Guinea-Bissau’s existing semi-presidential system of government, which split executive authority between an elected president and an appointed prime minister. The ruling military junta, which seized power in November 2022 following a disputed general election, has long argued that the power-sharing arrangement was the root cause of chronic political instability that has plagued the small nation for decades. In addition to weakening the prime minister’s role and concentrating executive power in the presidency, the reforms also cut the size of the national legislature from 102 seats to 65, a change supporters frame as a cost-cutting measure to streamline governance.

    The vote unfolds against a troubling backdrop of democratic backsliding across West Africa, which has seen no fewer than a half-dozen successful military coups overthrow elected civilian governments since 2020, making the region one of the most unstable in Africa. For Guinea-Bissau specifically, the November 2022 military takeover marked its latest turn away from democratic rule, joining neighbors like Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that have all seen soldiers seize power in recent years.

    Beyond its political turmoil, Guinea-Bissau, a country of roughly 2.2 million people, presents a stark economic paradox. According to World Bank data, it boasts the highest per capita share of natural resources of any West African nation, yet more than 50% of its population lives below the international poverty line. This deep economic inequality has compounded political divisions, with competing factions blaming one another for the country’s failure to convert its natural wealth into broad-based prosperity and stable governance.

  • ‘I have fired 40 of my agents for being corrupt’, says Nigeria’s anti-corruption chief

    ‘I have fired 40 of my agents for being corrupt’, says Nigeria’s anti-corruption chief

    Nigeria’s top anti-graft watchdog has carried out a major internal clean-up, removing more than four dozen of its own employees over allegations of corruption and financial misconduct in the three years since current leadership took office. The announcement came from Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), during a public briefing in the nation’s capital Abuja, where he outlined the agency’s progress and structural reforms since he assumed leadership in October 2023.

    According to Olukoyede, more than five of the dismissed staff have already been formally charged and are facing prosecution in court, while investigative case files are still being compiled for the remaining terminated employees to move forward with legal proceedings. The EFCC, Nigeria’s primary agency tasked with probing financial crimes including advance fee fraud, money laundering, and public sector corruption, regularly pursues high-profile cases against sitting politicians, senior public officials, prominent business leaders, and other figures accused of diverting or misappropriating public funds.

    In comments to reporters at the briefing, Olukoyede confirmed the scale of internal accountability measures, noting that he had personally authorized the dismissal of over 40 staff members over his three-year tenure over proven charges of corruption and financial malpractice. As part of a broader package of internal reforms to strengthen ethical standards across the agency, Olukoyede revealed that the EFCC’s existing Department of Internal Affairs has been formally rebranded as the Department of Ethics and Integrity, to reflect its renewed mandate of upholding professional integrity within the commission.

    To further mitigate risks of conflicts of interest and improper influence, the EFCC has also introduced a new mandatory policy regulating gifts and hospitality received by agency staff. The new rule requires all EFCC officers to formally declare any gifts received that exceed an undisclosed monetary threshold, a requirement that extends even to gifts sent by relatives living outside of Nigeria.

    Olukoyede emphasized the non-negotiable need for internal probity in the agency’s anti-corruption mission, stating: “You must be sure that your hands are clean. You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices.” When the BBC reached out to the EFCC to request additional details on the specific allegations against the dismissed former employees, the agency declined to release further information, noting the data was not currently available for public disclosure.

    Beyond internal reforms and staff dismissals, Olukoyede highlighted a string of strong enforcement outcomes achieved during his tenure, announcing that the EFCC had recovered a record 1.23 trillion naira (equivalent to approximately $925 million or £683 million) in stolen funds, with an overall conviction rate for prosecuted cases exceeding 75% between October 2023 and July 2026.

    Breaking down the agency’s operational output, Olukoyede reported that over the 33-month period, the EFCC received 49,673 public petitions alleging financial crimes, completed investigations into 39,615 separate cases, filed 14,476 formal charges with the courts, and secured 10,872 criminal convictions. In the first half of 2026 alone, the agency secured 1,370 convictions from just 1,889 filed cases, a result Olukoyede said demonstrates the commission’s improving efficiency and focus on evidence-based prosecutions.

    “These results reflect diligence, resilience and a prosecutorial approach anchored on evidence and courtroom outcomes,” he added. Data presented at the briefing also revealed a shifting priority in the EFCC’s caseload, with a growing share of investigations now focused on cybercrime and cyber-enabled fraud, alongside traditional corruption cases involving high-profile public officials.

  • Man Utd fail in attempt to sign Ait-Nouri from Man City

    Man Utd fail in attempt to sign Ait-Nouri from Man City

    On the final day of the summer transfer window, Manchester United saw two high-stakes, last-minute attempts to strengthen their squad collapse, leaving the Premier League side empty-handed in their late push to address defensive and midfield depth gaps.

    For weeks leading up to the deadline, United’s coaching staff under manager Michael Carrick had prioritized shoring up the left-back position, an area identified as a key squad weakness. After ruling out moves for Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde and Racing Santander’s Jorge Salinas, with less than 12 hours remaining before the window closed, United pivoted to a surprise target: Algerian full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from cross-city rivals Manchester City.

    United exclusively explored a loan arrangement for the 25-year-old, ruling out any permanent purchase up front. However, Manchester City’s only acceptable terms for a temporary exit included a mandatory obligation to buy Ait-Nouri at the end of the loan spell — a condition United rejected outright. City later confirmed that Ait-Nouri would remain at the Etihad Stadium for the current season.

    Ait-Nouri joined City from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £31m transfer fee in June 2025, but his debut campaign at the club fell short of expectations. He made just 12 starts in Premier League play and 31 total appearances across all competitions, and currently sits third in Enzo Maresca’s left-back depth chart, behind starter Josko Gvardiol and young prospect Nico O’Reilly. He has been named to the matchday squad for all three of City’s opening 2026/27 fixtures but has yet to take the pitch this season.

    Notably, a completed transfer for Ait-Nouri would have made him the first player to move directly between the two Manchester rivals for an agreed transfer fee in more than 27 years. The last such direct transfer saw Terry Cooke leave United for City for a £1m fee in January 1999. In recent decades, only Owen Hargreaves and Carlos Tevez have made the cross-city switch, both joining City after their United contracts expired — Tevez’s arrival famously included City’s provocative “Welcome to Manchester” publicity campaign that stoked the already fierce rivalry between the clubs.

    United’s failure to land an experienced new left-back has forced a last-minute change of plans for the club’s own young prospect, 19-year-old Harry Amass. Amass served as backup to first-choice left-back Luke Shaw through most of pre-season, but has not been named to Carrick’s matchday squad for either of United’s opening two Premier League games. He had been widely expected to leave on a loan deal to gain first-team minutes, but will now remain at Old Trafford to provide defensive cover. He is still expected to be third in the depth chart, however, after Noussair Mazraoui filled in for the injured Shaw during United’s 5-2 opening weekend win over Ipswich Town.

    Alongside the collapsed Ait-Nouri deal, United also saw their pursuit of highly-rated 18-year-old Leicester City midfielder Louis Page fall through. United’s interest in Page, who plays in England’s League One with the Foxes, was first revealed by BBC Sport back in August, but the writing was on the wall for the deal when Leicester named Page in their starting line-up for a league fixture against Plymouth Argyle on transfer deadline day itself. Multiple sources later confirmed the transfer would not be completed, and Page will remain at Leicester for the coming season.

    Leicester held firm on their valuation of the teenage prospect, demanding more than £10m to sanction the sale. Page only made his senior first-team debut in August 2025, but has already earned a strong reputation after 25 first-team appearances for the club. It was widely understood that United had planned to loan Page straight back to Leicester for the remainder of the season to continue his development, as the Red Devils have already spent more than £150m on senior international midfield reinforcements this summer.

    United’s new midfield signings Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos have already made their debuts for the club, while £70m summer addition Carlos Baleba, signed from Brighton & Hove Albion, will miss the next two weeks of action with a minor ankle injury.