News
Russia signs military agreement with 40 African countries as Putin writes off $23 billion loan
Russian President, Vladimir Putin on Friday announced in St Petersburg that his country has signed agreements for military cooperation with over 40 African countries,
This is coming as President Putin also signed off a total of $23 billion off the loan of some of the affected countries.
Putin said on Friday that- “For the purposes of bolstering the defence capability of the continent’s countries, we are developing partnership in the military and military-technical spheres.”
He stated this during the second and final day of the second Russia-Africa Summit, adding that- “Russia has signed agreements on military-technical cooperation with more than 40 African states, to which we supply a broad range of armaments and hardware.”
Putin stated that African states received a wide range of weapons and technology, some for free “with the aim of enhancing the security and sovereignty of the countries.”
Moscow had invited representatives from African countries to actively participate in Russian-organized military forums dealing with the technical aspects of the weapons and also manoeuvres to become familiar with the equipment and its use.
Putin reiterated that Russia would continue to be a reliable supplier of grain to the continent’s countries.
The pledge came after Russia ended a deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported through the Black Sea.
The chairman of the African Union said in his closing address at the summit that Putin’s proposals to provide grain were insufficient.
“Yes, this is important, but it may not be quite enough. We need to achieve a ceasefire,” Azali Assoumani said.
“President Putin has shown us that he is ready to engage in dialogue and find a solution,” he added. “Now we need to convince the other side.”
Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador at Large who double as head of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Secretariat Oleg Ozerov, said African countries’ debt issues before Russia have currently been settled by 90%.
He said- “There are some financial issues, but we are not talking about the direct debt. We are talking about certain financial agreements and obligations of sides,” he noted.
At the Summit, Uganda’s President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni said.Africa’s allies, including Russia, India and China could buy finished products from Africa instead of raw materials. He made reference to coffee as an example, saying that added value for finished goods is being produced beyond African territory.
“This is a problem that slowed down Africa’s growth,” he stated.
However Putin pointed out that some displays of colonialism have not been eliminated to this day and are “still being practiced by metropoles– in particular, in economy, informational and humanitarian areas.”
The summit participants agreed that a new permanent Russian-African security mechanism will be established which would work on combating terrorism and extremism, ensuring food security and non-deployment of weapons in space.
Putin said that the development of the African Continent is being hampered by the spread of extremist ideology, trans-national crime and piracy and noted that Russia offers aid in countering all mentioned threats.
In particular, the Russian leader said his country will continue training African servicemen and law enforcement officers in its education facilities. In addition, Moscow supplies a “wide array of weapons and vehicles” to African nations, including for free – “in order to reinforce security and sovereignty of these states.”
The Enugu State Government has suspended His Royal Majesty, Igwe Eze William Ezugwu, the traditional ruler of Ibagwa Ogbozalla Opi Autonomous Community, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu state.
The state government accused Igwe Ezugwu of violating provisions of the state’s Traditional Rulers Law.
In a letter of suspension dated September 24, the Enugu State Government cited his alleged failure to constitute his cabinet, failure to establish a Town Union governing body, and persistent conduct deemed inconsistent with the laws governing traditional rulers in the state.
The suspension comes barely three weeks after Igwe William Ezugwu received NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi at his palace in Opi, Nsukka LGA, where he reportedly blessed Obi’s presidential ambition.
The Deputy Commander of Operation Rainbow, CSP (Chief Superintendent of Police) Dennis David Babale, has been killed after gunmen suspected to be Fulani Bandits ambushed personnel of the security outfit along the Bokkos-Barkin Ladi road in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Operation Rainbow is a State-backed community security and intelligence-gathering outfit in Plateau State, Nigeria, originally established in 2010 under former Governor Jonah Jang and recently revamped by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to combat rural violence and beef up grassroots security.
The incident reportedly occurred at about 4:06 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 when the personnel, travelling in a Toyota Hilux vehicle, came under attack by unidentified gunmen.
Troops of Sector 4, Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), responded to a distress report and moved to the location of the attack.
Sources told reporters that Babale sustained gunshot wounds during the ambush and was evacuated to the General Hospital, Barkin Ladi, for medical attention.
Following the attack, troops, working alongside personnel of other security agencies, launched offensive operations and a manhunt for the assailants within the general area.
Security forces have intensified efforts to track the attackers and prevent further attacks along the route.
Director General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the World Meteorological Organization, Prof. Charles Anosike and other Chief Executive Officers of similar agencies across the world, have concluded a one week high level dialogue on Climate Science Information for Climate Finance and the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange (SOFE) in Beijing, China.
The event which was hosted by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), took place from September 14 to 18, 2026 and featured discussions on: strengthening the role and leadership development of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in mobilizing climate finance; aligning scientific and technical capabilities with risk-informed, people-centred early warning systems; shifting from technical assistance to sustainable investments by expanding practical cooperation between meteorological frameworks and multilateral financing entities; and support to NMHSs leadership on strengthening strategic thinking and fostering productive partnerships.
Held back-to-back with the High-level dialogue was the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange to Fujian Province for first-hand exposure to the implementation of Multi-hazard, Alert, Zero-gap and Universal (MAZU) platform – China’s AI-driven meteorological early warning solution in support of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative and disaster risk reduction practices through technical exchanges, field visits and peer learning.
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