Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) winner of the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.

Soludo polled a total of 112,229 votes to defeat his closest rival, Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 53,807 to emerge second.

Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate got a total of 43,285 votes to emerge in the third position.

Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) came fourth with 21,261 votes. Ubah also won in one local government, same as Ozigbo, with Soludo winning in the remaining 19 local governments.

The Returning Officer for 2021 Anambra governorship election, Florence Obi, announced this in the early hours of Wednesday at INEC headquarters, Awka.

INEC suspended collation of results late Sunday night and declared the exercise inconclusive following non-conduct of election in Ihiala Local Government Area.

The commission, however, fixed Tuesday November 9 for supplementary election in Ihiala.

Announcing the final result, Obi noted that after adding up the results collated from Ihiala, Soludo continued his lead in the election.

Supplementary election in Ihiala

Soludo was already leading other candidates by a wide margin when INEC suspended the collation of election results in the early hours of Monday and announced that election must be held in Ihiala Local Government Area on Tuesday as required by law – The margin between Soludo and his closest rival, Ozigbo was 52,624 votes, whereas there are 148,361 registered voters in Ihiala, according to INEC.

At the end of Tuesday’s election in Ihiala, Soludo scored 8,283 votes to defeat Ozigbo who had 2,485 votes. APC scored 343 votes and YPP 344.

The accredited voters for the election in Ihiala was 12,299 out of the 148,361 registered voters.

She said that Soludo won in 19 of the 21 local government areas of the state.

Obi listed the areas where Soludo won to include; Dunukofia, Awka South, Oyi, Anaocha, Ayamelum, Anambra East, Idemili South and Onitsha South.

She also stated that the APGA candidate also won in Njikoka, Orumba South, Onitsha North, Idemili North, Ekwusigo, Aguata, and Nnewi South, Orumba North and Ihiala Local Government Areas.

The PDP candidate won in Ogbaru with 3,445 votes, APGA scored second while APC came third in the same council.

Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) won in his home local government, Nnewi North, in spite of coming a distant fourth in the overall score card with 21,261 votes.

The returning officer, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, said: “Chukwuma Soludo having scored the highest number of valid votes was declared winner of the election.”

Obi said that total number of valid votes was 241,523, while 8,108 were void.

The returning officer had earlier stated that Anambra with a total number of 2,466,638 registered voters only had a total of 253,388 accredited voters for the election which began on November 6 and was extended to November 9, 2021.

Soludo is expected to be sworn in, in March 2022, when the tenure of the outgoing governor, Willie Obiano, expires. Obiano and Soludo are members of the same party, APGA.

PT

 

Farmers who subscribed to Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme owed the apex bank N463bn as of the end of March 2021, data from CBN Economic Report for April have shown.

ABP was launched on November 17, 2015, by President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the country’s negative balance of payments, especially in the area of food.

Beneficiaries of the programme include farmers cultivating cereals (rice, maize, wheat, etc.), cotton, roots and tubers, sugarcane, tree crops, legumes, tomato and livestock.

Loans are disbursed to the beneficiaries through deposit money banks, development finance institutions and microfinance banks, which the programme recognises as participating financial institutions.

The CBN report revealed that from the inception of the ABP in November 2015 to March 31 this year, N615.4bn had been disbursed to 3.04 million farmers.

The report, however, showed that only N152.3bn had been repaid by the beneficiaries while the outstanding loans was N463bn.

“For the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, N615.4bn had been disbursed to 3,038,899 beneficiaries, out of which N152.3bn was repaid,” it said.

According to CBN’s guidelines for the ABP, the broad objective of the programme is to create economic linkage between smallholder farmers and reputable large-scale processors with a view to increasing agricultural output and significantly improving capacity utilisation of agricultural firms.

Economic experts, who reviewed loan repayments under the programme, linked rising default rate to rising insecurity in certain parts of the country, especially the food-producing states.

An economist and Chief Executive Officer of SD&D Capital Investment, Gbolade Idakolo, said while the initiative was commendable, its success, which could be measured by the repayment rate, was being hampered by the security problems in the country.

Another economist and the Managing Director, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Johnson Chukwu, also said the programme’s effectiveness was limited by the rising wave of insecurity in the country.

Four million farmers benefitting from N788bn Anchor Borrowers fund – Emefiele

Meanwhile, CBN says it has disbursed a total of N788.035bn to four million farmers in the country through the ABP.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this in Jos, the Plateau State Capital on Tuesday, at an event to begin the Nigeria Brown Revolution programme aimed at boosting wheat production in the country.

Emefiele, represented by CBN Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Edward Adamu, said, “The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme has recorded successes in supporting smallholder farmers to increase the cultivation of different commodities across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

“Through the programme, N788.035bn has been disbursed to about 4.0 million farmers through 23 participating financial institutions. So far, 4.796 million hectares of farmlands have been cultivated under the programme covering 21 commodities.”

According to CBN, wheat is the third most widely consumed grain in Nigeria after maize and rice, with the country producing only about one per cent (63,000 metric tonnes) of the five to six million metric tonnes of the commodity consumed annually in Nigeria.

He said, “This enormous demand-supply gap is bridged with over $2bn spent annually on wheat importation. This has made wheat the second highest contributor to the country’s food import bill.

“Given the high growth rate of the country’s population and the demographic structure, the demand for wheat is projected to continue to rise. This can only intensify pressure on the country’s reserves unless we take a decisive step to grow wheat locally.”

Nigeria’ll stop wheat importation soon, says Buhari

Meanwhile, Buhari on Tuesday, said Nigeria would soon end the importation of wheat that is gobbling up $2bn annually.

Buhari said this while launching rain-fed commercial wheat cultivation in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Represented by Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, he said a key focus of his administration had been the deployment of mechanisms to ensure that agriculture thrived in the country.

According to him, Nigeria is on the path to actualising sustainability in the production of rice, maize, cassava, soybean, groundnut, oil palm and cocoa.

He said, “It is important to stress that Nigeria currently spends over $2bn on the importation of wheat annually, one of the key contributors to the nation’s huge foreign import bill. This is because millers have had to resort to importing wheat to meet the huge demand for wheat by-products.

“Wheat cultivation, similar to rice has the capacity to thrive in Nigeria due to the tropical climatic conditions. Currently, wheat is cultivated in many northern states, particularly in the dry season due to the high heat tolerance of the seed utilised by farmers.”

Buhari expressed excitement at the flag-off of the 2021/2022 dry season wheat farming, saying wheat could also be grown in the wet season in Plateau State and other plateaus in the country, namely, Gembu Plateau in Taraba State, and Obudu Plateau in Cross River State.

He urged the states to take advantage of the opportunity and key into the initiative.

Punch

Seven police officers have been killed by armed men suspected to be bandits in Zamfara state.

The incident was said to have happened along the Tofa-Magami road in Gusau LGA on Monday evening.

The police officers were said to be on patrol in the area when they were ambushed by the bandits. According to Channels TV, eyewitnesses said the bandits, numbering about 100, engaged the police operatives in a gun duel before killing seven of them.

The police patrol vehicle was also razed.

Awwal Ruwandoruwa, spokesperson of the Yarima Bakura Specialist Hospital in Gusau, also confirmed that seven bodies of the slain police operatives were brought to the hospital.

“They brought in the corpses of seven Nigeria policemen to our facility this morning. We have already deposited the corpses into the mortuary. They sustained gun injuries,” he said.

As of the time of this report, the state police command could not be reached for comment on the incident.

The development comes days after three security operatives were killed in the state.

On October 28, bandits had killed three security operatives in Shinkafi LGA of the state — including a policeman and two officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) — after engaging them in a gun battle that was said to have lasted for hours.

The Cable

 

 ... residents cry out to governor Dapo Abiodun

 

Dayo da-Silva, Ogun 

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Residents of Isewo and Orisumbare in Obada-Oko area of Ewekoro Local Government in Ogun State, are now living in palpable fears as the communities have been partially taken over by kidnappers terrorising the areas.  

The inhabitants of the two communities who called on Governor Dapo Abiodun to save them from the Kidnappers before they resort to self help, told Nigerian Newstrack that the recent in the spate of Kidnapping was barely 72 hours ago and the fourth within a month.   

That was the mood when Nigerian Newstrack got to Isewo Community where family members, neighbours and other residents were seen trying to gather money to pay for the ransom of the two adult males and one elderly woman who were kidnapped on the community road on Saturday evening, while returning home from their places of work. 

One of those on the road identified as Rasaq Lasisi who would have been the fourth victim was said to have escaped from the kidnappers but sustained injury as he was hit with a gun.  

According to the relations of those taken away, the abductors had requested for the sum of 10 million naira before it was reduced to 5million naira and later 1.5million naira. 

As the crew of Nigerian Newstrack was interviewing relations and friends of the victims , a call came in from the kidnappers. 

The abductors insisted on the payment of the sum of 1.5m naira before they can release the three people taken away. 

As the phone conversation was going on, another victim identified the voice of the caller as one of those who Kidnapped him and one other lady, just few weeks ago.

He narrated how he was abducted from the comfort of his house in an adjoining Community named Orisumbare and went through 5 days of harrowing experience in the hands of the Kidnappers before he was finally released after paying a ransom.  

He said they trekked in the bush from after 7:00 pm in the evening till 5:00 am of the next day, while he was beaten daily with little or no food.

He explained that, food items and other needs were brought by unknown people, while the 5 kidnappers were armed with sophisticated guns, knives, matchets and charms.

The chairman of Orisumbare Community Development Association , Pastor Emmanuel Agboola narrated how a woman was kidnapped at a celestial church in the area, before another three persons were taken away in a cherubim and Seraphim Church while two others, a youngman and a lady were also taken away in the community within a spate of one month. 

Some of the residents have vacated their built apartments to rent accommodation outside the area while others who have nowhere to go are calling on the state government, to come to their aid. 

When contacted ,the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, in the state ,DSP, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the incident revealing that one suspect who is a strong member of the kidnap syndicate  has been arrested in connection with the case .

Oyeyemi assured that the Police have commenced investigation and would soon arrest other members of the syndicate, urging members of the public to always come forward with useful information.

He said it is sad that some insiders connive with the criminals, but the state Police command would not spare anyone aiding such criminal activities.

Importers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, have stopped importing the commodity.

Investigations also show that the cost of the product increased by 240 per cent for 12.5kg, jumping from N3,000 to N10,200 between January and October.

About 65 per cent of LPG is imported into Nigeria, while domestic production accounts for 35 per cent, hence the halt in imports could further shoot up cooking gas price if the situation is not addressed.

Executive Secretary, Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, Bassey Essien, told our correspondent on Monday that the reintroduction of customs duty and Value Added Tax on imported LPG were the basic reasons for the halt in its imports by importers.

He stated that there were several other issues and stressed that if the halt in LPG imports should drag further, the supply of the commodity domestically could suffer severe drop.

This came as NALPGAM in an open letter to Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, urged the minister to urgently intervene in the skyrocketing price of LPG in Nigeria.

The open letter was signed by National President, NALPGAM, Olatunbosun Oladapo, and Essien. NALPGAM is the umbrella body of operators of LPG bottling plants licensed by the statutorily empowered government agencies to carry out the business of safe bottling of cooking gas.

Essien stated that due to the fears expressed by importers who had stopped importation of LPG into the country, cooking gas sourced from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company was now selling in the region of N11m per 20 metric tonnes truck.

This, he said, was with a cumulative daily increase of N300,000 to N500,000 per 20MT truck without the imposition of VAT and customs duties.

Providing further explanation on this, Essien said, “The NLNG supplies LPG to the terminals and these terminals sell to the marketers and at times in a day, the price can go up by about three times.

“Take for example, I was granting an interview on Saturday morning on this same issue and that morning some terminals were selling for N11.6m to N11.7m, but as I stepped out of the interview, it had increased to N12m.

“And the annoying part is that since about a week or two now, nobody has been importing gas because of the issues with customs and VAT. And this is because since the position on these issues have not been clearly stated, importers have to pause.”

He added, “The customs is even clamping down on importers and so they cannot import anything, which means that the product in circulation across the country is from the NLNG.

“But when there are issues like this, some unscrupulous people will want to capitalise on the situation, which they are doing, because right now, from what we’ve got, the price at which NLNG product gets to Lagos is about N7m, but you get it at N11m and above.”

On the price increase, the association stated that despite the decade of gas policy and measures by government, the cost of cooking gas had continued to rise.

It said, “Despite the strategies employed by the government with its anticipated benefits, the reverse seems to be the case with the bulk of LPG consumed in the country largely imported.

“The availability of the product for domestic consumption has been skewed majorly to 65 per cent import dependence while only 35 per cent has been attributed to local supply.

“The obvious devaluation of the local currency, inability to access foreign exchange by importers, the increasing international price against which the cost of domestic LPG is indexed as well as the anticipated re-imposition of VAT and customs duties with retrospective application have all contrived to push the price of LPG upward.”

NALPGAM added, “It has been observed that the above factors have seriously increased the price of gas to the extent that a 12.5kg gas which sold for N3,000.00 in January, 2021, now sells for between N10,000 to N10,200, depending on area of the country.

“The daily galloping price of gas if not properly handled may derail the lofty ideals of the gas expansion plans of the government as well as the job opportunities the programmes were intended to create.”

The association stated that the price of LPG had exponentially skyrocketed over the last few months.

It said the cost of 20MT of LPG as of January 2020 was N3.4m, but by December 2020, it had gone up to N5.4m; N5.6m in January, 2021, N6m in February, 2021 and N11m in October, 2021 without any signs of abatement.

Officials at Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited promised to revert when contacted.

Sylva had in August this year described LPG as a deregulated product and stated that government could not determine its price, but promised to meet with marketers on concerns about the persistent price hike.

Punch

 

 

 

 

Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) granted approval-in-principle (AIP) to MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa towards the process of commencing payment service banks (PSBs).

The move is expected to close the unbanked population gap and help the country achieve its National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) — a projection that 95 percent of Nigerians would have access to financial services by 2024.

An AIP implies that the approving party (CBN) finds the proposal acceptable. It also means that telecommunication companies still need to fulfil certain conditions before securing a PSB licence.

According to the CBN, the decision is to promote a sound financial system in Nigeria and enhance access to financial services for low-income earners and unbanked segments of society.

Airtel and MTN Nigeria will join Globacom and 9mobile which are already operating in the financial space with their services.

The initiative has been largely successful in M-Pesa in Kenya and India’s sachet banking model.

In this explainer, TheCable sheds light on PSBs and their impact on the financial services industry.

 

WHAT IS A PSB?

A PSB is like a digital bank, providing financial accesses through mobile and digital channels to low-income earners and people that do not use banks or banking institutions for transactions.

It offers the following services:

i. Accept deposits from individuals and small businesses, which shall be covered by the deposit insurance scheme;

ii. Carry out payments and remittances (including inbound cross-border personal remittances) services through various channels within Nigeria;

iii. Sale of foreign currencies realized from inbound cross-border personal remittances to authorized foreign exchange dealers;

iv. Issue debit and pre-paid cards on its name;

v. Operate electronic wallet;

vi. Render financial advisory services;

vii. Invest in FGN and CBN securities; and

viii. Carry out such other activities as may be prescribed by the CBN from time to time.

 

ENTITIES ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A PSB LICENCE

They include banking agents, telecommunications companies (telcos), through subsidiaries; retail chains (supermarkets, downstream petroleum marketing companies); postal services providers and courier companies.

Others are mobile money operators (MMOs), switching companies; financial technology companies (Fintech); financial holding companies; and any other entity on the merit of its application subject to the approval of the CBN.

 

HOW DO PSBs DIFFER FROM COMMERCIAL BANKS?

PSBs are expected to focus on the unbanked populations and financially excluded persons — have at least 25% financial service touchpoints in such rural areas where they must maintain ATMs and point of sale (POS) devices.

However, they cannot grant loans, guarantees, or advances of any form; accept deposits in foreign currencies and they cannot deal in the foreign exchange market except as prescribed by the CBN.

They are also not allowed to participate in insurance underwriting; undertake any other transaction which is not prescribed by the set guidelines, and must not accept any closed scheme electronic value (e.g. airtime) as a form deposit or payment.

The CBN specified that every PSB must use the words “Payment Service Bank” in its name to differentiate it from other banks.

Also, the name of a PSB shall not include any word that links it to its parent company.

 

PSBs AS TOOL TO BOOST FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Financial inclusion is the process of ensuring that individuals and businesses have access to financial products and services – basic bank accounts, fund transfer services, etc.

While CBN is seeking to onboard 95 percent of the bankable adults into financial services by 2024, the data by EFInA showed about 36 percent of the adult population, representing 38 million citizens do not have access to financial services.

PSB operators are expected to close the gap by removing barriers to having a basic bank account.

With just a phone number, any Nigerian can easily open an account, send and receive money, check balance, make deposits, cash withdrawals and more.

The Cable

There was a mild drama on the premises of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, after Abdulrasheed Maina, the former chairperson of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), was convicted and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.

The judge, Okon Abang, ordered that the terms of imprisonment for all the 12 counts shall run concurrently from October 25, 2019, the date the convict was arraigned.

The judge, who ruled that Maina must refund money running over a billion naira to the federal government coffers, among others, also ordered that the company used for the unlawful act be wound up.

However, as officers of the Correctional Centre, Kuje, were taking Maina out of the court premises amid tight security, EFCC operatives drove two vehicles into the premises, blocking the correctional centre’s Hilux van.

The development led to hot arguments between the two opposing personnel as they corked their rifles in defence.

However, the prison officers stood their ground, refusing to allow the EFCC operatives, some of whom came in police uniform, to whisk Maina away.

A prison officer, who spoke to our correspondent anonymously shortly after the pandemonium, said the EFCC operatives had come in the name of rearresting Maina for another charge.

“They said they have a warrant to rearrest him after he was just convicted.

“Our own stand is that the court just convicted him and if they need to rearrest him, they should come through the court.

“The court will give the directive for us to obey,” the officer said.

NAN

A teacher, Comfort Mufutau, has lamented unauthorised debits to the tune of N215,000 from her Guaranty Trust Bank account for the purchase of recharge cards from an e-commerce store, Jumia Nigeria.

Our correspondent gathered that Mufutau wanted to transfer the sum of N5,000 to someone using her GTB mobile application when she discovered that her account had been emptied.

The 36-year-old said she immediately approached the bank’s branch in Sango, Ogun State, to lodge a complaint, adding that she requested her statement of account to trace the missing funds.

While assessing the account statement, Mufutau said she discovered that the missing money was used in purchasing recharge cards on Jumia, adding that she never initiated the transactions.

She said, “On October 5, 2021, I was at home for the Teacher’s Day holiday and was about to transfer N5,000 to someone using my GT Bank app when I discovered that I could not see N215,000 in the account.

“I quickly went to the Sango 2 GTB branch to lodge a complaint. I told them to print my statement of account and we found out that my money was used to purchase something from Jumia. I contacted Jumia to look into the issue and its representative, one Tomi, replied that the money was used in purchasing recharge cards.

“I asked for the number used in purchasing the recharge cards but was told that they did not have the power to release the customer’s details.

“In my GTB app, I saw that my balance remained N2,000 and I was also seeing a booked balance of N215,000 indicating that the money had been removed from my account because of an ongoing transaction.”

Mufutau said efforts to prevent the N215,000 booked balance from becoming successful, including blocking her account, proved abortive.

She alleged that the porosity of the bank’s system contributed to the unauthorised debits.

“It was later I started receiving debit alerts for transactions I never initiated. The recharge cards were purchased at N10,000, N50,000 in four places, and N5,000, making N215,000. A banker at the GTB head office told me that the first debit of N10,000 was used to test if my money could be withdrawn.

“I later received the debit alerts on October 7 and 8 for transactions done on the 4th and 5th. I did not give anyone OTP or initiate any transaction requiring OTP. Surprisingly, I saw seven OTPs I never initiated on my phone, but I was home alone and never received any call or gave anyone OTPs, so how was the transaction completed?” she queried.

On October 7, 2021, Mufutau petitioned the head, legal department, GTB, regarding her case, but did not get a response.

The petition was titled, ‘Fraudulent disappearance of N215,000 in my GTBank account.’

Mufutau said she also petitioned the Area F Police Command in Ikeja, Lagos State.

Our correspondent obtained a document indicating that the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Area F, John Ali-Zongo, petitioned Head of Legal Department, Jumia Nigeria, over the case.

The document, dated October 20, 2021, read in part, “This office is investigating a case of criminal conspiracy and stealing in which the fleeing suspect(s) used transaction numbers to perpetrate the crime.

“You are kindly requested to furnish the office with the following information: name, address and location of the airtime purchasers/beneficiaries; phone numbers, photographs of the airtime purchasers/beneficiaries, among others.”

Around 10.13am the following day, Mufutau said she got an email from Jumia regarding her case.

The email read, “Kindly note that we are liaising with the police regarding your request. Kindly follow up with the police to get updated information about the issue.”

The teacher said she received another email from the e-commerce store that it was unable to find any document from the police regarding her case, but urged Mufutau to send an acknowledgement letter of the area commander’s petition to Jumia.

The 36-year-old said since she scanned the letter to Jumia, she had yet to get a response or the phone numbers of the suspects.

The victim stated that subsequent emails to the online company were not replied.

She alleged that Jumia was protecting the perpetrators of the crime because of its complicity.

When contacted during working hours, a spokesperson for GTB, Chichi Ikonta, promised to connect our correspondent to an official for a reaction.

 She had yet to do so as of the time this report was filed.

Subsequent calls and a text message to get a reaction from Ikonta were abortive.

Our correspondent sent an email regarding the case to Jumia Nigeria, but had yet to get a reaction as of press time.

Punch

 

 

Over one million Nigerians have been internally displaced in the past 12 months, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons has said.

Federal Commissioner of the NCFRMI, Imaan Sulieman-Ibrahim, disclosed this while defending the budget of her agency before House of Representatives Committee on Internally Displaced Persons on Monday.

Ms Suleiman-Ibrahim informed the committee that the total number of internally displaced persons in Nigeria is about three million.

She also said Nigeria is host to about 73,000 refugees from 23 countries while over 500,000 Nigerians awaiting repatriation from Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Mali, Libya and other countries.

As part of measures to cope with the increment in IDPs, she said the commission is working on building resettlement cities in Borno, Kano, Edo and Katsina.

She stated that Zamfara State was on the original plan but the commission resolved to build the city in Kano State because of difficulties in acquiring the right for the land.

The commissioner said the budget of the commission is not sufficient to take care of five per cent of its mandate.

Muhammadu Fattahu (APC, Katsina) queried the duplication of responsibilities by the National Emergency Management Agency, NCFRMI and North-east Development Commission. He said most of the line items in the budget of NCFRMI are also replicated in those agencies.

He questioned the N25 million annual rent paid for the headquarters and urged the commission to approach President Muhammadu Buhari for one of the seized properties.

The commission was also queried for not completing most of the projects in its budget despite over 60 per cent of funds released.

In the 2021 budget, N13.38 billion was appropriated for capital projects, N705 million for personnel cost for 458 staff and N1.6 billion for zonal intervention projects.

For the 2022 estimate, N1.7 billion was appropriated for personnel and N4.5 billion for capital component.

After the interactive session, the lawmakers dissolved into executive session.

PT

At least 18 people were killed on Sunday in an artisanal gold mine collapse in southern Niger, the local mayor said on Monday.

The disaster took place in the southern Maradi region, near the border with Nigeria. The death toll is likely to rise, said Adamou Guero, mayor of the commune of Dan Issa.

"When we arrived at the site yesterday, people were still searching for bodies," he said.

"It's something which is common in gold mines. It's very difficult to control," Guero added.

Artisanal miners often use old-fashioned and unregulated methods of digging, leading to frequent deadly accidents.

Increasing demand for metals and rising prices have triggered a boom in small-scale mining in poor countries around the world in recent years. The activity is common across much of West Africa.

Reuters