Niger’s military authorities have banned rice, cereal and other food exports to all countries except fellow junta-led Burkina Faso and Mali to protect local supply, the government has said.
With the Sahel nation experiencing high inflation on certain foods, the products banned for export besides rice include legumes such as cowpea as well as cereals like millet, sorghum and corn.
Junta chief Abdourahamane Tiani took the measure “to protect the supply of the internal market” and “make the goods of mass consumption accessible”, the government said in a statement late on Wednesday.
“These prohibitions do not apply to exports” to Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger’s allied neighbours which are also ruled by military leaders who took power in coups, the statement added.
Punishments for those infringing the ban range from the seizure of shipments to criminal penalties.
Niger is a key regional supplier of cereals, especially for some states in neighbouring Nigeria.
Although the sanctions imposed on Niger by West African bloc ECOWAS in the wake of the July 2023 coup were lifted in February, they have nonetheless disrupted regular supplies to Nigerien markets where inflation remains high for products including rice.
The closure of the border between Niger and Benin has also contributed to the disruption.
The agriculture minister has vowed to buy part of farmers’ harvests to fill up the country’s emergency reserves.
The ministry said it hoped for “good agricultural harvests” despite major flooding across the West African nation.
Torrential downpours in Niger since the start of the rainy season have triggered floods that have displaced one and a half million people and killed 339, according to figures by the civil protection agency.
This week, the authorities in Niamey announced that would slash the price of cement by 35 percent to help those affected by the floods to rebuild their homes.
Scientists have long warned that climate change driven by fossil fuel emissions is making extreme weather events such as floods more frequent, intense and longer-lasting.
AFP
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
