Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Nigeria on Sunday as part of his three-nation tour at the invitation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This marks the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Nigeria in 17 years.

Upon his arrival in Abuja, he received a warm welcome from the Minister for Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, who presented Modi with the “Key to the City” of Abuja, symbolizing the trust and honor bestowed upon him by the Nigerian people.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Abuja, Nigeria. Warmly welcomed by Minister for Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, who presented the prime minister with the ‘Key to the City’ of Abuja. The key symbolises the trust and honour bestowed on the prime minister by the people of Nigeria,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a late-night post on X.

This visit is Modi’s inaugural trip to the West African region. He is set to spend five days in Nigeria, Brazil, and Guyana before moving on to Brazil after Nigeria.

In his departure remarks, Modi expressed his eagerness to engage with the Indian community and friends in Nigeria who have extended warm welcome messages in Hindi. He affirmed that this visit presents an opportunity to strengthen the strategic partnership based on shared beliefs in democracy and pluralism.

“I am also eagerly looking forward to meeting the Indian community and friends from Nigeria who have sent me warm welcome messages in Hindi.” Modi also said it would be an opportunity to “build upon our strategic partnership that is based on shared belief in democracy and pluralism,” PM Modi said.

In Brazil, he will participate in the 19th G20 Summit as part of the Troika, alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden, taking place in Rio de Janeiro on November 18-19. India is a member of the G20 Troika along with Brazil and South Africa.

The trip will conclude with Modi’s visit to Guyana from November 19 to 21, which will be the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Guyana in over 50 years, at the invitation of President Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

In a fresh violence, the residence of two Ministers and three MLAs were attacked by protesters in Manipur’s Imphal on Saturday. The protesters were seeking justice for the murder of three persons in the Jiribam district. Following the development, internet services were suspended in seven districts.

In order to combat the situation, the Imphal West authority imposed prohibitory orders in the district for an indefinite period after the mob attacked the legislators’ houses.

Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Kakching, Kangpokpi and Churachandpur were the districts where the internet services were suspended for two days, as per the reports.

An order issued by Imphal West District Magistrate Th Kirankumar, a curfew was imposed starting at 4:30 PM on Saturday.

According to reports, a mob attacked the residence of Health and Family Welfare Minister Sapam Ranjan in the Lamphel Sanakeithel area.

David, a representative of the Lamphel Sanakeithel Development Authority, assured the public that the issues surrounding the deaths of three individuals would be addressed in a cabinet meeting, stating that he would resign if the government disregarded public sentiment.

Additionally, protesters targeted the residence of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister L Susindro Singh.

In the Sagolband area, agitators gathered outside the residence of BJP legislator RK Imo, who is also the son-in-law of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, expressing demands for an appropriate response from the government regarding the killings and urging authorities to arrest the culprits within 24 hours.

According to officials, the protesters who went to meet with independent legislator Sapam Nishikanta Singh at his residence on Tiddim Road vandalised the office of a local newspaper owned by him after knowing he was out of state. The mob reportedly destroyed several temporary structures in front of the office.

On Friday night, three bodies, believed to belong to six individuals who had gone missing from the Jiribam district, were found near the confluence of the Jiri and Barak rivers along the Manipur-Assam border.

The remains of a woman and two children were located approximately 16 km from Borobekra in Jiribam district, not far from where the six people were last seen on November 11.

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal has stepped down from his position, said senior party leader Daljit Singh Cheema on Saturday.

Daljit S Cheema, former Education Minister of Punjab, said, “The SAD President S Sukhbir Singh Badal submitted his resignation to the Working Committee of the party today to pave the way for the election of a new President.”

“He thanked all the party leaders & workers for expressing confidence in his leadership and extending wholehearted support & cooperation throughout the tenure,” Cheema wrote in a post on X.

Cheema further said an emergency meeting has been called by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Working Committee President S Balwinder S Bhundar on November 18 at 12 o’ clock at party headquarters office in Chandigarh.

He said the committee will consider the resignation submitted by Badal and will decide further course of action. “It may be mentioned that elections for the post of President, Office bearers & working committee of SAD are due on Dec 14, 2024 when five year term of present house expires,” he added.

It is worth noting that Badal’s resignation came days after he urged the Akal Takht Jathedar to pronounce his punishment for religious misconduct charges, saying more than two months have passed since he was declared ‘tankhaiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct).

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh on August 30, declared Badal ‘tankhaiya’  for “mistakes” committed by the SAD and its government from 2007 to 2017.

In July, Shiromani Akali Dal dissolved its core committee after a meeting held in Chandigarh. Party leader Daljit Singh Cheema informed on X that the core committee will be reorganised shortly.

Earlier, some leaders including Parminder Singh Dhindsa, and Bibi Jagir Kaur, among others, launched a revolt against party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, demanding change in the leadership after the party’s severe drubbing in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

Some leaders of the party held a meeting in Jalandhar seeking Badal’s resignation. However, some other leaders in the Akali Dal continue to repose faith in Badal.