RICHARD EDEN: Instead of pretending to be royals in Nigeria, Harry and Meghan should address the scandal they’re embroiled in elsewhere in Africa…

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appear to be once again presenting themselves as an alternative royal family and will make a very royal visit to Nigeria next week.

At the invitation of the West African country’s top military official, the Chief of Defense Staff, Prince Harry and Meghan are guaranteed the kind of security they expected from British taxpayers.

Harry, you may recall, sought a judicial review of the Home Office’s decision to deprive him, Meghan and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, of their automatic right to police surveillance in Britain after they had chosen to give up their royal duties and their fortunes across the Atlantic.

King Charles’ youngest son lost the case in February, with the action estimated to have cost him around £1 million, including his own legal costs and those of the Home Office.

Harry and Meghan will no longer have such concerns next week, when the security bill will be paid by the government of Nigeria, a country where an estimated 87 million people live below the poverty line.

Why do they make the trip? It appears the Duke struck up a conversation with Defense Chief General Christopher Gwabin Musa during the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf in September.

No one disputes the good work of the Games, Harry’s Paralympic adventure for wounded soldiers, a topic that will be discussed during the trip to Nigeria.

The visit will no doubt also be good for Brand Sussex and will highlight what the couple could have achieved for the Commonwealth if they had stayed with the Windsors.

The Sussexes had been given a key role in working with young people through the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust before deciding to step back from their royal duties.

But I do wonder if Harry’s time in Africa would be better spent dealing with a charity fundraising scandal involving allegations of abuse.

African Parks, a conservation charity of which he is director, is facing further allegations of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and violent abuse.

Allegations of brutality by rangers jointly managed by the charity first emerged in January, when a front-page report in The Mail on Sunday revealed claims that armed guards had beaten, raped and raped Baka tribes in the Republic of Congo tortured.

The charity, which manages reserves in 12 African countries – but not Nigeria – is a significant undertaking.

African Parks claims it saves wildlife by working with local communities and helps manage 1,400 wardens who patrol protected areas almost the size of Britain.

Harry, who served as president for six years until joining the board last year, was effusive in his praise, previously saying: “The African Parks Model is exactly what conservation should be about – putting people at the center of nature. solution.’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle take selfies with fans at the Invictus Games Dusseldorf in Germany last September, where they struck up a conversation with the Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa

But in March, The Mail on Sunday revealed new allegations of brutality by rangers, this time in Zambia’s Bangweulu Wetlands, including claims of extrajudicial killings and violent beatings.

The Wetlands, a nature reserve almost the size of Devon, is home to 50,000 indigenous people who have the right to ‘sustainably harvest’ natural resources such as fish, antelope and rabbits.

Fiore Longo, campaign director for Survival International, which fights for the rights of indigenous people, said: “This is yet another case of abuse and violence, allegedly in the name of conservation.”

Her group wrote to Harry last year about “terrible human rights violations” in Congo’s Odzala-Kokoua National Park.

Harry’s spokesman said at the time that he had “immediately escalated” the allegations to the chairman and chief executive of African Parks.

There is no evidence that Harry had any knowledge of the allegations about what happened in Zambia.

In response, the charity said: ‘While there have been incidents that we condemn, it would be incorrect to suggest that African Parks is responsible for systemic misconduct in the area.’

Perhaps on his next visit abroad, Harry could consider spending time in Zambia’s Bangweulu Wetlands – and seeing it for himself. The claims are extremely serious.

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