AFRICA

A group of leading civil society activists in Nigeria has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take an official leave and hand over his office to his deputy, Vice-President Yemi Osibajo. Buhari returned from the UK, where he was on medical vacation, on 10 March and since his return, he has only made a few public appearances. The activists’ call …

In response to the many reports of the maltreatment of sub-Saharan migrants in Libyan detention centres, the International Organization for Migration, IOM, has begun training officials in five facilities on human rights. These are “the first trainings inside detention centres since 2014”, the United Nations Support Mission for Libya (UNSMIL) announced. In the pilot project, IOM is targeting five centres …

Pope Francis has urged Muslim leaders to unite in renouncing religious extremism during the first day of his 2-day trip to Egypt. The visit, amid tight security, is aimed at promoting better ties between Muslim and Christian leaders and comes after two deadly attacks on Egyptian Coptic churches this month which left 45 people dead. The Pope paid a courtesy …

A graduate of Britain’s Coventry University devoted to tackling terrorism will talk about how he stopped a young man joining ISIS with just hours to spare, when he speaks in Ghana this month. Mutaru Mumuni Muqthar, a graduate of Coventry’s International Terrorism masters course, has already helped at least 20 people turn away from extremism since he set up a …

Fatoumatta Jallow-Tambajan, Gambia’s Minister of Women Affairs and Overseer – Vice President’s Office, has won the top award of the New African Woman of Year. The fearless Gambian human rights and democracy activist took New African Woman magazine’s ‘Woman of the Year’ Award at a glitzy ceremony, which held in Dakar on Wednesday. Mrs Jallow-Tambajan was instrumental in unifying the …

The African Network of Germany (TANG) has launched a project, christened  ‘Lost Dreams’, about the dangers of illegal migration to Europe. It’s currently being presented to young people in Cameroon. Moki Kindzeka reports. In the Nlonkak neighborhood of Cameroon’s capital Younde, the “Cameroon Center Band” is playing songs encouraging young people from rural areas to come to the capital to …

The United Nations’ migration agency says growing numbers of African migrants passing through Libya are being sold as slaves by traffickers or militia groups before being held for ransom. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has published a report based on interviews with several West African migrants who told of being bought and sold in garages and car parks in …

A Nigerian group in the UK has sharply criticized the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government over its handling of the violence perpetrated by ethnic Fulani cattle herders in the country. Herdsmen are nomadic or semi nomadic herders whose primary occupation is raising livestock. No week passes without the media reporting a massacre carried out by herdsmen in farming communities in …

The federal government is currently working on closing some of Nigeria’s 119 foreign missions, an official has said. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said though it is expensive to close a country’s embassy or consulate, it will be beneficial in the long run. Onyeama said at the News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja on Sunday that the …

The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Muhammad Babandede, has announced that the Service now has standard passport booklets in sufficient quantity for issuance, and has therefore directed Passport Control Officers to clear the backlog of all outstanding applications. A statement by NIS Public Relations Officer, Sunday James, says the CG has appealed to the general public to bear with …

The Gambia’s long-time opposition party won an absolute majority in Thursday’s parliamentary elections, easily defeating the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) of ousted leader Yahya Jammeh, according to the results announced today. Official results issued by the Independent Electoral Commission showed the United Democratic Party (UDP) had won 31 of the 53 available elected seats in the country’s …

 – MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan authorities on Wednesday (5 April) released 28 Eritreans and seven Nigerians who were captured and enslaved by Islamic State in Sirte and had been held in detention since the jihadist group lost the city in December. The group, all but two of whom are women and children, escaped from Sirte, a former Islamic State …

Benin’s parliament narrowly rejected a draft bill by President Patrice Talon on Tuesday for a referendum to reform the constitution, including a provision to reduce presidential terms from the current two to one. Lawmakers voted on Monday 60 to 22 in favour of the bill, with one abstention, but it needed 63 out of the total of 83 available votes …

Nigerians living outside the country have praised the passing of the Diaspora Commission Bill by the Senate. The Bill, after the President has assented to it, provides for the establishment of the Nigerian Citizens in Diaspora Commission to ensure the protection of Nigerians in Diaspora, and promote and facilitate their effective participation in economic, political and social development of the nation. …

  Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor of Pan-African News Wire, pays tribute to the politician, former political prisoner and anti-apartheid activist, who died on 28 March. “Kathy”, as he was popularly known, was elected to parliament in 1994  but declined to seek re-election five years later. He wrote an open letter to President Jacob Zuma, suggesting that perhaps he should step down …

Elections present a milestone beyond which countries either strengthen their democratic credentials or become failed states. Often states fail when there are either perceived or blatant election malpractices. This in turn can lead to prolonged civil unrest. Numerous cases exist across the continent. John Walubengo, a lecturer at the Multimedia University of Kenya, uses the Kenyan case to illustrate how election processes …

Security forces shooting dead unarmed protesters, arbitrary arrests, detentions, torture, disappearances, harassment and intimidation are some of the reported human rights abuses that have been continuing for more than four months now in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, writes Kumi Naidoo* on the ongoing crisis in the country. “I write to you in hiding and with so much fear that …

Chad’s former foreign minister, Moussa Faki Mahamat, assumed office as head of the African Union Commission on Tuesday, pledging to reform the institution and tackle the continent’s many crises. Faki takes over the leadership of the 54-country continental bloc days after the United Nations announced that the food emergencies in four countries, including Somalia, South Sudan and northeast Nigeria, constituted …

Gambia has applied to Switzerland for the extradition of former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko. This came as the new government intensifies its efforts in ensuring justice for victims and families of those tortured and even killed during the rule of former President Yahya Jammeh. “I have authorized and invoked International Criminal Repatriation Cooperation processes regarding those out of the jurisdiction …

Gambia’s government will launch an investigation into the finances of former President Yahya Jammeh, Justice Minister Aboubacarr Tambadou told Reuters on Friday. Tambadou said the investigation would include his personal use of a charity bank account. The government of President Adama Barrow, who beat Jammeh in the December 2016 election before Jammeh fled into exile, had accused Jammeh of siphoning …