Politics

8 arrested over 2014 kidnap of 276 school girls in Nigeria. Why it matters

Police authorities in Nigeria say that they have arrested eight persons who allegedly were involved in the kidnap of some 276 secondary school girls in the town of Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria

Published

5 years ago

July 18, 2018

Africa News Watch

Police authorities in Nigeria say that they have arrested eight persons who allegedly were involved in the kidnap of some 276 secondary school girls in the town of Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria.

The kidnap incident took place in 2014 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. The suspects are believed to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect which has mastermind terrorist attacks in Northeast Nigeria.

The police claim the suspects were arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team in Adamawa and Borno States.

The Chibok girls saga remains fully unresolved as over a hundred of them are still in captivity after the Nigerian government, through international collaborations, secured the release of 112 girls.

Media reports say that about €3 million were paid as ransom to secure release of the girls. The Buhari-led administration continues to deny, however, that it paid any ransom.

While many are still in search of the truth, the country was to witness another mass abduction of 110 schools girls in Dapchi town, Yobe State, Northeast Nigeria. Another round of negotiations saw the release of all but one of the girls, Leah Sharibu, who is believed to be kept in captivity because of her belief in the Christian faith.

Analysts view the police claims of recent arrests as welcome and hope that it would provide important leads to resolving the many terrorist attacks in the troubled region which have claimed thousands of lives.

There are, however, concerns also that the recent parade of the 8 suspects may be a deliberate public show to shore up waning image of the Buhari administration which has struggled with unresolved killing of hundreds of Nigerians by herdsmen suspected to be of the Fulani stock, and recent siege on military formations by Boko Haram terrorists.

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Politics

Rwanda wants to hold presidential, parliamentary elections on same day

Published

12 hours ago

March 26, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

East African country, Rwanda wants to hold presidential and parliamentary elections to be held at the same time.

According to a statement outlining cabinet resolutions, a proposal presented by Paul Kagame was approved on Friday to amend the country’s constitution to allow “harmonisation of parliamentary and presidential elections calendars.”

Parliamentary elections are currently scheduled for August this year, but they may be pushed back to next year if the constitutional change is implemented.

During the last amendment to its constitution in 2015, Kagame was granted a seven-year term that began in 2017, followed by two five-year terms. The lawmakers’ term is five years.

Parliamentary elections in September 2018 saw women fill 61% of seats, the Rwandan Patriotic Front maintain an absolute majority, and two opposition parties, the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and Social Party, Imberakuri, win two seats each.

Harmonization of election dates is not a common practice in African politics. In Nigeria, West Africa where elections were recently held, Presidential and Federal Legislative elections were held on the same day while State (national sub-units) held on a later date.

Politics

Sudan’s Fattah al-Burhan says military will be under civilian powers under new regime

Published

17 hours ago

March 26, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ahead of the planned transition into civilian administration, Sudan’s leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has revealed that the country’s army will be subject to the reign of civil government.

al-Burhan made the position known before a session for security and army reforms in Khartoum Burhan while noting that his country will build a military force that will not intervene in politics and will be trusted by the Sudanese people in building a modern and democratic state.

A year after the military took power in a coup, the military and its former civilian partners and other political forces have agreed on a framework for a new transitional government and constitution, which will be announced next month.

The Northeast African country has a long history of military coups that dates back to 1957. More recently, the country experienced a coup in 2019 that ousted the military junta of Omar-al-Bashir which had been in power for over 30 years.

There was also a report of an aborted coup in September 2021 and a “self-coup” later in October of the same year that brought in the Head Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.

Since independence, Many Africa has grappled with contentious and contradictory roles of armed forces whether they be part of or against the state. Currently, there has been a wave of the military across the continent, particularly in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali.