Politics

Fierce critic of Nigeria’s President kidnapped

Published

6 years ago

July 26, 2018

Senator Dino Melaye, a well known critic of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria’s has reportedly been kidnapped. The incident allegedly occurred on Wednesday.

A fellow Senator, Ben Bruce, broke the news via his twitter handle saying, “I have just been informed by Moses Melaye, @dino melaye’s brother, that Dino has been abducted by unknown persons in a Toyota Sienna that blocked their car and overpowered them on their way to Kogi to answer to Dino’s court case. Lets be on the watch out. Will keep you updated,” Bruce had claimed in a post on his official Twitter handle.

The disappearance of Senator Dino Melaye got more troubling on Thursday as he was billed to appear in court for alleged gunrunning. When the matter came up in court on Thursday, Melaye’s counsel, Barrister Yemi Mohammed, explained to the trial magistrate, Suleyman Abdalah, that he was authoritatively informed that Melaye was attacked in Gwagwalada on Wednesday on his way home from court.

“I learnt that he was attacked yesterday in Gwagwalada on his way home from the court. Up till now, I have not been able to reach him. I don’t know where he is at the moment,” he said.

He also told the trial magistrate that the prosecution counsel was not ready to open the case due to reasons “best known to them.”

Officer in charge of Police prosecution, Theophilus Oteme, responding, told the court that the prosecuting counsel had an emergency yesterday, a reason according to him, that made it “extremely difficult for him to appear in court.”

He then prayed that the matter be adjourned till September 23, a request the trial magistrate frowned at, saying that “it contravened administration of criminal justice law of Kogi State as amended.”

Subsequently, the trial judge adjourned the matter till August 9 for commencement of trial.

Though, until recently, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Melaye is seen as the most out spoken critic of the Buhari-led administration. He continues to maintain that his stance on national issues has been reason for the several brushes with the law and attempts to kill or jail him.

Melaye has, at one point or the other, been charged with certificate forgery, obstruction to justice and murder. Recently, he escaped assassination, claiming that his convoy was severally shot at by agents of the state, an incident the police denies. He, together with 14 other Senators, recently dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

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Politics

Officials report fight between Somalia’s Jubbaland region, central govt

Published

11 hours ago

December 11, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

After Jubbaland staged an election against the advice of the Mogadishu administration, officials claimed on Wednesday that fighting had broken out between the federal government and the semi-autonomous Jubbaland region of Somalia.

“This morning, federal forces from Mogadishu in Ras Kamboni, using drones, attacked Jubbaland forces,” Adan Ahmed Haji, assistant security minister of Jubbaland, told a press conference in Jubbaland’s capital Kismayu.

Response requests were not immediately answered by Interior Minister Yusuf Ali or Information Minister Daud Aweis of the national administration.

Jubbaland, one of Somalia’s five semi-autonomous republics that borders Ethiopia and Kenya, elected regional president Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe to a third term in late November.

Jubbaland has the potential to be one of Somalia’s richest districts due to its location and natural resources, but for more than 20 years, violence has kept it permanently unsettled.

There are no explicit guidelines in the Somali constitution regarding the establishment of recently formed federal entities or their interactions with the national government.

Politics

Ghana’s ex-president Mahama returns to power after close contest with former VP

Published

3 days ago

December 8, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following his challenger Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia’s concession on Sunday, former Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama, has made a political comeback by winning the country’s presidential election.

In a region where voters are seeking leadership change due to economic hardship, rising inflation, and depreciating local currency, the outcome of Ghana’s general election is yet another setback for the ruling party.

The 66-year-old Mahama, who presided over Ghana as president from 2012 to 2016, presented Bawumia as carrying on the policies that caused the country to experience its worst economic crisis in a generation.

After defaulting on most of its foreign debt, the world’s second-largest cocoa grower and significant gold producer agreed with the IMF last year for a $3 billion rescue.

“I have, this morning, received a congratulatory call from my brother Dr. Bawumia, following my emphatic victory in Saturday’s election. Thank you, Ghana,” Mahama said in a post on X social media.

Bawumia told a news conference from his home that he had contacted Mahama to congratulate him and that the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mahama’s party, had also won the legislative election.

“The data from our internal collation of the election results indicate that former President John Dramani Mahama has won the presidential election decisively,” Bawumia said, adding that NDC also won the parliamentary election.

Bawumia said that to reduce tensions, he gave in before to the official outcome.

Scuffles had been reported in several local constituency centres before to his concession when polling station results were still being received.

“I am making this concession speech before the official announcement by the Electoral Commission to avoid further tension and preserve the peace of our country,” Bawumia said.

“It is important that the world investor community continues to believe in the peaceful and democratic character of Ghana,” he added.

Following Bawumia’s loss concession, hundreds of NDC supporters celebrated Sunday in the streets of Accra, the country’s capital.

According to preliminary findings, Mahama and the NDC party had a strong lead. Joy News stated that after preliminary results from 68 of 276 seats were tabulated, Mahama had more than 53% of the vote compared to Bawumia’s 45.16%.

Sammy Gyamfi, the national spokesman for the NDC, stated at a press conference on Sunday before Bawumia’s concession that Mahama was leading with around 56% based on preliminary internally collated figures from 38,896 of the 40,976 voting stations. According to him, the party seemed to be headed for about 185 of the 276 seats in Parliament.