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Stories emerge senior Nigerian lawmaker may have staged own ‘kidnap’

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Nigerian lawmaker, Senator Dino Melaye, who reports say was kidnapped, may have staged same to avoid making appearance at the courts on Thursday.

Sahara Reporters, an online news platform, writing on Friday said, “Contrary to those claims, Melaye’s relatives and many senators have told SaharaReporters that he was never kidnapped but only staged a walk into a bush to avoid being charged before a Kogi High Court.”

The drama surrounding Melaye’s disappearance turned full cycle Friday when the lawmaker wrote on via his Twitter handle: “I thank God once again for escaping another dangerous attack. I also thank Nigerians for their prayers and show of Love. Spent 11 hours in the wilderness traumatized but God preserved me. God is the best and in whom ONLY I trust. They will continue to try. WE SHALL OVERCOME!!!”

SlamReportsAfrica had on Thursday reported how a fellow Senator, Ben Bruce, broke the news of Melaye’s ‘kidnap’ 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.”

Read Also: Nigerian official accused of encouraging multi-million naira fraud elected into African court

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).

Politics

Coup: Regional bloc, ECOWAS might intervene in Sierra Leone ‘if need be’

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Amidst a wave of military coups in the West African sub-region, a delegation of the ECOWAS Commission has hinted at likely bloc intervention in Sierra Leone following a failed coup over the weekend.

A chief of the commission and officials of the Nigerian government were received by Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, after Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the head of the 15-member sub-regional bloc, sent a message to Bio through Omar Alieu Touray, the head of the Ecowas Commission.

Gunmen last week exchanged fire for several hours with security forces in what the government attributed to “renegade soldiers.” Meanwhile, the police promised a “reward” to anyone providing information leading to the capture of 34 suspected fugitives.

“ECOWAS is ready and committed to supporting the people of Sierra Leone, including to strengthen their national security and the deployment, if need be, of regional elements,” Touray said.

The visit by the envoys appears to be a show of support for the government of Sierra Leone in the wake of the fatal attack that rocked the country’s capital, Freetown, on Sunday.

ECOWAS commended Bio’s and his government’s leadership in putting an end to what he described as a “very unfortunate incident.”

Concern has been raised by the wave of coups that have swept through Africa in the last three years, particularly in the West African bloc. The bloc has seen military takeovers of democratically elected governments in 2023 in Niger and Gabon, where troops removed Mohamed Bazzoum and Ali Bongo, respectively.

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Another Tunisian opposition leader, Moussi begins hunger strike in prison

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Another Tunisian opposition leader, Abir Moussi has begun a hunger strike in prison to protest what her lawyers described as a violation of her rights to freedom and political activity.

Moussi, who is a prominent opponent of Tunisian President, Kais Saied, was last month sentenced after police arrested her at the presidential palace entrance on suspicion of assault intended to cause chaos, viewed as part of a crackdown on opposition politicians by some watchers.

In a statement, her party, the Free Constitutional Party (PDL), cautioned against “attempts to fabricate legal obstacles to remove her from participating in the presidential elections” that are anticipated to take place the following year.

In a statement, her attorneys said that Moussi would go on a 16-day hunger strike to draw attention to the issue of violence against women in Tunisia. She is an advocate of the late president Zine El Abidine ben Ali, whose overthrow in 2011 was brought about by widespread demonstrations; an uprising subsequently extended throughout the Middle East, dubbed “the Arab Spring”.

In a similar move in September, embattled Tunisian opposition leader, Rached Ghannouchi, who has been a political prisoner since April, also threatened to begin a hunger strike in captivity.

Moussi faces charges of plotting against state security alongside other opposition figures who are in jail. She had accused Saied of staging a coup in order to close the elected parliament and impose rule by decree.

President Saied has been accused of suppressing dissenting voices in the nation since taking office. This year, the police has detained over 20 political figures, including Ghannouchi, on suspicion of trying to compromise national security.

More than 20 prominent politicians have been detained by police this year; some are a accused of being involved in plots against state security. “Terrorists, traitors, and criminals” is how Saied has characterised the people under arrest.

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