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Ethiopia releases separatist group leader, Dawud Ibsa after 11 months of house arrest

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In Ethiopia, the chairman of separatist group, Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Dawud Ibsa, has been placed on house arrest by the Ethiopia government since April 2021.

The news of his release was revealed by one of the leaders of the separationist group OLF, Shigut Geleta.

The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) is an Ethiopian political party established in 1973 by Oromo nationalists to promote self-determination for the Oromo people inhabiting today’s Oromia Region and Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia.

Mr. Ibsa was arrested in his residence at Addis Ababa, after an illegal search was carried out in his home and electronic equipment seized.

“It’s difficult to say he is fully released, but there is a big change,” Geleta said.

He also said he was optimistic about the release of other leaders of the party.

Ethiopian authorities and leaders of the OLF have been at loggerheads since they were allowed to enter the county after being removed from the terrorist list after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed resumed office in 2018.

The authorities accused the OLF of secretly working with the OLA rebel group, which they have party denied.

Ibsa’s arrest came hours after the OLF released a statement rejecting the resolution by the council of ministers naming “TPLF” & “Shene” as terrorist organizations.

The group “judged the resolution a deliberate work to stifle a peaceful process and to subvert political dialogue, and also the election”.

The police did not permit anyone to leave or enter Dawud Ibsa’s residence since he was under house arrest. However, there were serious concerns over Dawud Ibsa’s wellbeing as there were thoughts of him running out of food and other important items.

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Politics

Nigerian Air Force adds 34 Italian planes, helicopters

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Nigeria’s air force is acquiring 24 Italian-made M-346 attack jets and ten AW-109 Trekker helicopters as part of a fleet renewal strategy, a spokesperson said on Monday.

Air Force spokesperson, Olusola Akinboyewa, said in a statement that a team led by Nigeria’s Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar met with executives from Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A, the manufacturer, in Rome who confirmed the first three M-346 aircraft were expected to be delivered by early 2025, with subsequent deliveries running until mid-2026.

The Trekker helicopters are expected by early 2026, Akinboyewa said.

“The M-346 and Trekker acquisitions are key steps towards fleet renewal,” Abubakar was cited as saying, emphasizing the need for a maintenance hub in Nigeria to provide long-term support, particularly for the M-346 fleet.

Nigeria, which has been fighting a 15-year Islamist insurgency against Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the northeast, as well as attacks by armed bandits in the northwest, has increased military spending in recent years.

Nigeria received two “Huey” helicopters in June to go with the two Trekkers it had previously purchased and the twelve American-built A-29 Super Tucano light attack jets it had been given in 2021 to combat rebels.

Wing Loong II drones manufactured in China are still awaiting delivery.

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Politics

Cameroon prohibits discussing 91-year-old President Biya’s health

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In response to growing suspicion that 91-year-old President Paul Biya was ill, Cameroon has banned any talk regarding Biya’s health, according to a letter released by the interior ministry.

The reports that the president had been unwell were brushed off as “pure fantasy” by the administration, which released comments earlier this week stating that he was in good condition and on a private visit to Geneva.

Paul Atanga Nji, the interior minister, stated that talking about the president’s health was a matter of national security in a letter to regional governors dated October 9.

“Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to have any discussion about the president’s condition in the media going forward.” The whole weight of the law would be applied to offenders, Nji stated.

He gave the governors orders to form teams to keep an eye on social media and private media broadcasts.

If Biya passed away or was too sick to hold office, the oil- and cocoa-producing nation of Cameroon—which has only had two presidents since gaining independence from France and Britain in the early 1960s—would probably be faced with a difficult succession situation.

The National Communication Council, Cameroon’s media regulator, could not be reached for comment at this time. Many criticised the action as an example of state censorship.

“The president is elected by Cameroonians and it’s just normal that they worry about his whereabouts,” said Hycenth Chia, a Yaounde-based journalist and talk show host on privately owned television Canal2 International.

“We see liberal discussions on the health of Joe Biden and other world leaders, but here it is a taboo,” he told Reuters.

Committee to Protect Journalists, an advocacy group for press freedom, expressed its deep concern.

“Trying to hide behind national security on such a major issue of national importance is outrageous,” said Angela Quintal, head of the CPJ’s Africa Program.

Since early September, when Biya attended a China-Africa summit in Beijing, she has not been sighted in public. His absence at a summit in France last weekend, which was scheduled, fuelled even more public speculation about his health.

President Biya is one of several long-serving African leaders, including Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, who has been in office since 1982, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame is also gradually evolving into the group.

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