Metro

HRW report indicts Burkina Faso’s military of tortute, killing civilians

Published

1 year ago

June 30, 2023

Global human rights group, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has indicted the Burkina Faso military of engaging in torture, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances of civilians in the country.

In a report released on Thursday, the HRW said the military had been known to terrorize communities in the country’s northeast this year.

“For instance, the violence took place between February and May across the province of Séno was reportedly carried out by the military,” the report noted.

It added that observers identified at least 27 people who were either summarily executed or disappeared and then killed, most of them members of the Fulani ethnic group.

The report by the New York-based group is coming in the wake of a massacre in April of which residents say security forces killed at least 150 civilians in Karma, a northern village near the Mali border.

“In one account, 10 men in the village of Gangaol, all of the Fulani ethnic group, were hauled away in the backs of trucks, pushed out, and fired upon,” the watchdog report said.

“In the cases we documented, most of those who have been victims of these crimes were from the Fulani ethnic group,” a senior regional researcher at Human Rights Watch, Ilaria Allegrozzi, said.

“The Fulani people in Burkina Faso and Mali have been accused of collaborating with Islamic extremists, and as a result have often been targeted by security forces and others, he noted.

“The upsurge in violence comes as the nation’s government recently pledged to double its number of volunteer auxiliary military units, known as VDPs, to 100,000.

“The recruitment of VDPs has coincided with an increase of abuses by both sides.

“Just as Burkinabe soldiers strike villages suspected of harboring extremist elements, the presence of army recruiters in a Burkina Faso community often invites violent intimidation by armed groups.

“I think it’s also important to recognize that they are fighting a legitimate war,” Allegrozzi added.

“Executions and disappearances by Burkina Faso’s army are not only war crimes, but they breed resentment among targeted populations that fuel recruitment to armed groups”, he stated.

Deputy Africa Director at Human Rights Watch, Carine Kaneza Nantulya, who contributed to the report, said, “Burkina Faso should ensure that provost marshals, who are responsible for discipline in the armed forces and detainees’ rights, are present during all military operations.”

She stressed that the country’s transitional authorities should work with the U.N. Human Rights office to hold offenders within its military’s ranks accountable.

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Metro

Following backlash, Nigerian govt withdraws treason charges against minors

Published

3 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigerian government has officially withdrawn the treason charges it entered against some minors who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest that spread across the country from August 1 to the 10th.

The nation was thrown into shock on Friday when the Nigeria Police presented 76 protesters at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on treason. Among the suspects were four minors who slumped before they could be arraigned before the court.

This caused serious uproar in the country with Nigerians condemning the government and calling for the unconditional release of the kids and the dismissal of the charges against them.

The decision to withdraw the charges against the underage accused came following a directive by President Bola Tinubu who ordered the immediate withdrawal of the charges and an in-depth investigation into what led to the arrest and detention of the minors.

Tinubu had also ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) to officially take over the case file as well as review the cases following public outcry that came with the arraignment of the minors.

The charges were finally withdrawn on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja through an application for discontinuance filled by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the AGF.

According to Abubakar, the discontinuance application was based on provisions of sections 174(1), (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

The DPPF also applied for further proceedings to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266(b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Childs’ Rights Act.

In response, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Fanala (SAN), who stood in for the accused as well as other defence lawyers in the matter, did not oppose the applications which promoted the judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, to strike out the charges, while the four affected minors were also delisted from the charge sheet.

Metro

Zambia: President Hichilema urges traditional leaders to invoke rainmaking powers amid drought

Published

20 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema, has called on traditional leaders to call upon their rainmaking powers by praying for rain as the nation continues to face the menace of drought.

Hichilema, who made the plea while speaking during the Shikaumpa traditional ceremony of the Ila people in Namwala on Sunday, expressed hope for divine intervention and sufficient rains.

“We pray that this year, God will give us rains, sufficient rains, so we can grow more food, so we can take care of the things, the assets that we keep,” the President stated.

He noted that he was informed of certain chiefs known for their rainmaking abilities, including Senior Chief Mwamba of Northern Province, Chief Sailunga of North-Western Province and Mwami Monze from the Southern Province and urged them to use their powers to invoke rain, adding that the chiefs should continue their prayers for rain, believing that “God will hear our cry.”

The President also encouraged not only the chiefs but also the churches and the entire nation to join in prayers for rain.

“All of us, the churches, everybody, we must pray for rains so that we can take care of God’s people properly,” he said.

The head of state further urged farmers to intensify efforts at planting crops and maximizing their harvest for national food security once the rain comes.

The drought in Zambia in recent
seasons have left 84 districts severely impacted, leading to food shortages and a worsening electricity deficit due to low water levels.