Musings From Abroad

Russia’s Wagner rebellion lingers, but what’s in it for Africa?

Published

1 year ago

June 24, 2023

There are concerns that the reported revolt of the Russian mercenary— Wagner Group against the state could significantly affect diplomatic relations of some African countries, notably, Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), and Burkina Faso, amongst others.

Wagner’s head, Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday accused the Russian army of shelling his fighters. He later released a series of messages from late Friday into Saturday, claiming that he and his mercenary troops had entered the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and taken control of its military sites.

In reaction, Russian President Vladimir Putin has labelled the Wagner uprising a “stab in the back”, and vowed to punish “traitors”, even as the Russian forces step up to repel the mutiny.

The African dimension of the development is apt as both Mali and the CAR have openly engaged Wagner in their fights against terrorism with Wagner forces stationed on their soil despite contradictory positions by the United Nations, the United States, and France.

Should Mali be worried about fallout? A political analyst quoted by Reuters, Bassirou Doumbia, said “(Wagner’s) presence in Mali is sponsored by the Kremlin and if Wagner is at odds with the Kremlin … naturally Mali will suffer the consequences on the security front.”

Another expert on the subject, Yvan Guichaoua, who is a senior lecturer at the Brussels School of International Studies, said: “(The) exact consequences for Mali really depend on factors largely unknown such as the organisational autonomy of Wagner and their chain of command, and, of course, whether things escalate or not between (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Wagner.”

Similar circumstances exist in CAR, where the government has been assisted by hundreds of Russian operatives, including several from the Wagner Group, in fighting multiple rebel insurgencies since 2018.

Burkina Faso, another country faced with terrorism, through its defence minister, Colonel Kassoum Coulibaly, last month denied that Wagner forces were on the ground for its fight against terrorism despite reports in Western media.

According to leaked US records, Wagner has operated in at least eight different African countries over the past ten years, including Mali, Libya, and the Central African Republic.

Mali in its part has severed relations, notably with France in recent months to keep up its ties with Russia. Will the Wager revolt inspire a change in diplomatic stands in the continent, particularly with defence ties in the wake of rising anti-France postures in the Sahel? Time will tell as the events unfold.

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Musings From Abroad

Finnish court imprisons Nigeria’s Simon Ekpa for aiding terrorism

Published

13 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian separatist leader based abroad, has been placed under detention by the Päijät Häme District Court in Finland on suspicion of inciting others to commit acts of terrorism.

According to the local daily, Helsingin Sanomat, the court rendered the ruling on Thursday following his arraignment by the Central Criminal Police for his involvement in the terror attacks that have afflicted the southeast area of Nigeria.

“The police suspect that the man has promoted his efforts from Finland with means that have led to violence against civilians in the region of South-Eastern Nigeria,” stated Otto Hiltunen, the crime commissioner and investigation head.

“The man has carried out his activity, among other things, on his social media channels.”

Hiltunen also informed the court that the police suspected four additional individuals in Finland of funding Ekpa’s activities.

According to the story, Ekpa is of Nigerian descent and was born in the Finnish city of Lahti.

His offence occurred between August 23, 2021, and November 18, 2024, according to court documents cited in the publication.

Ekpa is not the only person the police have arrested. In February 2023, they caught him at a private Lahtian flat, but he was freed the same day.

Through the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, Ekpa has continued to be outspoken on social media, raising money and agitating for a Biafran nation to secede. In the southeast part of Nigeria, both factions have been involved in acts of violence, murders, and maimings.

Since gaining formal independence in 1960, Nigeria has seen the emergence of several separatist organisations. The latest surge of calls for self-determination among different ethnic groups has been louder under its immediate previous President Muhammadu Buhari.

Musings From Abroad

Malian singer Rokia Traore arrested in Italy, to be sent to Belgium

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

After Italy’s top court denied her appeal, well-known Malian singer, Rokia Traore, who was detained in Rome in June due to a global child custody dispute, will be sent over to Belgium in the next few days, her attorney announced on Wednesday.

The 50-year-old Traore is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR and one of Africa’s most well-known vocalists.

“Rokia suffered an injustice. She was arrested without the Belgian criminal court hearing her voice. Now, the battle for Rokia’s rights moves to Brussels,” lawyer Maddalena Del Re said in a statement to Reuters.

The attorney also stated that in its decision late Tuesday, Italy’s Court of Cassation upheld an extradition decision from the European Court of Justice.

Under a European arrest order, Traore was taken into custody on June 20 at the Fiumicino airport in Rome. In October 2023, she was given a two-year prison sentence in Belgium related to a dispute over her daughter’s custody.

She had flown to perform outside Rome’s Colosseum, and she has been imprisoned in Civitavecchia, close to the Italian city, since her detention at Fiumicino.

Lawyer Del Re said that because a conviction was rendered without the defendant’s presence, the Belgian process goes against both international norms and Italian constitutional standards.

After she disregarded a court order to turn over her baby to her Belgian father, the singer’s divorced ex-partner, she was initially taken into custody in France in 2020 on a Belgian arrest warrant.

She disobeyed orders not to leave France until her extradition case was handled by taking a private jet to Mali months after being conditionally released. Mali is where her daughter resides.