Politics

Nigeria: Proscribed separatist group, IPOB takes stand against sit-at-home protest

Published

1 year ago

August 13, 2023

In Nigeria, members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) Saturday warned against the continued sit-at-home protest in the Eastern part of the country.

According to reports, IPOB also distributed notices to the public on the cancellation of the exercise which usually takes place on Monday.

In a statement titled “Monday weekly sit-at-home: An unpleasant phase of a bygone history that must never be replicated as echoed by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” IPOB’s spokesman, Mr. Emma Powerful, reiterated IPOB’s position to discontinue the practice.

The group said: “Any person or persons talking about a non-existent sit-at-home in the southeast is an enemy of the people and shall be dealt with accordingly.

“The exercise also aims to inform the people that sit-at-home is not only “dead” but will also never again be invoked or deployed as a tool of civil disobedience in the group’s quest for self-determination,” he added.

The self-acclaimed leader of the controversial separatist group, Nnamdi Kanu, who is currently in the custody of Nigeria’s secret police, had last month written a letter to Finland-based agitator, Simon Ekpa, ordering him to end the sit-at-home in the South-East region of the country

The sit-at-home protest every Monday has not only disrupted commercial activities but has led to violence, killings and destruction of properties in the five states that make up the geopolitical zone.

The statement reads in part: “It is to be stated for the umpteenth time, for those who may feign ignorance of the laws governing the conduct expected of IPOB family worldwide, that our supreme leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has ordered the permanent end to Monday sit-at-home in the south-east.

“Those purporting to be running a Biafra Government in Exile, from somewhere in Finland, also known as Autopilot are not IPOB members and their activities do not represent the views of Kanu, rank and file IPOB membership nor ESN operatives”.

Nigeria has had a number of separatist groups spring up since her political independence in 1960. The cry for self-determination amongst various ethnic groups represents the recent wave intensified since 2015 when President Muhamadu Buhari came into power.

Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

4 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.