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Somali court acquits journalist charged with circulating false news

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A Somali court has discharged and acquitted a freelance journalist who had been detained in Somalia for 56 days for allegedly “circulating false” news that exposed corruption among government officials.

The journalist, Mohamed Bulbul was also cleared of all charges by the Banadir Regional Court on Friday after it found him not guilty of all charges against him.

According to the Somali Journalists Syndicate where Bulbul also works as information and human rights secretary, the court said Bulbul’s detention was unlawful.

His arrest and detention had caused public outrage, with Amnesty International saying he was accused of “bringing the State into contempt” and for “circulating false and tendentious news.”

Bulbul was first arrested on August 17 following an investigative report he wrote alleging corruption by Somali police in a training programme funded by the European Union.

The Secretary General of the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), Abdalle Mumin, who commended the court for releasing the journalist, said his arrest and detention were illegal in the first place.

Mumin said Bubul was arrested illegally with no warrant, then tortured and held without communication for 56 days because he exposed corruption by police officials who had participated in the training funded by the EU which provides training to the Somali Police Force and the Somali National Army under the auspices of the European Union Capacity Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP Somalia).

According to SJS, Bulbul was not allowed access to family and counsel and was also physically abused. The group added that Bulbul had been taken to the hospital for the physical abuse he suffered in detention.

Bulbul, who spoke to his colleagues upon his release, said he was picked up by security officials following the release of a report that alleged police corruption in an EU-funded training programme.

He said his report revealed that funds intended for the police were misappropriated by senior police officers undergoing training in Mogadishu.

Metro

10 persons on FBI wanted list arrested in Nigeria– FG

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The Nigerian government has confirmed that at least 10 persons who were on the wanted list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and on the watchlist of the Interpol have been arrested while attempting to sneak into Nigeria.

Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who revealed this during the unveiling of the Technology Innovation Complex at the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters, Abuja on Tuesday by President Bola Tinubu, said the wanted persons were arrested after intense intelligence.

The minister said the newly-installed facility at the centre would ascertain the risk level of persons entering the country, detect irregular migration patterns, and monitor unmanned borders in hard-to-reach areas nationwide.

“In the last couple of days, there were 10 people who were on the interpol and immigration wanted list who were apprehended in one week,” Tunji-Ojo told the President.

“Before now, those people would have entered Nigeria, caused terror. But we have now told them that under the new leadership, Nigeria is a no-go area for any criminal element,” he explained.

Tunji-Ojo further stated that aside from an installed solar power plant of 0.5KWs, 250 trained officers maintain eight-hour shifts to monitor the borders round the clock.

“We decided to do an end-to-end solution. One that has an energy solution to power this facility. The 0.5KW solar power plant is 100 per cent ready here and it has been connected to the facility to power it.

“Also, the human factor is fundamental because you can build a structure, but how about the human element?

“What we’ve been able to do is to train 250 officers. As I speak, we run shifts of eight hours three times a day which is 24/7 surveillance,” he said.

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Metro

Zambia: Ex-President Lungu alleges political manipulation after barring from 2026 poll

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Former Zambian President, Edgar Lungu, has described his ban from participating in the 2026 presidential election by the Constitutional Court as political manipulation rather than constitutional principles.

Lungu who reacted to the decision of the court to bar him from future elections, described the verdict as anticipated but reflective of political interference but vowed to focus on a ‘Plan B’ strategy following the Constitutional Court judgment.

Lungu who bared his mind in a statement issued on Tuesday in Lusaka, said the verdict was anticipated but reflective of political interference.

“We find ourselves at a critical juncture in our nation’s history, a moment marked by deep reflection and, I dare say, a profound sense of our common identity and destiny. The verdict rendered today was expected,” Lungu stated.

“For months, the hands of political manipulation have, with undeniable force, steered us toward a conclusion foreseen not by the merits of reasoned argument or constitutional fidelity but by the weight of orchestrated design and political machinations.”

Lungu however, urged Zambians to revisit the sequence of events leading up to the judgment, claiming his exclusion from politics was driven by calculated political interventions.

“It began with a petition that sought to exclude me from the political arena—not through the natural verdict of the people on the ballot paper, but by the calculated intervention of political forces sponsored by political players,” he explained.

The former president also accused unnamed actors of restructuring the judiciary to achieve their objectives.

“Yes, specific judges were expelled in order to retain specific judges specifically for today’s judgment! We saw decisions cloaked in procedural justifications concocted by that same unmistakable hand of expediency.

“Of course, we all witnessed calculated judicial reshuffles by politicians for their plan to land here today.

“Democracy, my fellow citizens, is not merely a system of governance but the lifeblood of our national identity.”

Lungu also announced that a “Plan B” had been initiated and would focus on upholding the power of the people.

“Plan B will prove that no machination can extinguish the power of the Zambian people and that institutions must serve the public, not the ambitions of a few,” he emphasized.

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