Metro

Finnish authorities to file charges against Nigerian separatist Simon Ekpa

Published

13 hours ago

November 28, 2024

Finland authorities have set a May 2025 deadline for prosecutors to file charges against Nigerian separatist, Simon Ekpa, who was arrested last week on allegations of engaging in terrorism-related activities.

A statement issued by a Senior Detective Superintendent in the Finland National Bureau of Investigation,
Mikko Laaksonen, confirmed that Ekpa’s case was gradually progressing in the Päijät-Häme District Court.

Ekpa, a self-styled Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), was arrested by Finland’s Central Criminal Police last week alongside four other individuals on suspicion of terrorism-related offenses, incitement to violence and of financing terrorist activities.

In a statement on his arrest, the police in the European country alleged that Ekpa utilised the social media to incite violence in Nigeria’s South-East region, targeting civilians and government officials.

Giving a timeline on nature of the investigation into the case, Laaksonen, stated that the court has given a May 2025 deadline for the prosecutors to file charges against the suspects.

“Due to the ongoing investigation, no additional information can be shared. The district court has scheduled May 2025 for the prosecution to present possible charges,” Laaksonen said, adding that both Ekpa and the Finnish authorities could request a re-evaluation of the case after two weeks.

“In typical remand situations, a re-evaluation hearing can occur no earlier than two weeks from the last hearing, should the involved parties request it.

“International cooperation is part of the investigation due to the nature of the case, but no further comments can be made at this stage,” he explained.

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Metro

Zambia: Sampa abandons legal challenge in PF’s leadership tussle as Registrar of Societies recognizes Chabinga

Published

1 day ago

November 27, 2024

Isaac Dachen

President of a Patriotic Front (PF) faction, Miles Sampa, has withdrawn his legal challenge against two of his adversaries, Robert Chabinga and Morgan Ng’ona, in a dramatic twist in the leadership saga of the faction.

The Matero Member of Parliament took the steps in documents filed on November 25, opting to abandon his interim injunction which had sought to stop Ng’ona, who claims to be PF’s General Secretary, from holding an elective meeting on August 11.

Sampa also dropped contempt of court applications against Chabinga, who had defied a November 9 High Court injunction by holding a press briefing at Radisson Blu Hotel in Lusaka, where he controversially declared himself the acting president of the PF.

Earlier this month, Sampa had sought permission from the court to initiate contempt proceedings against Chabinga, Ng’ona, and the Registrar of Societies.

His action followed allegations that the Registrar had altered PF’s official leadership records, removing Sampa as president and recognising Chabinga in a senior leadership capacity.

The tensions within PF escalated further when Chabinga expelled several top party officials, including former Republican President and PF leader Edgar Lungu, Sampa, and other prominent members, citing gross indiscipline.

In response to the purported expulsion, Sampa had accused Chabinga, Ng’ona, and the Registrar of Societies of deliberately flouting court orders and showing blatant disregard for judicial authority.

Metro

4 Barrick Gold employees arrested in Mali

Published

1 day ago

November 27, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Barrick Gold, a Canadian business, has claimed that four of its workers have been arrested and are being held pending trial in Mali.

In September, four senior local Barrick personnel were briefly detained in Mali, one of Africa’s leading gold-producing countries. Reuters was informed by a person with knowledge of the situation that the same staff members had been arrested once more.

Without going into specifics, the business stated in a statement that Barrick denies the accusations made against its workers. It also said it will keep working with the Mali administration to ensure the release of detainees and reach a peaceful agreement.

“Since September 30, the company had been actively seeking to finalize a Memorandum of Agreement that would guide Barrick’s partnership with the government in future, including the state’s share of the economic benefits,” the statement said.

In early November, Barrick CEO Mark Bristow told Reuters that the top-ranked gold miner in the world was certain that claims and disagreements with authorities would be settled by year’s end.

The business and finance ministry and the justice ministry’s economic division were in charge of the case, Mali’s mining ministry told Reuters, adding that it was not directly engaged.

The world’s leading gold miner, Barrick, told Reuters in early November that it was confident claims and disputes with authorities will be resolved by the end of the year.

Mali’s mining ministry told Reuters that it was not directly involved in the issue and that it was within the jurisdiction of the business and finance ministry and the economic division of the justice ministry.

After the miners agreed to pay the Mali government $160 million to help settle the tax dispute, they left the capital, Bamako.