Metro

Senegalese court jails former rebel leader, Cesar Atoute Badiate, for life

Published

2 years ago

June 15, 2022

A former Senegalese rebel leader, Cesar Atoute Badiate, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in the country alongside two other of his henchmen after they were found guilty of murder and armed insurrection over a massacre that claimed 14 lives.

Badiate, who was the leader of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), a rebel group fighting for autonomy in the southern Senegalese region, was sentenced in his absentia for the killings on Tuesday as he has been on the run since the massacre in 2018.

The two other convicts, Omar Ampoi Bodian, and a journalist, Rene Capain Bassene, were present in court to receive their sentence, their lawyer, Cire Cledor Ly, told reporters.

Ly said his clients had been the victims of a “judicial swindle,” arguing that those who had escaped the massacre had not recognized the accused, and that some of the defendants had been tortured.

The court in Ziguinchor, the main city in Casamance, also handed down six-month suspended sentences to two other defendants and acquitted 11 others.

The cases, according to local media, was as a result of an uprising on January 6, 2018, when 14 men were rounded up and executed by Badiate’s men as they went to cut wood in a protected forest near Ziguinchor.

The Casamance rebel fighters used the forest as a base and the Senegalese authorities accuse them of financing their activities by trafficking the wood, as well as in cannabis.

But the rebel group has consistently denied any involvement in the massacre, accusing corrupt local officials of carrying out the attack only to implicate them.

Casamance, Senegal’s southernmost region, is almost separated from the rest of the country by the state of The Gambia and has a distinct culture and language derived from its past as a former Portuguese colony.

The MFDC has led a low-intensity separatist campaign since 1982 that has claimed several thousand lives, but the conflict was mostly dormant until Senegal launched a major offensive last year to drive out the rebels.

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Metro

Zambian govt successfully repatriates trafficked toddler from Mozambique

Published

23 minutes ago

November 23, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Zambian government has announced the successful repatriation of a one-year-eight-month-old child who was trafficked to Mozambique.

Making the announcement at a media briefing held at the Ministry’s head office in Lusaka on Friday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, Angela Kawandami, expressed relief and joy at the child’s return, following the abduction from Lundazi District in October 2023.

Kawandami revealed that the case was reported to Lundazi Police Station on October 28, 2023, and following intense investigation, the child was trailed to a house in a care facility in Tete, Mozambique, before being repatriated.

Kawandami emphasized government’s commitment to protecting children’s rights, citing the Children’s Code Act of 2022 and the Anti-Human Trafficking Act of 2008 as essential tools in combating child trafficking.

“These laws mandate the state and relevant actors to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of children, especially those at risk of trafficking,” she said.

She further highlighted the role of Zambia’s National Referral Mechanism in ensuring a coordinated, multi-sectoral response to trafficking cases.

“Through effective collaboration between the Ministries of Community Development and Social Services, Home Affairs and Internal Security, the Zambia Police Service’s Anti-Human Trafficking Department, and Interpol, the child was returned safely after a year of continuous efforts,” she narrated.

She urged the public to remain vigilance and report suspected trafficking cases, noting the increasing threat of human trafficking.

Also speaking at the press briefing, the Director for Anti-Human Trafficking in the Ministry of Home Affairs Boris Mulengu, praised the strong cooperation between Zambia and Mozambique, stressing the importance of intergovernmental collaboration in combating trafficking.

Meanwhile, the child’s mother expressed heartfelt gratitude for her child’s safe return, acknowledging the emotional toll the abduction had caused.

She thanked the government and all involved agencies for their unwavering dedication to reuniting her with her child.

Metro

Finland-based Nigerians in panic as authorities search for Simon Ekpa’s sponsors

Published

4 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Some Nigerians based in Finland have been thrown into panic mode following the arrest and detention of the self-styled Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRIGE), Simon Ekpa, who was arrested on Thursday by Finnish authorities on terror-related charges.

Ekpa was arrested alongside four other individuals by Finnish authorities on suspicion of terror-related activities, including incitement to violence and financing terrorism.

The dissident had made himself infamous by using the social media to promote violent activities in southeastern Nigeria, including attacks and murder of civilians and security personnel.

According to some Nigerians in European country, following the arrest of the separatist leader and the four individuals suspected to be sponsors of his group known as IPOB-AutoPilots, the police have begun a manhunt for other sponsors, thus creating panic in the Nigerian community and those who may have had dealings with the agitator.

Several sources who spoke to journalists, said Nigerians in the European country are afraid of commenting on the arrest of Ekpa over fear of being attacked.

A Nigerian community leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said that the Igbo community in the was gravely affected by the violent acts of the secessionist group.

“Everyone is afraid to speak about Ekpa’s arrest. The key people in Finland and the Igbo community at large are not ready to lend their voices either,” he said.

He added that some persons were being accused of reporting Ekpa to the police and were being threatened.

“A particular person they accused now, they’re after him. This happened before he (Ekpa) was even remanded; what will happen when they imprison him? Everyone is afraid. These people are very deadly.”

Another Nigerian who spoke acknowledged that there was serious tension among Nigerians in the country.

“People don’t want to speak about Ekpa for fear of being hunted by his followers. We believe that they will hunt whoever comes out to talk about their leader. But the Finnish Government is trying to get rid of the situation.”