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Gambian court sentences five ex-spies to death for murder committed during ex-President Jammeh’s regime

Published

2 years ago

July 14, 2022

Five former spies who were members of the Gambian Intelligence Service have been sentenced to death for the murder of a political activist during the regime of former President Yahya Jammeh.

The sentence was given on Wednesday by a High Court in Banjul, Justice Kumba Sillah-Camara who pronounced the sentence on the accused who included Yankuba Badjie, the former head of the National Intelligence Agency, (NIA), after finding him guilty of murdering an “important member” of the opposition United Democratic Party,
Ebrima Solo Sandeng, in 2016, on the orders of the dictator Jammeh.

Also convicted alongside Badjie were
the NIA’s former operations chief, Sheikh Omar Jeng, as well as other officials of the agency, Babucarr Sallah, Lamin Darboe and Tamba Mansary, who were sentenced on the same charges.

During the sentencing, the court heard that Sandeng was arrested during an April 2016 demonstration against Jammeh and was murdered in custody two days later after having been beaten and tortured.

The murder of the opposition figure triggered a serious political upheaval in the tiny West African country which galvanised a political movement that eventually ousted Jammeh after ruling the country for 22 years.

The trial and conviction of the five ex-spies which began in 2017, was not the only of such trials tied to crimes committed under Jammeh’s brutal regime as a former aide, Yankuba Touray, was tried and sentenced to death in 2021 for the 1995 murder of finance minister Koro Ceesay.

Another former Jammeh accomplice, Bai Lowe, went on trial in April in Germany, on accusations of crimes against humanity, murder and attempted murder, while former interior minister, Ousman Sonko, has been under investigation in Switzerland since 2017, and another Jammeh hitman, Michael Sang Correa, was indicted in 2020 in the United States.

Jammeh himself has been accused of various crimes including rape, use of death squads, and of ordering the disappearances of political enemies.

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Ivory Coast to create $500 million green financing fund

Published

5 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ivory Coast will establish a $500 million green financing fund to assist sustainable growth, the IMF said.

Africa’s 54 countries have been worst hit by climate change, although emitting less pollution than developed nations. They get only 1% of yearly global climate financing.

The African Green Banks Initiative aims to develop a $1.5 billion ecosystem of green investment facilities by 2030, including Ivory Coast’s new facility.

The Global Environment Facility, the Green Climate Fund, the Ivory Coast government, multilateral development banks, development finance organisations, and possible private sources will all contribute to the facility’s capitalisation.

The leading cocoa-growing country in the world, West Africa, has been drafting new legislation to help other green finance projects, such as a body to regulate carbon credit management.

The consequences of climate change have disproportionately affected Africa, making cyclones, floods, and droughts worse in recent years.

A 30-month, $1.3 billion loan agreement for Ivory Coast under the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility was authorised by the executive board in March.

According to the IMF, the funding agreement will help the Abidjani administration implement its pledge to lessen the negative consequences of climate change.

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1,172 Nigerians killed, over 1,000 kidnapped in nine months— NHRC

Published

1 week ago

November 14, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has put the figures of Nigerians killed and kidnapped by non-state actors from January to September 2024, at 1,172 and 1,463 respectively.

A new data released on Wednesday by the organization reveal that the month of May saw the 298 persons killed, making it the highest, while March recorded the highest number of abductions with 499 kidnappings.

These data which was presented at a workshop on the state of human rights in Nigeria by the commission and the European Union, in Abuja, attributed the rise in kidnappings, killings and child abandonment in Nigeria to the negligence and failure of the state to protect its citizens.

While presenting the data, NHRC Senior Human Rights Adviser, Hillary Ogbonna, gave a breakdown of what he described as the alarming rise in human rights abuses, including kidnappings, killings and child abandonment.

“By January 2024, we already had 150 kidnappings and 55 killings associated mainly with non-state actors. What has become the norm is the killing of law enforcement officers,” Ogbonna said.

“We started with seven policemen killed in January. From victims’ perspectives, we had quite a number of victims for human rights violations for January.”

Also speaking at the event, the NHRC Executive Secretary in Nigeria, Tony Ojukwu, said:

“In recent years, we have witnessed alarming trends and threats against those who dare to speak the truth to power.

“It serves as a stark reminder that the protection of human rights is an ongoing struggle that requires continuous vigilance, action and cooperation from all sectors of the society,” Ojukwu said.

A delegation from the EU which also made a presentation, reiterated its commitment to support Nigeria to overcome these challenges, while urging the Federal Government to work with the armed forces to end this trend.

“The European Union will continue to work around the world through diplomacy,” the Head of EU Delegation, Zissimos Vergos, said.h