Local media report that a meeting scheduled for April 22 at the headquarters of the general staff—expected to include several army officers—was first postponed and later cancelled after the invited officers failed to appear.

According to Radio France Internationale (RFI), a large number of people were seen gathering at the Mogho Naaba Palace, the seat of traditional authority in Burkina Faso. Among them were army personnel and families of missing civilians, further highlighting the growing tension in the West African country.

A cabinet meeting was also held on April 24 at the presidential palace under tight security. Sniffer dogs and helicopters were deployed in the area during the meeting.

Some military camps were placed under high alert. Military vehicles were stationed at the entrance of the General Baba Sy military camp in the southern part of the capital.

The government of Captain Ibrahim Traoré has called for mass demonstrations on April 30 in support of the regime. The main objective is to condemn what the government calls “Western interference,” particularly following accusations by U.S. General Michael Langley that Burkina Faso’s gold reserves were being diverted to fund its security apparatus.

On April 22, Burkina Faso’s military government announced it had foiled a “major plot” to overthrow the junta leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré.

Authorities say they discovered the plot after intercepting communications between a high-ranking Burkinabé military officer and terrorist leaders.

Security Minister Mahamadou Sana stated on national television that the conspirators included current and former soldiers, along with terrorist collaborators. He identified Captain René David Ouédraogo as one of the soldiers involved in the plan. Ouédraogo is currently on the run.

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The tragic incident occurred on Thursday and quickly went viral, with footage capturing the final moments of the entertainer as he appeared visibly distressed before collapsing.

Disturbing, who was also a cobbler and musician, had gained prominence through his active involvement in the Justice for Mohbad movement.

In a statement shared on TikTok, his wife, Omowunmi, revealed that he struck his head against a stone during the fall.

She explained that she was in the kitchen at the time when neighbours alerted her to the emergency.

“Yesterday morning, my husband was on TikTok Live while I cooked his food. Suddenly, he had a seizure, fell, and hit his head on a stone. Blood was coming out of his head. A young boy and some neighbours saw him, thought he had fainted, and poured water on him. They called me from the kitchen,” she said.

He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors placed him on oxygen. However, he sadly passed away on Friday morning.

Omowunmi further revealed that the late TikToker had a medical history of seizures and was undergoing treatment, dismissing online speculation that his death was the result of a spiritual attack.

“The last time he had a seizure was in February. It is purely a medical issue,” she said.

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Mac-Albert Hengari was arrested on Saturday after allegedly attempting to bribe the victim, now 21, to withdraw the case against him, the police say.

Hengari, 59, who has denied any wrongdoing, appeared in court on Monday and was denied bail.

This is the first major scandal for Namibia’s first female President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, since she took office last month.

The statement from the president’s office did not indicate the reasons for the dismissal but said Hengari had also been dismissed from the National Assembly.

Hengari was nominated to parliament by the president to represent the ruling party, Swapo.

He is under investigation for multiple charges related to the case including kidnapping, rape and assault, police say.

On Monday he appeared before a magistrates’ court in the capital Windhoek facing a charge of obstructing the course of justice.

He and his co-accused will remain in custody until 3 June when the next hearing is scheduled. They were denied bail on the grounds that they could be a flight risk and could seek to contact witnesses.

The opposition Independent Patriots for Change said Hengari’s arrest “on allegations of rape, kidnapping and forced abortion” was a “profound failure of leadership and exposes the hollowness of government rhetoric on gender-based violence”.

It said the case came against a backdrop of “widespread gender violence”, with 4,814 gender-violence cases reported last year. The country has a population of three million.

The party also criticised the vetting process, saying the president had appointed Hengari “despite a criminal investigation having allegedly been opened in November 2024”.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah last month unveiled a cabinet described as ground-breaking for female representation – with nine out 14 members being women, including the vice-president.

The 72-year-old won November’s election with a 58% share of the vote.

She is a long-term member of Swapo – which has been in power since the country gained independence in 1990 after a long struggle against apartheid South Africa.

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Nwachukwu was found guilty of culpable homicide resulting in the death of his wife on April 8, 2022.

The judge held that the prosecution had proven the burden of proof placed on it by law and subsequently found the defendant guilty.

Nwachukwu was arraigned on June 3, 2022, by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF), on behalf of the Federal Government, on a 23-count charge.

The charges included culpable homicide punishable with death, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, criminal intimidation of children, spousal battery, and others.

During the trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses, including two children of the late Osinachi, who testified as the fourth and fifth prosecution witnesses (PW4 and PW5), respectively. The prosecution also tendered 25 documents as exhibits before the court.

The defendant testified in his defense and called four other witnesses, tendering four exhibits.

Before sentencing, the defendant’s counsel, Reginald Nwali, pleaded with the court to be lenient in its judgment. Similarly, the prosecution counsel, Mrs. Aderonke Imala, urged the court to give force to the law as stipulated.

Justice Nwosu-Iheme subsequently sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on Count 1, while he was sentenced to two years in prison each on Counts 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 18.

The court also sentenced the defendant to six months in prison on Count 10, three years in prison on Count 11, and fined him N500,000 and N200,000 on Counts 6 and 7, respectively.

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The World Bank made this projection in its Africa Pulse report, released on the sidelines of the ongoing Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC.

The report, among other findings, painted a dire picture of poverty in Nigeria, noting that while economic activity has shown some positive signs, the underlying challenges associated with resource dependence and fragility are expected to escalate poverty levels. This requires focused and effective governance reforms and inclusive economic policies.

The report noted that while Nigeria saw higher-than-expected economic growth in the final quarter of 2024, particularly in its non-oil sector, the country’s status as a resource-rich and fragile nation means it faces a concerning outlook for poverty reduction.

The report indicates that poverty rates in resource-rich, fragile countries, including Nigeria, are expected to increase by 3.6 percentage points between 2022 and 2027. This makes Nigeria part of the only group in Sub-Saharan Africa with a projected rise in poverty.

The report stated: “Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest extreme poverty rate globally, and a large share of the poor is concentrated in a few countries. About 80 percent of the world’s estimated 695 million extreme poor resided in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, compared to 8 percent in South Asia, 2% in East Asia and the Pacific, 5 percent in the Middle East and North Africa, and 3 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

“Within Sub-Saharan Africa, half of the 560 million extreme poor in 2024 resided in four countries. Non-resource-rich countries are expected to continue reducing poverty faster than resource-rich countries.”

“Thanks to higher prices of agricultural commodities, non-resource-rich countries will see higher growth overall, despite fiscal pressures. Conversely, resource-rich countries are not expected to grow at the same rate given decelerating oil prices. As a result, resource-rich countries are expected to see less progress in terms of poverty reduction.”

“Importantly, poverty in resource-rich, fragile countries (which include large countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria) is expected to increase by 3.6 percentage points over 2022–2027, being the only group in the region with increasing poverty rates.”

“This follows a well-established pattern: resource wealth combined with fragility or conflict is associated with the highest poverty rates—an average poverty rate of 46% in 2024, 13 percentage points above non-fragile, resource-rich countries.”

“Meanwhile, non-resource-rich, non-fragile countries saw the biggest gains in poverty reduction since 2000 and fully closed the gap in poverty with other non-resource-rich countries by 2010.”

Consequently, the report suggests that for resource-rich countries like Nigeria, improving fiscal management and developing a stronger fiscal contract with citizens is crucial.

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The authorities had previously said that only eight soldiers were killed.

The revised figure makes it the deadliest known attack since insurgents began operating in northern Benin at the beginning of the decade.

The attack has been claimed by an al-Qaeda-linked group – Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, (Jnim), which is based in Mali but has in recent years expanded its operations to neighbouring countries.

The jihadist group had said it killed 70 soldiers in raids on two military posts in the north, according to intelligence group SITE.

Jnim is one of several jihadist groups operating in West Africa’s Sahel region, especially Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where the military governments are struggling to contain the insurgency.

Benin and Togo have seen a rise in jihadist activity in recent years, as groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda spread to the south.

“Heavy losses for the nation,” wrote presidential spokesman Serge Nonvignon in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Another government spokesperson, Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji, said that Benin was determined to continue the fight against the jihadists.

“We won’t give in… I can assure you that sooner or later, sooner or later, we will win,” he said.

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The three countries, all under military rule, have officially exited ECOWAS after more than a year of diplomatic tensions.

Relations between ECOWAS and the trio have remained strained since military takeovers occurred in Mali in 2020, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Niger in 2023.

Following the coup in Niger, ECOWAS imposed severe sanctions on the country, including border closures, a no-fly zone for all commercial flights, and the freezing of central bank assets.

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Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said the coup attempt was led by current and former soldiers working with “terrorist leaders”. The intention was to attack the presidential palace last week, he added.

The aim of the plan was to “sow total chaos, and place the country under the supervision of an international organisation”, Sana said on state television on Monday.

It is the latest of several claims of attempts to remove the junta leader who seized power in 2022 amid increasing militant attacks.

Burkina Faso, like its Sahel neighbours, has been battling armed jihadist groups, with an estimated 40% of the country under their control

Despite promises by Capt Traoré’s military government to improve security and even seeking new security partnerships with Russia, the situation remains dire with frequent attacks from insurgents.

In this latest coup attempt, which happened last week but details of which have only just been released, Sana said the plotters attempted to use Burkinabe religious and traditional leaders to sway army officers into backing the plan.

“The manoeuvre was to culminate, according to the terrorist plotters’ plan, on Wednesday 16 April, 2025 in an assault on the presidency of (Burkina) Faso by a group of soldiers recruited by the nation’s enemies,” he said.

“The brains outside the country are all located in Ivory Coast,” he added, naming in particular two former army officers, believed to be behind the plot.

He said “sensitive information was passed on to “terrorists” to increase attacks on the military and civilians and “incite a revolt against the authorities”.

Last week, several military personnel, including two officers, were arrested for planning to “destabilise” the government, security sources told the AFP news agency.

The Ivorian authorities have not yet commented on claims it hosted the plotters but the Burkinabe junta has often blamed its southern neighbour of supporting its opponents in exile.

The latest claim comes months after Ouagadougou said it thwarted another “destabilisation” plot against the junta last November.

Burkina Faso, along with two other military-led states – Mali and Niger, has broken away from the regional West African bloc, Ecowas, to form a new alliance.

They have cut ties with former colonial power France and allied with Russia instead.

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Michael Sang Correa was found guilty of being part of a conspiracy to commit torture against suspected opponents while serving under a military unit known as the “Junglers”.

“The torture inflicted by Michael Sang Correa and his co-conspirators is abhorrent,” the Justice Department said.

It follows a week-long trial in Denver, Colorado, under a rarely used law that prosecutes crimes committed outside the US.

Correa was first detained in the US in 2019 for overstaying his visa, three years after settling in Denver where he reportedly worked as a day labourer.

The 46-year-old was charged in 2020 with torture and conspiracy to commit the torture of at least six people in The Gambia under a seldom-used law that allows people to be tried by the US judicial system for torture allegedly committed abroad.

He is the first non-US citizen to be convicted on torture charges in a federal district court for crimes committed overseas, according to the Department of Justice. The law has only been used twice since it was enacted in 1994 but both of the previous cases were brought against US citizens.

The Department of Justice said Correa “tried to evade responsibility for his crimes in The Gambia by coming to the US and hiding his past”.

“But we found him, we investigated him,” said Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

The evidence at trial showed that Correa and his fellow Junglers tortured five people accused of plotting a coup against Jammeh.

The victims, including high-profile members of Jammeh’s inner circle who fell out with him, told the jury how they were tortured by being electrocuted and smothered with plastic bags.

“Correa and his co-conspirators beat, stabbed, burned, and electrocuted the victims,” the Justice Department said.

Prosecutors on Tuesday said Correa “played an integral role in inflicting this torture on the victims”.

He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the five torture counts and the count of conspiracy to commit torture, the Justice Department said.

His lawyers had argued that Correa was a low-ranking soldier who only obeyed orders from his superiors.

But while the jury agreed that there was evidence that the Junglers lived in “constant fear,” prosecutors said at trial that some Junglers had refused to obey orders to torture victims.

“This conviction sends a clear message that perpetrators of human rights violations cannot escape accountability, regardless of where they commit their crimes,” said Sirra Ndow, chairperson of the Alliance of Victim-Led Organisations in The Gambia, (AVLO).

Jammeh, who seized power in 1994, foiled several attempts to overthrow him before he lost an election in 2016 to Adama Barrow in a surprise defeat.

His rule was characterised by allegations of human rights abuses and state repression, which he denied.

He went into exile in Equatorial Guinea after his defeat, though he remains an influential figure in The Gambia.

A Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), held between 2019 and 2021, unearthed the crimes committed under Jammeh and recommended prosecution for those who were involved.

Last year, Jammeh’s former interior minister was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a Swiss court for crimes against humanity.

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Last week, the RSF launched an intense ground and aerial assault on refugee camps surrounding the city of El-Fasher in an attempt to seize the last state capital in Darfur held by their rival, the Sudanese army.

The two warring sides have been locked in a bloody power struggle since April 2023. This has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and forced millions to flee their homes.

The UN said it had verified 148 killings between Thursday and Saturday, but warned the toll was much higher.

UN spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told the BBC their verification process was still ongoing and their number didn’t include Sunday’s violence.

“Credible sources have reported more than 400 killed,” said Ms Shamdasani.

At least nine humanitarian aid workers were among those killed, the UN said.

The refugee camps that surround El-Fasher – Zamzam and Abu Shouk – provide temporary homes to more than 700,000 people, many of whom are facing famine-like conditions.

In a statement released on Saturday, the RSF said it was not responsible for attacks on civilians and that scenes of killing in Zamzam were staged to discredit its forces.

The following day, the group said it had completed a “successful liberation” of the camp from Sudan’s army. The RSF accused the army of using Zamzam as “a military barracks, and innocent civilians as human shields”.

El-Fasher is the last major town in Darfur under army control and has been under siege by the RSF for a year. Sudan’s brutal civil war will enter its third year on Tuesday.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called on all parties involved to “renew their resolve to take meaningful steps towards resolving the conflict”.

Ahead of a conference on Tuesday in London to mark the conflict’s two-year anniversary, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced a £120m food and aid package for Sudan.

He said Sudan’s stability is “vital for our national security”.

The UK will co-host the talks alongside the African Union and European Union.

Gwaska Dankarami was said to have been a high-value target who reportedly served as second-in-command to an Islamic State-linked leader.

The alleged gang leader had been hiding in the Munumu Forest, with authorities reporting that several other criminal hideouts were also destroyed across the state on Friday.

His apparent death comes after bandits kidnapped 43 villagers and killed four others in a deadly attack on a village called Maigora in the northern Katsina State earlier this week.

The police had said that it deployed security forces in pursuit of the kidnappers.

However, this is not the first time Dankarami’s death has been reported.

In 2022, the Nigerian Airforce claimed to have killed him in a similar operation.

The Katsina State commissioner for internal security and home affairs, Nasir Mua’zu, said the killing was a significant milestone in the fight against banditry in the state.

“It is expedient to state that this successful mission has significantly disrupted the criminal networks that have long terrorised communities across Faskari, Kankara, Bakori, Malumfashi, and Kafur,” Mua’zu added.

Security forces said they had also recovered and destroyed two machine guns and locally fabricated shotguns.

In a separate operation on Thursday, security forces killed six bandits, including their commander, while several other bandits escaped with bullet wounds.

Seven motorcycles were also intercepted and recovered during the intelligence-led operation.

Katsina, the home state of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, has witnessed sporadic attacks by bandits and kidnappers that have claimed many lives.

The state governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, has expressed the government’s determination to eliminate criminals and ensure every forest is thoroughly monitored to protect residents.

The authorities said that the operations are part of a broader effort to restore stability in the state and the north-west region of Nigeria, which has witnessed repeated banditry attacks.

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Ahead of the vote, critics argued that the new constitution and electoral code were designed to give Oligui Nguema a comfortable pathway to the top job.

Some opposition heavyweights who could have posed a serious political challenge were excluded from the race.

His election victory consolidates his grip on power, nearly two years after he masterminded the demise of President Ali Bongo, whose family had been in power in Gabon since 1967.

Oligui Nguema, 50, faced seven other candidates, including former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-by-Nze, who served under the Bongo regime, and two stalwarts of the former ruling PDG party, Stéphane Germain Iloko and Alain Simplice Boungouères.

“Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema is elected [president] by absolute majority of votes cast, with 575,222 votes,” Interior Minister Hermann Immongault announced.

His main challenger, Bilie-by-Nze, received just over 3% of the votes.

More than seven out of 10 registered voters took part in the poll, which the authorities and some observers hailed as signifying the election took place transparently and peacefully.

There were complaints of instances of irregularities in the process, however.

At some polling stations the vote was delayed, while some voters on the electoral roll were not able to find where they were meant to cast their ballot.

Bilie-by-Nze said he was particularly concerned by claims that in some places unmarked ballot papers were not kept in a secure location, and that he feared they could be used to stuff ballot boxes.

Oligui Nguema’s victory brings him a seven-year mandate and the resources to tackle the corruption and bad governance that characterised the Bongos’ time in power.

The highly articulate former commander of the elite Republican Guard proved to be very popular among a population relieved to be rid of dynastic rule, promising to rid the country of the ill that had tainted Gabon’s image.

The small oil- and timber-rich central African nation is home to just 2.5 million people.

Despite its resources, about 35% of the population still live below the poverty line of $2 (£1.50) a day.

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Babagana Zulum called for more military assistance for soldiers fighting the insurgency.

The Nigerian government has downplayed the governor’s fears, saying security in the country has improved in the last 18 months.

Borno state has been at the centre of a 15-year insurgency by Boko Haram, which has forced more than two million people to flee their homes and killed more than 40,000.

At the height of its insurgency in 2015, Boko Haram controlled huge areas in Borno state before being beaten back.

The militant group gained international notoriety in April 2014 when it kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok, also in Borno state.

Following a relative lull, the militants have been targeting army bases, police stations and rural communities.

In January, an ambush by the Boko Haram breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), reportedly killed at least 20 Nigerian soldiers, while another attack in the same period left 40 farmers dead.

Governor Zulum said it was disheartening that the group now attacked and kidnapped people in many communities almost on a daily basis.

In a meeting with national security officials, he said that Borno State was “losing ground” against the jihadists.

Security analysts say the concentration of soldiers in north-western Nigeria to deal with banditry and kidnappings has led to a reduction in the number of troops on the frontline with Boko Haram in Borno and other parts of the north-east.

The fight against the militants became even more challenging after neighbouring Niger withdrew its troops from a regional force set up to tackle the jihadist group.

Another analyst, Hamisu Sani, told the BBC that it wouldn’t be easy to defeat Boko Haram, but it wasn’t impossible.

“No matter how our military weakens them, they can always regroup and will remain a threat,” he said.

“The solution would be to crush the fighters in their entirety – which is possible given the right support to our military.”

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On Sunday, Mali accused its northern neighbour of being a sponsor and exporter of terrorism after Algeria attacked one of its drones last week.

A strongly worded statement from Mali’s foreign ministry challenged Algeria’s earlier explanation that the unmanned surveillance aircraft had violated its airspace.

The statement described the downing of the drone as a “hostile premeditated action”. Algeria described the allegations as “lacking in seriousness [and they]… warrant no attention or response”.

Mali’s armed forces are fighting ethnic Tuareg separatists in the north. They have a stronghold in the town of Tinzaoutin, which straddles the Mali-Algeria border.

The shooting down of the drone raised diplomatic tensions, as Mali, along with its allies Niger and Burkina Faso, recalled their ambassadors from Algiers.

Last year, the three junta-led countries formed a regional bloc, the Alliance of Sahel States, known by its French acronym AES.

In their joint statement condemning Algeria, they said the shooting down of the drone “prevented the neutralisation of a terrorist group that was planning terrorist acts against the AES”.

Mali has also summoned the Algerian ambassador in Bamako over the incident, declaring that it would file a complaint with “international bodies”. It also withdrew from a regional security grouping that includes Algeria.

In its response on Monday, Algeria said it noted the Malian and AES statements with “deep dismay”. It described Mali’s allegations as an attempt to divert attention away from its own failures.

It also said this was the third violation of its airspace in recent months.

“Due to the repeated violations of our airspace by Mali, the Algerian government has decided to close it to air traffic coming from or to Mali, effective today,” Algeria’s defence ministry said on Monday.

Last Wednesday, Algeria acknowledged that it had shot down an “armed reconnaissance drone” close to Tinzaoutin saying it had “penetrated our airspace over a distance of 2km”.

But the junta in Bamako denied that the drone had violated Algeria’s airspace. It said that the aircraft’s wreckage was found 9.5km inside its borders.

Giving more details on Monday, Algeria said that the aircraft had entered its airspace “then exited before returning on an attack trajectory”.

Mali regularly accuses Algeria of giving shelter to Tuareg armed groups.

The north African country once served as a key mediator during more than a decade of conflict between Mali and the separatists. Their relations have soured since 2020 after the military took power in Bamako.

Algeria recently deployed troops along its borders to prevent the infiltration of militants and weapons from jihadist groups who operate in Mali and other countries in West Africa’s Sahel region.

The trip is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and promoting Ghanaian businesses abroad under the government’s Economic Diplomacy Blueprint.

As part of the visit, Mr. Ablakwa toured businessman, Sir Sam Jonah’s 501-hectare real estate development in River Park estate.

The project is a partnership between Dr. Jonah’s investment firm, Jonah Capital and Mobus Property and Houses for Africa.

The CEO of Mobus/Houses of Africa Nigeria, Kojo Ansah Mensah, welcomed the Minister on behalf of the project’s Ghanaian founders — Sir Dr. Sam Jonah, KBE, and Ehunabobrim Nana Prah Agyensaim VI, King of the Owirenkyi Kingdom.

Mr Ablakwa, who doubles as the North Tongu MP, commended Nigerian authorities, including the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, for their support in safeguarding investor interests.

He emphasised Ghana’s commitment to assisting its businesses abroad: “Let River Park be a clarion call for Ghanaian and Nigerian businesses to build legacies together,” he declared.

In a post on Facebook, Mr. Ablakwa touted the River Park Estate as an “enduring symbol of Ghanaian enterprise and cross-border collaboration,” and assured developers of diplomatic support to navigate local challenges in Nigeria.

Timothy Omotoso had denied the 32 charges in a trial that was broadcast live and gained huge interest across the country.

In 2018, one witness told the court she had been raped by the pastor, who ran a church in the city of Port Elizabeth, when she was 14 years old.

When delivering the verdict on Wednesday, the judge presiding over the trial said that Mr. Omotoso had been found not guilty because prosecutors had mishandled the case.

South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) shared a similar assessment, saying that “former prosecutors in the case acted improperly and the accused were not sufficiently cross-examined by the state.”

The NPA said it would now “consider its legal options” and that the drawn-out nature of the trial was partly down to Mr. Omotoso filing numerous legal challenges.

For his part, Mr. Omotoso told the media he thanked God for the verdict.

His co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zikiswa Sitho, were also found not guilty.

Mr. Omotoso was dramatically arrested at an airport in 2017 as he sought to leave the country.

His trial was the first prominent rape case to be broadcast live in a country where sexual violence is rampant.

The hearings attracted huge interest and raised difficult questions about victims’ rights, impartiality, and whether justice is best served by having television cameras in courtrooms.

Following Wednesday’s verdict, Mr. Omotoso will be deported to Nigeria, South African media outlet News24 reported.

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Outrage has spread in Somalia after an eight-year-old girl, who had been missing for six months, was found living with a man who said he was her husband.

The girl was reported missing by her family in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland last September.

Months later, it emerged the girl’s father had consented for her to be married to an adult named Sheikh Mahmoud.

Security forces surrounded the man’s house last week and forced they way in after he locked himself in a room with the girl.

The incident has sparked anger on social media and public protests in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

It has also prompted fresh debates about child protection laws, as currently there is no minimum legal age for marriage.

“What’s more shocking than the tragedy itself are the allegations of abduction and the fact that her family had no knowledge of her whereabouts for months,” Fadumo Ahmed, chairperson of leading rights group the Somali Women Vision Organisation, told the BBC.

“We trust the responsible institutions to take the right and necessary legal action.”

According to the eight-year-old’s uncle, she was taken from her home in the city of Bosaso last September by a female relative. This relative said she was escorting the child on a trip to see another a uncle.

But months later, a video surfaced online, showing the girl reciting the Quran.

Her family subsequently launched a search for the child – it is unclear why they did not do this sooner.

They discovered she was in the Carmo area, living with Sheikh Mahmoud.

Sheikh Mahmoud initially said he was solely teaching the girl the Quran. But after legal complaints were filed, he changed his statement, saying he had married the girl with her father’s consent.

When asked by the BBC how he justified marrying an eight-year-old, Sheikh Mahmoud said that the traditions of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, along with that of the Shafi’i school of thought, allowed child marriage.

After the BBC questioned his reasoning – citing opposition from numerous Somali Islamic scholars  – Sheikh Mahmoud maintained that he would not abandon the marriage.

Puntland’s police and human rights authorities intervened on 25 March, removing the girl from the man’s home after her family filed a complaint.

The girl is now back with her family, Puntland’s police force told the BBC.

Additionally, an investigation into the case has been launched, government officials have said.

Child marriage remains prevalent in Somalia.

According to a report published in 2020 by the United Nations Population Fund and the Somali government, 35% of women aged between 20 and 24 in the country were married before the age of 18. In 2017 this figure stood at 45%.

The rate of child marriage is driven by various factors, including poverty, insecurity and traditional customs that often disregard a girl’s age in wedding arrangements.

In an attempt to tackle this issue, Somalia’s ministry of women and human rights submitted a draft child rights bill to parliament in 2023.

However, the proposal was sent back after MPs objected to certain provisions. The bill is expected to be reintroduced, but there is no clear timeline for this.

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The West African nations, run by juntas that have taken power in coups in recent years, have formed an alliance known as the Confederation of Sahel States (AES).

The grouping expelled French and other Western forces and turned towards Russia for military support.

Their foreign ministers will visit Moscow on April 3 and 4 and hold meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at his invitation, the statement said.

“The Moscow meeting represents an important step in establishing strategic, pragmatic, dynamic, and supportive cooperation and partnership relations in areas of common interest between the AES and Russia,” the ministries said.

It referred to this week’s visit as the first session of “AES-Russia consultations.”

The three countries’ armies are fighting a jihadist insurgency that has spread across the region south of the Sahara since it first took root in Mali 13 years ago.

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Assembled locally by Belayneh Kindie Metal Engineering Complex, with components imported from China, the new fleet is equipped with an integrated Intelligent Transportation System and Fare Collection System technologies, as reported by the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday.

These electric buses have now begun providing a convenient commuting option for the city’s residents along the new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes.

The buses are designed to enhance the public transport network in Addis Ababa. They are environmentally friendly, producing zero emissions, and offer a comfortable ride with ample capacity for passengers, according to Ethiopian Minister of Transport and Logistics Alemu Sime.

Minister Sime also noted that the electric buses will use dedicated bus lanes, ensuring faster travel for commuters. They are expected to significantly alleviate the current public transport shortage in the city and provide a more comfortable, efficient, and sustainable commuting option for residents.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Logistics reports that over 100,000 electric vehicles are already on the road across the country, with plans to increase this number to 500,000 within the next decade. This initiative aims to replace 95% of fuel-powered vehicles with electric alternatives.

To accelerate the transition to electric mobility, the Ethiopian government imposed a ban on the import of gasoline and diesel vehicles early last year in response to the global surge in fuel prices.

“In cabinet somebody’s sleeping at 10 hours – the question is where were they… if you can start conking there? To me that is a crime, a serous crime,” Hichilema said during a swearing-in ceremony for a new minister.

He did not spell out what exactly he meant by “indulgence” but local media have interpreted this as referring to excessive alcohol drinking and late-night partying.

The president warned that such behaviour risked exposing state secrets and delayed service delivery to the public.

Hichilema won a landslide victory in 2021 with ambitious plans to turn around the economy of Africa’s second largest copper producer.

Since assuming office, he has sacked several senior officials including ministers over performance issues.

Speaking on Monday as he welcomed newly appointed Local Government Minister Gift Sialubalo, the president said he has now gone public with his concerns about cabinet members after saying it in private “over and over”.

Without naming anyone, he said that some ministers “develop a knack” of revealing confidential state information on social media “especially during happy hours”.

“I have advised cabinet that we must have a self-censure. When you’re in public office you must have… self-control, not to over-indulge,” the president added.

Citing the Bible, he warned such behaviour could lead to self-destruction.

“So how do you participate in a meeting when you are sleeping? The message is very clear: you are not interested in cabinet deliberations on behalf of Zambians. So why are you sitting there?” he asked.

The president is expected to seek a second term in next year’s general election. He could face stiff competition from his predecessor, Edgar Lungu, who has mounted a political come back but is currently barred from running.

The Alliance of Sahel States began in 2023 as a security pact between the military rulers of the three countries, who all took power in coups in recent years. It has since grown into an aspiring economic union with plans for biometric passports and closer economic and military ties.

The levy was agreed on Friday and will take effect immediately. It will affect all goods imported from outside the three countries, but will not include humanitarian aid, the statement said. It will “finance the activities” of the bloc, it said, without giving details.

The move ends free trade across West Africa, whose states have for decades fallen under the umbrella of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and highlights the rift between the three states that border the Sahara Desert and influential democracies like Nigeria and Ghana to the south.

The juntas of the three countries announced plans to leave ECOWAS last year, accusing the bloc of failing to assist in their fight against Islamist insurgents and ending insecurity.

ECOWAS had imposed economic, political and financial sanctions on the three in a bid to force them to return to constitutional order, to little effect.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are some of the poorest countries in the world and have been overrun by an armed Islamist insurgency over the past decade.

The violence, committed by groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State, has killed thousands, forced millions to flee, and eroded faith in the democratically elected governments that initially struggled to contain it.

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Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province militants have mainly operated in the northeast of Nigeria, attacking security forces and civilians and killing and displacing tens of thousands of people.

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In the latest assault, Boko Haram insurgents and ISWAP fighters struck an army base in the Wajiroko area of Borno State at about 2100 GMT on Monday and set military equipment on fire, the sources said.

One of the soldiers in the Wajiroko brigade said at least four soldiers had been killed and several others injured, including the brigade commander.

Armed fighters in light tactical vehicles also stormed an outpost in Wulgo, a village about 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) from the Cameroonian border town of Fotokol, killing 12 soldiers and injuring a dozen others, Cameroon’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

A military source who asked not to be named told Reuters the raid that targeted soldiers who are fighting the insurgency as part of a multinational task force took place between midnight and 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

The source added the militants were suspected to have initially launched their attack using drones before advancing with a ground assault. “They looted an important stockpile of weapons,” the source said.

Videos shared on social media showed bloodied bodies lying on the ground after the attack, charred patrol vehicles and damaged buildings. Reuters could not independently verify those videos.

A Nigerian army spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. Cameroon army spokesperson Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo confirmed the attack but said the casualty figures were still unclear.

Makinta Modu, a member of a local militia recruited to help the Nigerian army, said in the Wajiroko attack militants overran an army “forward operation base”.

“Around 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) air force fighter jets came for reinforcement … and killed many of the ISWAP fighters that captured the military base,” Modu said. It was not clear whether the army had regained control over the base.

Although weakened by military assaults and internal fighting over the years, Boko Haram and ISWAP have stepped up attacks on military and civilian targets in Borno this year.

An Islamist insurgency has plagued the northeast of Africa’s most populous country for more than a decade, while kidnapping and banditry are rampant in the northwest and gang and separatist violence is common in the southeast.

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Mnangagwa, who took charge after a military coup that ousted longtime ruler Robert Mugabe in 2017, is facing growing dissent within his ZANU-PF party, which has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.

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Some veterans of the Southern African country’s war of independence have called for countrywide protests on March 31 to force Mnangagwa to step down. They accuse him of deepening the country’s economic crisis and plotting to extend his rule beyond 2028 when his second term is due to end.

Mnangagwa denies those accusations and on Wednesday warned against “people who want to disturb our peace” during a ZANU-PF meeting in the capital Harare.

Analysts say Mnangagwa appears to be increasingly worried about his grip on power has been trying to bolster his position by shaking up the military, police and intelligence leadership.

Tuesday’s removal of Anselem Sanyatwe, Zimbabwe’s second most powerful general and head of the army, was the third such reshuffle by Mnangagwa in recent months. Mnangagwa also removed the chief of police and head of Zimbabwe’s intelligence service.

Political analyst Eldred Masunungure told the privately owned Newsday newspaper that Mnangagwa appeared to be “protecting himself against a potential coup”.

The anti-Mnangagwa war veterans want to replace him with Constantino Chiwenga, a retired general who led the coup against Mugabe and is now the country’s vice president.

Although diminishing in number and advancing in age, the independence war veterans remain influential in Zimbabwe’s politics and retain strong ties with its security chiefs, after fighting alongside them during the liberation struggle.

In his previous role as head of the presidential guard under Mugabe, Sanyatwe played a key role in the 2017 coup. He also oversaw the deployment of soldiers who shot dead six people and injured many others during post-election unrest in August 2018.

Sanyatwe, a close ally of Chiwenga, has been appointed sports minister, replacing Kirsty Coventry, who was elected president of the International Olympic Committee on March 20.

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Among the eight listed countries, six are in Africa.

The global health agency warned that Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Haiti, and Ukraine could exhaust their supply of HIV treatments in the coming months.

“The disruptions to HIV programs could undo 20 years of progress,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference.

He added that this could lead to over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths.

Efforts to tackle HIV, polio, malaria, and tuberculosis have been significantly impacted by the U.S. foreign aid pause, implemented by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January.

The WHO-coordinated Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, which has over 700 sites worldwide, also faces imminent shutdown, the agency said. This comes at a time when measles is making a comeback in the United States.

The United States has a “responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding,” Ghebreyesus added on Monday.

Funding shortages could also force 80% of WHO-supported essential healthcare services in Afghanistan to close, the agency said in a separate statement.

As of March 4, 167 health facilities had shut down due to funding shortages, and without urgent intervention, over 220 more facilities could close by June.

The United States’ plans to exit the WHO have also forced the UN agency, which typically receives about a fifth of its overall annual funding from the U.S., to freeze hiring and initiate budget cuts.

The WHO announced on Monday that it plans to cut its funding target for emergency operations to $872 million from $1.2 billion in the 2026-2027 budget period.

The man, who has been named as 79-year-old Edgar Riches, died on Thursday after being struck in the accident on a main road in the capital, Nairobi.

Police detained a driver, who has since been released on bail.

They say he was driving a support vehicle that was travelling at the rear of President Ruto’s official convoy.

According to the police, the president’s detail had passed by the time the accident occurred.

Police spokesman Michael Muchiri told the BBC that Mr Riches had been visiting Kenya to see his sister and nephew who are residents of the country.

Kenya’s police initially gave his name as Edgar Charles Frederick – using his middle names.

A post-mortem found he had suffered multiple trauma, including severe injuries to the chest and head.

He was a charity worker from Poole in Dorset, who had regularly raised money for projects Kenya.

The police said the driver, who failed to stop after the incident, would appear in court following an investigation.

There has been an uproar on social media following Thursday’s incident.

While Kenyans are accustomed to roads being cleared for the presidential motorcade, this time around some have questioned why the convoy was so big and moving at such speed.

This not the first time a president’s or deputy president’s motorcade has killed or injured a pedestrian, and in a number of cases, members of the president’s travelling party have died.

But some believe more attention is being paid to this latest case because the victim is a foreigner.

A spokesperson for the UK High Commission said officials were aware of the reports and were seeking more information.

Videos posted on social media show a man in blue jeans and a light-coloured shirt lying bleeding on the road outside a busy shopping area.

Other pictures show the victim covered in a checked shawl, known locally as a Maasai Shuka.

Mr Muchiri told the BBC the vehicle belonged to the regional administration and was providing support to the presidential detail.

President Ruto held events in the vicinity of the scene on Thursday as part of ongoing political engagements with the public in the capital.

As a sign of commitment, the Burkinabe authorities have agreed to release 23 trucks of beans, which had been earlier seized as part of the blockade. Moreover, more truckloads of other cereals destined for Ghana will be released in the coming days.

Concerns had been raised that Ghana, a significant importer of cereals from its northern neighbour, could face short-term supply disruptions and potential price hikes in local markets due to the ban.

However, after President Mahama toured the AES region, Larry Gbevlo-Lartey expressed confidence that trust between Ghana and its neighbours had been strengthened.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Blessed Sogah on Connect Africa, the Ghanaian diplomat noted: “I think President Mahama has, you know, effectively ironed that out, and further discussions between the stakeholders from the two countries will concretise what needs to be done. I think it’s settled. For instance, there was a situation with 23 trucks and eight more that were seized. The 23 trucks have been released, and they have assured President Mahama that the eight will also be released very soon.”

On Monday, January 29, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) officially confirmed the departure of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, following a six-month grace period.

The statement emphasised the importance of regional solidarity, urging both member and non-member states to recognise national passports and identity cards featuring the ECOWAS logo.

When asked whether President Mahama is seeking to bridge talks between ECOWAS and AES in the context of possible negotiations for their return, Ambassador Gbevlo-Lartey indicated, “The visit of President Mahama has raised trust between Ghana and these countries.”

“And I think that, in that perspective, Ghana has a big role to play. They are very happy that they have at least one president they can trust. That’s why many believe that President John Dramani Mahama should now serve as the bridge.”

Ambassador Gbevlo-Lartey described the exit of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger as a sovereign decision but expressed hope that future engagements could reverse their tough stance and lead to their eventual return to ECOWAS.

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Trump, addressing the US Congress in his first speech since his return to the Oval Office, made the reference as he listed cuts made to what he said was wasteful expenditure.

“Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of,” Trump said, eliciting laughter from some US lawmakers.

A spokesperson for Lesotho’s foreign affairs department told the BBC that Lesotho enjoyed “warm and cordial” relations with the US.

Lesotho is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the US’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which gives favourable trade access to some countries to promote their economic growth.

According to the US government, the two countries traded goods worth $240m (£187m) in 2024, mostly exports from Lesotho to the US, in particular textiles and clothing.

Lesotho’s Foreign Affairs Minister Lejone Mpotjoane said it was “shocking” to hear a head of state “refer to another sovereign state in that manner”.

“To my surprise, ‘the country that nobody has heard of’ is the country where the US has a permanent mission,” Mpotjoane told the BBC.

“Lesotho is a member of the UN and of a number of other international bodies. And the US has an embassy here and [there are] a number of US organisations we’ve accommodated here in Maseru.”

Officials dismissed Trump’s remarks as “off the cuff” and a “political statement”, adding that they were “uncalled-for” given the good relations between the two nations.

“We maintain very warm and cordial relations with the US. They’ve got a mission in Maseru and we also have [one] in Washington,” foreign affairs spokesperson Kutloano Pheko told the BBC.

Mr Pheko was unable to confirm Trump’s comments on the funding that went to LGBTQ organisations, saying that as the money went directly to them, they would be best placed to comment.

Mpotjoane, on his part, confirmed that the country had been affected by Trump’s sudden decision to pause aid funding to countries around the world.

Many organisations, mostly non-governmental, were thrown into chaos after the Trump administration announced a permanent end to the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) funding as part of a wider cost-cutting drive to reduce US government spending.

Pepfar was launched in 2003 by then US President George W Bush and its finances are distributed via the US government’s main overseas aid agency USAID, whose funding has also been cut.

Lesotho is among those countries that benefited from Pepfar, its health ministry told South African publication GroundUp in February, with TB and HIV programmes among those receiving the critical funds.

But Mpotjoane declined to criticise this decision, saying it was the US’s “prerogative to cut aid if they want to”.

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SAPS spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Van Wyk, said the man was arrested on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at the busy airport after he was allegedly found to have swallowed cocaine with an estimated street value of R7.5 million.

A medical x-ray revealed that the suspect had ingested multiple objects suspected to be pellets containing cocaine.

“He is still releasing the pellets,” Van Wyk added.

The suspect is expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court soon.

This arrest comes just weeks after police apprehended two South African drug mules at the same airport, seizing cocaine worth an estimated R7.5 million.

Polygamy is part of Zulu culture, but King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has taken the unusual step of going to court to divorce his first wife, Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela.

“Everyone was puzzled. People were not expecting the king to go so far as to file for divorce,” Prof Gugu Mazibuko, a cultural expert at South Africa’s University of Johannesburg, told the BBC.

“In Zulu culture, there is no divorce. You are not supposed to chase away your wife,” she said.

Regarded as the “lion of the nation”, the Zulu king is the custodian of age-old traditions that place marriage and polygamy at the heart of royal success.

His role within South Africa may only be ceremonial, but he remains hugely influential, with a yearly government-funded budget of several million dollars.

The monarch – who grew up in neighbouring Eswatini, studied in the US and came to the throne in 2021 – seems to court controversy.

His coronation was challenged in court by his elder half-brother, who has been trying to snatch the crown from him.

His second marriage appears to be shaky, his attempt to take a third wife hit the buffers and there are also reports of another dalliance with a young princess.

However, the 50-year-old’s troubled personal life used to be discussed in hushed tones – that is until he filed divorce papers in December.

Prof Mazibuko acknowledged that historical records appeared to suggest that a Zulu monarch in the 20th Century had divorced one of his queens, but it had been a “top royal secret”, given royal divorce is not the norm.

“If a marriage does not work out, the wife will still live in the king’s homestead. She will be given her own space. She will not have a relationship with the king, but she and her children will be well-cared for.”

It was just before his accession to the throne – following the sudden death of his father and mother four years ago – that the then-Prince Misuzulu married Ntokozo Mayisela.

The two were already a couple and had two children together, but according to another cultural expert, Prof Musa Xulu of the University of Zululand, the decision to marry appeared to be hurried.

“It seems as though he felt he could not be a king without a wife,” he told the BBC.

Queen kaMayisela came from an “ordinary family” – as many of the wives of Zulu kings do – in a small mining town in KwaZulu-Natal province.

It was as a cabaret singer performing at a restaurant in the coastal city of Durban that she caught the royal eye, the academic said.

Her senior status in the family was made clear at the king’s state coronation in December 2022 when she sat by his side.

But her position is now under threat, with the monarch saying in court papers that they have not lived as husband and wife for at least year and their marriage has irretrievably broken down.

The palace followed this by sending out invitations for the king’s wedding to a new bride, Nomzamo Myeni, set to take place in late January. The bride-price, known as lobola, had already been paid in cattle – a prized asset in Zulu culture.

Queen kaMayisela did not take any of this lying down, instituting separate court action to halt the wedding, which was postponed as a result.

Her argument was that the king – known to his subjects as “Ingonyama”, meaning Lion – would be committing the offence of “bigamy” without first “converting” his civil marriage to her into a traditional Zulu marriage.

But the judge threw out her case, saying she had had a “turnaround” in attitude as she had already agreed her husband could take other wives.

He noted the monarch had already done so – marrying Nozizwe kaMulela, the MD of Eswatini Bank, in 2022.

Prof Mazibuko explained that polygamy was not initially part of Zulu culture, in fact the first two kings were bachelors.

But it was embraced by their successors – King Misuzulu is the ninth monarch of the Zulu nation – and has become part of Zulu culture.

“That’s how we build families, especially the royal family,” Prof Mazibuko said.

Queen kaMulela comes from an influential family in Eswatini and the marriage was apparently arranged to strengthen the ties between the royal families.

Yet it is unclear whether the pair are still in a relationship, as the high-powered banker has not been spotted at Zulu cultural events for a while – with speculation their final marriage rituals have not been completed.

The current king’s various marriage problems seem to stem from the fact that tradition has not been properly followed.

In the case of the first wife, he opted for a modern-day marriage, without a traditional wedding.

“For a marriage to be perfected under Zulu custom, there has to be a public gathering, with song and dance,” Prof Xulu said.

“You, as the bride, must lead with a solo song and the bride-maids dance with you, and you carry a spear which you give to the king – and then there is no going back.”

This has left Queen kaMayisela without the protection of tradition – and only the offer of monthly maintenance of $1,100 (£850) for a year, though she was likely to demand more before returning to the life of a commoner, Prof Xulu said.

In the case of the second wife, the academic said lobola had been paid in January 2022, but royal insiders suggest the king felt “those who went to pay didn’t have the authority to do so” – plus this union has not been marked with a public ceremony.

The fortunes of the would-be third wife, Nomzamo Myeni, remain unclear as the king failed to marry her in January despite the court giving the go-ahead.

Prof Xulu said that in Zulu culture a “postponed” marriage usually never takes place.

Though Ms Myeni is still being seen with the king, accompanying him to a state event last week where she was referred to as a queen, suggesting their wedding may take place once the king’s divorce goes through.

Yet as a commoner she would bring no powerful connections with her, which may be why one of the monarch’s aides recently confirmed to local media there was “a new queen-to-be” – Sihle Mdluli, who hails from the royal family of a small ethnic group in South Africa.

The aide suggested she might be named “the mother of the nation” – a title that would make her the most senior queen with her children likely heirs.

But Prof Xulu said he would not be surprised if that wedding also failed to take place, as the king’s relationships all seemed to run into trouble.

“I am not sure whether he was ready to be king, and whether he has good advisers,” the academic said.

He pointed out that the monarch had also been behaving erratically in his public life, sacking several senior officials in his retinue.

On top of this, he has installed himself as the chairman of the board of a financially lucrative land trust, of which he is the sole trustee.

The trust was controversially established shortly before South Africa became a democracy in 1994, giving it control of about 2.8 million hectares (seven million acres) of land in KwaZulu-Natal.

King Misuzulu has also suspended all members of the board, bar one, accusing them of being uncooperative.

He did this against the advice of the government, which pointed out that as chairman he would be required to account to parliament about the trust’s operations – something that would not be in keeping with his status as a constitutional monarch.

The dispute remains unresolved, giving the government a major political headache as it tries to avoid going head-to-head with the king.

Prof Xulu said he would not be surprised if at some point a powerful rival faction within the royal family launched a fresh bid to dethrone him by asking the courts to rule that he is not “fit and proper” to be king.

The monarch’s half-brother, Prince Simakade Zulu, who is the late king’s eldest son, has long coveted the crown, but his backers were outmanoeuvred by Misuzulu’s allies in succession discussions.

President Ramaphosa later gave Misuzulu a “certificate of recognition”, paving the way for him to be funded by the government.

But Prince Simakade’s supporters did not give up – going to the High Court to declare his state coronation “unlawful” – and won.

The court ruled that President Ramaphosa had failed to comply with the law, which required him to order an investigation into objections to Misuzulu’s accession.

The status quo remains, pending the outcome of an appeal.

The scandals have the potential to weaken the king’s position should it come to another tussle for the crown.

Though Prof Mazibuko noted there had always been fierce competition for the Zulu crown – except these days it takes place in court instead of a bloody battlefield.

“He is not the first king to go through a lot,” she said. “I hope he survives, and everything settles down.”

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Mass sexual violence has been widely documented as a weapon of war in the country’s nearly two-year conflict.

But Unicef’s report is the first detailed account about the impact of rape on young children in Sudan.

A third of the victims were boys, who typically face “unique challenges” in reporting such crimes and seeking the help they need.

Unicef says that, although 221 rape cases against children have been officially reported since the start of 2024, the true number is likely to be much higher.

Sudan is a socially conservative country where huge societal stigma stops survivors and their families from speaking out about rape, as does the fear of retribution from armed groups.

The Unicef report provides an appalling window into the abuse of children in the country’s civil war.

Perhaps its most shocking revelation is that 16 of the victims were under the age of five years, including four infants.

Unicef does not say who is responsible, but other UN investigations have blamed the majority of rapes on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), saying RSF fighters had a pattern of using sexual violence to terrorise civilians and suppress opposition to their advances.

The RSF, which is fighting this war against its former allies, the Sudanese Armed Forces, has denied any wrongdoing.

“The sheer scale of sexual violence we have documented in Sudan is staggering,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the UN’s fact-finding mission when its previous report was published in October.

According to evidence presented by international human rights groups, victims in the RSF’s stronghold of Darfur were often targeted because they were black African rather than Arab, apparently with the aim of driving them out of Sudan.

The UN humanitarian response for Sudan is already underfunded. Recent cuts in US aid are expected to reduce programmes to help the victims even further.

Harrowing details in Unicef’s report underscore the dire situation.

“After nine at night, someone opens the door, carrying a whip, selects one of the girls, and takes her to another room. I could hear the little girl crying and screaming. They were raping her,” recalls Omnia (not her real name), an adult female survivor who was held by armed men in a room with other women and girls.

“Every time they raped her, this girl would come back covered in blood. She is still just a young child. They only release these girls at dawn, and they return almost unconscious. Each of them cries and speaks incoherently. During the 19 days I spent there, I reached a point where I wanted to end my life.”

As a fractured nation at war, Sudan is one of the most challenging places on earth to access services and frontline workers.

The vast number of people displaced by the war has made women and children more vulnerable to attack – three out of four school-age girls are out of school, the UN says.

Trump government cuts end vital help

The devastating outcome of these crimes is aggravated by the fact that victims have few places to turn to for medical help, because many medical facilities have been destroyed, looted or occupied by the warring parties.

Recent US aid cuts may be endangering even the limited services available to protect children.

Unicef has been providing safe spaces for children through a network of local activists who have set up what are known as Emergency Response Rooms to deal with the crises in their communities.

The activists relied quite heavily on US aid, and most have been forced to shut down, according to a Sudanese coordinating committee that monitors them.

More broadly, the UN organization dedicated to protecting women’s rights says local organisations led by women are vital in delivering support to survivors of sexual violence. But they receive less than 2% of the total funding of the UN’s Sudan Humanitarian Fund.

The BBC learned that at least one of these local groups, known as “She Leads”, was forced to close when US funding was stopped.

It was not a big expense, measured in the tens of thousands of dollars, but enabled case workers to reach around 35 survivors a month, said Sulaima Elkhalifa, a Sudanese human rights defender who runs a government unit on combatting violence against woman and helped organize the private initiative.

Those who have been raped by armed men “don’t have the luxury of being depressed,” she told the BBC.

The demands of war – finding food, needing to flee – leave no space to deal with trauma, she added.

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Media Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

02 March 2025

JMPD OFFICERS APPREHEND ROBBERY SUSPECTS AND RECOVER ROBBED PROPERTY IN BRAMLEY VIEW

Five suspects, including three males and two females involved in a robbery that occurred in Orange Groove, were successfully apprehended by… pic.twitter.com/om4FVOYd70

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The fatality brings the number of confirmed cases in Uganda to 10.

The East African country declared an outbreak of the highly infectious and often fatal haemorrhagic disease in January after the death of a male nurse at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in the capital Kampala.

The WHO’s Uganda office posted late on Saturday on X that the ministry had reported “an additional positive case in Mulago hospital of a four-and-a-half-year-old child, who tragically passed away” on Tuesday.

Mulago is the country’s sole national referral hospital for Ebola cases.

The ministry said on February 18 that all eight Ebola patients under care had been discharged but that at least 265 contacts remained under strict quarantine in Kampala and two other cities.

Ebola symptoms include fever, headache and muscle pains. The virus is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissue.

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Officials at Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), a leading health agency on the continent, have said they are worried as the missing patients risk spreading the highly contagious disease that is suspected to have killed at 900 people in DR Congo last year.

The patients fled from facilities in Goma and Bukavu – two cities that descended into chaos as they were seized by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels over the past weeks.

“We were looted. We lost equipment. It was a disaster,” Dr Samuel Muhindo, in charge of a clinic in Goma, told the BBC.

Mpox – formerly known as monkeypox – can cause symptoms such as lesions, headaches and fever.

According to Africa CDC, since the start of this year almost 2,890 mpox cases and 180 deaths have been reported in the country, which has been at the epicentre of several recent outbreaks.

Dr Muhindo described how 128 patients had fled Goma’s Mugunga health centre in the wake of the fighting at the end of January.

His health workers had not been able to trace them as paperwork at the clinic was destroyed, he said.

At Bisengimana, a hospital in Goma that also treats mpox, looters took medicines and personal protective equipment.

Fires were lit outside the centre and when the perpetrators departed, patients’ medical records were left strewn on the floor.

The situation has been further complicated by the M23’s decision to close a network of camps in Goma where tens of thousands of people who had sought refuge from fighting in recent years.

They were given 72 hours to leave last week, although the M23 later said it was encouraging “voluntary returns”.

“Now we are afraid of an outbreak of the epidemic in the areas where the displaced people returned to,” Dr Muhindo said.

His fears have been echoed by the Africa CDC.

“Once again, we are calling really for the ceasefire and also the agency to establish a humanitarian corridor to facilitate the continuation of mpox interventions,” Dr Ngashi Ngongo, Africa CDC’s mpox incident manager, said on Thursday.

Over the last week, the Africa CDC says the number of missing mpox patients has risen by 100 as fighting escalates and the rebels take more territory.

Dr Ngongo added that a new variant of mpox with “high potential for higher transmissibility” had also been detected in DR Congo.

The country’s ability to respond to the disease has been hampered by the conflict, between the M23 and DR Congo’s army, as well as a lack of funding.

The mpox facility at Mugunga, funded by the UN children’s agency (Unicef) and UK Aid Direct, managed to reopen last week.

But it is already so overstretched that there are times when four or five patients have to share one bed.

“I first fled from Minova to Goma when the M23 rebels began to advance from there,” Sadiki Bichichi Aristide, a 23-year-old being treated at Mugunga along with two of his children, told the BBC.

“I began to fall sick in a [camp for displaced people]. It started with my fingers, and then I had lesions, which began to rupture on my hands. My neighbours told me to go to Mugunga with my children. I left my wife behind.”

He said he had seen “so many” people with mpox before he arrived at the clinic last week.

Dr Oummani Rouafi, Unicef’s Goma health specialist, told the BBC that the only reason Mugunga hospital had reopened was because staff had managed to hide some equipment and medicine from the looters.

But this had not been the case at many other treatment centres that had been completely ransacked, he said.

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Eid al-Adha, to take place in June, commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son on God’s command. Muslims mark the event by slaughtering sheep or goats. The meat is shared among family and donated to the poor.

Morocco’s cattle and sheep herds have decreased by 38% in 2025 since the last census nine years ago due to consecutive droughts, according to official figures.

“Our commitment to enabling you to fulfill this religious rite under the best conditions is accompanied by the duty to consider the climatic and economic challenges facing our country, which have led to a significant decline in livestock numbers,” the King said in a letter read on his behalf by religious affairs minister Ahmed Taoufiq on state TV Al Oula.

Performing the rite “under these difficult circumstances will cause significant harm to large segments of our people, especially those with limited income,” said the King, Morocco’s supreme religious leader.

Rainfall was 53% lower this year than the average of the last 30 years, causing a lack of pasture for livestock to feed on. Meat production has dropped, leading to higher prices in the local market and higher imports of live cattle, sheep and red meat.

The country has recently signed a deal to import up to 100,000 sheep from Australia.

In its 2025 budget, Morocco suspended import duties and a value-added tax on cattle, sheep, camels and red meat to keep prices stable in the domestic market.

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Journalists from across Africa are invited to apply for the award, which aims to uncover and promote fresh talent from the continent.

The winner will spend three months at the BBC headquarters in London, gaining skills and experience.

Applications close on 20 March 2025 at 23:59 GMT.

The award honours the legacy of Komla Dumor, a distinguished Ghanaian broadcaster and former BBC World News presenter, who died suddenly aged 41 a decade ago.

Dumor’s widow, Kwansema Dumor, said she was “proud” of her husband’s impact at the BBC, and also said her family were “thankful to the BBC for remembering him” through the prize.

The BBC is encouraging journalists from across Africa to apply for the prize, which seeks to promote and celebrate outstanding journalistic talent on the continent.

As well as receiving training, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to travel to a country in Africa to report on a story that they have researched, with the report broadcast to the BBC’s global audiences.

Known for championing robust, dynamic journalism, Dumor made a significant impact on Africa and the rest of the world.

The BBC is committed to continuing his legacy through the award by empowering journalists from Africa to tell original and nuanced African stories to international audiences.

Rukia Bulle from Kenya was last year’s winner.

During her placement, she travelled to a Senegalese village to report on the Baye Fall, an unorthodox Muslim minority who are often misunderstood by others in the wider faith.

Jonathan Munro, BBC News global director and deputy CEO, said: “We are proud to launch this year’s BBC News Komla Dumor award and the search for the next recipient.

“Marking its 10th anniversary is a testament to Komla Dumor’s powerful legacy of reporting on African stories with depth, insight and integrity.

“Past winners of the award reflect the exceptional talent across the continent so I look forward to welcoming this year’s winner and strongly encourage journalists to apply.”

Dumor was the presenter of Focus on Africa, the BBC’s first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences. It was broadcast on BBC World News, which has now merged with the BBC News Channel to create a single 24-hour TV news service.

He was also one of the lead presenters for BBC World News’ European morning segment.

He joined the BBC in 2007 after a decade of broadcast journalism in his native Ghana where he won the Ghana Journalist of the Year award.

Between 2007 and 2009 he hosted Network Africa on BBC World Service, before joining The World Today programme.

In 2009 Dumor became the first host of the African business news programme on BBC World News, Africa Business Report. He travelled across Africa, meeting Africa’s top entrepreneurs and reporting on the latest business trends around the continent.

In 2013 Dumor featured in New African magazine’s list of the 100 most influential Africans.

Previous winners:

• 2024: Rukia Bulle from Kenya
• 2023: Paa Kwesi Asare from Ghana
• 2022: Dingindaba Jonah Buyoya from Zambia
• 2020: Victoria Rubadiri from Kenya
• 2019: Solomon Serwanjja from Uganda
• 2018: Waihiga Mwaura from Kenya
• 2017: Amina Yuguda from Nigeria
• 2016: Didi Akinyelure from Nigeria
• 2015: Nancy Kacungira from Uganda

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Elita Mpofu, the victim, claims that her son-in-law, Tinashe Chiyangwa, physically assaulted her after discovering that his wife had received a gift from another man.

The incident, which took place on Valentine’s Day, has since escalated into a legal battle, with Elita dragging Tinashe to the Harare Civil Court to seek justice.

According to Elita, the confrontation began when Tinashe arrived at her home in a fit of rage. He was reportedly yelling and accusing his wife of infidelity after she received a gift from a male friend.

The mother-in-law attempted to intervene and calm the situation, but her efforts only aggravated Tinashe further.

“He pushed me to the ground and started assaulting me. He accused me of encouraging my daughter to engage in promiscuous behavior. Despite my daughter’s attempts to explain that the gift was merely a friendly gesture, he refused to listen,” Elita said.

She sustained a leg injury during the attack, which has left her traumatized and seeking legal recourse.

When given the chance to respond, Tinashe admitted to losing his temper but defended his actions, expressing frustration over the situation.

“I was angry because my mother-in-law allowed another man to give my wife a romantic gift on Valentine’s Day,” he said. “She knows that I paid lobola (bride price) for her daughter, yet she permits other men to approach her.”

While Tinashe acknowledged that his behavior was unacceptable, he emphasized that his anger stemmed from a sense of betrayal and disrespect.

The magistrate granted Elita a peace order, legally prohibiting Tinashe from harassing or approaching her.

In a letter seen by the BBC from India’s Drugs Controller General, Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi said permission to manufacture and export the drugs had been withdrawn.

BBC Eye found one pharmaceutical company, Aveo, had been illegally exporting a harmful mix of tapentadol and carisoprodol in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and Cote d’Ivoire.

India’s Food and Drug Administration said the company’s factory in Mumbai had since been raided and its entire stock seized.

The circular from Dr Raghuvanshi, dated to Friday, cited the BBC investigation in his decision to ban all combinations of tapentadol and carisoprodol, which was to be implemented with immediate effect.

He said this also came after officials had looked into “the potential of drug abuse and its harmful impact on population”.

Tapentadol is a powerful opioid, and carisoprodol is a muscle relaxant so addictive it is banned in Europe.

Carisoprodol is approved for use in the US, but only for short periods of up to three weeks. Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, insomnia and hallucinations.

The combination of the two drugs is not licensed for use anywhere in the world as they can cause breathing difficulties and seizures and an overdose can kill.

Despite the risks, these opioids are popular street drugs in many West African countries, because they are so cheap and widely available.

Publicly-available export data show that Aveo Pharmaceuticals, along with a sister company called Westfin International, has shipped millions of these tablets to Ghana and other West African countries.

The BBC World Service also found packets of these pills with the Aveo logo for sale on the streets of Nigeria, and in Ivoirian towns and cities.

Nigeria, with a population of 225 million people, provides the biggest market for these pills. It has been estimated that about four million Nigerians abuse some form of opioid, according to the nation’s National Bureau of Statistics.

As part of the investigation, the BBC also sent an undercover operative – posing as an African businessman looking to supply opioids to Nigeria – inside one of Aveo’s factories in India, where they filmed one of Aveo’s directors, Vinod Sharma, showing off the same dangerous products the BBC found for sale across West Africa.

In the secretly recorded footage, the operative tells Sharma that his plan is to sell the pills to teenagers in Nigeria “who all love this product”.

Sharma in response replies “OK,” before explaining that if users take two or three pills at once, they can “relax” and agrees they can get “high”.

Towards the end of the meeting, Sharma says: “This is very harmful for the health,” adding that “nowadays, this is business”.

Sharma and Aveo Pharmaceuticals did not respond to a request for comment when the BBC’s initial investigation was published.

India’s Food and Drug Administration said a sting operation saw Aveo’s entire stock seized and further production halted in a statement on Friday. Further legal action will be taken against the company, it added.

The agency said it was “fully prepared” to take action against anyone involved in “illegal activities that tarnish the reputation of the country”.

The FDA has been instructed to carry out further inspections to prevent the supply of the drugs, it said.

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That claim was made by a separatist Tuareg rebel alliance, called Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), which is battling the Malian government in the same region.

The FLA accuse Malian forces and Wagner mercenaries of intercepting two passenger vehicles travelling to Algeria from the Malian city of Gao and killing the civilians on board, including women and children.

In a statement, army chief Gen Oumar Diarra said the allegations “relayed by terrorist networks, allies and sponsors” follow other “unfounded” claims against state forces.

For many years, the Malian government has been struggling against both Tuareg rebels seeking a breakaway state in the north and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The military which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021 hired Russian mercenaries from the paramilitary group Wagner to help improve security in the country.

Both government forces and the Russians have often been accused by rights groups of committing gross human rights abuses against civilians, which they deny.

Last month, Mali was one of three countries under military rule to leave the West African regional bloc Ecowas, after refusing its demands to restore civilian rule.

The withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger dealt a huge blow to Ecowas, which at 50 years old is considered Africa’s most important regional group.

Mali’s military leaders also ended ties with former colonial power France, whose troops left the country in 2022 after more than a decade fighting Islamist insurgents.

The following year, all 12,000 UN peacekeepers left Mali on the junta’s instructions.

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Jugnauth “is under arrest”, FCC spokesperson Ibrahim Rossaye told reporters, adding that he will be detained in Moka detention centre in Moka district in central Mauritius.

The arrest followed searches by FCC detectives of different locations, including Jugnauth’s residence, during which they found and seized 114 million Mauritius Rupees ($2.4 million), the FCC said.

Jugnauth’s lawyer, Raouf Gulbul, told reporters early on Sunday that his client has been provisionally charged in an alleged case of money laundering. Gulbul said his client denied the charges.

In November, Mauritius’ new Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam announced an audit of the public finances days after questioning the accuracy of some government data compiled by the previous administration.

The country’s former central bank governor was detained last month and released on bail after he was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud.

An Indian Ocean archipelago, Mauritius is an offshore financial centre that markets itself as a link between Africa and Asia.

The collapse took place near Kéniéba, in Mali’s western, gold-rich Kayes region.

The victims had climbed into open-pit areas left by industrial miners to look for scraps of gold when the earth around them caved in, a gold miner’s union leader told Reuters.

This is Mali’s second deadly mining accident in three weeks, after at least 10 people were killed when a mining tunnel flooded late in January.

There are conflicting reports on the number people who died in Saturday’s accident.

A local police source told the AFP news agency that 48 people were killed in the collapse, while the head of an industry union told Reuters there were 43 victims.

“Some of the victims fell into the water. Among them was a woman with her baby on her back,” the local police source told AFP.

Rescue workers have been able to retrieve the bodies, local sources told the BBC.

Mali is one of the biggest gold producers in the world.

Accidents are common in the country as much mining activity is unregulated, with miners using unsafe methods to dig for gold.

Just over a year ago, at least 40 people were killed after a tunnel collapsed in a mine.

It is also common for illegal miners – mostly women – to try to recover gold from abandoned sites due to poverty.

A spokesperson from the country’s mines ministry confirmed to Reuters that the accident had taken place between the towns of Kéniéba and Dabia, but declined to give further details.

Ministry teams are drawing up a report at the scene, Reuters reports.

The collapse on Saturday occurred at an abandoned site formerly operated by a Chinese company, according to AFP.

Beijing is heavily invested in developing Mali’s mining industries, with the approval of its government.

Since Mali is rich in natural resources, including gold, iron ore, manganese, lithium, and uranium, it is an attractive destination for Chinese investors.

While such investment has improved Mali’s infrastructure, especially in the transportation sector, the government has accumulated significant debt obligations to China, raising concerns about its ability to repay the loans.

Chinese mining activities have also been criticised for contributing to environmental pollution in the country.

Mali is currently engaged in a dispute over revenue sharing with one of the largest mining companies in the country, the Canadian firm Barrick.

Last month, the Malian government seized gold bars worth $245m (£194m) from Barrick and issued an arrest warrant for its CEO, Mark Bristow.

Mr Bristow said he had “no doubt” the conflict would be resolved in an interview with Bloomberg this week.

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Chief of Defence Staff Gen Christopher Musa said half of his delegation, who were supposed to be in Canada for an official assignment on Wednesday, were left in Nigeria after not getting the correct paperwork.

Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo condemned the action by Canadian officials, terming it “disrespectful” to the West African country.

The Canadian High Commission in Nigeria said it was aware of the matter but declined to give further details for “privacy reasons” on the specific individuals involved.

It comes two weeks after Canada introduced new regulations that grant immigration officers explicit authority to cancel temporary resident documents under specific circumstances.

The changes were aimed at bolstering border security, maintaining the integrity of visa programmes and protecting public safety, according to the Canadian authorities.

Speaking on Thursday, Gen Musa said how he and his colleagues were blocked from attending an event in Canada meant to honour war veterans.

“We were invited along with our team, but while half of us got visas, the other half was denied. It’s very disappointing,” he added.

He termed the incident a “wake-up call” for Nigeria to strengthen its sovereignty and “refuse to be taken for granted”.

Nuhu Ribadu, a national security adviser, who spoke at the same event on Thursday, expressed disappointment at the move, calling it “disrespectful” saying Canada “can go to hell”.

“This is yet another reason we must work hard to make Nigeria work,” Mr Ribadu added.

During an interview on Nigerian TV on Friday, Tunji-Ojo said Canada’s action was unjustifiable, noting that diplomatic channels could have been used to address any concerns.

“If that can happen to the chief of defence staff, then I am worried for an average Nigerian,” the interior minister said.

He was however hopeful that the matter would be resolved diplomatically to ensure mutual respect between both nations

The targeting of children has soared to unprecedented levels in recent weeks, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned on Thursday, making an urgent appeal for the violence to stop as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels expand their footprint, clashing with Congolese forces and their allied militias.

“In North and South Kivu provinces, we are receiving horrific reports of grave violations against children by parties to the conflict, including rape and other forms of sexual violence at levels surpassing anything we have seen in recent years,” Russell said in a statement.

Sharing the stories of some survivors, she said: “One mother recounted to our staff how her six daughters, the youngest just 12 years old, were systematically raped by armed men while searching for food.”

Another adult female rape victim also recalled a similar incident to Al Jazeera, saying that “it didn’t matter if the victim were adults or children”.

UNICEF’s accusation came as the conflict in the mineral-rich region shows no signs of abating, as M23, which captured North Kivu’s capital Goma last month, pushes further south. Thousands have been killed and tens of thousands more displaced, the UN has said.

The agency’s partners in the region reported that the number of rape cases treated across 42 health facilities jumped five-fold in one week from January 27 to February 2, Russell said.

“Of those treated, 30 percent were children. The true figures are likely much higher because so many survivors are reluctant to come forward.”

Russell added that she was “deeply alarmed by the intensifying violence”, particularly the effects on children and families.

‘All parties’ committed violence

Lianne Gutcher, UNICEF’s communication chief in DRC, told The Associated Press news agency that of the total 572 rape cases reported, 170 were children.

“It is suspected that all parties to the conflict committed sexual violence,” Gutcher said.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Ramatou Toure, chief of child protection of UNICEF in DRC, described the situation as “extremely worrying”, noting that the armed group are using sexual violence as “weapons of war”.

“Sexual violence has become systematic,” she said, adding that some of the victims were boys.

As fighting intensifies, hundreds of children have been separated from their fleeing families, exposing them to heightened risks of violence, she added.

In just the past two weeks, more than 1,100 unaccompanied children have been identified in the two Kivu provinces, according to UNICEF.

As the rebel offensive widens, recruitment of youth by all groups is likely to accelerate, with reports of children as young as 12 being enlisted or coerced to join the fighting.

“Parties to the conflict must immediately cease and prevent grave rights violations against children,” Russell said.

M23, which UN experts say is backed by Rwanda, in recent months has swiftly seized tracts of territory in eastern DRC after again taking up arms in late 2022, in a country plagued by numerous conflicts for decades.

M23 claims to be fighting for the interests of ethnic Tutsis and has continued its military campaign in DRC despite calls from regional leaders to end the fighting.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Christopher Musa said half of his delegation, who were supposed to be in Canada for an official assignment on Wednesday, were left in Nigeria after not getting the correct paperwork.

Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo condemned the action by Canadian officials, terming it “disrespectful” to the West African country.

The Canadian High Commission in Nigeria said it was aware of the matter but declined to give further details for “privacy reasons” on the specific individuals involved.

It comes two weeks after Canada introduced new regulations that grant immigration officers explicit authority to cancel temporary resident documents under specific circumstances.

The changes were aimed at bolstering border security, maintaining the integrity of visa programmes and protecting public safety, according to the Canadian authorities.

Speaking on Thursday, Gen Musa said how he and his colleagues were blocked from attending an event in Canada meant to honour war veterans.

“We were invited along with our team, but while half of us got visas, the other half was denied. It’s very disappointing,” he added.

He termed the incident a “wake-up call” for Nigeria to strengthen its sovereignty and “refuse to be taken for granted”.

Nuhu Ribadu, a national security adviser, who spoke at the same event on Thursday, expressed disappointment at the move, calling it “disrespectful” saying Canada “can go to hell”.

“This is yet another reason we must work hard to make Nigeria work,” Mr Ribadu added.

During an interview on Nigerian TV on Friday, Tunji-Ojo said Canada’s action was unjustifiable, noting that diplomatic channels could have been used to address any concerns.

“If that can happen to the chief of defence staff, then I am worried for an average Nigerian,” the interior minister said.

He was however hopeful that the matter would be resolved diplomatically to ensure mutual respect between both nations.

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