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News and information from the fast-changing continent.
Nigeria: Jubilation in Edo As Court Dismisses Alleged Certificate Forgery Suit Against Obaseki
[This Day] There was wild jubilation yesterday in some parts of Edo State as Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Saturday, dismissed a suit of forgery against the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki for want of merit.
Mohammed dismissed the suit brought by Obaseki's former party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the grounds that they failed to prove allegations of forgery against the governor.
Obaseki hailed the decision of the court as he triumph of truth and rule of law in a statement
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Africa: AU, IGAD, Should Push for Credible Polls to Avert Civil War in Somalia
[Nation] Somalia is facing its worst electoral gridlock in history. The term of President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" is due to expire on February 8, 2021.
In June 2020, Somalia's National Independent Electoral Commission declared it could not hold the long-awaited direct elections of parliamentarians to elect the president, citing lack of funding and infrastructure.
In the wake of the Dhusamareb Conference in September, President Farmajo and five regional leaders agreed on a revised election procedure based on the
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Uganda: Military Takes Charge in Uganda As Tensions Rise Ahead of Polls
[East African] Uganda's security agencies on Friday warned of firm action against any dissent ahead of and during this week's election after the military took over law enforcement operations.
The country goes to the polls on Thursday to elect a president and members of parliament following a campaign marred by unprecedented violence in which at least 60 people have been killed in election-related violence, hundreds injured and more than 800 arrested.
Heavily armed security forces, including the army and military police,
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Zimbabwe: Govt Bans Movement of Dead Bodies, Body Viewing
[New Zimbabwe] Government has banned the transportation of bodies for burial purposes from one city to another as part of its desperate measures to contain a rampaging Covid-19 pandemic.
This comes after the country recorded 978 fresh cases and 24 deaths Saturday.
Since the first case was recorded March last year, 507 people have died from a cumulative 21 477 cases of the virus.
In a statement, Zimbabwe Republic Police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the directive is with immediate effe
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Africa: Over 72,000 Covid-19 Deaths Across Continent
[allAfrica] As of January 11, confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries reached 3,051,591. Reported deaths in Africa reached 72,708 and 2,466,576 people have recovered.
South Africa has the most reported cases - 1,231,597- and 33,163 people died. Other most-affected countries are Morocco (452,532), Tunisia (159,276), Egypt (149,792), Ethiopia (128,316), and Libya (104,745). For the latest totals, see the AllAfrica interactive map with per-country numbers.
The numbers are compiled by the
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Nigeria: $48 Million Award - British Court Rules Against FAAN Over Lagos Airport Project
[Premium Times] The British court ruled in a case by a Nigerian company seeking damages over an abandoned hotel project at the Lagos airport.
A British appeal court has overturned an order that prevented a Nigerian construction company from enforcing parts of a $48 million arbitration award.
The company is seeking damages over an abandoned hotel project at the Lagos airport.
The ruling was delivered in November 2020 but PREMIUM TIMES has just obtained a copy.
The award, given in favour of AIC Ltd, a construction company,
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Nigeria: Obiozor Emerges New Ohaneze Ndigbo President
[Premium Times] The Ohaneze election took place in Owerri, capital of Imo State.
A former Nigerian ambassador, George Obiozor, has been elected as the new President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation.
Mr Obiozor, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Israel and Cyprus, polled 304 votes to defeat his closest rival, Valentine Oparaocha, who polled 15 votes.
The election took place at the Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri, capital of Imo State.
It followed a motion by A. B. C. Nwosu,
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Nigeria: Lagos Battles Indifference As Virus 'Tsunami' Looms
[This Day] Hospitals in Lagos are facing a tidal wave of COVID as the authorities warn of the dangers from a new viral strain, yet many people in Nigeria's mega-city seem indifferent
The New Year's break saw thousands of people gathered on the city's beaches for fun and relaxation, and social distancing was as rare as mask-wearing.
At night, young people have been crowding blithely into the city's discotheques -- for those stopped at curfew roadblocks, a small banknote slipped into a policeman's hand has often been e
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Nigeria: Soyinka Laments Insecurity, Says Nigeria's Sovereignty Taken Over By Armed Groups
[Premium Times] MF Soyinka also speaks on Amotekun and the hiring of foreign mercenaries.
Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has condemned the insecurity across Nigeria, saying the nation's sovereignty has been taken over by armed groups.
He also said President Muhammadu Buhari needs to do more to stop Boko Haram terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements who threaten Nigeria's security.
Mr Soyinka said these during an interview on Arise Television programme on Saturday.
"From a self-protective point of view, it is a common
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Nigeria: Fire Guts Nigeria Immigration Service Headquarters
[Premium Times] NIS says the fire affected some offices but has been contained
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Sunday said a fire incident occurred at its headquarters located along Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport road, Abuja.
It said the fire affected some of its offices.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on the NIS official Twitter page on Sunday.
A fire incident occurred in our Service Headquarters this Morning. It affected some of our Offices.
2.The fire has been put out by our Federal Fire Station&support
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Nigeria: Christian Chukwu Rains Curses On Those Wishing Him Dead
[This Day] Former Green Eagles Captain and coach, Christian Chukwu, has dispelled speculations in a section of online media that he passed on at the weekend.
Chukwu who only celebrated his 70th birthday on Monday, January 4th, was rumoured to have died on Saturday, January 9th
Speaking with THISDAY at his Enugu home in company with family members and friends, the Nigerian football icon said he was surprised at such news coming up barely days after his 70th birthday.
'Chairman Chukwu' as he was fondly called from his
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Nigeria: How Nigerians Are Paying Deadly Price for Europe's Dirty Fuel
[Premium Times] Nigeria has made several promises to ensure its fuel contain low sulphur, but its petrol and kerosene have sulphur over 20 times times what they should be.
Strapped to the back of Chioma Munachi on a recent evening along Asolo-Isawo road, Lagos, where she sells bananas and groundnuts, was eight-month-old Ada. As she tucked a bunch of bananas into a plastic bag, a trailer pulled up behind her, puffing pungent blackish fumes. Some commuters ducked, but that was known of her worries.
Surrounding her were vehi
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Uganda: Bobi Wine's Lonely Walk As Election Day in Uganda Nears
[Citizen] On Thursday last week, Ugandan police arrested the last members of National Unity Platform (NUP) party presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine's campaign team.
The 17 remaining members who had escaped were arrested at Kakoli Village in Budaka District, handcuffed and taken to Mbale Central Police Station.
A week earlier, police had waylaid and arrested 126 of Wine's supporters in the islands of Kalangala District.
When they appeared in court after five days of detention, dozens of them ap
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Central African Republic: What's Next After Violent Elections in CAR?
[DW] The armed conflict in the Central African Republic is heating up after the elections. Rebels took control of the city of Bangassou over the weekend. The government accuses former President Bozize of plotting a coup.
The capture of Bangassou by the rebels of the "Coalition of Patriots for Change" (CPC) has put the spotlight back on the violence in the Central African Republic.
"Our forces were totally outnumbered by the rebels and had to take refuge in a base of the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA," said Ce
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Zimbabwe: SA Urges Beitbridge Travellers to Self Quarantine
[The Herald] Beitbridge Bureau
Cross-border travellers who used the Beitbridge Border Post in the last four days should go into self-quarantine, following the detection of 104 Covid-19 positive cases during screening and testing at the border, says South Africa's Department of Health in Limpopo Province.
An average of 6 000 travellers have been using the border daily during the just-ended festive season.
Before the outbreak of Covid-19, 15 000 people were using the border and the number would spike to 30 000 daily duri
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Namibia: Critics Unimpressed With Director General's 17-Year Tenure
[Namibian] RALLY for Democracy and Progress (RDP) leader Mike Kavekotora says the political allegiance of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Paulus Noa is among the reasons for the agency's failure to live up to its mandate 17 years after it was established.
Kavekotora believes the ACC has been more of an instrument to protect politicians, their cronies and business partners from prosecution.
Noa, who has been at the helm of the ACC since its inception in 2004, has been widely accused of blocking inves
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Kenya: Sonko Opts for Political Sabbatical
[Nairobi News] Impeached Nairobi governor Mike Sonko says he's opted for a decade long break from active politics.
To this effect, the flamboyant Sonko, who's been on an offensive rant against President Uhuru Kenyatta in recent weeks, also announced he will withdraw a case challenging Nairobi gubernatorial election.
"I will stay away from politics for 10 years since people say God's time is the best. Even when Uhuru failed in 2002 he waited until 2013. Nairobi is bigger than anyone. Because Nairobi is big and it needs a
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Nigerian Court Grants Activist Sowore Bail
[Premium Times] The magistrate, Mabel Segun-Bello, imposed a N20 million bond on Mr Sowore, and demanded he produce two sureties.
A magistrate court in Abuja on Monday granted the activist and founder of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, bail.
The magistrate, Mabel Segun-Bello, imposed a N20 million bond on Mr Sowore, and demanded he produce two sureties.
Ms Segun-Bello, in her ruling, said the court granted Mr Sowore and his co-accused bail because they did not fall short of the conditions of their detention. She added t
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Nigeria: Best Passports to Have - Nigeria Ranks 97
[Vanguard] As 2021 commences, the latest results from the Henley Passport Index, the original ranking of all the world's passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa, provide fascinating insights into the future of travel freedom in a world that has been transformed by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Without taking temporary restrictions into account, Japan continues to hold the number one position on the index, with passport holders able to access 191 destinat
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Nigeria: Weekly Review - As Covid-19 Spreads, One in Every Six Nigerians Tested Were Positive
[Premium Times] Nigeria recorded 15,937 new Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks
One in every six persons (16 per cent) tested for COVID-19 in Nigeria in the past two weeks tested positive for the virus, indicating how far the virus has spread. This is significantly higher than the average of one in ten persons since Nigeria recorded its first case of the virus in February last year.
Also, Nigeria in the past two weeks set two new weekly infections record after reporting over 15,000 new cases in two weeks.
PREMIUM TIMES'
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Uganda: 8 Local Footballers Perish in Motor Accident in Abim, Uganda
[Observer] Karamoja is mourning the death of eight footballers following a motor accident on Saturday in Abim district.
The footballers were travelling for a friendly match in Kotido district on Saturday but unfortunately, the truck they were using failed to engage gears while going uphill, making it to roll several times, killing eight players instantly.
Living Twasagye, the district police commander of Abim described the incident as sad. He said the accident happened at around 3 pm in a village called Angorom in Ch
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Nigeria: Ex-Nigerian Minister Adoke Tests Negative for Covid-19 After Two Positive Results
[Premium Times] Mr Adoke, whose trial continues Monday, had since January 2, 2021 undergone four COVID-19 tests.
A former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, has tested negative for COVID-19 after previously testing positive for the disease on two occasions within one week.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that a repeat PCR COVID-19 test carried out on Mr Adoke at a laboratory of Emirates Specialty Hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), turned out negative on Sunday.
It will be recalled that Mr Adoke was on De
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Kenya: Student Who Slew 5 Family Members Says Inspired By Killing Eve Dark Comedy-Drama
[Capital FM] Simon Warunge, a 22-old university student who confessed to killing his parents and 3 siblings in Kiambu, has revealed how he executed the heinous Tuesday night attack saying he drew inspiration from film.
Angered that his parents had allegedly soiled his name, Warunge told detectives, he searched online on the best way to execute the plan.
It is after stumbling on the famous Killing Eve dark comedy-drama, a series where a character known as Eve is tasked with hunting down a heartless psychopathic assassin
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Uganda: The Roots of Pre-Election Carnage By Uganda Security Forces
[The Conversation Africa] For two days in November 2020, Uganda witnessed some of the most violent riots in a decade. The riots were triggered by the arrest of opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, who is challenging the incumbent Yoweri Museveni in the February 14 2021 election. Authorities alleged that Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, had consistently disregarded COVID-19 related election campaign guidelines limiting gatherings to no more than 200 people.
In the violence that ensued, contingents of heavily ar
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Nigeria's Covid-19 Infections Exceed 100,000
[Premium Times] Eight people died from the COVID-19 disease on Sunday, taking the death toll to 1,358 in total.
Nigeria, on Monday, reached another devastating milestone as 1,024 people tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as of Sunday night.
The new figure catapulted the country's total cases to more than 100,000.
This is coming about 11 months after the country recorded its first infection in an Italian traveller on February 27, 2020.
Some experts had hoped that Niger
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Nigeria: How Nigeria's Maize Production Has Grown Since 1960
[Premium Times] Farmers now worry about the takeoff of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Nigeria is producing 10 times more maize yearly now than it did at independence in 1960, data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows.
But despite now being the second largest producer of the commodity in Africa, farmers are worried that cheaper maize imported from other African countries will crash the price in the country's market and also limit their share of the larger African market.
The USDA data als
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Nigeria: Senator Escapes 'Assassination Attempt'
[Premium Times] "Just escaped an Assassination attempt on my life and that of my entourage," the senator wrote.
The senator representing Osun West Senatorial District, Adelere Oriolowo, was reportedly attacked by gunmen on Sunday during a meeting of members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the district.
Mr Oriolowo was rushed out of the meeting that held at his constituency in Ikire, Osun State, by security personnel present during the attack.
The meeting was attended by members of the APC in Osun West including
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Africa: Over 3 Million Covid-19 Cases Across Continent
[allAfrica] As of January 10, confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries reached 3,021,772. Reported deaths in Africa reached 72,123 and 2,449,587 people have recovered.
South Africa has the most reported cases - 1,214,176 - and 32,824 people died. Other most-affected countries are Morocco (451,637), Tunisia (157,514), Egypt (148,799), Ethiopia (127,792), and Libya (104,002). For the latest totals, see the AllAfrica interactive map with per-country numbers.
The numbers are comp
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Africa: Anticov Treatment Clinical Trial Crucial for Africa
[IPS] The ANTICOV COVID-19 clinical trial, aimed at identifying treatments that prevent mild cases from progressing to severe forms of the disease, is crucial to Africa, researchers say. The trial will investigate home-based treatments to help prevent local health systems from being overwhelmed.
Borna Nyaoke-Anoke, Senior Clinical Project Manager & Medical Manager for DNDi, says that the studies target mild and moderate cases of COVID-19 and are important to Africa because lower-income countries remain under
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Nigeria: Why Nigeria's Maternal Mortality Amongst Highest in the World
[Daily Trust] Contributes 20 per cent to global maternal deaths
Inadequate health personnel/facilities, poverty, early marriage, key factors
Banditry, insurgency hinder pregnant women from ante-natal services
Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with the country accounting for about 20 per cent of global maternal deaths. Daily Trust Saturday, in this report, examines some of the factors responsible for this ugly trend.
Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in several low-and-m
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