West Africa

Lawyers defending Malian Islamist suspect Al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz for his role as police chief in Timbuktu in 2012 told judges at the International Criminal Court that he was the “wrong man”, the BBC reported. “He should not be convicted because he happened to be in the wrong place at …

A 38-year-old farmer in Ghana has been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for attempting to kill his 16-year-old biological son for money ritual, 3news website reported. Kwabena Ebo, a resident of Ayisakro, a community near Axim in the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region, was charged with trading …

An evangelist is in trouble after telling people he knows of a gate leading to heaven from south-western Nigeria that he can show them – for a fee, the BBC reports. Pastor Ade Abraham was reported to police by one of his followers, who said the pastor had charged him …

Liberian president George Weah has sacked the head of the country’s only international airport after dark runways, caused by power failures, had forced numerous incoming flights to land in neighbouring Sierra Leone instead. A presidential press release says the new man to manage the airport will be Darlington Karnley, who …

Gambian President Adama Barrow has sacked the country’s vice president and top ministers in a major cabinet reshuffle, government spokesman Ebrima Sankareh announced on state television on Wednesday. Eleven ministers were retained in the new 23-member cabinet that includes three women, reports said. Former education minister Alieu Badara Joof, replaced …

Military leaders in Guinea say they will prosecute former President Alpha Condé for murder and other crimes committed during his time in office. A document from Guinea’s public prosecutor says Mr Condé is among 27 former senior officials who are facing a long list of alleged crimes. He faces several …

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says he is in shock after learning of the death of a military officer and his partner, shot dead and then beheaded in the south-east of the country. Mr Buhari has ordered that the “perpetrators of the barbaric crime be brought to justice.” Authorities accused a …

Senegalese President Macky Sall announced the regulation of social networks in the country, calling them “a real cancer of modern societies”. “No organised society can accept what is happening here today. We are going to put an end to it, one way or another,” local media quoted him as saying. …

The UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged the international community to help Niger’s military fight jihadist insurgents that have been carrying out frequent attacks, the BBC reports. Speaking during a visit to the capital, Niamey, he said the violence in the Sahel region had become a global threat. Antonio Guterres …

UN Secretary General António Guterres is expected in north-east Nigeria, to meet families affected by the Islamist insurgency, local media reported. Mr Guterres is travelling from neighbouring Niger, another country that has been under sustained attacks from jihadist militants, the BBC reports. He is pushing for robust African peace initiatives …