West Africa

Nigerian separatist Nnamdi Kanu has pleaded not guilty to charges of terrorism and treason after appearing in court on Thursday. His appearance in court was the first time he had been seen in public since he was captured abroad and repatriated in June. Mr Kanu’s initial arrest in 2015 triggered …

Senegal seized more than two tonnes of pure cocaine from a ship off its Atlantic coast, the navy said on Tuesday, in the West African country’s largest ever cocaine bust, Reuters agency reports. In a statement, the Senegalese navy said the 2,026 kg of cocaine was found on a ship …

Police in Nigeria said two traditional leaders from Njaba local government area in the Imo state have been killed by armed men. Up to 20 local kings from different communities in the area were in a meeting on Tuesday when gunmen invaded the venue and started shooting sporadically, BBC News …

South African and US law enforcement agencies have arrested at least six members of the Nigerian Black Axe mafia syndicate in Cape Town, TimesLive news website reports. Six members of the mafia group, believed to be behind hundreds of thousands of “romance scams”, were reportedly arrested in a raid in …

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has offered his condolences with the families of victims killed in an attack on a village market in the north-western state of Sokoto and called on citizens not to despair. At leat 43 people died in the Sunday evening attack after gunmen raided the open-air market …

The Liberian President George Weah has honoured Emmanuel Tolue, a young taxi rider who found and returned $50,000 to a businesswoman who had lost the cash in the north-eastern Nimba region. President Weah met Emmanuel Tolue at a ceremony in the capital, Monrovia, on Monday and offered him cash and …

Gunmen on motorbikes have attacked a local weekly open-air market in Goronyo, in the north-western Nigerian state of Sokoto, killing dozens of civilians and burning down shops and other buildings, local media report. More than 40 people had been shot dead during the attack, eyewitnesses said. Authorities In Sokoto State …

The main opposition candidate in Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, won the first round of the presidential election, provisional results indicate. Seven candidates are bidding to replace President Jorge Carlo Fonseca, who has already served two consecutive terms. Mr Neves has around 51% of the vote while the ruling party’s …

A Cambridge University college has announced that later this month it is to hand back a sculpture that was originally seized by British troops from the Kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria. The bronze cockerel was one of thousands of artefacts looted during a punitive expedition in 1897. It was …

Navi in Ghana has foiled an attack on a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Guinea, a statement from the Ghanaian armed forces said. It took place about 170km (105 miles) from the Ghanaian coast where pirates in two speedboats attempted to board a tuna fishing boat. The navy patrol …