West Africa

A 40-year-old mason has been arrested for allegedly raping a prophetess in a church in the Ilogbo Adu area of Kemta in Ogun State, Nigeria. “The suspect stormed the church with weapons and met the victim sleeping,” according to reports. “He held the prophetess hostage while brandishing a knife in …

Five men have been jailed for 12 years each after they were convicted of exhuming a human skull in Nigeria, according to reports. They had planned to take it to a traditional doctor, who said it was needed for rituals that would make them rich. “The herbalist informed and promised …

At least 50 people, including women and children, were kidnapped and three others killed in an attack by gunmen in Bagega, a mining village in Nigeria’s northwest Zamfara state, local media reported Tuesday, citing residents. Kidnapping for ransom has become commonplace in northwestern Nigeria in recent years where armed gangs, …

Gunmen have attacked and killed nine members of a local vigilante group popularly known as Yan Ba Beli in Bauchi state, Nigeria, according to reports. “The vigilantes were killed in Gamji village forest while they were searching for bandits who have been killing and kidnapping innocent people for ransom,” reports …

Guinean security forces have arrested a dozen journalists who were demonstrating against alleged media censorship in the country, local media reported. Among those arrested in Monday’s protests was the secretary-general of the Union of Professionals of the Press of Guinea (SPPG), Sekou Jamal Pendessa. The union had called a march …

A 45-year-old police inspector has been killed by some commercial motorcyclists in Ogwashi-Uku, the Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. “The inspector was on his way to church with his wife and three children when a commercial motorcyclist hit his vehicle from behind,” the deceased brother said. …

A woman has been arrested for pouring hot water on her husband following a domestic dispute in Agbonchia community, Eleme Local Government Area of the state, Nigeria. “The woman had accused her husband of not giving her N15,000 shared between them and their children leading to a heated argument,” according …

A lifeless male body has been discovered floating on the Volta Lake at Asutuare in the Shai-Osudoku District of the Greater Accra region, Ghana. “The man went fishing on the lake or went to work on his tilapia farm and got drowned due to the heavy spillage of the Akosombo …

A pastor and three other people were arrested in possession of a human skull in the Saje district of Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, Nigeria. “The suspects claimed they had intended to use the skull for rituals,” according to reports. “The arrest was made following a tip-off from members …

Al-Qaeda’s West African branch has announced the death of a Malian hostage in its custody, naming him as Idriss Sanogo, and saying he died of an unspecified illness. The Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) group extended its condolences to the man’s family. JNIM also laid the blame on the Malian …