MEND LEADER RELEASED

Nigerian rebel leader Henry Okah was released from jail on Monday after the government withdrew its case against him, a federal court judge said.
President Umaru Yar’Adua agreed to drop felony charges against Okah, who is the suspected leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), after the militant accepted the [...]

JUST BEFORE NIGERIA MURMURS

Raucous Shouts of ‘akwaaba’ rent through the air; the US President Barack Obama had finally come through the Kotoka airport met the parliamentarians and reconciled Michele with her ancient roots and all the way the large street-cheering crowds were ecstatic. Ghana’s media was painted red before and on D-day. ‘Welcome home’ they all seemed to [...]

ZIMBABWEAN MP’S RUCKUS DISRUPTS CONFERENCE

Zimbabwean authorities abandoned a national constitution-making conference on Monday after chaos broke out among hundreds of rival delegates, witnesses said.
The conference — to discuss how to write a new constitution under a unity government formed by President Robert Mugabe and old rival Morgan Tsvangirai — degenerated into shouting and heckling during an opening statement by [...]

NIGERIEN LAWYERS DOWN WIGS IN PROTEST

Niger’s lawyers said on Sunday they would strike this week in protest at the president’s plan to hold a referendum on extending his rule, a day after the European Union delayed an aid payment over the vote row.
Despite mounting opposition at home and abroad, President Mamadou Tandja is pushing ahead with an August 4 vote [...]

MEND LEADER TO BE FREED EARLY THIS WEEK

A top Nigerian rebel leader is expected to be freed early this week, his lawyer said on Sunday, but analysts doubt his release will lead to a significant drop in militant attacks in Africa’s biggest oil sector.
Henry Okah, suspected leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), agreed to terms of [...]

NIGERIAN INSURGENTS ATTACK LAGOS DOCK

Nigeria’s main rebel group said on Monday it sabotaged a loading dock for oil tankers in Lagos state, the first in the area since the group began its latest campaign of violence against Africa’s biggest oil producer.
The attack comes as the government prepares to release Henry Okah, the suspected leader of the Movement for the [...]