Inside Cameroon

At least five suspected "witchmen" have been beheaded in Rivers state Nigeria over the weekend.

The gruesome murders were reportedly carried out late Sunday night by unknown gunmen in Edeoha, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers state.

The men who are suspected of practising witchcraft were reportedly hiding at the abode of a popular herbalist identified as Uwuma Ichocho, who is popular for treating gunshot victims, when their assailants caught up with them and decapitated them all. 

The unknown assailants hacked off their heads, including that of the herbalist then burnt down the shrine with their corpses in it before displaying the heads of their victims on the road.

It's unclear what provoked the attack but some residents have fled in fear of a reprisal attack.

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Elangwe Pauline

03.May.2016

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Congo Brazzaville:AS Denis Sassou-Nguesso faces an international criticism over his increasingly barbaric and brutal attack against the opposition, his choice for the post of Minister of Culture and Arts, Leonidas Mottom is stealing the show with a sex scandal that creating buzz on social networks. Images of the Minister making love to an unkown lady is creating all sorts of reactions in Congo and beyond.

The photos of Leonidas Mottom could have been taken before his recent appointment, however it remains to know how President Sassou-Nguesso will react to the scandal.

In a similar scandal that rocked neigbouring Congo Kinsasha,President Joseph Kabila was forced to to dismiss vice-minister of posts and Telecomunications  Enock Ruberangabo Sebineza, after a video emerged of him  masturbating in front of his Computer through Skype.

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Elangwe Pauline

02.May.2016

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A Nigerian student was falsely accused of rape by a 21-year-old shop assistant who claimed she drunkenly thought she was having sex with his white friend, a court heard yesterday.

Sam Obeghe, 24, was having sex with the woman at his flat at the end of a drunken night out in Bolton, Greater Manchester, only to stop when she unexpectedly cried the name of his 22-year-old friend Zack Garrigan.

As he did so, the woman, who had earlier been having sex with Mr Garrigan at the flat in nearby Heaton, ran her fingers through Mr Obeghe’s hair and realised she was with the wrong man.

She stormed out in hysterics, her mother alerted police and within three hours of the encounter, University of Salford economics student Mr Obeghe was arrested in his pyjamas.

He was ordered to face court and endured a 17-month wait until a trial, but was unanimously acquitted of rape by a jury at Bolton Crown Court after just 27 minutes of deliberation.

During the trial the woman said the bedroom was ‘pitch black’ and she couldn’t see anything, despite Nigerian-born Mr Obeghe being of a different ethnicity and having various different features to white Mr Garrigan.

The incident occurred on December 5, 2014 when the woman had got drunk while out with a friend. The two women met Mr Obeghe and Mr Garrigan in the Vogue bar in Bolton and in the early hours of the morning the four of them plus another man went to the student’s flat.

Mr Obeghe, who had not been drinking, gave the party a lift in his BMW but once they got back the woman and Mr Garrigan began kissing and headed into the defendant’s bedroom for sex.

The woman said she and Mr Garrigan did not have intercourse and she fell asleep whilst he went into the lounge to try to find some Viagra.

But she told the court she was subsequently woken by a man she thought was Mr Garrigan in the bed and they began having sex.

She said: ‘I was saying Zack’s name because I thought it was him I was having sex with. The person hugging and kissing me didn’t feel any different. I thought this was Zack

'I called his name four or five times. It went on for a couple of minutes until I put my hands through his hair and realised it was not Zack but was Sam. I was screaming “what are you doing”?

‘He ran out of the room. I was embarrassed and ran out. Zack was asking what was wrong, I was just saying that I needed to get out.’

Mr Obeghe, who at the time worked for a fashion brand, said he had met the woman while helping Mr Garrigan celebrate his birthday and he and agreed to let the group go back to his flat at 5am.

‘I could tell she was drunk - her and Zack were the same,’ he said. ‘Music was playing and they were kissing and then went into my bedroom.

‘I sat there thinking “what have I done” bringing them back here because I had work the next day.

'I saw Zack coming out, first naked and I was saying “come on, I need to go to bed”.

‘I asked him “are you guys leaving?” but he was not really paying attention to what I was saying and I said “I’m going to go and get her out”.

‘I walked into the bedroom sat on the bed and started nudging the woman saying ‘go and meet Zack in the living room’. At first I lay there thinking “finally I can go to bed” but she grabbed me.

I figured she was probably very drunk but she grabbed me saying “come on Zack” then I realised she’s thinking I’m Zack so I jumped off the bed and jumped out of the room.

‘I went into the living room and told Zack: “Man you will not believe what she’s just done”. Zack was sort of laughing and then I saw her storming out and she was screaming. I was in shock. I didn’t climb on top of her and kiss her.’

After the not guilty verdict Mr Obeghe, now 26, was too upset to comment, but his lawyer Sarah Johnson said: ‘We are not suggesting this is a wicked woman telling a wicked pack of lies.

‘But she couldn’t remember everything that happened in that bedroom. She’s not someone you can say is accurate and reliable.

‘She said the room was pitch black and she couldn’t see anything, despite the defendant being of a different ethnicity, having different features and a different voice.
‘It was only when putting her hand through his hair she put her head back and it’s that movement of her head that allows her to see that it’s Sam and not Zack.’

Dailymail

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Elangwe Pauline

12.May.2016

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There are fears of an outbreak of  an ‘epidemic’ in Donga Mantung Division, North West Region of Cameroon, following the suspicious death of animals, goats in particular and the withering of tress mostly cypresses.

 Since early March 2016, the price of goats in the villages of Mbot and Kup in Nkambe Subdivision has witnessed a drastic decline further plunging the locals into poverty and fear.

“I can remember that for a goat that could be sold for 15, 000 FCFA, my grandfather sold three for just 20,000 F CFA.  People are just afraid of how they would survive if goats continue to die.

Their poverty level would increase because they depend on local breeding of animals to send their children to school," a Kumbo resident , Njobee Marcel, said April 25 2016.

Other locals at the Ndu, Nkambe, Lassin and Misaje markets, are quoted as saying they have lost, some 63 goats in a week while some breeders have lost more. Some farmers complain  that the vaccination of the animals is still to serve the purpose intended. 

Witnesses to the strange phenomenon suggest that the death of the animals started in Bui area, Noni Noni Sub Division before gradually moving to other areas. 

“We cannot estimate the number of goats which have so far died. For more than a month now it is fast becoming rampant. The goats you see were being taken to the market Friday (April 22) when they died along the way,” another resident said.

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Solomon Amabo Amabo

28.Apr.2016

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A court in Nigeria has sentenced a former local MP to 154 years in jail for corruption and money laundering.

Gabriel Daudu, from central Kogi State, was found guilty of 77 charges, Nigeria's anti-corruption body says.

But the judge ruled that the sentences would run concurrently, meaning Dauda will only spend two years in jail.

Corruption is endemic in Nigeria and so far the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has only managed to secure a handful of convictions.

President Muhammadu Buhari won elections last year, promising to tackle the problem.

BBC

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Elangwe Pauline

27.Apr.2016

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Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, was at the weekend honored by the cities of Antioch and Lathrop in the United States for promoting peace and democracy in Africa.

At the award ceremony, the Mayor of the city of Antioch, Mayor Wade Harper, expressed his admiration for Jonathan and declared that the city of Antioch, California, was proud of his legacies, especially his act of overseeing free, fair and conclusive elections and leaving the scene when the ovation was loudest.

He recommended Jonathan’s behaviour to other leaders.

Jonathan, who was represented by Mr. Reno Omokri, gave a goodwill message to the two cities that had gathered to honor him as well as to the Nigerian community in the Bay Area of California.

Jonathan said he was “proud of Nigerians in the diaspora and more so of Nigerians in the US and even more so of the Nigerian diaspora in California.”

Continuing, the former President said Nigerians in the diaspora were an asset to Nigeria who remitted over $20 billion home annually, “much more than the World Bank, IMF and foreign direct investment.” 

Jonathan ended by saying he was proud of diaspora Nigerians and tried to show his appreciation for their support of Nigeria by ensuring that during his time in office at least three direct flights were initiated between America and Nigeria to ease travel challenges and reduce costs for travelers to Nigeria.

Also, former President Jonathan gave the keynote speech at the Cal State University’s Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution’s 25th annual Africa/Diaspora conference, in Sacramento, California, on April 23, 2016.

Also represented by Mr. Reno Omokri, Jonathan received an award by the center in recognition of his role in promoting democracy and peace in Nigeria and Africa.

Speaking at the event, the representative of the former Nigerian leader spoke on the role Jonathan played in ensuring that Nigerian remained at peace in the aftermath of the 2015 elections thus defeating doomsday prophets who had speculated that Nigeria may disintegrate based on the outcome of the polls.

Jonathan said: “Democracy is the panacea to most conflicts in Africa, and that is why the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation is committed to strengthening democracy throughout Africa by building capacity within electoral institutions and engendering willingness to accept the results of the people freely given via a transparent election process.”

Continuing, the former President said “Until democracy is strong internally, you cannot be effective against conflict and terrorism internally and externally.”

The provost of the university, Professor Mike Lee, praised the outstanding character displayed by Jonathan and called for others leaders to emulate his conscience driven leadership.

The Director of the centre, Professor Ernest Uwazie, also commended the former President and declared that his conduct during the elections made him one of the few statesmen with the moral authority to speak on democratic issues in Africa.

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Elangwe Pauline

25.Apr.2016

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