Headline News

15, May 2021

Nigeria President’s son-in-law wanted in fraud probe ⁰

The son-in-law of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is wanted as part of an investigation into an alleged $65 million property fraud, the country’s anti-corruption agency said Friday.

The Independent Corruption Prosecution Commission (ICPC) said in a statement Friday that Gimba Yau Kumo and two others are suspected of misappropriating funds earmarked for a national property development project.

Kumo, who in 2016 married Buhari’s daughter Fatima, was the managing director of a Nigerian mortgage bank. He is also under investigation for Tarry Rufus and Bola Ogunsola, whose positions have not been disclosed.

Buhari, a former general, was first elected in 2015 on a promise to clean up politics in Nigeria and make fighting corruption one of his main goals.

But critics have in the past accused his government and ruling elites of using the country’s anti-corruption agencies as political weapons to target their enemies.

“The persons whose photographs appear above, Tarry Ruffus, Mr Gimba Yau Kumo and Mr Bola Ogunsola, are hereby declared wanted… in connection with issues relating to the diversion of public funds for real estate to the tune of $65 million,” the commission wrote.

It added that anyone with information on their whereabouts should contact the police.

President Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, confirmed the ongoing investigation into the president’s son-in-law.

“This is an old case, it will take some time. He is the former managing director of the Federal Mortgage Bank,” Shehu told AFP.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, ranks 149th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s index of global corruption.

When Buhari came to power he spoke of “staggering” theft by the previous government but the looting of public funds has been going on for decades.

Billions of dollars are alleged to have been stolen by former dictator Sani Abacha during his iron rule between 1993 and 1998.

Source: Africa News

15, May 2021

France-Afrique: Ivory Coast PM Patrick Achi returns home after medical treatment in Paris ⁰

Ivory Coast’s Prime Minister Patrick Achi returned home on Friday after receiving medical treatment in France, a source close to his office said.

No information was given on the 65-year-old’s state of health after his four days in France, and the Ivorian authorities declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

On Thursday political sources said Achi was receiving medical treatment in France after suffering intestinal bleeding.

Achi, a veteran government figure close to President Alassane Ouattara, is the West African country’s third prime minister in the past year after his two predecessors died.

He was confirmed in late March, replacing Hamed Bakayoko, 56, who had been flown to Germany with cancer and died two days later.

Bakayoko had taken office in July 2020 after Amadou Gon Coulibaly died aged 61 following heart problems.

The former French colony is still recovering from a violence-torn presidential election last October that claimed nearly 100 lives.

Source: AFP

15, May 2021

CPDM Crime Syndicate: C-130s grounded for months due to unpaid bills ⁰

Cameroon’s defence ministry is unable, due to lack of funds, to meet its contractual obligations to Marshall Aerospace and Aeromec, which have been contracted to maintain the air force’s three C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Source: Africa Intelligence

15, May 2021

The two Cameroons have still not been reunited’ says Paul Ayah Abine ⁰

Cameroon’s Paul Ayah Abine, a former member of President Paul Biya’s CPDM, has experienced political pressure and prison. Officially retired from politics, he remains convinced that Anglophones and Francophones can live together peacefully in Cameroon.

In early May, at the foothills surrounding Mount Cameroon, Buea seems to have almost forgotten the four years of violence that pitted Anglophone separatist groups against Cameroon’s defence forces. In the capital of the south-west region, the shops of Great Soppo have reopened and are blasting Nigerian music to attract customers. Traffic jams are also once again clogging the Malingo Junction in the city centre.

71-year-old Paul Ayah Abine has been living within this secure enclave, in the heart of a region in crisis, since his release from prison on 30 August 2017.

He spent nearly eight months behind bars in Yaoundé for advocating federalism, before being released by a presidential decree. Glasses perched on a face marked by the weight of age and hardship, the former magistrate received us at the headquarters of Justice for All, a legal aid firm he opened in the Bomaka district, which is located in the eastern part of the city.

Paul Ayah Abine “will never leave”

While some of the leaders of the Anglophone movement preferred to go into exile amidst increasing pressure from Yaoundé, like politician Joseph Wirba and barrister John Fru Nsoh, Abine assured us that he “will never leave.”

Despite a stint in prison, which resulted in him going deaf in his right ear, he wants to continue to make the voice of this marginalised linguistic community heard, as it persists in denouncing the central government’s actions.

Culled from The Africa Report

14, May 2021

Ireland shuts down health IT systems after ‘significant ransomware attack’ ⁰

Ireland’s health authority said Friday it had shut down its computer systems after experiencing a “significant ransomware attack”, a week after the largest US fuel pipeline network was also targeted.

The Irish attack was blamed on international criminals and was said to be targeting healthcare records.

Officials said patient safety was not at risk however the Health Services Executive (HSE) said it is currently unable to make referrals for coronavirus testing.

Government minister Ossian Smyth told RTE it is “possibly the most significant cybercrime attack on the Irish State”, calling it an “international attack” but “not espionage”.

“These are cyber criminal gangs, looking for money,” he told Ireland’s state broadcaster.

Shut down all IT systems

The HSE said it shut down all its IT systems as a precaution but said the country’s coronavirus vaccination programme was unaffected, as were emergency service calls.

But the referral system used to book Covid-19 tests was down.

Health minister Stephen Donnelly said the attack was having a “severe impact” but “individual services and hospital groups are impacted in different ways”.

On Twitter he claimed that “Covid-19 testing and vaccinations are continuing as planned”.

Liz Canavan, a top official in prime minister Micheal Martin’s office, said the outage was also affecting child protection services, which are hosted on HSE servers.

She urged people needed urgent treatment to attend hospital as normal but HSE chief operations officer Anne O’Connor warned of disruption if the outage continued.

“If this continues to Monday we will be in a very serious situation, and we will be cancelling many services,” she said.

Another ransomware attack last Friday forced the shutdown of the United States’ largest fuel distribution system, leading to some panic buying at gasoline stations along the east coast.

Moscow has rejected US accusations that a Russia-based group was behind the cyberattack.

Ransomware attacks use a type of malware that encrypts files on an infected computer, normally via an email attachment or download, and demands money to unlock them.

“We are at the very early stages of fully understanding the threat,” said HSE chief executive Paul Reid.

The authority was working with police, the army and its major IT security providers to “contain” the attack, he added.

‘Industrial-scale vandals’

The Rotunda maternity hospital in Dublin said that “due to a serious IT issue”, it was only admitting emergency cases and women who are at least 36 weeks pregnant.

Hospital chief Fergal Malone said the attack had targeted computers storing patient records.

Life-saving equipment is operating fine, “there’s no problem for patient safety”, and the hospital has switched to backup paper records, he told RTE.

“But obviously throughput will be much slower,” he said, urging out-patients with routine appointments to stay away.

The HSE said the attack was an adaptation of ransomware known as “Conti”, in which hackers have already compromised a computer system and lie low until springing their trap.

Health care institutions have been frequent victims of ransomware attacks. In Los Angeles, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center revealed in 2016 it paid $17,000 to hackers to decrypt important data.

Last October, it emerged that the then-CEO of Finnish company Vastaamo had covered up a data breach that exposed the confidential treatment records of tens of thousands of psychotherapy patients.

Many patients reported receiving emails with a demand for 200 euros ($240) in bitcoin to prevent the contents of their discussions with therapists being made public.

In 2017, the United States and Britain blamed North Korea for the “WannaCry” ransomware attack that infected some 300,000 computers in 150 countries, including one-third of British hospitals.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab this week called for a global effort to counter online threats as he slammed countries including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea over cyberattacks.

Authoritarian states “are the industrial-scale vandals of the 21st century”, he said.

Source:AFP

14, May 2021

Liverpool FC: Klopp plans Mane talks after star’s snub ⁰

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he will speak to Sadio Mane after the Senegal forward snubbed him following Thursday’s 4-2 win at Manchester United.

Klopp left Mane on the bench for the first 74 minutes of the crucial Premier League clash, deciding to start Diogo Jota instead.

Following Mane’s brief substitute appearance, Klopp approached him at the final whistle to celebrate a crucial victory in the race to qualify for the Champions League.

But Mane refused to respond to the German and was caught on television walking towards the tunnel while shaking his head.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to West Bromwich Albion, Klopp said he was not angry with Mane but would speak to the 29-year-old about the show of dissent.

“If somebody shows me five million times respect and one time not, what is then more important?” Klopp said on Friday.

“The world is in a situation when you make this one time bigger than necessary. That’s unfortunately the case.

“If you had seen me as a player what I did out of emotion it was insane — and I’m a completely normal guy, but it happened to me.

“We will talk about it, then it will be sorted. That’s all.”

Klopp suggested immediately after the match that his late decision to start Jota may have prompted Mane’s reaction.

The move paid off as Jota scored Liverpool’s equaliser, sparking their first win over their arch-rivals at Old Trafford since 2014.

The Liverpool boss does not expect any lingering fall-out from the incident as Liverpool try to secure a top four-finish in the Premier League.

“Do you want these things to happen? No,” he said. “But it’s not the first time in my life and I’m afraid to say it won’t be the last time.”

After failing to defend the Premier League title, Liverpool are trying to salvage a troubled season with Champions League qualification.

Fourth-placed Chelsea’s loss to Arsenal on Wednesday has opened the door for the Reds, who are four points behind with a game in hand.

With Chelsea playing third-placed Leicester next week, Liverpool will be almost certain of a top-four finish if they win their last three games against West Brom, Burnley and Crystal Palace.

“Most of the time I’ve been in a chasing role so if I’m enjoying it, I don’t know,” said Klopp. “Sometimes yes, but I’m used to it.

“Usually, when I’m involved, seasons go to the wire. Playing Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday is a tough one, but let’s give it a try.”

Source: AFP

14, May 2021

Charlotte Dipanda releases album on her life’s journey to empower women, girls ⁰

Cameroonian singer Charlotte Dipanda has released her second album. The album dubbed ”CD” is a work on her life’s story as a young woman. Dipanda’s shift into this new music art form is something she sees as challenging.

“I like the idea that people listen to my music when they are down. This is because they are willing at that moment. It was bias at the beginning of my career to tell me that as an African we always tend to believe that if we do not dance, if we are not drunk, there is always this second degree side that we need to listen to music. And today, even if I make songs that you can dance to in a club, there is always a theme that will appeal to you, I like the intellectual side associated with the music”, the artist said.

CD which is initials of her name has ten tracks. They include, ‘Quand tu n’es pas la’, meaning ‘’ When you are not there’’, ‘‘L’ombre d’une autre’’, translated as ‘’The shadow of another’’.

The musical work also features artist Singuila with ‘Cœur en cage’ meaning ‘’caged heart’’.

‘’CD’’ features collaboration with the famous Congolese guitarist Olivier Tshimanga, Guy Nsangue and Singuila.

“I think that if we give a little more responsibility or if women become aware of the responsibilities they have in our society; they will certainly be mature. Big up to the young girls who are in rural areas, because they are often forgotten in our society. I would really like that these young girls go to school so that they learn, and over the weekend they accompany their parents in the fields because it is not incompatible”, the singer said.

Her presence in Cameroon was also to support young girls in remote areas. Thanks to her foundation, Dipanda has built a high school in the locality of Ebonè in the region of Moungo, more than a 100 km from the capital Douala. She is using this project to encourage young girls to go to school and get an education.

Dipanda hopes to resume concerts by September in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon and the rest of the continent. She also awaits the reopening of theaters in Europe that have been closed due to the pandemic.

Source: Africa News

14, May 2021

May 20: Yerima calls for unity among Ambazonians to counter French Cameroun barbarity ⁰

The Southern Cameroons Interim Government has called on Ambazonians and freedom-seeking frontline leaders to set aside their differences to unify in support of the suffering peoples in Ground Zero against the French Cameroun occupying regime.

In a comment on Thursday on why the so-called National Day would never have been staged in Southern Cameroons, Vice President Dabney Yerima condemned the regime in La Republique du Cameroun for its relentless atrocities in the Ambazonia homeland and noted that May 20 remains a French Cameroun affair and it is coming while the people of Southern Cameroons are under a new round of Biya French Cameroun regime crimes.

Comrade Dabney Yerima furthered that the Biya Francophone regime backed by the French government of President Emmanuel Macron have turned Southern Cameroons into a Francophone Africa military base against the Ambazonia people.

“For over four years now, the international community have fully supported this consortium of crime syndicates in Yaoundé passing for a government and turned a blind eye to the endless crimes of this vicious regime,” Vice President Yerima said.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

14, May 2021

Rights Group condemns jail term for Cameroon transgender women ⁰

Rights activists in Cameroon have condemned a five-year jail sentence given to two transgender women for “attempted homosexuality” and public indecency. A lawyer for the two, who were arrested for wearing women’s clothing in a restaurant, say they are preparing an appeal.

In a statement, Human Rights Watch describes the jail sentence issued by the court as harsh.

Police arrested Njeuken Loic, also known as Shakiro, and Mouthe Roland, also known as Patricia, in the coastal city of Douala on February 8. Police said they were wearing typically female clothing while eating in a restaurant.

Prosecutors charged them with attempted homosexual conduct, public indecency, and non-possession of their national identity cards.

They pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempted homosexuality.

Tamfu Richard, one of the lawyers defending Shakiro and Patricia, says justice was not done during the trial.

“We consider the decision to be too severe against these accused persons because no evidence was produced before the court to sentence our clients on charges of attempted homosexuality, public indecency, non-possession of ID cards,” Richard said. “So our next action will be to file an appeal before the appeal court and we hope that, before the court of appeal, we will be able to make sure justice is done at that level.”

HRW said that after Shakiro and Patricia were arrested in February, they were taken to the overcrowded Douala central prison, where they reported being beaten and insulted by guards and other inmates.

Activists say that for transgender women, five years in a Cameroonian men’s prison can amount to a death sentence. HRW calls on Cameroon authorities to release Shakiro and Patricia and vacate the charges immediately.

Rights lawyer Alice Nkom says the sentence indicates how LGBTQ people continue to be persecuted in Cameroon. She says the international community should intervene to force Cameroon to respect the rights of its citizens.

“We are waiting to obtain a copy of the (court) decision to know the motivations that allow these results,” Nkom said. “We have 10 days to file an appeal and the dateline of doing so expires on May 21. The judge did not apply any attenuating circumstance, neither the numerous violations of the laws, nor the violation of the general principle of law, nor the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court.”

HRW says Shakiro and Patricia are the latest victims of a system plagued by absolute disregard for the due process rights of people targeted based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It calls on Cameroon to repeal its anti-homosexuality laws and stop interfering in the private lives of Cameroonians.

Contacted by phone, Cameron’s Ministry of Communication and Government spokesperson, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, declined to comment on the sentence.

Source: VOA

14, May 2021

French Cameroun cancels national day festivities due to COVID-19 ⁰

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has cancelled all official ceremonies marking the 2021 edition of the country’s national day due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, secretary general at the president’s office, said in a statement that Biya urged Cameroonians to strictly observe government-prescribed social distancing measures during the commemoration of May 20 as well as the celebration of forthcoming religious feast days.

Unity Day is a holiday in Cameroon celebrated on May 20 as the country’s national day.

On May 20, 1972 in a national referendum, Cameroonians voted for a unitary state as opposed to the existing federal state.

In the statement late Wednesday, Ngoh Ngoh recalled that despite the country’s commendable performance in the fight against COVID-19, the pandemic is a tragic reality against which “we should endeavor to protect ourselves by complying with barrier measures and getting vaccinated.”

The Central African country has so far registered 74,946 coronavirus cases, with 70,497 recoveries and 1,152 deaths, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: Anadolu Agency