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Southern Cameroons Crisis: Gunmen storm school in Kumba, killing at least six children

24, October 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Gunmen storm school in Kumba, killing at least six children 0

Gunmen stormed a school in Cameroon on Saturday and opened fire indiscriminately, killing at least six children and wounding about eight more in a region where separatist insurgents operate, officials and parents said.

Arriving on motorbikes and in civilian clothes, the attackers hit the school around midday in the city of Kumba in South West Region, according to the accounts, including from one parent outside the school at the time.

Some children were injured jumping from second storey windows.

It was unclear if the attack was linked to an ongoing struggle between the army and groups seeking to form a breakaway state called Ambazonia in the English-speaking west.

But it was a grim new low in a region that since 2017 has seen hundreds die and thousands displaced because of the conflict, with many children unable to attend school.

“They found the children in class and they opened fire on them,” city sub-prefect Ali Anougou told Reuters.

Isabel Dione ran into the school to search for her 12-year-old daughter when she heard about the shooting. She found her on the floor of a classroom, bleeding from the stomach.

“She was helpless and she was shouting ‘mum please help me’, and I told her ‘only your God can save you now’,” Dione told Reuters. The girl was rushed to hospital where she is undergoing treatment for a gunshot wound.

SEPARATISTS EXPRESS ‘DISGUST’

The United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said eight children had died, some by machete, and that 12 were wounded.

Videos circulating on social media filmed by local journalists showed adults rushing from the school with children in their arms, surrounded by wailing onlookers.

One photo verified by Reuters showed the inside of a classroom, where a pile of dried blood had pooled on the floor near some scattered flip-flops.

Local education official Ahhim Abanaw Obase confirmed six deaths of children aged between 12 and 14, and added that another eight had been taken to hospital.

Anougou and another official blamed the attack on the secessionists, but did not offer evidence.

A prominent separatist leader, who asked not to be named, said his group was working on a statement that will “express our disgust” at the attack, without providing further detail.

Anglophone secessionists have imposed curfews and closed schools as part of their protest against President Paul Biya’s French-speaking government and its perceived marginalisation of the English-speaking minority. Rights groups have documented abuses on civilians from both sides.

Last year, officials blamed separatists for kidnapping dozens of schoolchildren, which the separatists denied.

Source: Reuters

Deportation of Southern Cameroons Asylum Seekers: Why Europe should not follow the US in making a dramatic regression in the protection of human rights

24, October 2020

Deportation of Southern Cameroons Asylum Seekers: Why Europe should not follow the US in making a dramatic regression in the protection of human rights 0

On the 14th of October 2020, an airplane carrying onboard over 100 English speaking Cameroonians from the United States landed at the Douala International Airport in French Cameroun into the waiting hands of a French Cameroun security squad stationed at the airport. Their fate is now a mystery.

Nations are bound by the principle of non- refoulement as defined in article 33 of the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees which prohibits the expulsion or return of refugees to areas they have fled from.

The decision by the Trump administration to deport a hundred English speaking Cameroonians was a flagrant violation of international convention. The United States should know better. It is rewarding that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Norway and many EU nations, still hold close to their hearts the protection of human rights and freedoms especially those of refugees and asylum seekers from war ravaged Southern Cameroons.

With the recent deportation of vulnerable asylum seekers by the United States government to Cameroon, the United States has moved one step away from this prestigious circle of rights defenders. It is no news anywhere in the world that what is going on in the former British Southern Cameroons in particular, and Cameroon in general does not only constitute human rights abuses but genocide in gestation.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group are appealing to the European Union including the powerful Scandinavian countries particularly Sweden and Norway harboring a sea of Southern Cameroons asylum seekers not to follow the US example as there cannot be any reason to justify sending asylum seekers back to a country they have fled from in the middle of a war.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that Tanyi Manyi Enow Clodia, Kingsley Betek and Irene Nanyongo are among the latest Southern Cameroonians who reportedly fled to Sweden, Germany and Canada respectively.  A source deep within the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Buea identified Tanyi Manyi Enow Clodia as an expectant mother who arrived Sweden on the 14th of August 2020 with a student permit amid death and kidnapping threats from soldiers loyal to the regime in Yaounde.

Based on recent figures from the UN High Commissioner for refugees, there has been a 56% increase in the number of people seeking political asylum from the Cameroons. And that number has increased since November 2016 due to the ongoing war in Former British Southern Cameroons.

It remains really strange and inexplicable how with all the statistics and evidence available on the ongoing crisis in Cameroon, and despite letters from some congressmen and women asking for the process to be delayed for more evidence, the Texas officials succeeded in deporting helpless asylum seekers to Cameroon, a country where the abuse of human rights has become a norm and a daily occurrence.

This process of deportation has smeared the dreadful image of the United States’ already injured human rights image. The country has missed an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that it does not side with the regime Yaoundé regime. Sweden, Germany and the UK should not go down the US path.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Nigeria’s Buhari says dozens dead in unrest following anti-police abuse protests

24, October 2020

Nigeria’s Buhari says dozens dead in unrest following anti-police abuse protests 0

At least 51 civilians have been killed in Nigeria’s unrest following days of peaceful protests over police abuses, the president said Friday, blaming “hooliganism” for the violence while asserting that security forces have used “extreme restraint.”

President Muhammadu Buhari’s comments are expected to further inflame tensions in Africa’s most populous country after Amnesty International reported that soldiers shot and killed at least 12 demonstrators Tuesday night as a large crowd sang the national anthem. The deaths sparked international condemnation.

In a statement, Buhari also said 11 policemen and seven soldiers had been killed by “rioters” as of Thursday, and “the mayhem has not stopped.” He said another 37 civilians were injured in some of Nigeria’s worst turmoil in years.

The president said the well-intentioned protests were hijacked by thugs.

But many Nigerians are upset by what the president hasn’t said. Buhari in a national address Thursday night didn’t mention the shootings, instead warning protesters against “undermining national security and law and order.” On Friday he said the government “will not fold its arms and allow miscreants and criminals continue to perpetrate acts of hooliganism.”

Resentment lingered with the smell of charred tires Friday in Nigeria’s relatively calm streets. Soldiers remained in parts of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, as a 24-hour curfew remained in place.

A witness of Tuesday night’s shooting, 33-year-old Isaiah Abor, ventured out anyway to visit the scene where solders had opened fire. He managed to escape the chaos.

“When (the soldiers) were making comments that the flag is not bulletproof, that’s when I knew this was going to go out of hand,” Abor said. Empty ammunition shells still littered the ground.

The president’s speech annoyed him. “The blood that stained a whole Nigerian flag, those youths were not even mentioned,” Abor said. He added: “We are not cowards. We will always come to this ground, and we will always feel for those that are gone.”

Another protester, Olatunde Joshua Oluwanifemi, said simply: “The speech killed our spirit.”

The president’s comments, “devoid of sympathy,” were worrying, said Okechukwu Nwanguma with the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Center. Shielding those behind the shootings will only lead to abuses by the police and military, he said: “If those who carried out the killings did so and nothing happens, it will encourage them and others to do the same thing next time.”

But citing the president’s comments, one influential group behind the protests, the Feminist Coalition, urged youth to stay at home, saying that “we need to stay alive to pursue our dreams to build the future.”

Others disagreed. If the protests have been hijacked, then Nigerian youth should not give up the struggle and instead should “go back and re-strategize,” said Seriki Muritala with the National Youth Parliament.

Campaign to shut down police unit

This week’s scenes have touched a chord with Black Lives Matter supporters in the United States, while the U.S. government has strongly condemned the “use of excessive force by military forces who fired on unarmed demonstrators in Lagos, causing death and injury.”

The protests turned violent Wednesday after the military’s shooting as mobs vandalized and burned police stations, courthouses, TV stations and a hotel. Police battled angry crowds with tear gas and gunfire. The looting and gunfire continued Thursday.

The demonstrations began early this month with calls for Nigeria’s government to shut down the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a police unit known as SARS. The squad was launched to fight crime, but it carried out torture and killings, according to Amnesty International.

The #EndSARS campaign spread across the country and Buhari’s government announced that it would disband the SARS unit. The protest persisted with demonstrators calling for more widespread reforms of the police and an end to corruption.

In one attempt at calming tensions, the Lagos state government on Friday shared a list of ongoing prosecution against police officers accused of human rights abuses.

“Today seems like a good day to get on to the work of rebuilding Lagos and ending police brutality,” Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu said.

But an angry crowd shouted at him over the unrest as officials toured burned-out vehicles and the sacked palace of a Lagos ceremonial leader. The leader, or oba, isn’t popular with some Nigerians who see him as a product of the country’s often corrupt politics.

‘We need to heal ourselves’

Opulence and grinding poverty are in close contact in Lagos, a city of some 20 million, and the inequality sharpens Nigerians’ grievances.

After touring the battered city, the governor told reporters he was “very traumatized” and that “we lost people in several parts of the city.” He didn’t give details.

“Enough is enough,” he said. “We need to heal ourselves.” He said the curfew would begin easing Saturday morning and a panel looking into the unrest would begin receiving petitions on Monday.

And yet nerves were frayed. Near the scene of Tuesday’s shooting, police shouted, then fired into the air, to stop a convoy carrying the body of a Muslim who had died overnight; the cause of death was not clear.

After questioning by police, the mourners were allowed to continue, to go on and bury the dead.

(AP)

US: Cameroonian asylum seekers were subject to torture at an ICE detention center in Mississippi

24, October 2020

US: Cameroonian asylum seekers were subject to torture at an ICE detention center in Mississippi 0

If you thought ICE detention centers couldn’t get any worse, think again. In Mississippi, US immigration staff allegedly tortured Cameroonian asylum seekers until they signed their deportation documents. Cameroonians are seeking refuge outside of their country due to Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis, which has been occurring since October of 2016.

According to the Central Africa branch of the International Crisis Group, 20% of the population feel marginalized.

Four years ago, strikes and riots resulted from years of frustration in the country’s Anglophone minority and led to political demands from the population. The government’s approach was deemed not effective and was forced to negotiate trade unions with Anglophones. However, the population was subject to three months without internet, six months of strikes, and one entire school year lost. Today, there is a demand for federalism or secession at a boiling point.

The Instagram account, Justice For Cameroon, details the history of migrant Cameroonians, and why some are fleeing the country and seeking refuge in the United States as a result of the crisis.

On February 5, 2019, The Washington Post also published an investigative video on the crisis in Cameroon.

For the first time since 1996, Cameroon will hold its first regional polls in December. Current President Paul Biya has been in power since 1982.

English-speaking provinces will also take part in the election process, which comes after years of separatists fighting with the government that has cost more than 3,000 lives and uncertain living conditions for many more.

The people who have fled from Cameroon have come in fear of government forces that have enacted countless civilian killings, and are  are awaiting asylum hearings in ICE detention centers.

There is where the problems begin for the already threatened people.

Multiple refugees have alleged detainees were threatened with violence, choked, beaten, and pepper-sprayed as a way of forcing them to to request the complete opposite of asylum.

It is reported ICE agents put several of their detainees in handcuffs, and forcibly took their fingerprints to replace their signature for the stipulation order of removal. This meant the asylum seekers were forced to waive their rights for immigration hearings and accept deportation.

Advocates for human rights alongside attorneys reported an acceleration in deportations recently. With the election around the corner, the link between the Trump administration’s immigration policy and quicker rates of deportation is clear.

Freedom for Immigrants Executive Director, Christina Fialho said reports of the abuse began in late September and early October of 2020.

“We began to receive calls on our hotline from Cameroonian and Congolese immigrants detained in ICE prisons across the country. And they were being subjected to threats of deportation, often accompanied by physical abuse,” she said.

Fialho added that ICE thrives in secrecy, and “operates in the shadows.”

On Oct. 13, a plane flew 60 Cameroonians and 28 Congolese asylum seekers out of the country from Fort Worth Alliance Airport in Texas.

Quietly, ICE used a charter plane with no flight plan. Luckily, it was found and tracked by the immigration rights group Witness at the Border, and they reported a stopover over in Senegal, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo before landing in Kenya, and then arriving back in Texas.

In 2019, the Trump admin cut trade privileges with Cameroon due to the ongoing uprisings in the country.

The deported individuals on the flight testified about the abuse they suffered in detention centers under the Cameroonian military, with some having family murdered.

Under the U.S. immigration court system, run by the Justice Department, Cameroonians are also regularly denied asylum or parole.

A complaint filed in conjunction with FFI and the Southern Poverty Law Center recounts eight different stories with claims of abuse and torture.

One person, who was taken off the Oct.13 flight, codenamed CA, still faces deportation, but was one of the people that shared their accounts.

They claim to have been pepper-sprayed before being dragged on the ground.

“The officers told me to open my eyes. I couldn’t. My legs and hands were handcuffed. They forcefully opened my palm. Some of my fingers were broken. They forced my fingerprint on to the paper,” they said.

Source: Aldianews.com

Four years after the Eseka train accident: CPDM Crime Syndicate’s list of broken, failed promises

22, October 2020

Four years after the Eseka train accident: CPDM Crime Syndicate’s list of broken, failed promises 0

4 years after the Eseka train accident in French Cameroun which according to CPDM crime syndicate figures killed 79 people and injured 551, the promises made by the Biya Francophone regime are still awaited by the victims.

On 21 October 2016, the derailment of an Inter City 152 train plunged the entire CEMAC region into shock. Following the accident described as the “worst tragedy” experienced by the Bolloré group, the regime in Yaoundé had promised to build a memorial for the victims.

Among Yaoundé’s numerous promises, the then Prime Minister Philemon Yang announced the redevelopment of the Eséka-Makak-Ngoumou highway and the provision of medical ambulance to the district hospital of Eséka.

 Cameroon Railway Company, Camrail reportedly made the compensation of victims its priority and paid the funeral expenses of the deceased. Approximately 215 million CFA francs (about 327,995 euros) was handed over to the families of the victims on October 3, 2018 in Yaoundé.

Cameroon Concord News understands that as of 31 July 2019, a majority of the injured passengers had already been compensated while three cases that were subject to a medical evacuation abroad were still being treated.

While the Bolloré subsidiary has respected its commitments, Yaoundé’s promises are still being awaited.

Indeed, 4 years later, La Republique du Cameroun is still waiting for the completion of construction work at the Eseka train accident memorial, the redevelopment of the Eséka-Makak-Ngoumou highway and the provision of medical ambulances to the district hospital of Eséka.

All these promises were announced in the presence of the international media with great fanfare by the Biya regime in the wake of the worst railway tragedy in French Country’s history.

By Rita Akana

African Union ‘strongly’ condemns deadly violence in Nigeria

22, October 2020

African Union ‘strongly’ condemns deadly violence in Nigeria 0

The African Union on Thursday strongly condemned deadly violence in Nigeria’s biggest city Lagos and called on all parties to “privilege dialogue”. 

African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat “strongly condemns the violence that erupted on 20 October 2020 during protests in Lagos, Nigeria that has resulted in multiple deaths and injuries”, his office said in a statement.

“The Chairperson appeals to all political and social actors to reject the use of violence and respect human rights and the rule of law,” the statement said.

Mahamat’s comments came as protests escalated in Lagos, following the shooting of peaceful protesters by security forces earlier this week.

At least 12 people were killed by the Nigerian army and police in two locations in Lagos on Tuesday in a deadly crackdown on demonstrations, Amnesty International said.

Peaceful protesters had gathered despite a curfew imposed to end spiralling protests over police brutality and deep-rooted social grievances.

“Evidence gathered from eyewitnesses, video footage and hospital reports confirm that between 6:45pm (1745 GMT) and 9:00pm (2000 GMT) on Tuesday 20 October, the Nigerian military opened fire on thousands of people,” Amnesty said in a statement.

The Lagos governor at first insisted no fatalities had been recorded but later said the authorities were investigating the death of one person resulting from “blunt force trauma to the head”.

He said at least 25 people were wounded.

Masks and army uniforms

Demonstrator Paul Sunday who was at the scene told AFP that the men who shot at the crowd were wearing masks and had army uniforms.

“They attacked us from back and front,” he said. “They came around 7pm when everywhere is dark.”

Pictures and videos showing scenes of chaos in the aftermath of the shooting were widely shared on social media.

The shooting drew international condemnation, with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet saying reports suggested it could have been premeditated.

“There is little doubt that this was a case of excessive use of force, resulting in unlawful killings with live ammunition, by Nigerian armed forces,” she said.

“Reports that CCTV cameras and lighting were deliberately disabled prior to the shooting are even more disturbing as, if confirmed, they suggest this deplorable attack on peaceful protestors was premeditated, planned and coordinated.”

Human Rights Watch corroborated reports that the Nigerian army had opened fire on the crowd in “a shooting spree”.

“The authorities should immediately withdraw the military from the streets,” said Anietie Ewang, a Nigeria researcher with the rights group.

Source: France 24

Ambazonian fighters claim attacks in Muea and Besongagabang, gunfire heard

22, October 2020

Ambazonian fighters claim attacks in Muea and Besongagabang, gunfire heard 0

Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Muea in the Fako County and Besongabang in Manyu on a beer parlour, mainly used by the Cameroon government army, late on Wednesday after powerful gun shots were heard all around Muea and Besongabang.

 Gunfire rang out over the busy street in Muea for more than 45 minutes where Cameroon government security forces had taken up positions.

Security officials told Cameroon Intelligence Report that dozens of heavily armed Amba fighters were in Muea, suggesting a coordinated operation against the Cameroon government army.

There was no immediate word on casualties from the Biya Francophone regime authorities in Buea, although the Ambazonian Restoration Forces claimed there were “five dead and wounded” in Besongabang.

After the attacks on Muea and Besongabang, Cameroon government security forces closed off streets in Muea and the main highway linking Besongabang to Mamfe.

Columns of vehicles carrying troops and police were in both Muea and Mamfe and heavy automatic gunfire could be heard fired by the Cameroon army.

By Fon Lawrence and Kingsley Betek

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Ambazonia General killed in combat buried

22, October 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Ambazonia General killed in combat buried 0

Fonteh Lucas Ndefru alias ‘General’ Mad Dog, separatist fighter killed by soldiers on September 5, 2020, has been buried at their family compound in Ntamulung, Bamenda this Wednesday, October 21, 2020.

The remains of the separatist strongman were coffined at the Bamenda Regional Hospital Mortuary under the watchful eyes of elements of Cameroon’s Defence and Security Forces. Prayers were said at the chapel of the mortuary.

Soldiers only left the family compound at Ntamulung shortly after Fonteh had been buried. Brigadier General Nka Valère, Commander of the 5th Joint Military Region said on September 6 that Fonteh alias Lord Luga was killed on the night of Saturday, September 5, 2020, by a commando squad of the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR.

General Nka said they had put a bet on the head of Fonteh, a man who had been “terrorizing the population of Bamenda for over ten years – both as a criminal and as a terrorist”.

“For the last five or even ten years, that criminal and terrorist had killed more than 100 people, men and women, children, civilians and members of the defense and security forces,” Nka said, adding that a bounty was put on Mad Dog’s head after he led a gang of armed men that attacked the Head Office of Mitanyen Cooperative Credit Union Limited, MitaCCUL, at Sonac Street Bamenda on Friday, August 21, 2020.

“It is a great day for us. We are celebrating the death of a very famous, notorious amba terrorist,” said the Brigadier General.

Nka extended the congratulations of the hierarchy to the defense and security forces working in the North West region to secure the population and restore peace.

“Let me congratulate the squad of commandos that carried out this operation because last week, we put a bet on Fonteh. That whoever will take him, whether dead or alive will receive an envelope. I will not give the amount but those guys will be rewarded for what they have done,” Nka revealed.

The Commander of the 5th Joint Military Region assured the population that the killing of Fonteh alias Mad Dog is part of measures to make sure that “we clean Bamenda off all these amba terrorists.”  Mad Dog was gunned down on Saturday night during an operation “cleverly planned” by the 5th Joint Military Region, RMIA5.

The operation in Bamenda, capital of Cameroon’s North West Region was conducted by commandos of the 3rd regiment of the Rapid Intervention Brigade, the BIR – an elite unit of the country’s army.

Open sources say the dreaded rebel figure fell into the dragnet of the military in Ntasen, Nkwen, although his remains were left at Liberty Square (City Chemist Roundabout) in Mankon early the next day for the public to see.

It is not known if Rebel General Ayekeh killed in Lebialem last October 13, 2020, will be buried in a similar fashion.

Source: Cameroon Info.Net

Nigeria: Protests escalate after deadly crackdown by security forces

22, October 2020

Nigeria: Protests escalate after deadly crackdown by security forces 0

Buildings were torched in Nigeria’s biggest city Lagos on Wednesday as authorities shut down the economic hub, after the shooting of peaceful protesters by security forces caused international outrage.

At least 12 people were killed by the Nigerian army and police in two locations in Lagos on Tuesday in a deadly crackdown on demonstrations, Amnesty International said.

Peaceful protesters had gathered despite a curfew imposed to end spiralling protests over police brutality and deep-rooted social grievances.

“Evidence gathered from eyewitnesses, video footage and hospital reports confirm that between 6:45pm (1745 GMT) and 9:00pm (2000 GMT) on Tuesday 20 October, the Nigerian military opened fire on thousands of people,” Amnesty said in a statement.

The Lagos governor at first insisted no fatalities had been recorded but later said the authorities were investigating the death of one person resulting from “blunt force trauma to the head”.

He said at least 25 people were wounded.

Demonstrator Paul Sunday who was at the scene told AFP that the men who shot at the crowd were wearing masks and had army uniforms.

“They attacked us from back and front,” he said. “They came around 7pm when everywhere is dark.”

Pictures and videos showing scenes of chaos in the aftermath of the shooting were widely shared on social media.

The shooting drew international condemnation, with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet saying reports suggested it could have been premeditated.

“There is little doubt that this was a case of excessive use of force, resulting in unlawful killings with live ammunition, by Nigerian armed forces,” she said.

“Reports that CCTV cameras and lighting were deliberately disabled prior to the shooting are even more disturbing as, if confirmed, they suggest this deplorable attack on peaceful protestors was premeditated, planned and coordinated.”

Human Rights Watch corroborated reports that the Nigerian army had opened fire on the crowd in “a shooting spree”.

“The authorities should immediately withdraw the military from the streets,” said Anietie Ewang, a Nigeria researcher with the rights group.

The Nigerian army did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment but on Twitter it called reports of soldiers firing on protesters “fake news”.

The west African ECOWAS bloc appealed to the Nigerian government, its youth and civil society “to urgently pursue dialogue for an early and amicable resolution of this social unrest and maintain the Nigerian image as a bastion of law and order.”

Nana Akufo-Addo, chairman of ECOWAS and president of neighbouring Ghana, said in a statement that he had spoken with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who had “begun the processes that will lead to reform”.

‘Inferno’

The centre of Lagos, a sprawling city that is home to 20 million people, was largely deserted and shops were closed on Wednesday under a curfew.

An AFP journalist said several buildings were burnt around the area of the shooting and remnants of the violence—broken glass, torn banners—could be seen.

A few people were drifting around, but protest hotspot Lekki Toll Gate had emptied out, only graffiti denouncing police violence and bad governance remaining.

A dozen soldiers and heavily armed police officers patrolled nearby.

In another district a bus station was set ablaze and there were sporadic clashes between bottle-throwing youths and police, who occasionally fired into the air.

A TV station linked to one of the ruling party’s most powerful politicians was also torched.

Concerned by the escalating violence reported on Wednesday in a string of cities including Lagos, the International Committee for the Red Cross called for restraint.

“It is of paramount importance that first responders and ambulances are respected by all, so they can reach injured people safely,” said Eloi Fillion, head of the ICRC delegation in Nigeria.

In a television broadcast, Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu ordered all “state activities” to be halted across the city for three days.

He said he had asked for a probe into “the rules of engagement employed by the men of the Nigerian army that were deployed” at the scene during the shooting on Tuesday.

“Soldiers clearly had one intention – to kill without consequences,” said Osai Ojigho, Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.

‘Indefinite curfew’

At least 56 people have died across the country since the protests began on October 8, with about 38 killed on Tuesday alone, according to Amnesty.

President Buhari was yet to directly address Tuesday’s incident but in a statement on the protests the presidency said he had appealed for “understanding and calm across the nation”.

A coalition of civil society organisations in Nigeria said on Wednesday that they were “deeply shocked by the killing of peaceful protesters”.

“The attempt to fight for justice over police brutality has again revealed the brutal nature of the Nigerian state,” it said in a statement.

According to the group, “not less than 40 Nigerians have lost their lives as a result of violent attempts to crack down or disrupt the ongoing protests against police brutality.”

Nigeria, where the median age is 18, is a tinderbox of profound economic and social grievances.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Wednesday he was “deeply concerned” by violence in Nigeria.

“The Nigerian government must urgently investigate reports of brutality at the hands of the security forces and hold those responsible to account,” he said in a statement.

Since Tuesday, Rihanna, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Ugandan pop star-turned politician Bobi Wine and Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo added their names to a list of celebrities who have supported the protesters.

Source: AFP

US: President Trump records show Chinese business pursuits and bank account

21, October 2020

US: President Trump records show Chinese business pursuits and bank account 0

Donald Trump spent years cultivating business projects in China, where he maintained a previously unknown bank account, The New York Times reported Tuesday, as the US president attempts to portray election rival Joe Biden as weaker on Beijing.

Trump has spent recent days promoting a murky claim that Biden’s son Hunter sold access to his father in Ukraine and China when he was vice president under Barack Obama.

It is Trump, however, who maintained an office in China during his first run for president, and partnered with a major government-controlled company, the Times reported.

Trump additionally keeps a previously unknown bank account in China, controlled by Trump International Hotels Management, according to an analysis of his tax records by the paper. It is one of only three foreign nations — including Britain and Ireland — in which he does so.

The tax records show the company “paid $188,561 in taxes in China while pursuing licensing deals there from 2013 to 2015,” the Times reported.

Trump Organization lawyer Alan Garten said the company had “opened an account with a Chinese bank having offices in the United States in order to pay the local taxes.”

“No deals, transactions or other business activities ever materialized and, since 2015, the office has remained inactive,” he told The Times. “Though the bank account remains open, it has never been used for any other purpose.”

Under his “America First” banner, Trump has portrayed China as the greatest threat to the United States and global democracy.

He has launched a massive trade war that has cost China billions of dollars, harangued Chinese tech firms and laid blame for the coronavirus pandemic with Beijing.

Even so, in 2008 Trump attempted an ultimately unsuccessful office tower project in Guangzhou, and in 2012 he opened a Shanghai office, the Times said.

Additionally, Trump Hotel Collection (THC) negotiated with the State Grid Corporation of China — an electricity company, and the country’s largest state-owned enterprise — to brand and manage a major development in Beijing, sources told AFP. But the bid was later abandoned.

Biden’s income tax returns and financial dealings meanwhile show no business connection to China.

Source:  AFP

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