Crime & Court
Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Niger to stop persecuting journalist Baba Alpha
Nigerien authorities should reverse the expulsion of journalist Baba Alpha and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday . After jailing him for a year, authorities on April 3 released Baba Alpha, a journalist with the privately owned radio and television news agency Bonferey, and drove him to Labbezanga, a town in northeastern Mali on the border with Niger, the journalist told CPJ.
“Baba Alpha’s year-long imprisonment and expulsion by the Nigerien government is an outrage of justice intended to silence a journalist for doing his job,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “Nigerien authorities should allow Baba Alpha to continue to work freely and live in safety with his family in Niger.”
The expulsion order, which was seen by CPJ, came from Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s minister of interior. Alpha’s release and expulsion followed a March 12 Nigerien appeals court decision to suspend the second year of his two-year prison sentence, according to the journalist, his lawyer Amadou Boubacar, and media reports.
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“I am born in Niger, I was grown in Niger, I did my studies in Niger, I married a Nigerien, and both my children were born in Niger,” Alpha told CPJ from Labbezanga. His imprisonment and expulsion without identity documents were in reprisal for his critical reporting about the Nigerien government, he said. “I’m practically in detention in the middle [on the Niger and Malian border] and can’t go either way,” he said. Mali’s Gao region, where Labbezanga is located, is a particularly violent site of the years-long conflict between the government, rebels, and Islamic militants, news reports say.
Alpha was arrested on March 30, 2017, and was charged on April 3, 2017, with the use of false documents asserting his Nigerien nationality, according to CPJ research.
Crime & Court
EFCC Secures Public Summons Against Yahaya Bello in ₦110bn Case
Justice Maryanne Anenih of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has issued a public summons for former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to appear in court to respond to a fresh 16-count indictment.
The summons requires Bello to attend court on October 24 for his arraignment, alongside co-defendants Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu.
The public summons was ordered following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In her ruling, Justice Anenih directed the EFCC to publish the summons in a widely circulated newspaper to ensure proper notification.
Also, the court instructed the EFCC to post copies of the public summons at Bello’s last known address and in conspicuous locations within the court premises.
The EFCC has reported difficulties in serving the charges, which were filed on September 24, alleging that Bello and the two co-defendants committed a criminal breach of trust involving a staggering ₦110.4 billion.
Crime & Court
Police Officer Stabs Civilian to Death Over ‘Uncleared Transaction’
A Police Inspector, Mohammed Bulama, attached to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) 41 in Yobe State, has been arrested for allegedly killing a 39-year-old civilian, Abdulmalik Dauda, during a confrontation in Damaturu, the state capital.
The incident, which occurred on September 29, 2024, was sparked by a heated argument between Bulama and Dauda over “uncleared transactions” in the Zango area of Damaturu. The argument escalated, leading Bulama to fatally stab Dauda in the chest.
In a statement, the Yobe State Police spokesperson, Dungus Abdulkarim, confirmed Bulama’s arrest and announced that an investigation into the homicide case had been launched.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Garba Ahmed, has ordered an immediate and thorough investigation into the incident involving Inspector Mohammed Bulama,” Abdulkarim said.
He further disclosed that the officer has been placed in custody, pending internal disciplinary action and prosecution.
CP Ahmed condemned the actions of the officer, extending his condolences to the family of the victim.
He also assured the public that justice would be served swiftly in accordance with the law.
Crime & Court
Police Summon Officers Over Alleged N1m Corps Members’ Extortion
The Lagos State Police Command has summoned three officers accused of extorting N1 million from members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the Surulere area of Lagos.
Footage of the incident, which went viral on social media late Friday, shows the officers confronting the corps members, reportedly over the absence of a physical copy of a driver’s license. The video was shared by social media user Oluyemi Fasipe, who claimed that the officers threatened the corps members with firearms and forcibly took them to the Kafaru Oluwole Tinubu House, the Area C Command of the Lagos State Police, where they allegedly extorted the sum of N1 million.
“Dear @BenHundeyin, Your officers today in Surulere extorted 1 million naira from three corps members,” Fasipe wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “They were threatened with firearms, kidnapped, and taken to the KAFARU OLUWOLE TINUBU HOUSE AREA C POLICE COMMAND of the @LagosPoliceNG where they were robbed.”
Fasipe added that the entire incident stemmed from the corps members’ inability to present a physical copy of a driver’s license, a situation he described as “evil.”
In one of the videos, the officers are seen inspecting the vehicle’s documents, with the situation escalating as additional officers arrived. One officer can be seen entering the car and demanding that the corps members stop recording the incident, while also prohibiting them from contacting their families.
In response, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that the officers involved have been summoned, and an investigation is underway.
“The men have been summoned, and their trial has commenced,” Hundeyin wrote on X. “We urge the complainants to visit the Complaint Response Unit at the State Headquarters to testify at the ongoing trial.”
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