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How Kenyan Operatives Ransacked Nnamdi Kanu’s Apartment To Take His UK Passport

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The lawyer to Kanu, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, also corroborated this claim, adding that it was too late for Kenya to dismiss the “compelling evidence.”

The Kenya government detailed security operatives to ransack the apartment where Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, stayed in the country when news filtered in last Thursday that his United Kingdom passport was left behind in the East African country, competent sources have informed the media.

The media learned that the Kenya operatives broke into the apartment and searched desperately for the UK passport, but it was eventually not found.

The sources noted that the UK passport had been safely kept away from the Kenya apartment before the intelligence was deliberately released to ” serve as evidence that the Kenya government was involved in the unconventional abduction of Kanu to Nigeria.”

The lawyer to Kanu, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, also corroborated this claim, adding that it was too late for Kenya to dismiss the “compelling evidence.”

Ejiofor said, “My happiness is that by that development (of the leaving over of Kanu’s UK passport in Kenya) the desperate denials of the Kenya government in the abduction of Kanu have been put to rest. Earlier, I had compelling evidence to show the world a conspiracy between Kenya and Nigerian governments to abduct Kanu through an unconventional process.

“Kenya became apprehensive that we had other compelling evidence. As soon as the fact of his passport still in Kenya was made public, they quickly went to the apartment where Kanu stayed in Kenya and ransacked the place. But it was too late for them. These are people who are telling us that they don’t know about what happened to Kanu.”

The media had on July 10 reported that new evidence that Kenyan authorities were guilty in the arrest and extradition of Nnamdi Kanu emerged with his UK passport left behind in the country.

A UK Newspaper, The Guardian, had stated this in a report, adding that Kanu got a Kenya visa which was to expire in June, and he had been around in the country before his sudden arrest and extradition.

“Evidence seen by the Guardian shows Kanu entered Kenya this year on his British passport on a visa expiring in June. His UK passport remains in Kenya. Kanu did not have a Nigerian passport, his family said, and he has verbally renounced his Nigerian citizenship in broadcasts.

“The abduction of a person from a foreign country with the aim of rendition to justice is illegal under international law,” the UK newspaper report had said.

The media reported that Kanu recounted his experience in Kenya while speaking with his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, saying he was “mercilessly beaten and tortured” in the East African country before his extradition to Nigeria.

Ejiofor had confirmed the words of Kanu during an interview adding that Kanu told him how he was detained not in the Kenya official detention centers but a private residence for about eight days before his extradition to Nigeria.

This is despite the Kenyan authorities’ denial that they had anything to do with the arrest and extradition of Kanu to Nigeria.

Culled from the Sahara Reporters 

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Africa

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso agree to create a joint force to fight worsening violence

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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A joint security force announced by the juntas ruling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to fight the worsening extremist violence in their Sahel region countries faces a number of challenges that cast doubt on its effectiveness, analysts said Thursday.

Niger’s top military chief, Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou said in a statement after meeting with his counterparts Wednesday that the joint force would be “operational as soon as possible to meet the security challenges in our area.”

The announcement is the latest in a series of actions taken by the three countries to strike a more independent path away from regional and international allies since the region experienced a string of coups — the most recent in Niger in July last year.

They have already formed a security alliance after severing military ties with neighbors and European nations such as France and turning to Russia — already present in parts of the Sahel — for support.

Barmou did not give details about the operation of the force, which he referred to as an “operational concept that will enable us to achieve our defence and security objectives.”

Although the militaries had promised to end the insurgencies in their territories after deposing their respective elected governments, conflict analysts say the violence has instead worsened under their regimes. They all share borders in the conflict-hit Sahel region and their security forces fighting jihadi violence are overstretched.

The effectiveness of their security alliance would depend not just on their resources but on external support, said Bedr Issa, an independent analyst who researches the conflict in the Sahel.

The three regimes are also “very fragile,” James Barnett, a researcher specializing in West Africa at the U.S.-based Hudson Institute, said, raising doubts about their capacity to work together.

“They’ve come to power through coups, they are likely facing a high risk of coups themselves, so it is hard to build a stable security framework when the foundation of each individual regime is shaky,” said Barnett.

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Associated Press writer Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria contributed.

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Mexican Authorities say they saw a huge increase in migrants from Africa and Venezuela in 2023

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Mexican authorities say they saw a huge increase in the number of migrants from Africa and Venezuela entering the country in 2023.

Those migrants generally enter Mexico from Central America, and cross the country in a bid to reach the U.S. border.

Mexico’s Interior Department said year-end figures showed that nine times more migrants from Africa entered Mexico in 2023, with numbers rising from 6,672 in 2022, to 59,834 in 2023.

The report also showed the number of migrants from Venezuela more than doubled last year, rising from 96,197 in 2022 to 222,994 in 2023.

In part, that may reflect more rapid and more numerous movements of migrants through the jungle-clad Darien Gap that connects South America to Panama.

Smugglers are moving migrants more quickly through the dangerous route, which last year was traversed by over half a million migrants. Once in Panama, migrants make their way through Central America to Mexico.

Overall, the number of all irregular migrants found in Mexico in 2023 rose by 77%, going from 441,409 in 2022 to 782,176 last year.

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Nigeria vs South Africa: AFCON prediction, kick-off time, TV, and live stream

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A meeting of two imperious defences will decide the first entrant to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final when South Africa and Nigeria meet on Wednesday.

The Super Eagles have conceded just one goal at this AFCON and dispatched Angola in a tight game to qualify for the semi-finals.

But Bafana Bafana matched their run of four consecutive clean sheets as goalkeeper Ronwen Williams delivered the heroics in their penalty shootout win over Cape Verde.

Only once since their last Cup of Nations title, which came just over a decade ago, have Nigeria reached the last four – and they have lost five of their last six AFCON semi-finals.

South Africa’s wait stretches back even further, with no title since 1996 and this their first run to the last four since 2000.

Date, kick-off time and venue

Nigeria vs South Africa is scheduled for a 5pm GMT kick-off on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.

The match will take place at Stade de la Paix in Bouake.

Where to watch Nigeria vs South Africa

TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on BBC Two, with coverage starting at 4.30pm GMT, as well as Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League.

Live stream: Sky subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app while the game will also be shown for free via the BBC Sport and iPlayer portals.

Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.

What we know

♦ Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen was taken off late on against Angola with an abdominal injury and he did not join the rest of the squad in flying out to Bouake on Monday evening.

A team statement assured that he could yet be released to travel on Tuesday if he passes medical checks.

Hugo Broos has a settled line-up for South Africa, with the defence entirely made up of Mamelodi Sundowns players.

However, after failing to score against Cape Verde he could tinker with the attack.

♦ Both teams have been outstanding defensively throughout the tournament and it feels as though a single goal will prove the difference in this game.

Head to head (h2h) history and results

Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong scored an 89th-minute winner when Nigeria knocked Bafana Bafana out of the 2019 Cup of Nations quarter-finals, which was these two sides’ last meeting.

Nigeria wins: 7

South Africa wins: 2

Draws: 5

Nigeria vs South Africa match odds

Nigeria to qualify: 1/2

South Africa to qualify: 7/1

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