Headline

Benin Opposition Leader Jailed 20 Years For Terrorism

Published

4 years ago

December 11, 2021

Editor

Benin opposition leader Reckya Madougou was sentenced on Saturday to 20 years in prison for terrorism by a special court in the capital Porto-Novo after a brief trial that her lawyers condemned as a “political attack”.

After more than 20 hours of hearings, Madougou was found guilty of “complicity in terrorist acts” by the Economic Crime and Terrorism Court, or Criet, which on Tuesday sentenced another key opposition figure to 10 years.

Critics say the court, set up in 2016, has been used by President Patrice Talon’s regime to crack down on the opposition and pushed Benin into authoritarianism.

“This court has deliberately decided to penalise an innocent person,” Madougou said shortly before her prison sentence was announced.

“I have never been and I will never be a terrorist,” the 47-year-old former justice minister added.

“It’s a sad day for our justice system, I maintain that there is no proof,” one of her lawyers, Robert Dossou, told AFP.

Madougou was one of several Benin opposition leaders banned from running in an election in April in which Talon won a second term with 86 percent of the vote.

She was arrested in the economic capital Cotonou in March — just weeks before the election — accused of financing an operation to assassinate political figures to prevent the vote, in an alleged bid to “destabilise” the country.

“Tried at 6am, without witnesses, without documents, without evidence, Recky Madougou was sentenced to 20 years in prison by three accomplices of those in power,” her France-based lawyer Antoine Vey tweeted after the sentencing.

“Her crime: to have embodied a democratic alternative to the regime of Patrice Talon.”

Vey had told the trial on Friday that “this procedure is nothing but a political attack”.

“Even before her arrest, everything was orchestrated,” Vey said a day after arriving from Paris.

He asked for the trial to be cancelled, before leaving the court and never returning — Madougou’s Benin-based lawyers stayed for the remainder.

Vey then told AFP that it was “a trial in which nothing was judicial”.

Madougou said on the stand at the trial that she had “no illusions” about its outcome.

“I offer myself to the democracy of my country, if my sacrifice can give your court back its independence,” she said.

– Judge flees pressure –
Less than a week before the April election, a judge from the special court fled Benin denouncing political pressure to make rulings, in particular in the case of Madougou’s arrest.

Government officials dismiss claims of political interference and say Benin’s judiciary is independent.

Benin was long praised for its thriving multi-party democracy in a troubled region. But critics say the West African state’s democracy has steadily eroded under Talon, a 63-year-old cotton magnate first elected in 2016.

Some opposition leaders have fled the country while others were disqualified from running in elections, or targeted for investigation.

Joel Aivo, a professor who had been held for eight months, was found guilty on Tuesday of plotting against the state and money laundering.

Aivo, who was also barred from running in the election, was arrested on April 15, four days after the ballot that saw Talon returned to power.

The same special court in 2018 also sentenced Sebastien Ajavon, an opposition figure who came third in the previous election, to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking.

He was again sentenced in early March in absentia to a second sentence of five years in prison for forgery and fraud.

Like most Beninese opposition figures, he now lives in exile.

AFP

Headline

Again, Russia Claims Another Village In Ukraine’s Region

Published

8 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Russian army Monday claimed to have captured another village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, moving deeper into Ukrainian territory as peace efforts stall.

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and central Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized the settlement of Zaporizke in the region, which Russian troops recently advanced into for the first time in the three-and-a-half-year offensive.

Kyiv denies that Russian troops have gained a foothold in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub.

After another push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia last week ruled out any immediate meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The central region of Dnipropetrovsk has previously been largely spared from fighting that has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, until Russia said its forces broke through in July.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.

Ukraine said Russia had launched over 100 drones Monday, killing a 37-year old civilian driver and wounding two people in the northeastern Sumy region.

Moscow said Kyiv had launched about two dozen drones targeting western Russia

Headline

US Comedian Reggie Carroll Shot Dead In Mississippi

Published

8 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

A United States comedian, Reginald “Reggie” Carroll, has been shot dead in Southaven, Mississippi.

The 52-year-old Carroll, widely known as the Knockout King of Comedy, was reportedly killed on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.

The Southaven Police Department confirmed the incident in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

“Southaven officers located one male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

“The officers and medical personnel provided life saving techniques but the individual succumbed to his injuries,” the statement partly read.

The victim was later identified as Carroll, a Baltimore native.

Police said one suspect was arrested and charged with his murder.

“One male is in custody and has been charged with the murder of Reginald Carroll.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Carroll.

“Thank you to the community for their patience and understanding,” the department added.

The police further assured that there was no ongoing threat to residents, describing the case as “an isolated shooting.”

Carroll, who built his career in stand-up comedy, gained national recognition touring with Katt Williams and headlining his own showcase, Knockout Kings of Comedy.

He also featured in the 2000 edition of Showtime at the Apollo, appeared on the UPN sitcom The Parkers alongside Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn, and starred in the 2022 television film Rent & Go.

In 2023, he produced the stand-up special Knockout Kings of Comedy.

The Southaven Police Department disclosed that an investigation into his death is ongoing.

Headline

US Defends New Social Media Vetting For Nigerian Visa Applicants

Published

8 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria on Monday reaffirmed that the safety and security of the United States remain the cornerstone of its visa application and decision-making process.

The US said this following its directive last week that mandates Nigerians to disclose all social media usernames and handles used over the past five years as part of the visa application process.

US Mission said Nigerian visa applicants must provide a comprehensive list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 visa application form, and warned that omitting the information could lead to visa denials.

Reacting to the development, the Federal Government said US citizens intending to visit Nigeria will be subjected to the same measures.

“The best we can do is to carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures,” spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said last Monday.

However, in a statement released Monday on X, the US Mission said prospective visa applicants undergo careful vetting to maintain a safe and welcoming environment in the US.

It said, “The safety and security of the United States is at the heart of every #USVisa application and decision process.

“That’s why prospective applicants undergo careful screening to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all.”

The Mission added, “These measures help protect American citizens and communities while supporting secure and responsible travel.”