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Coup: ECOWAS Suspends Burkina Faso

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The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Burkina Faso from its governing bodies, following the coup d’etat carried out late Sunday that toppled the democratically elected government of President Roch Kabore.

The Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government made the resolution on Friday at the end of its virtual Extraordinary Summit on the situation in Burkina Faso.

The resolutions of the ECOWAS Presidents is contained in a communique issued at the end of the virtual summit made available to journalists on Friday.

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The ECOWAS Presidents, who strongly condemned the coup d’état, frowned at the resurgence of coup d’états in Member Countries, adding that ECOWAS will no longer tolerate acceding power through unconstitutional means.

The communique stated that “the Authority, during deliberations, strongly condemns the coup d’etat and expresses deep concern over the resurgence of military coups in the region.

“Following the coup d’etats in Mali on Aug. 18, 2020, in Guinea on Sept. 5, 2021, and in Burkina Faso on 24 January 2022.

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“The coup d’etat in Burkina Faso was organised by obtaining the resignation of President Roch Marc Christian Kabore under duress.

“The Authority reaffirms its resolute commitment to upholding the zero tolerance for acceding power through unconstitutional means as enshrined in the 2001 ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good governance and decides as follows:

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“The leadership demands the immediate release and protection of President Roch Marc Christian KABORE and all the other political detainees;

“They also decides to suspend Burkina Faso from all ECOWAS Institutions; Demands the quick restoration of constitutional order by the militaries and urges them to remain republican by focusing on the role of safeguarding the territorial integrity of the country.

“Instructs the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) to immediately deploy a delegation to Burkina Faso to hold consultations with the military leaders.

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“To carry out an assessment of the security situation in the country and submit a report to be reviewed by the Authority of Heads of State and Government.

“The meeting further instructs the Commission to facilitate the deployment of a joint ECOWAS Ministerial Mission to Burkina Faso, led by the Chairperson of Council of Ministers on Jan. 31.

“To assess the political situation and submit their report to the Authority of Heads of State and Government. The United Nations Special Representative to West Africa and Sahel and the African Union will participate in this mission.”

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Following reports on the recent developments on the political situations in the Republic of Mali and the Republic of Guinea, the Authority requested the Commission to finalise the on-going revision of the Protocol on Democracy and good governance.

The Authority also decided to convene an Extraordinary Summit on Feb. 3 in Accra, Ghana, to re-examine the situation in Burkina, Guinea and Mali.

The Heads of State and Government took note of the Memorandum on the political situation in Burkina Faso presented by President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Brou.

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They commended the quality of the report and took note of the recommendations contained therein.

READ ALSO: U.S. Pledges To Support Nigeria’s Fight Against Modern-day Slavery

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Burkinabe army on Jan. 24 arrested the 64-year-old President Marc Kabore and later at night announced that his government had been deposed.

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Kabore was elected in 2015 following a popular revolt that forced out strongman Blaise Compaore and he was re-elected in 2020

The coup leader, Lt.-Col. Paul-Henri Damiba, said on Thursday that Burkina Faso would return to constitutional order “when the conditions are right.”

(NAN)

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US Lifts Restrictions On Visa Validity For Ghanaians, Leaves Nigeria’s Unchanged

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The United States has restored the maximum validity periods for all categories of nonimmigrant visas for Ghanaian nationals following Ghana’s agreement to accept West African deportees, but similar restrictions for Nigerians remain in place.

The B1/B2 visitor visa is now valid for up to five years, with multiple entries allowed, while the F1 student visa’s maximum validity has been restored to four years, with multiple entries permitted.

“The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that the maximum validity periods for all categories of nonimmigrant visas for Ghanaians have been restored to their previous lengths. The maximum validity allowed for the B1/B2 visitor visa is again five years, multiple entry. The maximum validity for the F1 student visa is again four years, multiple entry,” the U.S. Embassy announced in a tweet on Saturday.”

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Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Ablakwa, also announced in a tweet that the new policy now allows citizens to apply for five-year multiple-entry visas.

READ ALSO:Japan Scraps ‘Africa Hometown’ Project After Visa Confusion

Ablakwa also stated that the reversal of the restriction comes with other enhanced consular privileges, adding that the development was the result of months of diplomatic engagement.

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The U.S. visa restriction imposed on Ghana has been reversed. Ghanaians can now be eligible for five-year multiple-entry visas and other enhanced consular privileges,” Ablakwa stated.

This good news was directly communicated to me by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, at a bilateral meeting earlier today, in the margins of the UN General Assembly. I am really pleased that months of high-level diplomatic negotiations have led to a successful outcome.”

These changes reverse earlier restrictions imposed under the Trump administration, which had limited most visas to single-entry and a three-month validity period.

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The restrictions affected several African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria, and were based on concerns over visa reciprocity and the acceptance of deported migrants.

In July, the U.S. Consulate in Nigeria announced updates to its reciprocal nonimmigrant visa policy, stating: “The United States Department of State has announced updates to its reciprocal non-immigrant visa policy, impacting several countries, including Nigeria. Effective immediately, most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Nigeria will be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.

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“Those U.S. non-immigrant visas issued prior to July 8, 2025, will retain their status and validity. We wish to underscore that, as is standard globally, visa reciprocity is a continuous process and is subject to review and change at any time, such as increasing or decreasing permitted entries and duration of validity. You can view the latest information on visa reciprocity schedules for all countries at travel.state.gov.”

Reports indicate that the U.S. pressured some African nations to accept deported migrants, including Venezuelan detainees from U.S. prisons.

READ ALSO:US Defends New Social Media Vetting For Nigerian Visa Applicants

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Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar rejected these pressures, stating that Nigeria would not serve as a “dumping ground” for deportees.

It would be difficult for countries like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria,” Tuggar said during a televised interview.

We have enough problems of our own; we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria. We already have 230 million people.”

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Meanwhile, Ghanaian President John Mahama confirmed that Ghana had begun accepting deported West African nationals after U.S. requests.

We were approached by the U.S. to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the U.S., and we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable,” Mahama said.

All our fellow West African nationals don’t need visas to come to our country.”

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UK Nursery Worker Jailed For Abusing 21 Babies

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A judge on Friday jailed a nursery worker for eight years for a string of “gratuitous” and “sadistic” attacks on babies.

In one incident, Londoner Roksana Lecka, 22, kicked a little boy in the face several times.

Lecka, who blamed cannabis for her crimes, admitted seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and was convicted after a trial of another 14 counts.

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Sentencing her for attacks on 21 babies, Judge Sarah Plaschkes said she had committed “multiple acts of gratuitous violence” at two London nurseries where she worked.

You pinched, slapped, punched, smacked and kicked them. You pulled their ears, hair and their toes. You toppled children headfirst into cots,” she said.

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“Often the child would be quietly and happily minding its own business before you deliberately inflicted pain… Your criminal conduct can properly be characterised as sadistic,” she added.

Lecka’s cruelty was revealed in June 2024 after she was seen pinching a number of children.
Police were called in and found multiple incidents recorded on the nursery CCTV.

Victim impact statements submitted to London’s Kingston Crown Court from parents of Lecka’s victims told how they were left heartbroken and guilt-stricken by the attacks.

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These children were so innocent and vulnerable,” one mother told the court.

READ ALSO:Kenya Court Seeks UK Citizen’s Arrest Over Mother’s Murder

“They couldn’t speak, they couldn’t defend themselves and they couldn’t tell us as parents that something had happened to them,” she added.

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They were totally helpless and Roksana preyed upon them.”

The hearing was told that she had apologised to the parents in a letter to the court in which she said cannabis had turned her into a different person.

She had been addicted to the drug around the time of the offences, but had not told the nursery.
She was found not guilty of three further counts of child cruelty.

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Italy Fines Six Oil Firms $1bn Fine For Restricting Competition

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Italy’s antitrust regulator said Friday it has slapped Italian energy giant Eni and five other companies with fines totalling more than 936 million euros ($1.1 billion) for “restricting competition” in the sale of fuel.

The authority said in a statement that Eni, Esso, Ip, Q8, Saras and Tamoil “coordinated to set the value of the bio component factored into fuel prices”, which tripled between 2019 and 2023.

READ ALSO:PICTORIAL: NDLEA Intercepts Cocaine, Opioid Shipments Meant For US, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Poland

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A probe following a whistleblower’s complaint revealed that “the companies implemented parallel price increases — largely coinciding — which were driven by direct or indirect information exchanges among them”, the authority said.

“The cartel began on 1 January 2020 and continued until 30 June 2023,” it added.

AFP

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