Headline

Six Sentenced To Death For 2021 Ghana Coup Plot

Published

2 years ago

January 24, 2024

A Ghana court on Wednesday sentenced six people to death by hanging, including three soldiers, for their involvement in an alleged plot three years ago to overthrow the country’s government.

The men were arrested in 2021 while testing weapons at an old shooting range in Accra, and intelligence telephone taps led to a blacksmith shop, where they ordered the weapons manufactured, according to court documents.

They had all pleaded not guilty during the trial. Police posted heavily armed units outside the high court for the hearing and sentencing.

One of the lawyers for the six, Victor Adawudu, said the defence team would go to the country’s Supreme Court to challenge the decision.

“We will also be going to the Supreme Court for it to look at the evidence,” he said.

The high court, however, acquitted a police chief Benjamin Agordzo, army officer Colonel Samuel Kodzo Gameli, and one other junior military officer, Corporal Seidu Abubakar.

“We give glory to God. He alone has made it happen. They knew it was falsehood. Our God doesn’t fail. I have always been free within my heart and I knew how it was going to end,” a visibly elated police chief Agordzo told the media following his acquittal.

The six, including a gunsmith and a civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces, were charged with conspiracy to commit treason in 2021.

Ghana’s attorney general Godfred Yeboah Dame who led the prosecution hailed the outcome of the trial.

“It is a significant judgment because the constitution of Ghana as the fundamental law of the country, which has sustained the stability of the nation, frowns seriously upon any attempt to overthrow a government and that is why that offence [treason] is punishable by death,” Dame told the media after the trial.

According to court documents, the men were arrested at their base in the capital Accra with locally-manufactured guns, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and AK-47 rifles and other ammunition.

Dame said the accused belonged to an association called Take Action Ghana (TAG) and had planned to stage demonstrations, ostensibly to topple the government.

It is the first treason trial in Ghana since 1963 when the first president Dr Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown. Ghana last executed a criminal under the death penalty in 1992 when it returned to constitutional rule.

The new ruling comes as the West African country, known for its stable democracy since 1992, faces heightened security while the wider region has seen a spate of coups in recent years.

Headline

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

5 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

5 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

5 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.