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Court in Congo hands down death sentences to 37 people on coup charges

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A military court in Congo handed down death sentences Friday to 37 people, including three Americans, after convicting them on charges of participating in a coup attempt.

The defendants, most of them Congolese but also including a Briton, Belgian and Canadian, have five days to appeal the verdict on charges that include attempted coup, terrorism and criminal association. Fourteen people were acquitted in the trial, which opened in June.

The court in the capital, Kinshasa, convicted the 37 defendants and imposed “the harshest penalty, that of death” in the verdict delivered by the presiding judge, Maj. Freddy Ehuma, at an open-air military court proceeding that was broadcast live on TV. The three Americans, wearing blue and yellow prison clothes and sitting in plastic chairs, appeared stoic as a translator explained their sentence.

Six people were killed during the botched coup attempt led by the little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga in May that targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga was fatally shot while resisting arrest soon after live-streaming the attack on his social media, the Congolese army said.

Malanga’s 21-year-old son Marcel Malanga, who is a U.S. citizen, and two other Americans were convicted in the the attack. His mother, Brittney Sawyer, has said her son is innocent and was simply following his father, who considered himself president of a shadow government in exile.

The other Americans are Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, who flew to Africa from Utah with the younger Malanga for what his family believed was a vacation, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who is reported to have known Christian Malanga through a gold mining company.

Congo reinstated the death penalty earlier this year, lifting a more than two-decade-old moratorium, as authorities struggle to curb violence and militant attacks in the country. The country’s penal code allows the president to designate the method of execution. Past executions of militants in Congo have been carried out by a firing squad.

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Nigerian woman cries out after allegedly being brut@lised by her husband for ‘wearing singlet to take their children to school’

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Nigerian woman cries out after allegedly being brut@lised by her husband for ‘wearing singlet to take their children to school’

In a Facebook post on Thursday, January 23, Kagbaranee Imeah posted photos of her bl0..0.d.ied and sw0.llen face, saying that her husband ass@ulted her simply because of her choice of outfit for school runs.

“This is what my husband did to me bcuz I wear singlet to take the children to school,” she wrote.

 

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Abia Govt Begins Major Crackdown On Street Trading, Road Obstructions In Aba

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Abia State Government, through its Harmonized Taskforce, carried out an extensive enforcement operation in Aba, targeting street trading, illegal parking, road obstructions, and unauthorized loading and offloading of vehicles.

This decisive action, tagged “Operation Restore Absolute Sanity,” is to instill orderliness, cleanliness, and civility in the state.

The operation covered major junctions and roads, including Osisioma Junction, Tonimas, Enyimba, Double Pole, Ariaria Junction, and Park Road.

Traders and motorists who had encroached on public spaces and blocked drains were compelled to vacate these areas, as the taskforce dismantled illegal structures and cleared obstructions.

Led by Bob Wogu, the chairman of the Abia State Harmonized Taskforce, and joined by the Commissioner for Transport, Hon. Uzor Nwachukwu, the enforcement team showcased its resolve to restore sanity to the bustling commercial city.

Speaking during the exercise, Hon. Nwachukwu emphasized the government’s zero-tolerance policy towards activities that impede free movement and endanger public health and safety.

The taskforce had earlier issued warnings, urging residents and traders to voluntarily remove illegal structures and desist from trading on roads and gutters.

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Residents Rush To Scoop Groundnut Oil As Another Tanker Overturns In Niger, Three Days After 98 Were Killed In Explosion.

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Trending videos show dozens of residents in Bida town, Niger State, collecting groundnut oil after a tanker overturned near Shafa filling station in the Esso area.

According to reports, the incident occurred on Tuesday morning, just three days after the deadly tanker explosion on Dikko-Maje Road, near Badeggi filling station in Suleja Local Government Area, which resulted in the loss of 98 lives.

Reports indicate that those gathered to collect the spilling fuel were caught in an explosion, which also impacted those trying to assist the victims.

The fire spread across a large area, leaving behind charred remains and widespread destruction.

The explosion is said to have occurred around 9:00 am while efforts were underway to transfer PMS from the overturned tanker to another vehicle.

Despite the recent tragic incident in Suleja Local Government Area, new videos from Tuesday morning show residents in Bida approaching the fallen truck with jerry cans and buckets to collect the spilled groundnut oil near a filling station in the town.

 

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