The tales of xenophobia in southafrica has become endemic.
Is either the government have eyes but can't see or want to see but no eyes to behold the evil in jungle justice.
Operation Dudula and March on March organisation.
Should be labelled a terrorist group. These groups use two female pygmies (Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma & Zandile Dudula) to mask the actual financiers of this terror group.
I've seen videos of this group in action and I will tell you, it is politically motivated.
Ghana has summoned South Africa's top envoy to the country over reported "acts of intimidation and harassment" against its citizens and other African migrants in the southern African nation.
Earlier this week, video clips were shared online showing vigilante groups attacking and confronting people they believed were in South Africa illegally - in one of them they challenge a Ghanaian man over his status.
Xenophobia has long been an issue in South Africa and has been accompanied by occasional outbursts of deadly violence.
Ghanaian officials have met the man in the video to offer him support and also urged citizens living abroad to continue being "law-abiding".
The West African nation's foreign affairs ministry said it had also met South Africa's acting high commissioner to Ghana, Thando Dalamba, and raised a formal protest over the recent "xenophobic incidents" against foreigners, including its citizens.
It cited a video clip showing a group of South Africans questioning a Ghanaian man. The group demand to see the man's documents and even when he produces them, they question their authenticity, before telling him to go and "fix your country".
According to Ghana's foreign affairs ministry, the man is in South Africa legally.
"Such conduct undermines the dignity and rights of law-abiding citizens," the ministry said in a statement released on Thursday.
Ghana's High Commission in South Africa has shared a video of top envoy Benjamin Quashie meeting the man.
"The situation is dire, we understand, [but] let's continue being law-abiding [and] respect the rules... of engagement as migrant citizens in this country," Quashie says.
The country's Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has also spoken to his South African counterpart Ronald Lamola, who promised a full investigation and expressed empathy for the victims.
South Africa's acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia also condemned the acts, saying that "no individual or group has the authority to take the law into their own hands, irrespective of grievances or frustrations".
South Africa is home to about 2.4 million migrants, just less than 4% of the population, according to official figures. However, many more are thought to be in the country unofficially.
Most come from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which have a history of providing migrant labour to their wealthy neighbour. A smaller number come from Nigeria.
Vigilante groups like Operation Dudula, which means to force out in the Zulu language, and March on March claim South Africa is overrun with migrants and blame them for many of the country's social problems, especially unemployment and drug abuse.
They have held demonstrations in major cities which have sometimes turned violent and resulted in attacks on foreign-owned shops.
Earlier this week, March on March led a protest in the port city of Durban and in one clip shared online, a few participants are seen viciously attacking a man they believe is an illegal foreigner.
Are you ok, protest is your right. It is the people complaining.
7upnigeria: Many policemen with families were kpaid, many innocent citizens were kpaid, private and government infrastructure were destroyed during the protest that was hijacked by Nnamdi Kanu and his people. OUR YORUBA PEOPLE suffered because of the stewpeed!ty of some Yorubas that joined the protest.
You can take your ENDSARS to your state. Never bring it to Yorubaland again.
Oh my God. What did I just read. Rasheed Wasiu story like many other protesters of the EndSARS protest are harrowing.
A lot of politicians cashed in on EndSARS October 20/20 but don't want to share the burden.
But thank God for people like Adekunle Taofeek of TIB for his intervention.
This is why tyranny and dictatorship will grow in Nigeria because the politicians Nigerians are fighting for don't truly regard them.
Also I never knew OPC are into crime fighting because when ever you see them they are always smoking cannabis and drinking shepe. Hence they can't fight herdsmen.
Big ups to Adekunle Taofeek for his generosity. Shame to politicians that call for protest but won't bail protesters.
Not listening to his mother cost 23-year-old Nigerian Rasheed Wasiu dearly – more than five years of his freedom for something he did not do.
Now released from prison, where he was stuck waiting for his trial as the judicial process crawled on, Rasheed has no idea where she is. His mother has gone missing.
In October 2020, she had told him not to go out as widespread anti-police brutality demonstrations, known as the End Sars protests, swept into his area of Lagos, Nigeria's bustling commercial heart.
People's anger was directed towards the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) accused of robbing, attacking and even killing innocent people.
The reaction of the security forces to the 2020 demonstrations was to reach a crescendo on the evening of 20 October, when officers opened fire on a group of protesters in the city.
But the protests had been building over the previous fortnight, with some turning violent, and the police along with a local vigilante group began responding by rounding up anyone they thought might be involved.
On the morning of 20 October, Rasheed, 17 at the time, was trying to get to a painting job with a friend in an area called Amukoko, but on their way they learnt that violence had broken out there and so turned around.
When he arrived home, his mother told him to "stay indoors" and not to "go outside because of the protests" that had by that point reached his neighbourhood.
But as a disobedient teenager he ignored her and stepped out on the street again
Although he says he did not join the demonstration, members of the vigilante Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) caught him in their dragnet and bundled him into a van alongside weapon‑wielding protesters.
Although he says he did not join the demonstration, members of the vigilante Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) caught him in their dragnet and bundled him into a van alongside weapon‑wielding protesters.
His mother and neighbours remonstrated with the OPC, insisting Rasheed was not part of the group, but their pleas were ignored.
He was first taken to an army barracks and then moved to a prison – Lagos's Kirikiri Correctional Centre – where he waited for his trial to start.
Rasheed says he was initially arrested on allegations that he had been involved in looting "but when I appeared in court, the offence on my charge sheet was 'unlawful possession of firearms'".
His experience and the charges chimed with many who were detained during the protests.
Speaking to the BBC, dressed in worn-out clothes and bathroom slippers, he sounds stressed and bitter as he recalls his incarceration.
"Jail is hell if you do not have money to ease your way through and cater for your needs," he says.
"The food is miserable; we get weak after eating. The space is really congested. They locked up to 70 people in a tiny room at a time. There is no good healthcare, but if you have money, you can have access to good food, a bed and proper medications.
"There was a time a young man died in my cell, his leg was just getting swollen." No-one had gone to help diagnose what was wrong.
Rasheed took on menial jobs to survive like washing clothes for inmates in exchange for a bit of cash or food. He also sold food items on behalf of prison staff, like cow skin, popularly known as "ponmo", and baked snacks. They would give him some of what he was selling or some money.
Months passed without his case being called. On the rare occasions when he was taken to court, his case was not mentioned. One of the lawyers who was representing Rasheed even died while he was in prison.
This state of purgatory continued for nearly six years.
However, at a hearing early last month, a judge at Lagos's high court struck out his case over a lack of evidence and Rasheed was set free.
The judge's ruling came after the intervention of an advocacy group known as the Take It Back Movement (TIB), which provides lawyers for free and fights for the release of people arrested during the End Sars protests as well as other demonstrations.
According to Nigeria's prison authorities, some 50,000 people are currently in detention in the country even though they are still awaiting trial - some 64% of the total prison population.
Human rights groups say that cases like Rasheed's - of people spending years in prison without being convicted of any offence - are not uncommon.
TIB's Lagos coordinator, Adekunle Taofeek, called the ruling on Rasheed's case "a significant milestone".
"This development reinforces our belief that persistence, solidarity and commitment to justice will always yield results."
TIB says it has managed to free 100 people who were detained during the End Sars protests.
Asked whether he planned to pursue legal action for the years he has lost, Rasheed responded: "No, I am leaving everything to God."
But Rasheed's joy at finally being released turned into another nightmare as, on returning home, he was unable to find his mother.
"People in my neighbourhood said they thought I was dead since they couldn't find me. I checked around for my mum but couldn't find her… neighbours told me she left the area because she was being threatened that she would be arrested as well."
He had only seen her once since his arrest, in the immediate aftermath of his detention when she followed him to the barracks where he was initially held.
On the following two days she returned with some food but was denied access.
He did not see her again.
Rasheed's neighbours could offer very little information about her whereabouts.
"When I asked… they said they did not know where she had moved to, but sometimes they see her when she passes by the market. They would greet her but she won't reply.
"They said my arrest caused her so much pain and tears." Rasheed now lives with his mother's brother in another area of Lagos. They are both actively searching for his mother.
"I pray to God every day that I will see her, let me just come face to face with her," he says.
Rasheed's top priority is finding his mother but he is determined to rebuild his life after losing out on almost six precious years.
He says that before his arrest he was training to become a tailor and would have finished by now and set up his own business
"Ever since I got out of prison, my neighbours have been the one[s] supporting me with food. But I don't want to be dependent on them, I wish to get a job and be a giver as well. I have two hands and legs, I can work."
Marjorie Taylor Greene says Donald Trump has ‘gone insane’ in his rhetoric towards Iran
Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed Donald Trump has “gone insane” in his rhetoric towards Iran.
Appearing on Newsnight on Tuesday (21 April), the former Trump loyalist said: “The way that the president has acted and the words that he's used and the change in policy that he's taken has been shocking to many Americans that supported him and voted for him.”
Trump has faced condemnation for his language used in pushing negotiations to end the war in Iran.
In an April 5 social media post, Trump ordered Iran to “open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy b*******, or you’ll be living in Hell,” ending the post with “Praise be to Allah.”
In another post from April 7, the president threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran agreed to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.
"Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,"
US President Donald Trump has participated in a marathon Bible reading session organised by Christian conservatives, against the backdrop of his rift with the Pope and his recent posting of an image that appeared to depict him as a Jesus-like figure.
Trump read from 2 Chronicles on Tuesday night, as part of the "America Reads the Bible" event at the Museum of the Bible in Washington.
The passage is often invoked by Christian conservatives in the US, and is interpreted to be a call for citizens to repent and for God to bless the nation.
Numerous public figures are participating in the week-long continuous reading of the entire Bible that started 18 April.
The US Constitution bars the government from establishing a national religion, however, the Trump administration has embraced a movement in the country to see Christianity as a key part the founding of the US and for leaders to follow the Bible. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, for example, cites passages in his press briefings and also leads prayers in his department.
During the week-long reading event, which is timed to commemorate the 250th anniversary of US independence, other prominent conservatives and members of the administration, including Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are sharing passages.
The organisers say it will encourage a "return to the spiritual foundation that has shaped our country".
Trump's section was taped in the White House's Oval Office earlier, and was filmed on two cameras that were edited together.
The passage he read includes the line: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
The reading comes as Trump quarrels with Pope Leo XIV, who has criticised the US for waging war on Iran.
On Friday, Trump told reporters that he has "a right to disagree with the Pope."
Trump's comment came one day after the Pope criticised those who "manipulate religion" while he was on an official visit to Cameroon.
"Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth," the Pope said.
Trump later took down the post, saying that he thought it was meant to show him as a doctor.
He later posted a second AI image that showed Jesus embracing Trump with the caption: "The Radical Left Lunatics might not like this, but I think it is quite nice!!!"
...suspect handed over to Zone 2 police over murder of Lagos Prince, another
Fleeing Lagos businessman accused of killing Prince Ademola Akinloye and Sheriff Ishola Salami in seperate incidents has been arrested in Benin Republic by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL).
The suspect, Hammed Tajudeen Akanbi, who was declared wanted by the police on February 19, was handed over to the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Zone 2, Onikan, yesterday, following his arrest on April 15.
He was also accused of willful destruction of property and allegedly sending assasins to Ajiran community where the prince was killed in cold blood.
Addressing a press conference at the Zonal Headquarters in Onikan, yesterday, AIG Olohundare Moshood Jimoh, Akanbi, 38, was arrested in a hotel in Cotonou after months of tracking by the INTERPOL.
Jimoh said his arrest followed a directive fron the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to reopen and conclude investigations into the killings, as well as other related cases that had caused tension in parts of Lagos.
“This case involves multiple murders, attempted murders, and destruction of lives and property spanning several years. The suspect, Ahmed Akanbi, was earlier declared wanted alongside other accomplices, Safiu Fatai, Yusuf Ismaila, Soji Mascot, and one Kenny.
“I can confirm to you that he has now been arrested by INTERPOL operatives in Benin Republic and handed over to INTERPOL Nigeria, and today he was handed to us at Zone 2 command. Investigations will be concluded before he is charged to court,” said the AIG.
Jimoh explained that the case gained renewed attention following a petition to the Inspector General of Police, which prompted a fresh and discreet investigation into the killings in the Ojomu community of Lagos.
According to him, preliminary findings revealed that some of the arrested accomplices had confessed to carrying out the killings on the instructions of the suspect, who allegedly financed the operations.
Providing details of the incidents, the AIG said Sheriff Ishola was murdered on April 18, 2023, while Prince Ademola Akinloye was killed on August 26, 2024, both in the Eti-Osa axis of Lagos, in attacks described as coordinated and premeditated.
He explained that previous Commissioners of Police (CPs) in Lagos had made significant progress in the investigation, noting that new evidence later emerged linking the suspect more directly to the crimes.
Jimoh cautioned against misinformation and attempts to politicise the case, insisting that the police would ensure justice was served.
“The Nigeria Police Force remains committed to ensuring that no individual, regardless of status, escapes justice. We will follow due process and ensure that all those involved are prosecuted,” he said.
The AIG appealed to individuals affected by the suspect’s alleged activities to come forward with evidence to aid ongoing investigations, urging victims who might have suffered losses, including destruction of property, criminal interference with investments, personal harm, or attempted murder, to report their cases without fear.
According to him, complaints can be submitted directly to his office, the AIG in charge of Special Operations, or Commissioners of Police in Ogun and Lagos states, assuring that all reported cases would be thoroughly investigated.
Also speaking, the CP INTERPOL, Fidelis Ogarabe, said the suspect’s arrest was made possible through international collaboration.
He explained that INTERPOL operatives in Nigeria received intelligence about the suspect’s location in Cotonou and promptly deployed a team to effect his arrest.
Our counterparts in Benin Republic cooperated fully. After due processes, the suspect was handed over to our team and brought back to Nigeria. We have now transferred him to the AIG in charge of the case for continuation of investigation,” he said.
Ogarabe added that items recovered from the suspect, including travel documents, mobile phones, and a luxury vehicle, would aid ongoing investigations.
The founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, has declared judgment upon bandits and their sponsors.
Oyedepo said this during a church service on Sunday tagged: “Covenant Day of Vengeance”
Speaking at the church headquarters in Ota, Ogun state, the cleric declared that within seven days, divine retribution would strike those behind killings and kidnappings across Nigeria.
“Except I am not sent, in the next seven days, I declare judgment upon those responsible for these disasters and their sponsors in Jesus’ name,” he said
The cleric added that the coming week would be marked by “testimonies of vengeance” for the nation.
He said that God’s intervention was imminent.
Preaching on pathways to sanctification, Oyedepo urged congregants to resist spiritual laxity, stressing that ungodliness blocks supernatural breakthroughs and stains destiny.
He explained that ungodliness fueled shame and reproach, warning that without holiness, believers risked losing access to eternity, which remained the ultimate goal.
“Until the God of vengeance shows up, the wicked will not give up,” he said
Amupitan the crooked dwarf. For how long will you drag the already Disgraced INEC through the mud.
Everybody is calling for amupitans removal. The Muslims groups, the Christian group, civil liberty group, politicians, Academics and even Nairalanders.
But this dwarf is adamant. Very eager to rig elections with his status quo antebellum
ABUJA — The Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) has called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, to resign immediately over allegations of partisanship, warning that he no longer commands the credibility required to oversee the 2027 general elections.
The group, which includes prominent figures such as Dr Usman Bugaje, Barrister Femi Falana (SAN), Dr Oby Ezekwesili, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Professor Pat Utomi, Hadjia Dr Bilikisu Magoro and Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, among others, said the integrity of the electoral body must not be compromised.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its Media Coordinator, Comrade James Ezema, the MCE urged Professor Amupitan to step aside to allow for an independent and transparent investigation into the allegations against him.
The group also called on the Federal Government to constitute an impartial panel comprising judicial officers, digital forensic experts and civil society representatives to ascertain the truth, while demanding an end to any form of intimidation or harassment of citizens raising concerns.
“The integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process is at stake,” the statement said. “At this critical juncture in the nation’s democratic evolution, the leadership of INEC must be beyond reproach.”
The MCE said recent developments, including alleged digital footprints linking the INEC Chairman to partisan expressions sympathetic to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), had triggered a crisis of confidence.
While noting that Professor Amupitan had denied the allegations, the group insisted that such denials do not resolve the matter in an era of advanced digital forensics, but rather heighten the need for thorough verification.
“In this digital age, denial is not a defence—it is an invitation to forensic scrutiny,” the statement added.
The group further warned that the controversy could escalate into a legal crisis, citing the traceability of digital identities through systems such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN), as well as device-level access logs maintained by digital platforms.
According to the MCE, attempts to frame public scrutiny as cybercrime or to threaten critics with arrest amount to a misuse of state apparatus and could further erode public trust.
Beyond the immediate allegations, the group expressed concern over what it described as a pattern of decisions by INEC that appear to undermine opposition participation, including alleged selective enforcement of electoral regulations.
It warned that such developments risk steering Nigeria towards a de facto one-party state, in violation of constitutional democracy.
The MCE also raised concerns about potential international repercussions, noting that aggrieved parties could seek redress at regional bodies such as the ECOWAS Court, exposing Nigeria to reputational damage and possible sanctions.
It maintained that the allegations, if proven, raise serious ethical questions about Professor Amupitan’s neutrality and fitness for office.
“The only honourable course is for the INEC Chairman to step aside and allow a transparent investigation,” the group stated.
“Nigeria stands at a democratic crossroads. The credibility of its electoral body is central to national stability and the legitimacy of governance.”
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned a US decision to extend the period during which Russia is allowed to sell oil despite Western sanctions.
The move means countries can purchase Russian oil and petroleum products already loaded on vessels at sea until 16 May.
The US argues that the waiver is meant to ease the energy supply crunch sparked by the US-Israel war with Iran.
But in his remarks on Sunday, Zelensky said "every dollar paid for Russian oil is money for the war" in Ukraine. Widespread sanctions have been in place against Russia since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.
The devastating US and Israel attacks against Iran have prompted it to retaliate not only against Israel and US military bases in the Gulf, but also against energy fatalities and other civilian sites across Arab allies of the US in the region.
Additionally, Iran has virtually shut the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow passage where some 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is usually transported through.
This has led to turmoil in energy markets, with fears that a world recession may ensue if it is not reopened soon
.The US move to ease Russian sanctions on 13 March was widely condemned by Zelensky as well as his European allies.
Extending the waiver on Friday, the US said it wanted "to ensure oil is available to those who need it" as negotiations to end the war "accelerate".
The Ukrainian leader said Russia had more than 110 tankers from its "shadow fleet" - vessels with obscured ownership designed to help it bypass sanctions - with "over 12 million tons" of oil.
Their sale, he added, would bring $10bn (£7.4bn) to Moscow's coffers as "a resource that is directly converted into new strikes against Ukraine".
The Ukrainian leader did not explain what those figures were based on.
That included the deadliest attack against Ukraine in months on 15 April during which more than 700 drones and missiles were used in multiple waves in one night, killing at least 18 people.
Ukraine has also attacked Russia, particularly focusing on energy facilities.
However, despite ongoing attacks, a stalemate has been reached in the war in Ukraine, with Russia in control of about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Efforts led by the US to end the war have been put on hold as a result of the war in Iran. But he added that just over the past week, Russia had launched "over 2,360 attack drones, more than 1,320 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 60 missiles of various types at our cities and communities".
Foreign Affairs › Re: South Africa's Top Envoy To Ghana Summoned Over Attacks On Foreigners by Ironfaceman(op): 2:43pm On Apr 24
