The United States has set plans in motion to withdraw its troops from Niger Republic, CBS News reports. A state department official told the US news outlet that Kurt Campbell, deputy secretary of state, and Ali Lamine Zeine, Niger’s prime minister, had a meeting Friday “to initiate conversations in Niamey to begin planning an orderly and responsible withdrawal of U.S troops from Niger”. The two officials “affirmed the importance of the bilateral relationship and agreed to pursue collaboration in areas of joint interest,” the statement reads. The US also announced that it had agreed to close down its drone base near Agadez, some 550 miles from the capital Niamey. The development comes a month after the Nigerien junta revoked an accord with the US government which allowed American troops to operate on two of its bases. Around 1,000 US military personnel are said to be based in Niger. The $100m military base in the landlocked country was built six years ago and has played a key role in the US/France strategy to combat jihadists in West Africa. However, Niger’s relationships with both Western countries turned sour last year following the coup and the West African country’s alliance with Russia. Last week, Russian military instructors arrived in Niger to train the West African nation’s army with the latest military equipment and to help install an air defence system. An American delegation is expected to soon head to Niamey to arrange an orderly withdrawal of its troops.

  Men of the Abia State Police Command have arrested a police corporal, Obagi Njok, for shooting an Abia-born businessman identified as Emmanuel Okocha dead. This came following the call for justice by the residents of the Abiriba community in the Ohafia Local Government Area in the state following the alleged killing of Okocha by a trigger-happy policeman in Aba. They alleged that officers from the Rapid Response Squad of the Nigeria Police Force, on Friday, shot the businessman dead along MCC Abayi-Aba for allegedly refusing to bribe them despite having complete vehicle documents. A statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Maureen Chinaka, on Saturday revealed that Njok was attached to the Abayi Police Division before the incident. The statement read in part, “The officer has been apprehended, and necessary disciplinary procedures have been initiated. “Appropriate disciplinary actions and sanctions will be effected soonest, and he will face the full course of appropriate administrative and legal consequences. “In this regard, representatives of the bereaved family and stakeholders will be carried along as the proceedings progress.” Describing the incident as unfortunate, Chinaka commiserated with the deceased’s family, friends, and well-wishers. “The Abia State Police Command states that the incident is unfortunate and regrettable. The command uses this medium to publicly commiserate with the deceased’s family, friends, and well-wishers,” the statement read. The PPRO also assured residents of the command’s commitment to prioritise professionalism and the rule of law. “The Abia State Police Command remains steadfast in upholding professionalism and the rule of law. “We unequivocally condemn any act of misconduct, unprofessionalism, and indiscipline among our officers,” he stated.

  As the primary of the All Progressives Congress is ongoing, some of the stakeholders in the election have been crying foul over how the election committee handled the electoral process. The aggrieved party members alleged that the committee which was headed by the Kogi State Governor, Mr Usman Ododo, was biased in the assignment. Ododo who arrived in the state on Saturday morning, addressed some of the aggrieved stakeholders at the distribution centre in the Ijapo area of Akure, saying the electoral materials had been sent to the Ondo North and South Senatorial Districts remaining that of the Ondo Central (as at 10.30 am). “There was no issue, I just came this (Saturday) morning and I was told that the election materials have been taken to Ondo South and Ondo North Senatorial Districts, ” the committee chairman stated.   But one of the aspirants, Gbenga Edema disagreed with the governor, saying no election materials were taken to anywhere. He said, “I have been here since 6.30 am and I didn’t see any material taken out of this place. The returning officers and electoral officers of my ward, Mahin Ward 2 in Ilaje Local Government are here and unable to collect any materials. “What we are asking for is a credible election. So, we are asking the leadership of the party to look into this. If they’re not ready for this election, they should postpone it and the right thing should be done.” Similarly, the Programme Officer of the Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Organisation, Sola Arowosafe, demanded the cancellation of the whole exercise, alleging that the primary election committee was not fair with the process. Ajisafe said, ” For APC to bring Ododo to Ondo state is a low to our party and state, and position is that no primary election has taken place, no election materials have left here, and we are saying that the leadership of the party should do the needful by sending another neutral person, just like they did in Edo state to come and conduct another primary election where the good people of Ondo state will freely exercise their franchise to pick their candidate.” “If the leadership of the party failed to do the needful, then there is a way we will react and we are going to react accordingly. If any results are announced, we are telling the leadership of the party including President Bola Tinubu that no election took place in Ondo state, and no materials were distributed for us to pick our preferred candidate.” The media aide to the aspirant, Chief Olusola Oke, Mr Rotimi Ogunleye, said the committee failed to follow the guidelines of the election. “We got here around 6:30 am, we don’t know when and where the election materials were sent out from this place to Ondo South and North senatorial districts, the truth of the matter is that there were no materials sent out. “Why can’t they follow the due process? The national leadership of the party should call Ododo to order, they should follow the guidelines they released,” Ogunleye demanded.

  A mob, Friday morning, lynched two suspected motorbike thieves and burnt their bodies at Nyon community on the outskirts of Makurdi town. An eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two young men had at about 2 a.m. boarded the motorbike from the Katsina-Ala Street area of the town to Nyon community. Then they attempted to snatch the motorbike. According to him, “from what the ‘okada’ rider told the youths who burnt the criminals, the two of them were picked from Katsina-Ala street in the High Level area of Makurdi town to be dropped in Nyon. “He said on getting to Nyon, they directed him into a street which he followed. But because it was too late, when he got to a point, the okada man told his passengers to pay him so that he could get back. “But they insisted they did not have money on them and that they would get the money from the house on getting home. “While he made to leave without being paid, the young men grabbed him and requested that he gave them his motorcycle key. “As he refused to hand them the keys, they struggled with him to forcefully take possession of the bike key. But they ran out of luck when the okada rider raised an alarm. “His outcry attracted the attention of the youths of the communities. They came out in their numbers, gave the suspects a good chase and caught them. “They beat them to death after which their bodies were set ablaze with tyres.” The witness lamented that the incidents of motorcycle snatching had become rampant in Makurdi town. He added that the youths had vowed to mete out jungle justice on motorbike thieves caught in the act to serve as a deterrent. Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent Catherine Anene, confirmed that she received a report on the incident. He said: “Some officers have been detailed to the community to find out what happened.” Editor’s note: This photo is for illustration 

  The New York Police in the United States has identified the man who set himself on fire outside the Manhattan court where former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial was being held. According to BBC, the 37-year-old, Maxwell Azzarello, has died after dousing himself in a liquid before throwing conspiracy-theory pamphlets into the air. It happened as the jury selection for Trump’s trial was completed on Friday. He was taken to hospital on Friday in critical condition, where he later died, the US media confirmed to BBC. Trump was in the building to attend jury selection, where he has had a security detail, but the former president left during the incident. New York City police said early on Saturday that Azzarello was declared dead by hospital staff. Court security had not been breached in Friday’s incident, emergency officials said. The case, which had just completed alternate jury selection, resumed later in the afternoon. Opening statements are expected to begin on Monday. Investigators said they had received a 911 emergency call at around 13:30 local time (18:30 BMT) telling them that a man had lit himself on fire. They identified him as Maxwell Azzarello, 37, who had arrived in New York from his home in Florida sometime in the past week. He had no criminal record in New York, and his family in Florida were unaware that he had travelled to the city. New York Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said the deceased was seen “shuffling around” in the park before reaching into a bag for the flammable liquid and pamphlets. The pamphlets were “propaganda-based”, said Chief Maddrey, adding that they were regarding a “conspiracy theory”.   There was a massive police presence outside the courthouse because of the trial, and officers quickly ran into the park shouting for a fire extinguisher. Azzarello was carried away on a stretcher, his body badly burned. The police said he was taken to a hospital burn centre in critical condition. Witness Julie Berman told reporters: “It was hot, and it didn’t make a lot sense. The whole thing happened so fast… it took me like 20 seconds to figure out what was going on.” NYPD investigators were later seen collecting pamphlets that Mr Azzarello had scattered before self-immolating. They have deemed the area safe. Investigators are still interviewing witnesses and said he didn’t appear to say anything before setting fire to himself. Three NYPD officers and one court officer had minor injuries after helping to extinguish the blaze. Officials said they will now reassess security outside the court.

  One person was killed and eight wounded in an overnight explosion at an Iraqi military base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups, officials said Saturday. The explosion hit the Kalsu military base in Babylon province south of Baghdad, where Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, or Hashed al-Shaabi, is stationed. It comes days after Iran launched an unprecedented assault on Israel which reportedly responded with a drone strike on the Islamic republic, amid tensions fuelled by the Gaza war. The Iraqi security forces media unit said “an explosion and a fire” hit the Kalsu base in the early hours of Saturday, leaving one person dead and eight wounded. Air defence command reported “no drones or combat aircraft in the airspace of Babylon province before or during the explosion”, it added in a statement. An interior ministry official had initially reported an “aerial bombing” on the site. In a statement, Hashed al-Shaabi said an “explosion” had inflicted “material losses” and casualties, without giving a number. The group confirmed its premises on the military base had been hit and that investigators had been sent to the site. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Responding to questions from AFP, the security sources did not say who may have been behind the attack. “The explosion hit equipment, weapons and vehicles,” said the interior ministry source. Shortly after the explosion, the US military said its forces were not behind a reported strike in Iraq. “The United States has not conducted air strikes in Iraq today,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on social media platform X, adding that reports that American forces had carried out a strike were “not true”. The Iraqi military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, said the overnight explosion had occurred in “warehouses storing equipment”. When reached by AFP, the Israeli army said it “does not comment on information published in foreign media”. The Hashed al-Shaabi is an integral part of the official Iraqi security apparatus under the authority of the prime minister. It brings together several pro-Iran armed factions, some of which have also carried out dozens of attacks in Iraq and Syria against US forces deployed as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition. “We will retaliate against whoever is behind this aggression,” Hashed commander Abu Alaa al-Walai wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Those involved in this odious crime will pay the price.” On Friday, strikes blamed on Israel targeted a military base near the city of Isfahan in central Iran. The explosion came in response to Tehran’s unprecedented attack on Israel last weekend, in retaliation for a deadly strike on Iran’s embassy in Damascus. Iraq’s foreign ministry expressed “strong concern” on Friday over the blast in Iran, warning of the “risks of military escalation which threatens security and stability in the region.” “This escalation must not be allowed to divert attention from what’s happening in the Gaza Strip,” it said. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani is in Washington, where he met US President Joe Biden this week. AFP

  The Nigeria Correctional Service has revealed that in 2023, there were no executions of inmates on death row across the custodial centres. Disclosing this on Friday, NCoS spokesperson, Abubakar Umar, also said as of April 15, 2024, a total of 3,504 inmates were on death row, comprising 73 females and 3,431 males. The former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, had on July 24, 2021, urged state governors to sign death warrants of inmates as a means of decongesting correctional facilities nationwide. Also in December 2023, the NCoS said it had 3,413 inmates on death row across their facilities in the country.   But speaking on Friday, Umar said, “The last execution was in 2016 in Edo State by the former governor, Adam Oshiomole.” He stressed that while there had not been any execution in the past year, the option remained in the criminal justice system, pending the signing of death warrants by the executive. He said, “The issue of the execution of death sentences is an international issue that is generating a lot of brouhaha. Presently, due to the advocacies of human rights groups and other civil society organisations, there is a moratorium on the execution of death sentences in Nigeria. Human rights groups are campaigning for the abolishment of the execution of death sentences around the world, and Nigeria is not an exception. “There has been no inmate on death row that has been executed in the last year. However, that does not mean that the execution of death sentences has been expunged from our criminal justice system. It is still there in our statutes and books, but the executive must sign their death warrants before we can carry out executions, and this is not forthcoming in recent times. “As of April 15, 2024, we have a total of 3,504 individuals in our facilities nationwide, consisting of 73 females and 3,431 males,” he explained. According to him, rehabilitation and reformatory programmes were extended to these inmates, including skill empowerment and academic opportunities. He said, “Just last Saturday, a good number of them graduated from the National Open University of Nigeria as graduates and postgraduate degree holders. Some of them, in the long run, actually change from their old ways and become well-behaved and industrious. Some of them who fall into this category are recommended by us for clemency or pardon.”