SENEGAL: Spanish Tourists Ambushed, Robbed And Raped In Senegal

Bandits attacked a group of Spanish tourists in Senegal’s restive region of Casamance and raped two women before making off with thousands of euros in cash, a Senegalese army colonel said on Friday.

The attack occurred on Thursday near the small town of Diouloulou in the southern Casamance region, one of the poorest in Senegal though popular with tourists for its tropical forests and sandy beaches.

The Spanish group was travelling in a hired vehicle with a Senegalese driver. An armed band stopped and hijacked their car, then seized over 4,000 euros ($4,971.20) in cash and raped two women on the roadside before fleeing, according to the colonel, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It’s four Spanish tourists. There is one man and three women driven by a Senegalese driver. They were abducted, raped and then released by an armed group on the Diouloulou-Kataba axis, near the village of Karonge.

It’s four Spanish tourists. There is one man and three women driven by a Senegalese driver. They were abducted, raped and then released by an armed group on the Diouloulou-Kataba axis, near the village of Karongé.

The Senegalese army deployed in the area to find the attackers.

The Spanish Embassy in Senegal confirmed that four tourists were assaulted in Casamance but did not comment on the rape report.

Spain’s Foreign Ministry said it was offering consular assistance to a group of Spanish nationals in Senegal.

It was the second violent incident in Casamance this year, raising concerns that worsening security there might damage one of Senegal’s main tourist attractions.

Earlier this month, unidentified gunmen in Casamance attacked a group of civilians searching for firewood, killing 14 and wounding several others.

The motives for the shooting remain unknown, and the army has since been deployed into the area to investigate.

Meanwhile, Senegal’s criminal court sentenced 13 people to prison for attempting to establish a homegrown cell modelled after Boko Haram in the West Africa country.

One of those jailed by the Dakar court on Thursday was Makhtar Diokhane, described as the ringleader of the group. He was handed a 20-year prison term.

The court was very heavy handed in sentencing our client and we are going to appeal, Diokane’s lawyer Alassane Cisse said.

Fourteen people, including two of Diokhane’s wives, were acquitted.

About 30 Senegalese were put on trial in April for their suspected involvement in the cell after some spent time in Nigeria with the armed group Boko Haram.

Attacks involving Boko Haram have displaced more than 1.8 million Nigerians in the country’s predominantly agricultural northeast over the last 10 years. An estimated 20,000 people have been killed.

Twenty-nine other suspects, three of them women, were accused of criminal conspiracy related to financing an armed group, money-laundering, and acts of terrorism.

The public prosecutor had requested life sentences for 11 of the accused, and a 30-year prison term for Alioune Ndao a popular imam from the town of Kaolack in central Senegal who was accused of acting as a coordinator. He received a suspended one-month sentence.

Most were arrested in 2015 in Senegal. Prosecutors said was their plan was to foment violence in neighbouring countries as well.

Senegal has so far escaped the al-Qaeda-linked insurgency that has destabilised neighbouring Mali along with attacks on other West African nations including Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.

But Dakar has stepped up security outside hotels and publics buildings.


Tourism Observer

AFRICAN: African Female Pilots

Esther Mbabazi
Esther was born in Burundi to Rwandese parents. She became the first female Rwandese pilot in 2012. Esther took the decision to become a pilot few years after her father was killed in a crash; the plane he was flying in overshot the runway landing in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She said that the death of her father has influenced the way she flies.

Lieutenant Ouma Laouali
Lieutenant Ouma Laouali, 28, on the 21st of October became the first female pilot in Niger. She was one of the Nigerien Airforce members trained by the United States as part of a programme to help fight the Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram.

Just as women in politics and business are celebrated, Lieutenant Ouma is celebrated for joining the league of amazing first female pilots in Africa. These female pilots challenge sexist views that men are better suited as pilots. The announcement of Ouma as the first female pilot in Niger is a welcome development.

28 year-old Lieutenant Ouma Laouali has broken Niger’s military glass ceiling with the historic news that she has become the first female pilot to serve in Niger’s Armed Forces.

Lt. Laouali received her pilot training in the United States and she “will be flying the Cessna aircraft two of which were handed over by the US to Niger in a ceremony in the capital Niamey,” recently.

The historic development is proof that women in Africa are pushing boundaries and scaling barriers. Lt Laouali is a beneficiary of a U.S. training programme to help fight the Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram, wreaking havoc in parts of West Africa.

The training programme and the aircraft that Niger received from the U.S.were part of a security co-operation deal worth $24m (£16m).

The aircraft that Lt Laouali will be flying, the Cessna 208 Caravan intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) is a “combat caravan”, which can be used for various military operations.

These are the five of Africa’s other inaugural female pilots around the continent.

Irene Koki Mutungi
Captain Mutungi, 39 is the first female pilot in Kenya and the first woman to earn the title of captain in Africa. She is also the first pilot of the first Kenyan Dreamliner, Boeing 787. She has received several awards in a male dominated category. Her father was also a pilot with the Kenya Airways.

Patricia Mawuli - Ghana
Patricia Mawuli is Ghana’s first female civilian pilot and the first woman in West Africa certified to build and maintain rotax engines. As a young girl, she wistfully watched the planes pass overhead, wishing one day to fly one herself.

Chinyere Kalu – Nigeria
Captain Chinyere Kalu, is the first female pilot in Nigeria. Capt. Chinyere’s decision to start a career in Aviation was spurred by her adventurous aunt, who was also the first woman from her hometown to travel overseas. She was made a member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in the 2006 National Honours. In 2011, she was appointed the Rector and Chief Executive of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), which is the largest aviation training institute in Africa.

Asnath Mahapa – South Africa
Asnath Mahapa became the first black female pilot trainee in South Africa in 2003. She is the founder of the African College of Aviation (Pty) Limited. She has also flown for Red Cross and World Food Programmes in Central and West Africa. She was appointed as the beneficiary of South African Airways level two cadet pilot training programme, and the recipient of the airline’s bursary scheme set aside for previously disadvantaged communities. She was influenced to become a pilot when she heard her aunty talk about her neighbour, who was a pilot.

African American Billionaire To Pay School Fees For Escaped Chibok Girls

While many people have almost forgotten the horrific details of 300 Nigerian girls who were taken hostage around 18 months ago from Chibok Government Girls Secondary School by Islamic terrorists, others are still fighting to get back the remaining girls.

The heartbreaking news that the Islamist militant group Boko Haram had taken these girls simply because they had the nerve to attend school, started the social media campaign, #BringBackOurGirls, in an attempt to secure their return.

Only slightly more than 50 of these 300 girls have managed to escape the clutches of the terrorists and the impetus started to get them back appears to have slowed down, according to the Atlanta Black Star.

However, one man who has not forgotten the plight of the terrified young girls and is prepared to do something to help those who have escaped, is none other than billionaire Robert F. Smith, the second-richest African-American in the world, according to Forbes.

Smith is also founder, chairman and chief executive of Vista Equity Partners and has now set up a fund to pay for 21 girls, who were fortunate enough to have escaped Boko Haram and had the guts to enroll in scholarships at the American University of Nigeria (AUN).

“I was driving two of my own children to school, and it just hit me as a parent,” Smith said. “And then the scale of Chibok. Even if it was just two or three, it’s a tragedy, but 300?”

According to the Education Policy and Data Center, female secondary school net attendance rate is only 29 percent in comparison to a national average of 53 percent in northern Nigeria. Since the 300 girls were initially targeted for attending school and the 21 escapees have since enrolled in AUN, you can appreciate the enormous risk these brave girls are facing.

Dr. Margee Ensign, vice chancellor of AUN, said in April this year that about 46 other Chibok girls who escaped the clutches of the terrorists, wanted to attend the school, but there were no funds to pay for their education. He hoped that funds could be raised from the university’s foundation, but Smith has come heroically to their aid.

“He said, ‘I’ll cover their expenses for as long as they needed it,’” Ensign said of Smith’s offer to pay school fees and expenses of all 21 girls. “And then – it was just incredible – he basically said, see if you can find the rest of the escaped girls, and we’ll help them too,” he added. “We’ve got the Black Lives Matter campaign going on in the U.S. at the moment, and these girls matter too,” Smith said. “Their lives matter not just because of the events that happened, but just because their lives matter.”

This isn’t the first act of kindness the billionaire African-American has done for others in need since he set up the privately owned organization, the Zoëlimax Foundation. The aim of the foundation is to enable those less fortunate to realize their full potential by providing the necessary funding or resources.

The Foundation is trying to alleviate rural poverty in Nicaragua and improve understanding through cultural exchange in one of their projects named “Viviendas Leon.” Another program, “Teach With Africa,” aims to bring educators to South Africa to teach and learn with the students, which will hopefully empower both students and teachers alike.

“Since I came to this school… I have full confidence now that I can express myself everywhere I go,” Mary, an escapee, told The Guardian. “I never thought for once in my life that I will be in this kind of environment. I feel much better because of the love and care shown by everyone.”

NIGERIA: How Nigerian Army Came About the 100 Boko Haram Suspects

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai

The Nigerian Army has explained how it was able to get the images and list of the 100 suspected members of Boko Haram terrorists.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, said it took the military painstaking investigation and research to arrive at the list.

According to Usman, “Some of the suspects were noted through various Boko Haram video releases, eye witness accounts and materials captured during capture of their camps.”

“These are people who even have the list of the number of people they have killed, carrying guns, different arms, ammunitions and some of them are still hiding deep inside the Sambisa forest,” he said.

On why the names were not listed, the army spokesman said that the military “does not yet have the names and full details of the suspects” and urged members of the public to volunteer information that could assist in nabbing the terrorists.

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, had on Wednesday in Maiduguri displayed “the photographs of 100 suspected Boko Haram terrorists declared wanted by the Nigerian Army,” urging the media to disseminate the information to the public to enable them assist with information on the wanted suspects.

Usman has however revealed that more suspects would be unveiled to the public, saying that the military are still analysing their findings.

“This 100 suspects are not all as more will be displayed, but we are appealing to the public, the media and agencies of the government to assist the military in this venture in order to identify them,” he urged.

The army spokesperson said the photographs of 100 suspected Boko Haram terrorists was to enable the public to assist with information on the suspects.

The military is therefore asking members of the public with information about any of them to report to security agents.

Meanwhile, pictures were gathered from various sources including video footage seized at overrun camps, surrendering terrorists and other sundry sources.

An intelligence source said: “Some of the suspects were actively involved in grievous atrocities against humanity from the recovered footage and testimonies from survivors and captured terrorists.”

NIGERIA: Maiduguri Mosque Bomb Hundreds Dead

At least 30 people have died after two explosions at a mosque near the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, an emergency official says.

One suicide bomber detonated an explosive inside the mosque in the suburb of Mulai, a regional controller with the National Emergency Management Agency said.

A second suicide bomber struck as people tried to escape, he said.

The city is often targeted by the Islamist group Boko Haram.

No group has yet said it was behind the attack during Thursday's evening prayers, that left many people injured.

On Tuesday, three bombs exploded in Maiduguri, killing at least four people. Dozens of people were killed in three explosions in the city last month.

The death toll could be as high as 42 from Thursday's explosions.

NIGERIA: Africa's Richest Woman, Folorunsho Alakija

Folorunsho Alakija

Net Worth: $7.3 billion
Industry: Oil and Gas
Country of Citizenship: Nigeria
Age: 63

Africa’s richest woman and the world’s richest black woman has enjoyed increased recognition since Ventures Africa uncovered her wealth last year. She owns and runs Famfa Oil, a Nigerian oil company that owns a 60-percent stake in OML 127, one of Nigeria’s most prolific oil blocks.

Located in Nigeria’s offshore Agbami deep water field, which is said to contain about 1 billion barrels of oil, OML 127 produces in excess of 200,000 barrels per day. It is widely believed that Alakija’s friendship with Maryam Babangida, the late wife of former Nigerian military dictator General Ibrahim Babangida, played a huge role in her relatively inexpensive acquisition of the oil block back in 1993. Famfa immediately entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Ltd (a subsidiary of Chevron and Brazil’s Petrobas), ceding a 40-percent stake to the company. Alakija survived an earlier scare over a decade ago when former Nigerian President Obasanjo forcefully acquired a 50-percent stake in her oil block and transferred ownership to the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Famfa Oil battled the Nigerian government in court for 12 years, eventually winning a reinstatement of her stake in May 2013.

Alakija is also one of the biggest players in the Nigerian and European real estate markets. She purchased four apartments in One Hyde Park, known to be the single most expensive apartment building in the UK, if not the world. Alakija is very vocal about her Christian faith and prefers to focus attention on her philanthropic activities through her Rose of Sharon Foundation, which seeks to empower widows and orphans. She is also the vice chairman of Nigeria’s National Heritage Council and Endowment for the Arts. The council, chaired by fellow Nigerian billionaire Igho Sanomi, is charged with ensuring the preservation and promotion of Nigerian places and objects of cultural and historical significance.