BBC News Africa

BBCCopyright: BBC

Nigerian state prosecutors have brought 14 more charges against former central bank governor Godwin Emefiele, who was arrested last June shortly after President Bola Tinubu took office.

The pair had a rocky relationship in the lead up to last year's election. He was initially suspended and then sacked four months ago.

In November, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged Mr Emefiele on six counts of fraud involving a sum of 1.2bn naira ($1.3m, £1.1m).

When the case resumed at the High Court in the capital, Abuja, on Thursday, EFCC lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo said the charges had been amended to include forgery, criminal breach of trust, obtaining by false pretence and conferring corrupt advantage.

The new charges follow a report by a presidential team set up to investigate alleged wrongdoings at the central bank.

Mr Emefiele's lawyer, Matthew Burkaa, said he would need some time to study the new charges before his client could enter a plea.

In December, the 62-year-old banker was granted bail, which restricted his movements to within the capital.

At Thursday's hearing, these restrtictions were amended - and he can now travel throughout the country.

The case was adjourned to Friday.

There is no space for mediation with Ethiopia unless it retracts its deal with the self-declared republic of Somaliland, Somalia's foreign ministry has said in a statement.

Its comments come after the African Union's Peace and Security Council called for restraint and said that Somalia's sovereignty should be respected.

The 1 January agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland raised the possibility that Somaliland would lease part of its coastline to Ethiopia has angered Somalia.

Somalia, which considers Somaliland as part of its territory, called it an act of aggression and on Thursday described the deal as "illegal".

The Mozambican authorities are concerned over a strange disease that has killed more than 900 cattle in the country’s central region since December.

The disease is unknown to breeders and veterinary authorities.

It broke out in the province of Manica, on the border with Zimbabwe and has spread to three of the province’s districts.

Concerned breeders are asking for an urgent response from veterinary authorities to prevent further losses, amid fears that the disease could spread and kill more cattle.

Fernando Cupenha, a breeder from the village of Manhene, in the district of Manica, one of the regions most affected by the outbreak, said that the disease is mainly characterised by a loss of appetite and strength in the animals.

He warns that the disease could compromise food security and livelihoods.

Luís Sabonete, another farmer, has complained that provincial livestock authorities have not responded since they took blood samples from sick animals for analysis.

Early last year, a rare disease caused by ticks killed close to 400 heads of cattle, in the village of Chinhambudzi, a border region with Zimbabwe, also in Manica province.

Kenya Medical Research InstituteCopyright: Kenya Medical Research Institute

A new species of mosquito is driving up malaria infections in Africa, fuelling a growing public health concern.

The Anopheles stephensi mosquito, shortened by some entomologists to "steve", has so far been detected in seven African countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The mosquito, which originated in South Asia, was first detected in Djibouti in 2012. Since then, malaria rates in the country have grown exponentially.

The new species has since spread to Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.

Unlike other mosquitoes that breed in rivers and swamps, “steve” is known to be an urban breeder that thrives in dry areas.

It only needs a bit of moisture, like water trapped in containers, tyres and gutters to survive.

The species also bites outdoors during the day and is immune to commonly used pesticides.

“It’s a threat in urban settings, it’s a threat to our strategies in place now because we’re mostly using indoor strategies. It’s also difficult to detect and is very resistant. It stays in very harsh climates and is very difficult to eliminate from an environment,” Dr Dorothy Achu, the WHO lead for tropical diseases in Africa, says.

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Kizza Besigye/XCopyright: Kizza Besigye/X

Ugandan security forces have blockaded the homes of prominent opposition politicians, ahead of a planned protest in the capital, Kampala.

Both veteran opposition leader Kizza Besigye and Bobi Wine, a former pop star whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, say that security forces are surrounding their homes and preventing them from leaving.

"The cowardly military and police have surrounded our home and put us under house arrest, but the protest is on," Mr Kyagulanyi shared on X.

Mr Besigye also shared a post shortly after, with photos showing several security officers obstructing the entrance to his home.

"Barricaded at home by the cowards! No turning back; we deserve better," he captioned the images.

The two government critics have asked Ugandans to go ahead with the planned protest on Thursday to demand the government to fix dilapidated roads.

Police have vowed to block the demonstrations, saying that protests organised by the politicians "have never been peaceful" and would disrupt a key summit under way in the capital.

Some 4,000 delegates are attending the 19th Non-Aligned Movement summit in Kampala.

Three Kenyan police officers have been arrested over allegations that they were involved in the kidnapping for ransom of a Chinese national.

The officers are attached to the General Service Unit (GSU), a paramilitary police wing.

They are accused of ambushing the Chinese man as he drove to work on 8 January, handcuffing him and driving him away.

The officers then violently robbed the foreigner before releasing him, police say.

Authorities are also searching for a Chinese national believed to be the leader of the kidnapping ring.

"The mastermind called the victim's family back in China demanding for an unestablished amount of ransom which was wired to a bank account in China," the police shared on X.

"After money was deposited, the gang's accomplices in China confirmed that the family had complied, and the victim was released".

Police say that the incident "has unearthed an international criminal ring whose targets are well-picked after a background check on their financial muscles".

Kenyan authorities are working with Interpol to locate the accomplices in China.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The UN's humanitarian agency says it is concerned by the worsening drought in Ethiopia and needs more funds to step up its response.

The drought has impacted four million people in the conflict-ridden Amhara and Oromia regions, as well as Afar and Tigray, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said on Wednesday.

"Multiple and often overlapping crises have severely weakened people’s ability to cope with climate shocks such as drought – leaving millions of people vulnerable to falling even further into severe need and destitution," the agency added.

The federal government in Addis Ababa has previously allayed fears of a looming famine, and has said that it is working to provide aid.

This week, Tigray authorities revealed that more than 200 people had starved to death, after warning last month that the region was "on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe".