West African news highlights, this Thursday, several major developments, ranging from the lifting of parliamentary immunity of Farba Ngom in Senegal, to the activation of a new military force in the Sahel, including a reduction exports to Guinea.
In Senegal, Le Quotidien reports that MP Farba Ngom will be “kicked out tomorrow” in the National Assembly, where a plenary is convened to rule on the proposal to lift his parliamentary immunity. The relative of ex-president Macky Sall is accused of embezzlement of public funds estimated at around one hundred billion CFA francs, according to a report from the National Financial Information Processing Unit (CENTIF), transmitted to the Judicial and Financial Pool (PJF). Through the Minister of Justice, the PJF requested the lifting of Mr. Ngom’s parliamentary immunity.
Sud Quotidien, for its part, evokes a possible “standoff” in this politicized case, with the defense denouncing “judicial relentlessness”, while the Takku Wallu (opposition) coalition puts itself “in battle order”. At the same time, the newspaper specifies that CENTIF transmitted “43 other files to the PJF”.
Fraternité Matin reports that around a hundred people were arrested after ransacking the Bettié gendarmerie brigade, in the south of Ivory Coast, in reaction to a parts check on a motorcyclist which went wrong. The city prefect had decreed a three-day curfew to try to control the riots.
Jeune Afrique questions the unity of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), formerly the G5 Sahel, made up of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Chad, described by the newspaper as a “G3 Sahel” made up of the first three countries mentioned. This new AES force, with 5,000 soldiers, aims to fight against terrorism, under the banner of a more coherent and lasting alliance.
-In Guinea, Financial Afrik notes a 0.6% drop in the prices of exported products in October 2024 compared to the previous month. This regression is attributed to the fall in prices of mineral products, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) in Conakry.
The Mauritanian Press Agency (AMI) announces the opening on Wednesday of the work of the 12th consultative forum of the fisheries improvement project. The Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIP) aims to make these fisheries sustainable and responsible, with a view to obtaining international quality certification for Mauritanian products.
Le Monde Afrique reports that the Italian government has released a Libyan official accused of torturing migrants, despite an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Osama Najim, head of a Libyan prison where torture of migrants has been documented, was arrested on Sunday in Turin, before being returned to Tripoli.
ODL/te/APA
