Favour Nunoo
BBC News Pidgin

Image source, Getty Images

A phone repairer has been handed a 14-year jail term in Ghana after posting naked photos of a Lebanese woman on social media against her will.

Solomon Doga, 22, was sentenced by a court in Accra's Adenta suburb having pleaded guilty plea to charges of sexual extortion and non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

State Prosecutor Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo told the court the young man was contracted to unlock the phone of the Lebanese woman based in Accra.

In the process, Doga accessed and retrieved her intimate photos illegally.

The young man later attempted to blackmail her, threatening to publicise her nude photos unless she paid him an undisclosed amount of money, but she did not comply and blocked him.

Doga subsequently published her naked photos on social media leading to his arrest and incarceration.

Ghana's new cybersecurity laws, brought in two years ago, have criminalised the publication of nudes for either revenge or blackmail purposes with a jail term of between five and 25 years.

This sentencing heralds a new era for the West African state which is using its laws to crackdown on the recent surge in revenge pornography and blackmail.

Related stories:

• 'I'm not going to allow anyone to blackmail me' - Tiwa Savage
• Telegram: Why won't you take down my naked photos?
• 'Sexting' blackmail concerns for young people sharing images
• How to take control of your online life - BBC tips for kids

Emery Makumeno
BBC News, Kinshasa

The military authorities in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo have banned anyone from importing or exporting goods via a town on the Ugandan border that was recently seized by rebels.

The military governor of North Kivu province said anyone trading through Bunagana town would be considered a collaborator with the M23 rebel group.

The rebels recently seized Bunagana after launching their biggest offensive in a decade.

East African leaders have agreed to deploy a regional military force to eastern Congo to counter various rebel groups.

The Congolese government has accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels. The Kigali government has denied this.

Andrew Gift
BBC Pidgin, Lagos

Long queues have been witnessed at petrol stations in most parts of Lagos state in south-west Nigeria after a decision by some fuel marketers to shut their operations.

The queues that surfaced on Monday continued on Tuesday morning causing panic buying of fuel and black market sales.

It comes as some members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) say they can no longer operate in an unconducive environment.

The association chairman, Akin Akinrinade, told journalists that while the government had fixed 165 naira ($0.40; £0.30) for a litre of petrol, the current realities showed that the minimum price should be 180 naira to profitably sell the product.

He cited the high cost of transporting the product and the diesel used in running the petrol stations as another reason for the withdrawal of services.

This development had added more pain to the suffering of Lagosians.

The long fuel queues have led to more traffic jams that the city is known for.

The cost of transportation has also doubled and most business premises are shut due to their inability to access fuel to power their electricity generators.

Many Nigerians use generators for power as electricity supply is not steady in the country.

Image source, AFP

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has denied opposition claims of interfering with the country’s judiciary amid delays in the presentation of the final report of a corruption inquiry.

The commission headed by Justice Raymond Zondo investigated allegations of widespread corruption in South Africa during President Jacob Zuma's nine years in power, known as "State Capture".

It has already handed over its first, second, third and fourth reports and was due to present the final part of its findings by last Wednesday.

This has however been delayed several times amid allegations of interference.

A statement by the presidency, external said Mr Zondo had communicated last Thursday on the delay "and undertook to finalise the report as soon as possible".

The commission then said it would deliver it by Sunday evening.

"This did not unfortunately happen," the presidency added.

Mr Ramaphosa says that they have now agreed with the commission to a "tentative date of Wednesday, 22 June" for the report to be handed over.

"The presidency therefore rejects claims that the President has in any manner interfered with the work of the commission or the judiciary as speculated by some opposition parties," the statement says.

Umaru Fofana
BBC Africa, Freetown

Image source, Sierra Gem Media

Police in Sierra Leone have been accused of inhumane treatment and torturing popular musician and rapper Alhaji Amadu Bah, better known as Boss LAJ.

The rapper has had his trademark dreadlocks shaved in police custody after being arrested more than a week ago over robbery allegations.

The police alleged he had "mercilessly" beaten up a pump attendant and snatched his bag at a petrol station where he had gone to buy fuel after saying that they had delayed him.

He was charged with four counts including robbery with violence and assault on Monday, and has not yet taken a plea. He was remanded at a maximum security prison and is set to reappear in court on Wednesday.

The case has generated controversy and condemnation amid allegations that he was injected with a liquid and his dreadlocks forcefully shaved while in police custody.

But police say that it is standard operating procedure to for all male suspects in custody to have their hair shaved.

Police chief Ambrose Sovula also alleged that the rapper had attempted to take his own life using his hair.

"That's part of our SOP [standard operating procedure], for the hygiene of the place... he thought he's being arrested unjustly, so he was using his hair to strangle himself.

"He had wanted to get himself killed... This is the truth and nothing but the truth," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme.

Bah’s lawyer Madieu Sesay said this was "propaganda". He said he was being held in solitary confinement and they were being restricted from having a detailed discussion with him.

He told the BBC that he had last seen him on Tuesday last week - and "his appearance was completely different from the image I know of him".

Michael Charles, the head of the country's bar association, says this is "unacceptable" and "unhuman" to have people's rights violated.

Some Sierra Leoneans including artist Fantacee Wiz Kamara have shaved their hair in solidarity with with the detained rapper.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

Three former Nigeria football officials who were kidnapped by gunmen on Saturday night have been freed, a police spokesperson has confirmed without giving details.

The kidnappers had demanded a ransom before setting the trio - including a former secretary-general of the country's football federation - free.

Ahmed Sani Toro spent six years in his role at what is now known as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) between 1993 and 1999.

He was kidnapped alongside former Nigeria under-23 assistant coach Garba Ila and Isa Jah while driving from the capital Abuja to Bauchi, having attended the wedding of former NFF president Aminu Maigari's son.

It was not immediately clear whether the kidnappers were paid ransom before the release of the captives.

Nigeria is facing a worsening spate of kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs who frequently attack travellers and rural communities.

Mike Thomson
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Tunisian coast guards say they have retrieved the bodies of four migrants after their boat sank off the port city of Sfax.

In recent months dozens of migrants have drowned as increasing numbers have attempted to reach Europe in small boats from Tunisia and Libya.

Many are fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

Image source, Kenyatta National Hospital

Kenya's top public hospital says there has been an increase in the number of people making inquiries and offering to sell their kidneys.

In a Facebook post, Kenyatta National Hospital said "How much for my kidney?" was the most asked question through the inbox on their page.

The hospital however advised that body organs could only be donated to people in need, they could not be sold.

"Please note that organ sale is strictly prohibited and illegal. You can only donate out of free will," it said.

The hospital's poster, external highlights the desperate measures people are contemplating amid increases in food and fuel prices.

The World Bank earlier this month warned that eastern Africa was among regions facing a major recession because of Russia's war in Ukraine and coronavirus.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

More than 130 civilians were killed by jihadists in three neighbouring towns over the weekend, the government in Mali says.

It blamed a group called Macina Katiba, which is affiliated to al-Qaeda, for the attacks in Diallassagou and two other localities in central Mali's Mopti region.

In a separate jihadist attack on Saturday near the city of Gao, regional officials said at least least 20 civilians were killed.

The country has been battling a decade-long insurgency that has affected millions of people, and has also engulfed other countries in the region.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC West Africa correspondent, Lagos

The head of a Nigerian village where criminals attacked two churches and kidnapped 36 people on Sunday says people have nothing left to sell to raise ransom money demanded by the kidnappers.

Elisha Mari, head of Rubu village in the north-western Kaduna state, was one of the abductees released on Monday.

He was freed and was asked to mobilise the community to pay ransom for their abducted relatives, according to local media outlets.

He told the BBC that the attackers did not give a timeline for the payment of the ransom.

"This is the third time that they have attacked my village. I told them that we are tired of their attacks and that it is better for them to kill all of us since they have stolen all our cattle and looted our shops," Mr Mari said in a phone interview.

"We do not have anything that we can sell to raise that amount," he added.

The police have neither confirmed nor denied the ransom demand.

The commissioner of internal security, Samuel Aruwan, said three people were killed and two others sustained injuries during the attacks.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC that one of the churches was ambushed by a convoy of more than 30 motorcycles - each one had between two and three gunmen.

The church was conducting its morning mass when gunmen opened fire and worshippers started running for safety.

A similar attack was carried out in another church where a Sunday school class was ongoing.

The authorities say most of those kidnapped were women and children.

Locals claim that police officers from a nearby police station did not respond to the attacks.

Read more:

• Nigeria's Owo church massacre: Who are the victims?

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A new museum in Ghana aims to tell the story of Africa using African voices, tools and culture.

Eyewitnesses tell the BBC they were left helpless as innocent citizens were slaughtered.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now, but we'll be back on Tuesday morning.

In the meantime there will be an automated service and you can also check the BBC News website or listen to our Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture by Nigerian digital artist Osinachi:

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The Cameroonian football star Samuel Eto'o has admitted committing multi-million dollar tax fraud while he was playing for the Spanish giants Barcelona.

A court in the city gave him a 22-month jail term and a fine - but he will avoid going to prison because he pleaded guilty.

In total, Eto'o will have to pay back more than $8m (£6.5m).

The court ruling said Eto'o and his agent had deliberately evaded tax on income from image rights, between 2006 and 2009.

During his playing days, Eto'o was considered one of the world's top strikers. He's now president of the Cameroonian Football Federation.

Patience Atuhaire
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, State House Kenya

East African heads of state have called for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the several rebel groups fighting in its eastern region.

At a meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the leaders also directed that rebel groups relinquish all territory they hold, and that peace negotiations be intensified.

Regional army chiefs also briefed the presidents on operational procedures and rules of engagement for an East African military force, which is soon to be deployed to DR Congo’s restive North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

The meeting also condemned recent incidents of hate speech and attacks on certain ethnicities in DR Congo, allegedly sparked by accusations from DR Congo that Rwanda is supporting the M23 rebels.

The M23, one of many groups based in North Kivu, first emerged around 2012 and claims to be fighting for the rights of Congolese ethnic Tutsis. Clashes between them and government forces have escalated since March, and last week, they captured Bunagana town at the border with Uganda.

He was filmed using Malawian children to make videos, some of which included racist content.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

Image source, Reuters

A Catholic bishop in South Sudan says the country is experiencing severe food insecurity because a few individuals in positions of authority control the abundant resources, deprive the majority and force them to go hungry.

Alex Lodiong Sakor, the Bishop of Yei, said many people were suffering because there was no sense of solidarity with the poor among those who should be caring for their needs.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a global food crisis, but in addition South Sudan has to grapple with unprecedented levels of food insecurity caused by the conflict, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

"If there are poor people in this country, those of us who are in authority are the cause of this, it’s because we make them poor," the bishop said.

"We have plenty [of resources] and this plenty has been accumulated by very few who deprive the others."

In addition, insecurity was preventing people from getting to their farms, he said.

"When people go to cultivate and they are found, they would be shot and killed allegedly because they are rebels. Are we true Christians? We are not true Christians because there is no Christian who kills another Christian."

Bishop Lodiong said many people in his diocese had fled to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda because of rampant insecurity, and they might not return home soon if there was no real peace.

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

A one-month-old baby boy has died in Tanzania after being snatched from his mother by a monkey which had gone into their house, authorities say.

The child was being breastfed by his mother when a troop of monkeys invaded their home in Mwamgongo village in Kigoma, near the Gombe Nation Park in western Tanzania.

It is not clear what species of monkey attacked the mother.

Kigoma Regional Commander James Manyama said the child had died after villagers tried to use force against the monkey to rescue the child.

Mr Manyama said the baby was injured on the head and neck, and later passed away as he was receiving treatment.

The police have urged citizens to continue to be vigilant.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

A Chinese filmmaker wanted by the Malawian authorities as part of an investigation into allegations of racism and child exploitation has been arrested in neighbouring Zambia.

Lu Ke was a Malawi resident when he was exposed by a BBC Africa Eye investigation which reported he had used Malawian children to film personalised greetings videos, which sometimes included racist content.

These videos can be bought for up to $70 (£55) on Chinese social media and internet platforms.

Lu Ke denied that he had made the derogatory videos and said he made his videos in order to spread Chinese culture to the local community.

Malawian police said last week they had launched an investigation but were unable to arrest the Chinese filmmaker as he could not be found.

Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services spokesman Pasqually Zulu confirmed that Lu Ke was arrested in the town of Chipata, Eastern Zambia.

Mr Zulu said the two countries were now liaising to have the Chinese national sent to Malawi for the authorities to continue their investigation.