Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Police in central Nigeria's Plateau state say nine people have been arrested in connection with renewed attacks in the Mangu area.

At least 50 people are reported to have been killed in two days of communal clashes.

Villages near Mangu town were targeted by armed men on Wednesday, a day after mosques and churches were set on fire during confrontations between two rival ethnic groups.

A spokesman for the Nigerian military, General Edward Buba, said special forces had been deployed to hot spots in the state to contain the situation.

Read more on Plateau state violence:

• At least 43 killed in Nigeria clashes in Mangu

Ghanaian journalists have declared a media blackout on Fisheries Minister Mavis Hawa Koomson following a physical attack on a reporter alleged to have been carried out by her supporters.

The minister, who is an MP for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), denied any involvement in the incident, terming the accusations against her political.

The reporter, from a local radio station, was attacked early this month during an NPP parliamentary vetting process in the Central Region.

The attackers allegedly wore T-shirts bearing Ms Koomson's name, according to the president of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour. He then called for the media blackout on the activities of the minister.

The NPP has condemned the media directive as unfair, saying none of the MP’s team members were involved in the attack.

The party has urged the GJA to conduct a more comprehensive investigation before drawing any conclusions.

Image source, MR IBU/INSTAGRAM

Nigerian police have arrested the son and adopted daughter of popular Nigerian comic actor John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, over allegations that they stole money meant for the actor's treatment.

Onyeabuchi Okafo and Jasmine Okekeagwu are alleged to have taken "possession of the actor’s phone and hacked into the banking details", before stealing 55m naira ($60,700; £47,800).

The money was part of funds that had been donated by fans and well-wishers for the actor's treatment, after he suffered a long illness last year.

The illness resulted in the amputation of one of Okafor's legs. The Nollywood star also underwent five surgical procedures, his family said.

the authorities have recovered 50m naira, local media say, quoting the spokesperson of the police's criminal investigation department, Mayegun Aminat.

The two suspects were planning to escape to the UK, according to Ms Aminat.

A Lagos court has released the duo on a $56,000 bail as investigations continue, local media reported.

They are expected to appear in court in March for the next hearing.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Mali's military rulers ended a 2015 peace deal with Tuareg rebels in the country’s north, a move that could further destabilise the Sahel nation.

In a statement read on state television, the junta spokesman Col Abdoulaye Maïga said it ended the deal due to a "change in [the] posture of certain signatory groups" and "acts of hostility" by the lead mediator of the deal, Algeria.

The peace agreement was seen as key to maintaining stability in the country, as Tuaregs had carried out violent acts against the central government since 2012.

There has not been any reaction from the Algerian government.

The Tuareg group said it was not surprised by the decision.

Last month, the group suspended their participation in the deal pending the "organisation" of a crisis meeting with the Malian government "on neutral ground”.

The rebels have escalated attacks in recent months and gained some ground in northern Mali.

But they have also faced an onslaught from the Malian armed forces, who are working with people from the Wagner Group, a Russian military contractor. French forces and UN peacekeepers have also left the country.

Image source, Getty Images

Police in Malawi have recovered a presidential carpet that had been stolen in the southern town of Mwanza, near the border with Mozambique.

The carpet was taken together with a tent on Wednesday night as the items were being moved to the town, where President Lazarus Chakwera is expected to hold a public event on Friday.

Two men have been arrested in connection with the incident, police spokesperson Peter Kalaya said in a statement, external.

The two are suspected to have stolen the items from a ministry of transport and public works vehicle along the Zalewa-Mwanza road.

President Chakwera is expected in Mwanza for the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a stadium, as well as to inspect newly built police houses.

The incident comes a few days after unknown people broke into the office of Vice-President Saulos Chilima in the capital, Lilongwe, and stole some items.

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At least 43 people were killed in ethnic and religious violence in Plateau state, residents tell the BBC.

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