Stepping into a contentious election-year issue, a Nigerian Senate panel said on Wednesday that President Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy-turned-political-foe both illegally used funds from the country’s massive oil industry. Both officials are currently immune from prosecution.
The African Union will end talks among warring parties in Sudan’s Darfur region by April 30 if the Khartoum government and rebel factions fail to agree to a peace deal, a senior mediator said. Sam Ibok, head of the AU team mediating peace negotiations, said on Sunday his team was still working toward a United Nations-backed deadline to achieve a final peace agreement by the end of the month.
African leaders emerged from their first attempt at brokering peace in Sudan’s Darfur region without a major development on Sunday, though Sudan’s lead negotiator said the groups made ”some progress”. The talks aim to end more than three years of deadly civil war that has left more than 180 000 people dead in western Sudan and driven millions more from their homes.
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/ 14 December 2005
President Olusegun Obasanjo has grounded two private domestic Nigerian airlines after two deadly plane crashes killed 224 people in seven weeks. He also announced a review of all aircraft flying in Nigeria and said two experts from the International Civil Aviation Organisation will be brought in ”to ensure the integrity of the inspection”.