African press review 24 June 2017
Accra launches probe into Nigerian billionnaire kidnapper Evans' Ghanaian passport. while a Kenyan man chops off his father's hand after an ugly election dispute.
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We begin in Nigeria where Punch leads with a sinister plan by suspected terrorists to stage a series of coordinated attacks using explosives across the country during the Eid-el-Fitr Ramadan feast.
The paper quotes the country's National Intelligence agency, the DSS, as saying that it had arrested two suspects in connection with the foiled operation to unleash mayhem during the Sallah celebration in Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna and Maiduguri.
A director at the DSS reportedly told newsman that a large cache of weapons was discovered at the home of one of the suspects in Kano.
Punch says the arms included eight AK-47 rifles, 20 fully loaded AK-47 magazines, 27 hand grenades, 793 rounds of live ammunition, one gas cylinder and three laptops.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Tribune has more shocking revelations about the recently arrested billionaire kidnapper Chikwudubem Onwuamadike aka Evans.
This follows news that Evans, his wife and five children have valid Ghanaian passports.
According to the newspaper, the development is causing ripples in Ghana government circles as the authorities there have ordered a full scale investigation into how the notorious criminal and his family managed to become Ghanaian citizens.
In Ghana MyJoyOnline website says it is now been discovered that Evans obtained the passport from an Accra immigration office, since January 2013, under the fake name of Asare Nelson.
Meanwhile, in the wake of rising cases of kidnapping in Nigeria, Saturday Punch says lawmakers are dumping official vehicle number plates and avoiding road trips to keep safe.
According to the newspaper, just three weeks ago, a lawmaker from Kano State, Garba Umar-Durbunde, was kidnapped by gunmen along the Abuja-Kaduna Road, after which he reportedly paid N10m ransom to secure his freedom.
Elsewhere , and with less than 45 days to go to Kenya's General Elections, Daily Nation has an example of why the country's politicians need to do more to avert the kind of violence that rocked the East African Nation in 2007.
It's the shocking story of a man in Kakamega County, who chopped off his father’s right hand after a violent dispute over campaign posters.
The publication says the suspect had engaged his brother in a physical fight for destroying the campaign posters of his candidate before turning on to attack his father with a machete for probably not taking his sides in the dispute.
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