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Swiss court jails Gambian ex-minister for crimes against humanity
Swiss court jails Gambian ex-minister for crimes against humanity
By Francesca Hangeior
Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced Gambian former interior minister Ousman Sonko to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity.
Sonko, 55, was convicted over a string of offences committed between 2000 and 2016 under the regime of former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh.
Reading the verdict, the clerk of the court said Sonko had been given a “custodial sentence of 20 years”.
State prosecutors had sought life imprisonment for Sonko at the trial in Bellinzona, southern Switzerland, which began in January.
Sonko has been in Swiss custody since his arrest in January 2017 after applying for asylum following his sacking from the West African nation’s government.
He was tried under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows countries to prosecute alleged crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide regardless of where they were committed.
“The conviction of Ousman Sonko, one of the pillars of Yahya Jammeh’s brutal regime, is a major step on the long road to justice for Jammeh’s victims,” said lawyer Reed Brody, a member of the International Commission of Jurists.
“This verdict confirms that justice knows no borders and that ‘universal jurisdiction’ has become a powerful tool to bring to book tyrants and torturers who thought they had escaped justice,” he said in a statement.
Brody works with Jammeh’s victims and followed the court case in Bellinzona.
Sonko’s lawyers had argued that he should not have been tried on any counts predating 2011 when universal jurisdiction came into force in Switzerland.
During the trial, the prosecution and the civil parties involved argued why they considered Sonko to be responsible for killings, torture, rape and other sexual crimes.
Trial International filed the complaint leading to Sonko’s arrest.
The NGO “observed great relief on the part of the complaining parties to have been present, to be able to confront Ousman Sonko and to see how he reacted to what they said”, Trial’s legal advisor Benoit Meystre told AFP.
“Some also told us that the role they played in the trial contributes to their healing,” he added.
The complainants’ lawyers had said they believed there was no doubt that Sonko was part of Jammeh’s inner circle throughout his repressive regime.
Jammeh ruled The Gambia with an iron grip from 1994 to 2016.
Sonko was accused by Swiss prosecutors of “having supported, participated in and failed to prevent systematic and generalised attacks as part of the repression carried out by the Gambian security forces against all opponents of the regime”.
The charges included nine counts of crimes against humanity.
Sonko was accused of having “deliberately killed, tortured, raped and unlawfully deprived individuals of their liberty in a serious manner”.
He was accused of committing the crimes first within the army, then as inspector general of the police, and finally as the interior minister from 2006 to 2016.
His lawyers argued that he should not be tried for crimes against humanity because the alleged offences were isolated acts, and acts for which they said Sonko bore no responsibility.
Jammeh and his ‘henchmen’
“The long arm of the law is catching up with Yahya Jammeh’s accomplices all around the world, and hopefully will soon catch up with Jammeh himself,” Brody said.
“Jammeh’s henchmen have been convicted in Germany and now in Switzerland and another trial is approaching in the United States,” he added.
“Most importantly, the Gambian government, after many years, is finally moving towards the prosecution of Jammeh himself,” Brody said.
Stakeholders and experts in the Seed Sector of Nigeria have appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to review the recent appointment of a substantive Director General for the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC).
Stakeholders’ concern stemmed from the fact that Hon Fatuhu Mohammed Buhari who was appointed as substantive Director General of the Council did not possess the requisite professional qualification and cognate experience in seed science and technology as provided for in the Act establishing the Council.
In the open letter of appeal to President Tinubu signed on behalf of the Seed Sector by Engineer Olagbaju Akeju, a technical consultant/seed processor, the group cited a breach of Part III, Section 6 of the National Seed Council Act of 2019, which is the regulatory framework to establish food governance and remove quackery from the Nigeria Seed System.
Specifically, Part III, Section 6, states: “The President shall appoint on the recommendation of the Hon. Minister, candidate who possesses professional qualification and cognate experience in Seed Science and Technology.”
The group said that: “This requirement is very fundamental to continue to sustain the gain and international recognition of the Nigerian Agricultural Seed System as African model.”
According to the group, “It is for this purpose that Mr. President’s attention is invited to take another look at the appointment of Hon. Fatuhu Mohammed Buhari as Director General of the Council as earlier announced and confirmed, pending the request for Dr. Ishiaku Othman Khalid to serve as substantive Director-General of the Council for a single term.”
It would be recalled that until a few days ago, before the announcement of Hon. Fatuhu Mohammed Buhari as the Director-General by Mr. President, the Acting Director-General, Dr. Ishiaku Othman Khalid, a seasoned Seed Expert who grew within the system to become a director, was expected to be confirmed as the substantive Director General.
“During his tenure in acting capacity, the Seed Council attained international recognition as testified by the Council of Head of States in Africa Union for Food Security Committee. The Nigeria Seed System has also become remarkable as a model working for Nigeria and should be adopted by other African countries.”
On appointment of core professionals to head the Council, the group noted: “Since its establishment, the leadership of this unique agency has always been selected among the professionals in the relevant seed science and technology for the post of Director-General.
“It appeared that Mr. President was misled to appoint a non-professional as Director-General. This appointment did not only contravene the extant law but also breach Mr. President’s belief to give opportunity for serving officers to reach the pinnacle of their careers.”
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
In a unanimous judgment, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Abure National Chairman of the Labour Party, after finding out earlier that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
The apex court held that the issue of leadership was an internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.
The court further allowed the appeal filed by Senator Nenadi Usman and one other and held that it was meritorious.
It also proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure group of the Labour Party for being unmeritorious.
More shortly…
The political adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has resigned.
The former spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) tendered his resignation about two weeks ago.
Presidential sources were quoted as saying Dr. Baba-Ahmed did not provide details of the reasons for his decision and only stated that it was on personal grounds.
Baba-Ahmed was appointed Special Adviser on Political Matters in the Office of Vice President Kashim Shettima in September 2023.
Over the past 17 months, he has represented the presidency at several public fora, including a recent national conference themed: “Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy: Pathway to Good Governance and Political Integrity”, which held from 28th to 29th January, 2025 in Abuja.
Daily Trust
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