Welcome to Temitope Winner's blog

Image copyright REUTERSImage captionAmnesty is often at odds with Nigerian government Letter from Africa In our series of letters from African journalists, novelist and writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani explores the constant war of words between the Nigerian military and the rights group Amnesty International.

Nine civilians are killed in suicide attacks in Nigeria's Maiduguri, while eight troops die in raid in next-door Chad. More than 20,000 people have been killed since Boko Haram launched its arm campaign [File: Reuters] Suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers have struck the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, killing at least nine civilians, as the same armed group was also blamed for the death of eight soldiers in fierce fighting in neighbouring Chad. The multiple attacks Maiduguri also left 13 wounded, police told the Reuters news agency on Monday, the latest in a spate of attacks in the region. No group has officially claimed responsibility for the blasts in Maiduguri, but the use of suicide bombers in the region is a hallmark of Boko Haram. Borno police said a male suicide bomber killed a security guard after entering the University of Maiduguri, near the city centre at 2120 GMT on Sunday. Four female suicide bombers then killed eight people around an hour later on the outski...

Image copyrightDURBAN CRIME N ALLImage captionThese pictures emerged on social media over the weekend Inmates at a South African prison known as Sun City were treated to "strippers" as part of an official event. Pictures circulating on social media show two scantily-clad women in thigh-high boots pressing themselves up against orange suited men at Johannesburg's Medium B prison. On Monday, the Department of Correctional Services confirmed the veracity of the photos. A full investigation was under way, James Smalberger told journalists. "We can never tolerate what we have seen on the social media since Saturday," Mr Smalberger, the acting national correctional services commissioner, said. Thirteen officers are being suspended and will face the "full might of our code of conduct", he added. The 21 June event had been arranged as part of Youth Month celebrations - part of a programme which is meant to help with the rehabilitation of prisoners. But the wom...

Official says 24 Libya-bound people rescued but dozens are believed to have died after being left without food or water. Migrants crossing the Sahara desert into Libya ride on the back of a pick-up truck outside Agadez [File: Joe Penney/Reuters] Dozens of people are feared dead after human traffickers abandoned them in Niger's northern desert without food or water, a senior local official said on Monday.

These are external links and will open in a new window Share this with Facebook   Share this with Twitter   Share this with Messenger   Share this with Email   Share Image copyright Image caption Homo naledi has a mixture of primitive and more modern features Scientists have discovered a new human-like species in a burial chamber deep in a cave system in South Africa. The discovery of 15 partial skeletons is the largest single discovery of its type in Africa. The researchers claim that the discovery will change ideas about our human ancestors. The studies which have been published in the journal  Elife  also indicate that these individuals were capable of ritual behaviour. Image copyright NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Image caption Homo naledi may have looked something like this The species, which has been named  naledi , has been classified in the grouping, or genus,  Homo,  to which modern humans belong. The researche...

At least 26,000 people live in squalid camps around a largely abandoned town after armed groups faced-off there in May. Bria, Central African Republic - In mid-May the armed group the Popular Front for the Renaissance of Central African Republic (FPRC) marched into the town of Bria in the Central African Republic ( CAR ). Tens of thousands of, mostly Christian, civilians were displaced as the group faced off with anti-balaka fighters in the town, located some 600km northeast of the capital, Bangui. Around 85 percent of the town's residents fled. At least 60 people were killed in Bria, as the FPRC rebels, a faction of the Seleka, a Muslim-led coalition that toppled then President Francois Bozize in a coup in 2013, targeted the mainly Christian anti-balaka fighters and anyone they considered to be associated with the group. Thousands of people - both Muslim and Christian - have been killed in the country and almost a million displaced since the coup. Christians and Muslims have been ...