Buhari wins APC Presidential Primary

Former Head of State Buhari has reportedly beaten former VP Atiku Abubakar, current Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, current governor of Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, and the publisher of Leadership newspapers Sam Nda-Isaiah, to win the APC presidential Primary. So he will face president Jonathan at the 2015 presidential election to be held in February 2015.

Nigeria’s army kills 27 Boko Haram insurgents

Nigeria's army killed 27 members of Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram as part of efforts to regain control over the country's volatile north-east, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Soldiers clashed with the insurgents in the Balmo, Lame and Hildi forests in Borno State, the ministry said in a statement, without specifying when the fighting took place.

SA hostage still held in Mali

Paris - Following the release of Franco-Serbian Serge Lazarevic, held captive in north Africa since 24 November 2011, three European hostages remain in the sub-Saharan region.

A Swede, a Dutchman and a Briton who also holds a South African passport were kidnapped one day later in Timbuktu, northern Mali.

A fourth man from Germany was killed trying to resist his captors.

All of the kidnappings were claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which released two photos to back up their claim.

Namibia unveils human rights plan

Windhoek - Namibia’s ombudsman on Tuesday announced the country’s first human rights action plan for implementation over five years.

"In order to mark the upcoming 25th independence anniversary of Namibia next March we should show a stronger desire to entrench human rights principles more effectively," Ombudsman John Walters said at the launch in Windhoek.

"No country has a perfect human rights record, including Namibia; we acknowledge that we face a number of imperfections, gaps or challenges, but to address them we need a national plan to address the human rights concerns of all Namibians," Walters added.

Nigeria security agencies accused of killings

Abuja - Nigeria's human rights commission (NHRC) on Tuesday accused the country's security agencies of systematic extra-judicial killings, describing the lack of due process as the most frequently violated human right.

NHRC said that most of the complaints received by the commission - which also include loss of rights to education, shelter and health - involved extra-judicial killings by Nigeria's security agencies and police.

Nigeria, which according to UN data is one of the countries with the highest number of human rights violations, is tackling an insurgency in the country's north-east.