Ghana has approved a visa-free travel policy for all countries in the African continent, effective this year, 2025.

The president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, made the announcement during his final State of the Nation address on Friday as he prepares to step down on January 6 after two terms in office.

He said the decision to grant all African passport holders visa-free entrance is part of efforts towards strengthening the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“I am proud to have approved visa-free travel to Ghana for all African passport holders, with effect from the beginning of this year.

“This is the logical next step to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the workings of the largest trading bloc in the world.

“All these are essential elements to the realisation of the AU’s Agenda 2063, which envisages an integrated and connected Africa by 2063,” Akufo-Addo said in his address to parliament.

Naija News understands Ghana had previously allowed visa-free access to citizens of 26 African nations and visas on arrival for travellers from 25 others, while only two African countries — Eritrea and Morocco — required a visa before entry.

Other countries in the continent that have also approved visa-free entry to African travellers are Rwanda, Seychelles, Gambia and Benin.

Fatima Dzuma, a resident of Lafiyagi Dzwafu village in the Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State, is accused of allegedly murdering her husband, Baba, in a shocking act that has left the community in disbelief.

According to a local resident, Baba married Dzuma three years ago after her divorce from her first husband. Dzuma had no children with Baba, although she had one child from her previous marriage. 

Meanwhile, Baba’s first wife recently gave birth, with preparations for the naming ceremony underway.

Dzuma reportedly confessed, saying she killed her husband because she "no longer liked him." 

She allegedly strangled him with a scarf and struck him twice on the head and once on the hand with a pestle while he was asleep, breaking his hand.

After killing him, Dzuma wrapped his body in a mat, dragged it to the backyard, and cleaned the scene. For three days, she denied knowing his whereabouts, even as Baba’s family searched frantically.

However, Dzuma later admitted, “I acted alone.” 

She is currently in police custody, pleading for mercy and claiming, “The devil made me do it.”

The police have confirmed the arrest, stating that investigations are ongoing.

Confirming the report to SaharaReporters, Wasiu Abiodun, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer said, on 31 December 2024, the lifeless body of 25-year-old Baba Aliyu was discovered in a bush near Katcha, Niger State. 

The police, led by operatives from Katcha Division, responded promptly to the scene. 

Police further revealed that Dzuma, 27, admitted to killing him after a violent altercation. Fatima explained that her husband had beaten her during the argument, and later, while he slept, she struck him on the head with a pestle, resulting in his death.

Afterward, Dzuma tied the body with clothes and rope, wrapped it in a mat, and discarded it in the bush to cover up the crime. 

The body was sent to Bida General Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Fatima was arrested and is currently in custody, awaiting transfer to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Minna for further investigation and prosecution.

Malam Yahaya, an elderly Nigerian man, from the Utoro community in Kano State, has been arrested.

The man was nabbed for allegedly sending an individual to steal a baby to gouge his eyes out for ritual purposes.

Operatives from the Bompai Police Station apprehended Yahaya after an individual, whom he had allegedly hypnotised, was caught attempting to carry out the bizarre request.

In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, the ‘hypnotised’ person, identified as Kabir Sani, led the police to Yahaya's residence, where officers discovered disturbing items, including a calabash with an inscription, white and red clothes, and various charms.

Sani said, "My name is Kabir Sani. I reside in Utoro, and I am 25 years old. I came to visit Malam because I was not feeling well. He gave me some medicine with water and told me to use my urine for three days.

"After I came back, he gave me 'Tulare' perfume and Hantu. Immediately, my brain shut down, and I was not myself. Anything he told me to do, I did without questioning his authority.

"He told me that he would give me N1 million, but he asked me to go and find a child whose eyes he would remove to use in preparing a charm for a soldier to make him disappear.

"I went to my sister's house and told her everything Malam Yahaya asked me to do. I told her that I wasn't myself anymore. I tried to find an 8-month-old child who lives in our house.”

"Unfortunately, I was unable to bring the child because if I had, Malam Yahaya would have removed his eyes. I'm pleading with people to help me beg Malam to return my senses to normal," Sani added.

According to SaharaReporters, when contacted, the Kano State Police spokesperson, Haruna Abdullahi, said he did not answer calls or reply to his messages.

Yvonne Okoro, the Ghanaian-Nigerian actress, has said she prefers Nigerian men to their Ghanaian counterparts.

She explained that her preference for Nigerian men isn’t just because of their generosity but also for their romantic nature.

Speaking in a recent episode of the Ghanaian TV show, Showbiz 360 with her colleague Majid Michel, Okoro said her ideal man is someone who is both romantic and generous.

“Nigerian men or Ghanaian men? Nigerian men are better. I didn’t say Nigerian men because of money. That’s not the only thing. Money is there but love, affection is very important. Because if they give me money and there’s no love and they’re very disrespectful, I wouldn’t want that.

“I want the whole package. That’s my kind of man. I want everything.”

Okoro was born in Tamale, Ghana to a Nigerian dad and Ghanaian mother.

She has starred in both Nollywood and Ghollywood movies.

A wedding in Jigawa State has turned tragic after a bride allegedly poisoned food served at the reception.

The incident is said to have left the groom critically ill and one of the wedding guests dead.

The incident occurred in the Jahun Local Government Area of the state.

Eyewitnesses suggested to PUNCH Online that the bride’s actions may have been driven by a personal vendetta.

Speaking to PUNCH Online on Friday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Shi’isu Adam, confirmed the incident and said an investigation was underway.

“We received a report that the bride had tainted the food served at the wedding reception, leaving the groom critically ill.

“Police have arrested two suspects in connection with the alleged food poisoning incident that occurred during a wedding ceremony in the state,” Adam said.

He revealed that the two suspects are the bride and another female, adding that they are in custody and being interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Department of the command.

The police spokesperson added, “We will do everything in our power to ensure that justice is served.”

According to the police spokesman, all the wedding attendants who consumed the poisoned food have been discharged from the hospital, except for the one person who was confirmed dead.

“The command is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, and we will provide more details as soon as possible.

“For now, we can confirm that the incident occurred, and we are working tirelessly to unravel the facts. We urge the public to remain calm and assured that justice will be served,” he concluded.

The identities of the deceased, the groom, and other victims have not been disclosed by the authorities.

A stray bullet from a police officer’s gun killed a young woman, identified as Ifeoluwa Adekalu, in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, on Thursday.

The incident happened near Okela Police Station, where the officer, reportedly attached to another unit, was visiting.

According to sources, the officer allegedly discharged his weapon while celebrating the promotion of a colleague.

Adekalu, described as a mother of one, was struck by the bullet in front of shops opposite the police station.

Witness accounts differ on her activities at the time of the incident.

An eyewitness said, “The victim was passing by when the bullet hit her in front of a shop opposite the police station.

“She was returning from where she went to pay her accommodation rent.

But another source said, “The woman had just alighted from a commercial motorbike in a bid to access the police station when the incident happened. I do not know her mission, but she was going to the police station when the bullet hit her.”

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but later succumbed to her injuries.

Confirming the incident, the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, AIG Adewale Adeniran, said, “The officer in question has been disarmed and detained.

“The officer will face interrogations in line with the Nigerian Police Act.”

Esther Marcus, a woman who claims to be a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police from the Nigeria Police Force, has shared her experience of being underpaid after 35 years of service.

In the now-viral video, Marcus, who claimed to have joined the force before clocking 16 years, disclosed that after retiring in 2018, she received N1.7 million as her gratuity and was subsequently placed on a monthly pension of N40,000.

Voicing her frustration over what she called the “dirty contributory pension scheme,” she said, “My name is Esther Marcus, a retired DSP of the Nigerian Police Force. I retired on November 1, 2018. I just want to use myself as a case study. It’s applicable to every other police officer under this dirty contributory pension scheme.

“After serving for 35 years, though I joined the Nigeria Police Force at a very young age, I escorted a friend; unfortunately, she was not selected, but I was chosen because I was tall, even though I was not yet 16 when I joined the Nigeria Police Force. 

“And when I retired in 2018, I waited for over a year before I was given N1.7 million… after 35 years. Then, after waiting for another three months, they started paying me N40,000 as my monthly pension after giving me N1.7 million after serving for 35 years. And that applies to every other policeman and policewoman who retired under this dirty scheme called the contributory pension scheme. That’s what we’ve been going through.”

According to her, the Federal Government’s responses to their pleas have been largely ignored, despite multiple public hearings on the issue.

Marcus added, “This struggle has been ongoing for over 10 years now because when I retired in 2018, there was a police retirees’ meeting. They started it in 2017 or thereabouts, and all our cries to the Federal Government have been met with deaf ears. It’s not an insult, but that’s the truth.

“They are aware of what we’re going through. They’ve held about three or four public hearings on this case. But when the Army was retiring, the DSS and other paramilitary forces — there was nothing like a public hearing.”

Marcus also highlighted what she saw as inequality within the police force, claiming that senior officers like the Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs), Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs), and the Inspector General (IG) have been exempted from this pension scheme.

“The AIGs, DIGs, and IGs have exempted themselves from this dirty contributory pension scheme. They only left the Commissioners of Police downwards; they are the ones suffering it,” she said.

“The president cannot say he hasn’t heard this issue. He knows what is happening,” she added.

Marcus, determined to continue the fight for justice, vowed that the retired police officers would not stop advocating for their rights, saying,
“Let me tell you, we will never stop fighting because even those coming behind us… you cannot just see pure injustice and not fight against it. It’s not possible.”

“How do you expect me to survive on N40,000? That’s for me as a DSP. We have two-star officers, and one-star officers, who are receiving N28,000. And you want them to survive on this? What offence did the police commit to deserve this ill-treatment?” she questioned.

“We will not stop fighting,” she affirmed. “What we are planning now is to go and occupy their National Assembly and call CNN to cover the whole programme.”

She added that anyone opposing this reform is akin to a vulture, waiting for the vulnerable to perish.

“Anyone who is against us will not escape from this evil bondage,” she said. “That person, that man, that group who doesn’t want the police to be exempted from this evil— they are vultures because a vulture only waits for its victim to die, then it comes to feed. And that’s what’s been happening.”

Marcus further expressed her frustration, stating that it is unrealistic to expect police officers to stop engaging in corrupt practices when they know retirement will bring them into such financial circumstances.

She said, “You want the police, knowing fully well that when they retire, they are going into hell; you want them to stop corruption? They will continue collecting. They will continue extorting. They will continue enriching themselves by whatever means they can.”

A 7-Year-Old boy has been found alive after surviving five days in a game park inhabited by lions and elephants in northern Zimbabwe, according to a member of parliament.

The ordeal began when Tinotenda Pudu wandered at least 23 km (14 miles) from home into the "perilous" Matusadona Game Park, said Mashonaland West MP Mutsa Murombedzi on X.

He spent five days "sleeping on a rocky perch, amidst roaring lions, passing elephants, eating wild fruits", she said.

Matusadona game park has about 40 lions. At one point, it had one of the highest lion population densities in Africa, according to African Parks.

The Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority confirmed the incident to the BBC but said the boy was seven-years-old rather than eight, as the MP had said, and walked 49 km (30 miles) from home.

Murombedzi said the boy used his knowledge of the wild and survival skills to stay alive.

Tinotenda survived his ordeal by eating wild fruit. He also dug small wells into dry riverbeds with a stick to access drinking water - a skill taught in the drought-prone area.

Members of the local Nyaminyami community started a search party and beat drums each day to try and guide him back home.

But ultimately, it was park rangers who managed to find him.

On his fifth day in the wild, Tinotenda heard a ranger's car and ran toward it, narrowly missing it, the MP said.

Luckily, the rangers returned, spotted "fresh little human footprints," and searched the area until they found him.

"This was probably his last chance of being rescued after five days in the wilderness," said the MP.

The park is over 1,470 sq km (570 sq miles) and is home to zebras, elephants, hippos, lions, and antelope.

Across social media, people have been praising the young boy for his resilience.

"This is beyond human comprehension," one person wrote on X.

Another user wrote: "He's going to have one hell of a story to tell when he gets back to school."

A Zambian police officer reportedly under the influence of alcohol released 13 detainees to celebrate the New Year, sparking a manhunt for the escaped suspects.

The BBC reported that Inspector Titus Phiri allegedly took cell keys from Constable Serah Banda at Leonard Cheelo police station in Lusaka on New Year’s Eve, freeing individuals held for crimes including assault, robbery, and burglary.

Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga described the incident, stating, “In a state of intoxication, [Phiri] forcibly seized cell keys… unlocked both the male and female cells, and instructed the suspects to leave, stating they were free to cross over into the new year.”

Following the escape of 13 out of the 15 detainees, Phiri himself fled the station. The officer has yet to address the allegations.

This unusual incident drew parallels to a 1997 episode when the late High Court Judge Kabazo Chanda ordered the release of 53 detainees.

Judge Chanda criticized the prolonged detention of suspects, some held as far back as 1992, without trial. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” he declared at the time.

Reacting to the latest case, lawyer and former presidential spokesperson Dickson Jere commented on Facebook, “I keep laughing each time I picture the scenario – comical! But then, I remembered a similar incident in 1997.”