Loyalist troops in Burundi early on Friday detained at least three leaders of a failed coup against President Pierre Nkurunziza, with an AFP reporter hearing the arrest by telephone. The coup leaders’ spokesman, Venon Ndabaneze, was speaking to AFP confirming that the putschists had decided to surrender when loyalist troops arrested him, deputy coup leader Cyrille Ndayirukiye and another senior figure among the mutineers. AFP remained on the line as the leaders were detained. The leader of the coup attempt, former intelligence chief General Godefroid Niyombare, also said he was surrendering. “We have decided to surrender,” coup leader General Godefroid Niyombare also said by telephone, adding that troops loyal to the president were approaching him. “I hope they won’t kill us,” he added. It was unclear what happened to him.

An Abuja High Court on Thursday threw
out an application filed to stop Mrs. Patience
Jonathan from holding an emergency
meeting of African First Ladies Peace
Mission (AFLPM) in Abuja today, May 15.
The trial judge, Justice Baba-Yusuf,
yesterday refused to stop the meeting
because the two affidavits filed by the
plaintiffs were contradictory and
incompetent.
The judge said the affidavits were contrary
to Section 115 (3) (4) of the Evidence Act
2011.
The court also held that the plaintiffs slept
on their right since the application was not
presented timeously before the court.
The court noted that the plaintiffs became
aware of the facts they deposed to in their
affidavits since April 23, 2015 but did not
bring the application until May to stop the
event which was to hold today.
The court mentioned that by the nature of
the event, dignitaries must have arrived the
country from all parts of the continent and
by its nature, enormous resources would
have been put in to organise the event.
The motion to stop the event was moved
yesterday and the court delivered its ruling
on the same day since the court had no
choice as the event was fixed for today.
The plaintiffs, who include Nana Module
Onwodi, Ekemma Ugborough Arisa, Louisa
Ono Eikhomun and Deborah Oboh claimed
that the said emergency meeting called by
Mrs. Jonathan was called in “bad faith” as it
was aimed at scuttling any chance of Aisha
Buhari becoming the President of AFLPM.
Other defendants in the matter include Juliet
Mene, Juliet Pearce, Sonia Adolf and Kate
Duru.
The plaintiffs had filed a writ of summons
for themselves and on behalf of concerned
Women for Peace and Development,
seeking to stop the emergency meeting
called by Jonathan aimed at picking a new
President of AFLPM from among the other
African first ladies to succeed her.
They explained that the defendant stepped
into the shoes of President of AFLPM after
Turai Yar’Adua stepped down following the
death of her husband, Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua.
The plaintiffs claimed that the tenure of
office of president of the mission is three
years, which is expected to elapse in July
2015 and therefore any attempt for the
defendant to convene a meeting to elect a
new president would amount to
shortchanging Mrs. Buhari who ought to
get a chance by May 29, 2015 to participate
and even contest the office of president in
July, 2015.
They averred that “the defendant /
respondent’s intention to hold an election on
May 2015 is inimical to the progress and
development of the country” as “not only
shall we be affected as individuals but the
entire nation will be affected as our position
in the committee of African nation’s will be
relegated”.
They further averred that”the other African
nation’s who are members of the Mission
have unanimously agreed that the summit
and the election be held in July”
They submitted that Jonathan’s interest is
“selfish and totally in bad faith” and urged
the court to grant an order of interlocutory
injunction restraining the defendant /
Respondent from convening, hosting the
said meeting for the purpose of the electing
the President for the Mission or from taking
any step that will prejudice or foist on the
applicants and the court a fair accompli
pending the hearing of the suit.
Justice Baba-Yusuf will entertain the
interlocutory application today.