Police minister condemns Nigeria police 'killings'

Nigeria's police minister has launched a scathing attack on the force, accusing officers of killings, robbery and other abuses.

Ibrahim Lame said the lack of security was "condemnable and unacceptable".

Human rights groups have frequently accused Nigeria's police of abuses and corruption but it is rare for the government to make similar charges.

The national police chief blamed the security problems on poverty, corruption and religious tension.

Mr Lame told a meeting of police commanders: "The current rate of crime across the nation, rising cases of extra-judicial killings, human rights violations, robberies, high-profile assassination and deliberate failure to comply with government directives are testimony to the sheer incapacity or wilful defiance of police high command" to government directives.

Inspector General of Police Ogbonna Onovo said the police were "operating under unbearable conditions", reports the Vanguard newspaper, adding that criminals were often better armed than the police.

Last year, a BBC investigation found that staff in the mortuary in the south-eastern city of Enugu were unable to cope with the large number of bodies the police were delivering - many of whom had been accused of being armed robbers.

Guinea leader 'should be tried for massacre' - HRW

Guinea's military leader Capt Moussa Dadis Camara could be held responsible for the massacre of 157 protesters in in September, a report says.

The Human Rights Watch report says the killings were designed to silence opposition to military rule.

The authors say Guinea's presidential guard fired into the crowd until they ran out of bullets.

Capt Camara has previously blamed the deaths on "out of control" elements in the military.

The junta has said that 57 people died - and most of these were trampled underfoot, rather than shot.

The Human Rights Watch report says the military tried to cover up the massacre by removing bodies from hospital for secret mass burials.

They say this was a crime against humanity, coming under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

The report names several military officers, including the current head of state, Capt Camara, who it says should be investigated further and face trial.

He is currently undergoing hospital treatment in Morocco after being shot by one of his aides.

The aide, Lt Toumba Diakite, on Wednesday said he had shot Capt Camara, because the military leader was trying to blame him for the massacre.

Guinea forces "planned crackdown"

A deadly crackdown on protesters in Guinea in September was "premeditated and pre-planned at the highest level", Human Rights Watch has told the BBC.
Soldiers deployed at the sports stadium where protesters had gathered blocked the exits before systematically killing and raping protesters, the group says.
Activists say 157 people were killed but officials say far fewer died and claim most were trampled to death.
The EU is the latest international body to put sanctions on the ruling junta.
The bloc put an arms embargo on the country and imposed sanctions against its military leaders.
EU officials have joined pressure groups, including US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), in calling for members of the junta to be tried for human rights violations.