Five die in Ivory Coast’s helicopter crash

At least five persons were confirmed dead in a helicopter crash in northern Ivory Coast on Friday.

The Mi-24 helicopter operated by the Ivoirian army was on a reconnaissance mission to a border town with Burkina Faso when it came down in the early hours of Friday.

The army said in a statement all the people on board the chopper died in the crash.

The helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission to the northern border with Burkina Faso, near Togolokaye. All the five persons on board died,” the statement read.

However, the cause of the accident has not been ascertained.

Buhari, Ghana, Ivory Coast Presidents will be removed – Prophet Okikijesu

Founder, Christ Apostolic Miracle Ministry, Apostle Paul Okikijesu has said that God is about to reject the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the cleric, God said that if the president refuses to change, He will reject his government just like He rejected the government of biblical character, King Saul.

“Thus says the Lord: If the President refuses to quickly make amendments during this period, I will change hands concerning his government, says the Lord God of hosts,” he said.

Speaking further, Apostle Okikijesu said that the actions of the Presidents of Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana do not please God.

He stated; “Thus says the Lord: If these leaders refuse to take steps of rectification, My judgment will come upon them mightily.

“If they refuse to pay attention to the voice of I the Lord from the mouths of the religious advisers; if they elevate humans or idols more than I the Lord; then the judgment of I the Lord will come upon them and I the Lord will work with a harsh judgment hand.

“They will not be able to continue their tenure because their position will be given to their neighbors that are better than them. That is, the people who will occupy their posts are beside them; the positions will be taken away from them, says the Lord God of hosts, unless they repent and amend their ways.

They should write down this period; if they refuse to take steps of rectification; if they refuse to turn to I the Lord; if they refuse to turn to the God of heavens who is the God of the Hebrews; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; if they refuse to ask the religious advisers who are filled with the Holy Spirit, to inquire what the Lord wants and expects from their governance. If they refuse to take all these steps, then, they will be removed from office, and their positions will be given to their neighbors who are better than them.

They will lose their positions, and the judgment of I the Lord will come upon them. They will witness a severe hand of judgment; because what I the Lord had spoken concerning their souls will happen, so they should believe that there is no powerful being that has power over his/her own soul.

“Thus says the Lord: I the Lord is the owner of the souls of these Presidents, and I the Lord can ask for their souls anytime that I like; with no one who can obstruct or delay me.

Thus says the Lord of hosts: It is not Apostle Paul Okikijesu who owns the souls of these Presidents, but it is I the Lord God of hosts who is God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Israel. I, the God of their forefathers is the One who owns their souls. I the Lord can ask for their souls anytime that I like, and their posts will be given to their neighbors who are better than them”.

READ THE OUTCOME OF ELECTION IN IVORY COAST

Ivory Coast election: Alassane Ouattara wins amid boycott

Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara has won a controversial third term in office in an election boycotted by the opposition.

He took 94% of the vote, even winning 99% in some of his strongholds.

Turnout was put at almost 54%. The result has to be confirmed by the Constitutional Council.

On Monday, the Ivorian opposition said it was creating a transitional government which would organise a new election.

Main opposition candidates Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Henri Konan Bédié had urged their supporters not to vote.

They got 1% and 2% respectively, while a fourth candidate, Kouadio Konan Bertin, also got 2%, according to the official results.

Opposition figures say it was illegal for Mr Ouattara to stand for a third term as it broke rules on term limits.

“Maintaining Mr Ouattara as head of state is likely to lead to civil war,” M N’guessan said, adding that the opposition noted a vacancy of power.

But the president’s supporters dispute this, citing a constitutional change in 2016 which they say means his first term effectively did not count.

His party has warned the opposition against any “attempt to destabilize” the country, which is still recovering from a civil war sparked by a disputed election in 2010.

At least 16 people have been killed since riots broke out in August after President Ouattara said he would run again following the sudden death of his preferred successor.

At least nine people were killed during Saturday’s vote, news agency AFP reports.

The election was marred by intimidation, violence and electoral malpractice, an advocacy group said of findings by independent election group Indigo Côte d’Ivoire.

“An election is the moment when a society comes together to experience and live out democracy, but the context that prevailed on election day… shows that a large segment of the Ivorian population did not experience this election in peace,” PTI Advocacy Group said in a statement.

Ivorian anti-riot police use tear gas to disperse opposition supporters in Blockhauss, Abidjan.
image captionAnti-riot police used tear gas to disperse protesters in Abidjan

It added that a significant number of voters were disfranchised because polling stations did not open, adding that even those people who were able to vote did so “in a context of fear and anxiety”.

It said that 23% of polling stations had not opened at all due to threats or attacks, and that in 5% of polling stations, observers reported threats or intimidation of election officials.

Pascal Affi N'Guessan speaks at the press conference
image captionKey opposition figures are urging mass protests to block what they describe as a “dictatorship”

Several polling stations were ransacked in opposition strongholds on Saturday and election materials were burned.

In the eastern town of Daoukro, protesters erected roadblocks. Meanwhile tear gas was used to push away demonstrators who gathered close to where the president cast his ballot in the main city, Abidjan.