What Saraki told ECONEC delegation

The president of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, says the calls for secession in the country and threats to national unity are largely the handiwork of some elites who do not mean well for the country.

West African leaders have said Mali must hold a presidential election in February 2022. They also called for the immediate appointment of a new civilian prime minister.

Liver cancer is strikingly prevalent in West Africa. Specialists point to high rates of hepatitis as a likely cause, but the region is not well equipped to deal with the epidemic.

West Africa's leaders will hold an emergency ECOWAS summit on Guinea on Wednesday amid fears the military takeover could spark further instability in the region. But ECOWAS faces its own credibility problem.

The ECOWAS bloc called on Guinea to return to "normal constitutional order" after President Alpha Conde was deposed in a coup by special forces.

West African leaders from ECOWAS are preparing to meet in Conakry. The influential economic bloc suspended the country after this week's military takeover and told coup leaders to release deposed president Alpha Condé. Also on the show, we take a look at how South Africa's vaccination drive is faring. And in the same country, we meet a Black Free Dive instructor who is making waves in her community.

Why are Mali's neighbours coming down hard? A harsh embargo has been decided after coup leaders in that landlocked West African state reneged on their promise of a quick return to civilian rule. How harsh? We talk border closures and trade embargoes. It's not as if the region has never seen a putsch before: look no further than neighbouring Guinea.

Thousands of Malians take to the streets after the junta calls for protests against sanctions imposed by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS. Also, on the 11th anniversary of Ben Ali's ouster, hundreds of demonstrators in Tunisia defy a ban on public gatherings to protest against President Kais Saied's power grab. And we bring you the latest from the Africa Cup of Nations. Our reporters on the ground have all the day's action.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Burkina Faso in response to Monday's coup that removed the democratically elected President, Roch Marc Christian Kabore. The decision was taken during a virtual extraordinary summit of heads of state of the bloc, held on Friday, January 28, 2022.

Representatives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Monday met with the ousted President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Kabore. Prior to the meeting there had been no information about the whereabouts or condition of the former leader. While the delegation did not reveal where the meeting with Korbare took place, the head of the mission, Ghanaian Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, said he was in good health.

The government of Burkina Faso said last week that it had averted a plot by armed forces to take over the country. This attempted coup in Burkina Faso comes hot on the heels of military take-overs in Mali as well as in Guinea.

The financial freeze on Mali brought in by regional group ECOWAS has hit its economy hard. Key sectors like the cotton industry have been struggling to overcome the impact of the trade penalties. Also, as the excitement of the Africa Cup of Nations winds down, we head to two-time tournament hosts Gabon, where once-gleaming stadiums have fallen into disrepair. Finally, a Malawian musician finds runaway fame on TikTok at the age of 92.