France authenticated an Al-Qaeda claim to have kidnapped five of its nationals together with a Togolese and a Madagascan in Niger last Thursday, as it awaited the kidnappers' demands.

"We have not received proof of life, but we have good reasons to believe the hostages are alive," French foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said after Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility.

Seven foreign workers were kidnapped near a uranium mining zone in Niger. Five are French and the other two are from Togo and Madagascar, according to the New York Times.
Two of the hostages are an employee of Areva, the French nuclear engineering firm, and his wife, whereas the other five worked for Sogea-Satom, a subsidiary of Vinci that is contracted to Areva in Niger.
Areva and Vinci, as well as Bernard Valero, a French Foreign Ministry spokesperson, have confirmed that the workers were kidnapped kidnapped in Arlit, a town in the northern part of the country, during the night between Wednesday and Thursday. The two companies released a joint statement saying that security around the area has been increased.
“France will do everything to liberate them, as we do each time,” President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters, as quoted by the Times, also noting that the Sahel region is “extremely dangerous.

 "Suspected members of an Islamist sect have freed hundreds of inmates in an attack on a prison in northern Nigeria that led to a fierce gun battle with authorities, officials said Wednesday.

Authorities said more than 700 inmates escaped in the Tuesday night attack, including at least 150 alleged sect members. The sect blamed for the attack, known as Boko Haram, had launched an uprising in Nigeria's north last year.

Bauchi state police commissioner Danlami Yar'Adua reported four people killed, including a soldier, a police officer and two residents.

The head of Nigeria's prisons, Olusola Ogundipe, said during a visit to the scene on Wednesday that more than 120 inmates had since returned on their own and an unspecified number had been arrested."

1. Islamist sect Boko Haram vows to continue Jihad.
2. 150 killed in clashes between Islamic sect and the police.
3. Hostages held by Boko Haram, freed.
4. HRW asks for an investigation into death of Boko Haram’s leader.
5. 13-yr-old girl forced to watch her pastor’s murder by Boko Haram.

Ahmad Sani Yerima. Image from Wikipedia.

The quiet marriage of former Zamfara State governor and Senate Minority Whip, Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima to a 13-year old Egyptian girl, has continued to attract condemnation by the womenfolk.
A coalition of women groups yesterday took its protest to the Senate, urging the Senate President, David Mark leadership of the Upper House to suspend him for marrying an underaged girl.  

The coalition, led by Dr. Mma Nkwocha, comprised the Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), Women Rights Advancement and Pro-tection Alternative (WRAPA) and the Global Association of Women Attorneys (GAFA).
In a swift reaction to the protest, Senators Chris Anyanwu, Emem Uffot Ekaette, Nkechi Nwaogu and Patricia Akwashiki pledged to provide support to the group in its advocacy against the act.

In addition to the call on the Senate leadership to suspend Yerima, the coalition urged his constituents in Zamafara Central Senatorial District to recall him from the Senate.
But Chair of the Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze, said at a briefing session yesterday that those opposed to Yerima’s marriage should go to court.