The move comes after lawmakers in the West African country voted to end capital punishment in July, replacing the punishment with life imprisonment or a minimum 30-year jail term.

“As a nation, we have today exorcised horrors of a cruel past,” Bio said in a statement, adding that capital punishment is “inhumane”. We today affirm our belief in the sanctity of life,” he added.

Sierra Leone, which is still recovering after decades of civil war, had frequently come under fire from rights groups for keeping capital punishment on the books.

Deputy Minister of Justice Umaru Napoleon Koroma told AFP that Sierra Leone’s first recorded execution dated from 1798 around a decade after Britain founded the colony for freed slaves in 1787.

Ninety-four people were living under a death sentence at the end of 2020, the minister added. No execution has taken place in the country since 1998, however, and death sentences were often commuted.

After long resisting a formal ban on capital punishment, the government announced abolition plans in May. The parliament then voted in favour in July.

Under the new law, execution will be replaced with life imprisonment or a minimum 30-year jail term for crimes such as murder or mutiny.

Sierra Leone joins a growing number of African countries that have outlawed the death penalty, with Chad abolishing the punishment last year.

This was contained in a press statement titled, ‘AFCON Qualifier: CAF bars media, journalists from Nigeria, Sierra Leone match’ by the Nigeria Football Federation’s spokesperson, Ademola Olajire on Monday.

The statement read in part, “The Confederation of African Football has categorically stated that no journalists or supporters would be allowed inside the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City for Friday’s 2022 AFCON qualifying match between the Super Eagles and the Leone Stars.

“In the guidelines communicated to the Nigeria Football Federation, CAF instructed, under Media Operations, that there would be no mixed zone, virtual press conference only if possible (media officers from both teams only), and that only the TV channels with the rights will be allowed flash interviews.

“Also, only photographers of participating teams would be allowed at the match.

“The above puts to rest all previous speculations regarding having spectators at the match venue, and whether members of the media would be allowed into the arena.”

The statement also quoted the NFF’s Director of Competitions, Bola Oyeyode, as saying that “only individuals accredited by the NFF would be allowed inside the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium for the Day 3 qualifier, which will kick off at 5pm Nigeria time.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 189 countries, that helps foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and reduce poverty around the world.

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, in a statement in Washington last night, announced debt service relief for 25 poor countries saying the debt relief was to enable the affected countries to better tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The countries that were relieved of the debt include Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo and Yemen.

She said, ” Today, I am pleased to say that our Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts. The CCRT can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent US$185 million pledge by the UK and US$100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources. Others, including China and the Netherlands, are also stepping forward with important contributions. I urge other donors to help us replenish the Trust’s resources and boost further our ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to our poorest member countries.”