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Alleged coup plotters in Nigeria plead not guilty to treason and terrorism

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Six people accused of plotting to overthrow Nigerian President Bola Tinubu were arraigned in court on Wednesday on charges of treason and terrorism.

All six pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges, which were announced on Tuesday. The suspects have been in the custody of the secret police for months.

The six included a retired major general and a serving police inspector. A seventh suspect, former Bayelsa state Gov. Timipre Sylva, is accused of helping to conceal the plot and is still at large.

The court adjourned the case until April 27, when it will hear bail applications.

In the charge sheet, authorities said the suspects “conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overawe the president of the Federal Republic.”

The Nigerian government first said it had foiled a coup attempt in January, when it announced that several military officers would stand trial.

The coup would have ended nearly three decades of democratic rule in Africa’s most populous country, which returned to democracy in 1999.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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