Niger's Hama Amadou flees over baby-trafficking scandal

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="caption full-width" style="clear: both; float: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; position: relative;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>       </b></span><img alt="Niger's speaker of parliament Hama Amadou in June 2014" height="351" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/77212000/jpg/_77212842_450659856.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; font-style: italic; position: relative;" width="624" /></span><span style="display: block; width: 624px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Parliamentary speaker Hama Amadou, whose wife was arrested in June, has fled to Burkina Faso</span></span></div> <div class="story-feature related narrow" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px -160px 16px 16px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 144px;"> <a class="hidden" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28966966#story_continues_1" style="font-weight: bold; left: -5000px; position: absolute; text-decoration: none; top: -5000px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Continue reading the main story</span></span></a><h2 style="border-bottom-color: rgb(216, 216, 216); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(216, 216, 216); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 11px 0px 12px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Related Stories</span></span></h2> <ul class="related-links-list" style="border-top-style: none; clear: both; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 8px 0px 0px;"> <li style="background-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"><a class="story" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13943662" rel="published-1309261059221" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); 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padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The speaker of Niger's parliament has fled the country after a parliamentary committee agreed he could be arrested over a baby-trafficking scandal.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hama Amadou, considered a presidential contender in 2016, says the allegations are politically motivated.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">His second wife and 16 other people were arrested in June accused of illegally buying new-borns from "baby factories" in south-eastern Nigeria.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">All of those accused have denied any wrong-doing.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The babies are allegedly sold for thousands of dollars each.</span></div> <span class="cross-head" style="display: block; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 16px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">'UnIslamic'</span></span><br /> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The BBC's Niger correspondent Baro Arzika says the case has proved fortuitous for President Mahamadou Issoufou's party which has been looking for ways to remove Mr Amadou as speaker since he fell out with the ruling coalition.</span></div> <div class="story-feature narrow" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px -160px 16px 16px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 144px;"> <a class="hidden" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28966966#story_continues_2" style="font-weight: bold; left: -5000px; position: absolute; text-decoration: none; top: -5000px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Continue reading the main story</span></span></a><h2 class="quote" style="background-image: url(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/view/3_0_21/cream/hi/shared/img/story_sprite.png); background-position: 0px -188px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(216, 216, 216); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(216, 216, 216); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; clear: both; margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 6px 0px 5px; position: relative; text-indent: -500px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <div style="text-indent: 0px;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“</span></span></div> <span style="display: block; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Start Quote</span></span></span></h2> <blockquote style="display: inline; float: left; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <div class="first-child" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 12px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It is not with a light heart that we have decided this”</span></div> </blockquote> <span class="quote-credit" style="clear: both; display: block; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Daouda Malam Barte</span></span><span class="quote-credit-title" style="clear: both; display: block; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Deputy parliamentary chief</span></span></div> <div id="story_continues_2" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The scandal has also shocked many in the predominantly Muslim country as it is seen as unIslamic to pass off adopted children as your own, our reporter says.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It has been reported that some of the women claimed to be pregnant and went to Nigeria before returning with their babies, he says.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The National Assembly's top committee, which includes deputy speakers and the heads of parliamentary committees, met on Wednesday and agreed that police could arrest and question Mr Amadou over the allegations.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Six opposition members refused to attend, but enough were present to take the decision.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"It is not with a light heart that we have decided this. But the government has itself handed over one of its ministers this weekend," Reuters news agency quotes the deputy parliamentary chief Daouda Malam Barte as saying.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He was referring to Abdou Labo, who has been sacked as agriculture minister and arrested on Saturday in connection with the scandal. After he was dismissed he lost his immunity from prosecution as he is not an MP.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A full parliamentary session would be needed to lift Mr Amadou's immunity.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Some 30 children are at the centre of the baby-trafficking allegations, our reporter says.</span></div> <div style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">According to the AFP news agency, the case allegedly involves forging and altering birth certificates to switch the names of mothers.</span></div> </div>

Niger's Hama Amadou flees over baby-trafficking scandal

        Parliamentary speaker Hama Amadou, whose wife was arrested in June, has fled to Burkina Faso Continue reading the main story Re...

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