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Maverick News

Nigerian rights group wants chiefs to apologise for role in slavery

Some may think it comes from a surprising quarter, considering the West usually gets the blame, but a Nigerian rights group says traditional African rulers should apologise for their role in the slave trade. In a letter to tribal chiefs, they said some leaders collaborated or actively sold off their subjects, and should follow the UK and US in saying sorry. The trade saw some 20 million individuals shipped in stinking conditions across the Atlantic, with appalling death tolls even before they reached their destination. The BBC says activists are calling for this apology because traditional rulers are seeking inclusion in a new constitutional amendment in Nigeria, which could see them get new powers. Read more: BBC
Kevin Bloom

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