Category: Insight

As communal clashes continue unabated across the country, Sam Egburonu, Tony Akowe in Kaduna, Nicholas Kalu in Calabar and Odogwu Emeka Odogwu in Nnewi present updates of the national shame

The creation of Chiefdoms and Emirates by the Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi-led government in Kaduna State in the early part of the present political dispensation was aimed at giving the various communities in the state autonomy with a view to bringing to an end, constant communal crisis in the state. That seemed to have worked until recently when targeted attacks on communities, especially in the southern part of the state, became rampant.

As at the last count, over 20 communities in southern Kaduna have suffered similar fate from gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen. The wave of attack on these communities is no doubt putting so much pressure on the already fragile security situation in the state. These attacks became rampant after the post-election violence across the state and there are beliefs in the state that the Fulani herdsmen have vowed to unleash terror on the host communities in southern Kaduna for “killing their cattles” during the violence.

Even though this could not be confirmed, the pattern of attack has rendered useless security measures put in place across the state. The communities have often accused security agents of looking the other way while the Fulanis unleash terror on them.

Before now, communal war was the order of the day, but the creation of the chiefdoms, which gave self rule to the people of southern Kaduna reduced such incidences to the barest minimum, but not after the sharia crisis in the state. One thing that such crisis has brought to the fore is the fact that most of them have often turned religious in nature and thus sharply divided the state into two.

Even though the wave of attacks on southern Kaduna villages has been blamed largely on Fulanis, nobody has been arrested since 2011 when such attacks began and nobody has been prosecuted. Security agents have often told the people that they were investigating such attacks immediately they happened. Apart from visiting such places and promising to beef up security and ensure that such attacks were stopped, the government has done practically nothing to ensure that the attacks stopped. Asides the attacks in southern Kaduna, gunmen have also unleashed attacks on communities in Birnin Gwari local government area of the state with nothing done to bring the perpetrators to book. Though the attacks in Birnin Gwari has been blamed on armed robbers and bandits, the fact that they operated freely, leaving heavy casualties on their trail without any form of resistance, leaves much to be desired.

There are also selected attacks on people in the Zaria area which have also not been resolved. While the attacks in southern Kaduna and Birnin Gwari have been blamed on one group or the other, the operation of gunmen in the Zaria area has practically gone unnoticed by residents of the state. The Nation was informed that the gunmen in Zaria usually trail their victims on motor bikes and shoot them without anybody blinking an eye lid. The Igbo community in Zaria reportedly closed their shops late 2012 to protest the killing of their people by such gunmen. The matter was practically swept under the carpet when a young man of Igbo descent was said to have been arrested. The young man was said to have confessed to being among those carrying out the act. But the operation of such people did not stop, leaving the people to constantly live in fear.

But in all, the attack is more vicious in the southern Kaduna area and the umbrella body of the people of the area, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, is not convinced that the government is interested in stopping the killings of their people. National President of the body, Dr. Ephraim Goje, said, however, that the people of the area should not be held responsible if they decide to rise up and defend themselves against such attacks. The Nation can reveal that taking such action will no doubt be deadly for the state currently standing on a fragile peace. SOKAPU is of the belief that the current invasion of southern villages by Fulanis is aimed at creating chaos in the area, adding that they will hold Governor Mukthar Ramalan Yero responsible for any breach of the peace in the area as a result of the presence of the Fulanis, while asking him to send them back to where they are coming from.

Dr. Goje said, “we are concerned about the migration of the Fulani people from other states to southern Kaduna villages. The governor should send them back to where they come from. They cannot create trouble somewhere and run to southern Kaduna for refuge. He should not blame anybody if the community of southern Kaduna decides anything different because enough is enough of this nonsense. In as much as we respect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria about the freedom of choice of where to stay, our concern is that the Fulanis are a people who have created trouble somewhere and are running to southern Kaduna for refuge. We are concerned because of the recurring attacks in our villages by this same group of people. These are people who have been dislodged from Plateau and other states and are coming to foment trouble in our land. They are coming into our land with pretence that they are seeking for refugee and you can see what is happening now to our villages.

The government of Kaduna under the leadership of Muhktar Ramalan Yero must show seriousness now that these things are happening before it gets out of hand. They have to swing into action and identify these people and either return them to where they are coming from or make proper documentation as to who they are and hold them accountable for any soul that is attacked in our communities.

In 2011, youths from the area alleged that machineries have been hired to attack southern Kaduna villages and make life unbearable for them. The allegation by the youths may have been taken lightly by the authorities. Currently, the people of the state are living in fear of a possible reprisal attack especially on Fulani herdsmen operating in southern Kaduna. As at the time of this report, it was not clear whether the Fulanis that took over four southern Kaduna villages have vacated the villages.

Governor Yero, who visited the area, was said to have been unable to get to the villages located up the Kagoro mountain on the border with Plateau State.

Between Akwa Ibom and Cross River

Asides the Ebonyi v Akwa Ibom conflict, there are also allegations of plans to annex the Eniong Creeks in Ntan Obu Ukpe Community Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State by the people of Ikpanya in Ibiono Ibom in Akwa Ibom State. It was gathered that this has been responsible for skirmishes between the two communities who share the same boundary.

More than once, the Cross River community have been allegedly overrun by their Akwa Ibom neighbours, the latest being in May 2012 when a village head in Ntan Obu was beheaded, and several people were killed.

Since then, although there have been no conflicts, the people of Ntan Obu-Ukpe, fear there are still threats of invasion. A youth of the area said, “Our response this time may make it a national issue because we would not be peaceful again and let other people come and run over us in our land.”

Chairman of the Esop Ufok Ukpe, Eniong Abatim, Chief David Ikpeme, outlining the history of attacks on their people said that on the 16th of February, 2010, the people of Ikpanya Village Ibiono Ibom of Akwa Ibom State invaded Ntan Obu Ukpe, burnt down the buildings, looted property and killed some of their youths and soon after the incident, the Deputy Governors of both the Cross River State and Akwa Ibom State visited Ntan Obu Ukpe.

He alleged that again on the 17th of February last year, Ntan Obu Ukpe Village was attacked by Ikpanya and neighbouring Ibiono Ibom villages.

According to him, the Cross River State Government’s intervention has been very minimal even when the invaders have continued to be very aggressive.

Although The Nation gathered that the crisis may not be unrelated to rumours that the area is rich in crude oil, the 80-year-old Ikpeme, who spoke through, Dr Awak Anam, a community leader, alleged that the hostility against Ntan Obu Ukpe was provoked by the attempts of their people to beat back the trespass committed by one Alhaji Bature, who was allegedly authorised by their aggressors to allow Bature’s cows to graze along Eniong Creek.

He said, “The cows drink from the very river that our people drink, swim and defecate in the same river thereby rendering it unfit for human consumption. In addition, our people can no longer cultivate the flood plains. The cows are still on the flood plains. What a hostile act of aggression.”

“About a decade ago, the people of Omu Ekene village of Akwa Ibom State invaded Ikot Offiong Ebiti of Eniong Abatim. The invaders killed, injured, destroyed property and rendered the people homeless. In February 2010, Okpo village experienced an attack from the people of Ikot Okure-Ibiono Ibom, who claimed ownership of Okpo village and the environs. Again in February 2010, Asang people were visited by the people of Itai Idoro of Ibiono Ibom. They were armed with dangerous weapons. And at about the same time, Obot Akpabio, the fifth village still along Eniong Creek, was under threat of being annexed by the neighbouring Use Ikot Amama village of Ibiono Ibom, Akwa Ibom State,” he said.

He said since the 16th February 2010 invasion of Ntan Obu Ukpe, the people have been living as refugees in their own land. He called for security agents to be deployed to the entire Eniong Creek as a pro-active measure to secure life and property.

He also called for urgent steps be taken to cause demarcation of the border areas of Cross River and Akwa Ibom States by the National Boundary Commission.

He also pointed out that in March 2010, the Cross River State Government directed the Ministry of Lands and Housing to evaluate the extent of damage and recommend possible rebuilding of Ntan Obu UKpe but up till date, nothing has come out of it.

Anambra, Enugu, Kogi States: The Orient Petroleum, Aguleri, Echonwa case

Since President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the Orient Petroleum at Aguleri-Otu to drill OPL 14, OPL15 and OPL 16, tension has been rising in the oil-rich location in Anambra East Local Government Area.

At a time, it became subject of tension between three neighbouring states – Anambra, Enugu and Kogi, as Uzo Uwani Local Government is around there.

Up till today, the drum of war is palpable in Aguleri-Otu in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State. Their youths are saying enough is enough but the leaders are holding them back.

They allegedly fled their homes ten times last week, peaking on Friday and Saturday, an attack that culminated in the burning of over 400 houses.

They are being invaded by the people of Ibaji local government of Kogi State. The Echonwa and Odeke of Ibaji local government area of Kogi State are allegedly taking war to them at Okpali and Okpeze Aguleri-Otu, Anambra East local government.

Eye witness accounts said they had on Friday burnt about two hundred (200) houses and three people were allegedly kidnapped. Property worth several millions of naira was also burnt.

The traditional ruler of Aguleri, Igwe Christopher Idigo told The Nation that “the steps we have taken is peace. We don’t want war. We want peace and nothing else. We don’t want war now but peace and we want everybody to embrace peace. We want an amicable resolution of the entire issue no matter the provocation.

The Nation correspondent entered the Idigo’s palace shortly after a meeting with leaders of Okpali and Okpeze on the way forward but the two Presidents General with other community leaders avoided to be interviewed as they literally ran away without a word.

The Nation, however, observed that women and children have been taken to concentration camps where they complained bitterly of hunger and deprivation following the invasion of their homes by Ibaji people. One of the women, Nzealo Chinemelu, spoke thus: “Look at us and our children hiding from Kogi people. They invaded our homes and took away all our valuables before burning our homes. Hunger is catching up with us and we are not happy with the development. Government should intervene in the matter so that we can return home. Look at this boy, Ndidiamaka Michael Mokwe, he was nearly burnt alive.”

Over 4000 youths armed to the teeth were camped in various quarters battle ready should Federal Government and the state government refuse to intervene and stop the invaders from Kogi State. They wore war regalia. They were at initiation ceremony when The Nation entered one of their camps. No one needed to say a word.

One of the Elders, Ezechukwu Ejike, from the ruling class Ekwueme Group, however, spoke at their concentration camp. He said they were avoiding the war because of the negative publicity they have gotten because of previous wars with their neigbours. He reminded that they are known as lions in the jungle in anything concerning war and the people concerned should appeal to Ibaji people to take down their arms.

President General of Mkpunando, comprising all the arms that made up of Aguleri-Otu, Reverend Edwin Chukwuemeka, confirmed the fresh attacks to The Nation in a telephone interview.

He said more rampaging youths from Kogi State invaded them, forcing their youths who are looking for peace to run away to avoid blood bath but appealed to the Federal Government to intervene before his people resort to self defense. He said Kogi State people from Ibaji cannot win a war with them but said they would not want to fight Kogi people sequel to negative publicity they have incurred from previous wars they had with some of their neigbours.

“We are troubled because there is no food , no shelter and we are into hiding just for the sake of peace. “

The Transition Committee Chairman of Anambra East local government area, Comrade Chiedu Obidigwe, also stated, “We are not interested in fighting the Echonwa and Odeke from Kogi State. They have invaded us and as I speak to you our people have been invaded at Okpali Aguleri-Otu , and Okpeze Aguleri by the Kogi people. They are burning houses and chasing our people away from their ancestral homes and land in an unprovoked attack.”

He said they are still looking for two persons “from our community and police is aware of that and the only Army and police around that place is from Anambra State, we have not seen or heard that any Army or police from Kogi State has visited there.”

He also accused the Kogi State Government of having a hand in the attacks.

”I am personally accusing the Kogi State Government and the Chairman of Ibaji local government area of inciting their people against our people as they have not done anything tangible to contain their people.

”The chairman of Ibaji local government has done nothing to stop his people from invading us but I have day in day out reached out to our people not to take up arms to avoid outright war with the people of Ibaji and Kogi at large.

”They are pursuing our people with arms , kidnapping us as prisoners of war and we are being constrained from fighting back even for self defense. Why are they attacking our people?”

Last time the Kogi State Government and Ibaji Local Government Area had accused the National Boundary Commission of not being fair to them in stating that the boundary is as old as Nigeria during the Northern and Southern Nigeria

”Why are they talking about boundary now if they don’t have skeleton in their cupboard because we are not contesting our boundary; we know our boundary. Is it because oil is now found in our land and they just realised they existed in the land.”

Victims recount ordeal

A teacher at Njikoka Migrant School Okpali- Aguleri-Otu, Okagbue Simon, narrated his experience this way,” there is war now at Okpeze, Ajiogbe Aguleri Otu. Echonwa and Odeke people from Kogi State have invaded our ancestral homes. They burnt 20 houses, primary schools and churches. Schools in Okpeze , Okpuoka Ezi Aguluotu is in ruins. We are looking for two persons here to be frank. All the houses near the oil well of Orient Petroleum at Okpali were burnt. They have taken some of our people hostage.”

His appeal: ” Let the Kogi State government hold their people and the Federal Government should intervene now that our people are still calm.”

Prince Lawrence Egwuatu from Enugu Otu Aguleri corroborated the views of Okagbue but added that the Nigeria Police cannot handle the situation now in Aguleri-Otu but the men of the Nigerian Army. That is why they would be begging the ‘Olu’ people with arms and ammunition burning our houses, our motorcycles and even our livestock.

” Why these Kogi people are prancing about is that we don’t want war again in Aguleri , if not, we would have taught them a lesson they would not forget in a hurry. We are war lords and we have no apologies for that but we are tired of negative publicity.

”We want the non partisan Army to enable workers go to work because civil servants and other workers in and around here are afraid of going to work. This tension caused by Kogi people is stalling progress in the drilling of oil. That’s why the Federal Government should intervene now.

He added: “Aguleri has fought before and we are not pretending about it because everybody knows that we are warriors with great strength and vigour. We fought with Ibaji twice and defeated them about 1981 and 1982″ he said.

Meanwhile, a team of the Nigeria Police led by CSP Emmanuel Sunday, of Divisional Police Office, Otuocha, were handy, but could not do much in such volatile situation. Two trucks of the Nigerian Army and some ratings of the Nigerian Navy were there but not for the war. They were there to protect the Orient Oil facilities. They had no brief to quell the invading war mongers. The Nigeria Police were helpless either, so alleged the villagers.

Efforts to contact Hon David Ogwu, who some called the Liaison Officer 1 of Ibaji Local Government Area and some others called him the Chairman of Ibaji local government area, proved abortive.

But a woman who claimed to be an indigene of Echonwa but married to Anambra man in anonymity said the war-mongering is unnecessary and uncalled for as the two states have mutual relationship from time immemorial. She called on the Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, and Local Government Chairman of Ibaji to call their people to order as war will not pay anybody any good.

But the Federal Government and the National Boundary Commission Wednesday received seven days ultimatum to intervene in the looming communal war between Kogi State and Anambra State communities from Aguleri youths, comprising mainly of the Aguleri-Otu people.

The youths gave the hint at one of their concentration camps where some youths were being inducted into the war club through some initiation ceremonies.

But his Special Adviser on Security, Col George Molokwe, refused to speak to the press on the tense situation at Aguleri-Otu.

But the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Peter Obi on Special Duties, Tony Nwabunwanne, described the accident as unfortunate.

Nwabunwanne informed that the government had appealed to Agueleri youths to be calm and law abiding as security operatives have been mobilised to ensure safety of lives and properties.

Speaking to The Nation at his duty post , the Commander Anambra Security Pontu Zone , Ejike Alaguwa, said but for their plea and numerous interventions, the Aguleri youths would have retaliated against the invasion because they have been sent packing and were in concentration camps against their wishes.

”You can see the people are not happy, particularly youths, because asides the areas they have taken over earlier , the Kogi invaders have taken over Way 1 and Way 2 and all the farm lands thereto.”

On Thursday in faraway Abuja, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State and his Kogi State Counterpart, Capt. Idirs Wada, resolved to work more for peace, progress and good neighbourliness of their two states.

They made this resolution at the Kogi State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja after a closed door meeting on the recent dispute between Echonwa /Odeke in Kogi and Agulueri-Otu in Anambra State.

In a joint communiqué issued by the governors, they regretted the dispute between both states and assured that adequate measures have been put in place through the collaboration of both governors for the border dispute between both states not to continue.

They affirmed faith in the steps already taken by the President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, towards the settlement of the border dispute and called on their people to be patience for the Boundary Commission to do its work.

As calls for implementation of Biometric Voters Registration (BVR) in Nigeria become more persistent ahead of the 2015 general elections, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu and Kamarudeen Ogundele take a look at the electoral process, the challenges and benefits of its adoption in Nigeria.

Free and fair election is an ideal that has eluded many countries eager to institute genuine democracy. The search for the solution to this problem has therefore led to the implementation of many systems, some of which are ironically blamed for lack of confidence in electoral processes.

Today, one electoral system that is gaining generous endorsement across the world is Biometric Voter Registration (BVR), which experts describe as one of the most potent means of solving the election riddle called rigging.

Our checks show that many countries in Asia, America and Africa, in a bid to either build or sustain a lasting democratic culture, are currently endorsing or perfecting this system.

In Nigeria, observers and some stakeholders have since demanded this option as the needed panacea to the election problems in the country and the general lack of confidence in the democratic system.

Although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially declared its desire to implement BVR in order to tackle, once and for all, the problem of election rigging, it has not been able to fully erase fears that it would not dump the idea midway, leading to fears of collaboration with some stakeholders afraid of free and fair elections.

Advocates of BVR who spoke with The Nation during the week say it would, to a very large extent, eliminate registration malpractices, which, according to them, remain part of the primary problems with Nigerian democratic process. They, therefore, call on INEC to ensure the system is in use by 2015 when the next general election would be held.

Dr Francis Egu, Board of Trustees’ member of All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), in a telephone chat with The Nation, called on INEC to put its house in order and perfect the use of BVR before 2015 elections.

Lamenting the attitude of the electoral body to the use of the system so far, Egu said, “INEC has not done well on this prolonged issue of Biometric Voter Registration. If you will recall, the commission was given all that it needed to put this in place before the last election, but it failed, not withstanding that we all know the importance of this technique.”

The ANPP chieftain, however, expresses confidence that INEC is in a position to put the system in use. “I believe Nigeria can successfully make use of BVR system in 2015 general election if the will is there. Why not? We can do it, given that smaller countries than Nigeria, even in Africa, have demonstrated that it is possible.”

On the importance of BVR, Egu is optimistic it would eliminate multiple registration and multiple voting. “Once multiple voting and rigging are taken care of, more Nigerians will have confidence in the electoral process. For our democracy to develop, I have no doubt that we need this kind of system, especially because of peculiar circumstances that are promoting distrust in Nigeria,” he said.

Dr. Sonny Ajala, a legal practitioner in Abuja, in a telephone interview with The Nation on the matter, said: “The call for BVR, and by extension e-voting, is a welcome development. Similar calls were made during the build-up to the 2011 elections. As a matter of fact, INEC, if we may recall, attempted the implementation of the biometric innovation but had to suspend the innovation, owing largely to capacity constraints.

“The question that arises is whether INEC has effectively addressed the pervasive constraints pre 2011 elections? Perhaps only INEC can, in specific and categorical terms, answer that question. But on a general note, biometric registration is technology-driven. In other words, the requisite backbone, such as constant and regular electricity and robust ICT environment are irreducible minimum for a successful biometric exercise.

“The question can be stretched thus: Are INEC operations, even at their headquarters at Abuja, ICT-driven?”

Ajala asks further: “How conveniently can information/data be retrieved from INEC system, say the number of lawyers they are owing for legal representations in the 2011 elections till date? Asides the seemingly chaotic power dispensation all over the country, acquisition of robust ICT that will drive efficient and fast biometric operations is capital-intensive. In this instance, INEC claims to be under- funded. Consequently, the clarion call for biometric registration/e-voting, particularly by Nigerians in Diaspora, appears a huge pipe dream, at least for now, if the truth must be told.”

Tim Ebuka, a former member of Anambra State House of Assembly, in his reaction told The Nation on Friday that one of the major benefits of implementing BVR here in Nigeria is that it will help to establish the number of genuine voters in the country.

“Use of Biometric Voters Registration in Nigeria is a welcome development at this point of our democratic journey. You will agree with me that knowledge of actual number of voters will be the beginning of genuine reformation of the democratic process.

“I think it will help us to verify claims about the actual number of voters that exist in a place since it will require taking finger prints of real human beings. If you consider what the communication companies are doing today, you will understand my position better. The way they are mounting their masts is an indication of what they have found out to be the actual demographic distribution in Nigeria as opposed to political claims. They are mounting these masts where human beings live, not in deserts and bushes. Find out where more of these masts are mounted east, west, north and south of Nigeria, and you will not need to ask questions where the communication companies are getting their customers from. The same reality will dawn on all of us politically if we adopt the biometric option,” he said.

Ebuka also argues that with the system, vote will begin to count, as there would be no duplication. “Let me tell you, if biometric voters’ registration is put in place and honestly implemented, more Nigerians will have confidence in the system. They will then believe their votes would count at the end of the day. This will also reduce pre and post election petitions.

“This means that the system will reduce cost, both for the commission and individual politicians. Do you know how many billions of naira that are wasted in post-election petitions? We can save all that and save the country’s democracy by embracing this simple option, which is today enjoying wide acceptability all over the world,” he said.

The former lawmaker also shares the argument that unlike what obtains, where a voter can vote as many times as possible, using different names, BVR’s thumb-verification at polling booth on election day will minimise, if not completely exterminate this fraud.

It would be recalled that over the years, allegations of multiple registration, registration of ghost voters and such like have become a recurring decimal after any general election in Nigeria. Even in specific elections, like the last Edo State Governorship Election, Ondo State Governorship Election and local government elections in some states, the allegation has remained recurrent.

Why Nigerians are skeptical

Other experts, insiders and ordinary citizens, who commented during the week on the possibility of using the system successfully in 2015 and beyond, believe INEC is not showing enough determination to cleanse the register.

Alhaji Idowu Ayodele, a political scientist by training but now in private business in Lagos, is one of such Nigerians. He alleged that INEC will not complete implementation of BVR before 2015, “as it would, in the interest of some stakeholders, only give technical excuses on why it cannot perfect the system for use in the next general elections.”

Ayodele added: “I don’t see this INEC making use of BVR in 2015. It is unfortunate but I say so because of signals from the commission’s body language so far, but as Nigerians, eager to have free and fair election, I suggest we insist on the use of this option because all over the world, it is becoming the trend.”

Madam Aderonke Abiodun, a school proprietress in Lagos, also expressing doubts, alleged that INEC is currently doing the bidding of the ruling party in Abuja. “We have every reason to believe INEC is working for PDP. That being the case, we Nigerians are not surprised that Professor Jega is dragging his feet on the adoption of this system that is capable of eliminating rigging. We are not surprised, but whether they like it or not, the time has come when we must get rid of election rigging. We can’t continue this way.”

Other respondents said for the system to work in Nigeria, INEC must clarify to Nigerians the true nature and the gaps inherent in the current registration and voting system. Also, it must explain why this flawed, supposedly electronic system suddenly switches to an even more antiquated manual system at the point of verification and voting?

They also allege that the essence of the data capture and finger printing is for voter verification in order to eliminate multiple voting. “INEC’s system negates the full practice of BVR by not having a centralised database and then by supplanting the most critical stage of the process – the actual voting – to a manual process. Why take our fingerprints, capture our data and then refuse to verify the biometric information on voting day. This is but an exercise in imaginary probity but of real fraud,” one respondent said off record.

The respondent also insisted INEC’s vehemence about using a fully integrated biometric system contravenes what is being practiced in other countries less endowed than Nigeria. “In those nations, the body may not be powerful but the spirit is willing and able to overcome the other obstacles. Here, the body is big and strong but the spirit is weak. INEC must fulfill its mandate from the people and not its hidden mandate to the powers that be. INEC must come clean and begin to walk straight now before it is too late,” he warned, adding, “there is intrinsic fraud in this system that gives some people advantage over others. INEC must compare its so-called electronic system which it erroneously calls a biometric system against that of Ghana, Sierra Leone and other African countries. If it does, it will find out that ours is at variance. At best, it is a cheap parody of what our less endowed friends use. While we beat our chest that Nigeria is the giant of Africa, we are no longer the continent’s pacesetter. When it comes to the quality of our electoral system, the giant appears to be a Cyclops with the patch of fraud covering its one good eye. We, the people of this nation, need to open our eyes to INEC’s blindness and demand BVR reform now to save ourselves from embarrassment before the next elections are upon us.”

Reacting to such skepticisms, Mr. Kayode Idowu, spokesman of INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, told The Nation that the commission is more than ready to achieve a flawless register before 2015.

“Recall in January and February 2011, INEC did a general biometric data. The law provides for continuous voter registration. Very soon INEC will roll out the programme across the country,” he said.

Enunciating the commission’s preparation, Idowu said INEC will use the Biometric Voter Register in 2015. “Last year, we employed 1,500 Area Registration Officers. They are the officers that will be in charge. As we speak, we have been updating data captured. We have been clearing it out, consolidating the data. By 2015, we are sure of having a near-perfect register,” he added.

Expressing confidence in the BVR, Idowu said, “We had wanted to actually do pilot testing of the continuous voter register with the isolated elections that we had in Kogi, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Edo and Ondo States. We were able to do that in Kogi and Adamawa where we did a voter registration update and consolidated the register.

“We had assumed the tenure of the governors will run a course but the Supreme Court in its judgment said their tenure had ended. So, elections had to be conducted summarily. Because of this abridgment of time, we could not do the continuous voter registration. We had done capturing in Bayelsa, but we could not use the new data captured because the law provides that you have to display the register 30 days before the election. Except we are able to provide that window of 30 days for display, the new registration cannot be used. So, we could not update the register with what was captured in Bayelsa and others. We wanted to do it in Edo but the stakeholders, because of their mutual suspicion, felt somebody will use the opportunity to pile the register with fictitious names. So, there was so much acrimony and mutual distrust in Edo, so we felt well if because the election was so close and you had such level of distrust, let us suspend it. So, we suspended it for Edo and Ondo. But this year, we will be rolling it out nationally.”

Despite such public claims, critics have maintained that INEC is not telling Nigerians the whole truth because, according to them, the electoral commission does not have a functional biometric central database of all Nigerian registered voters.

In fact, some informed Nigerians, close to insiders and stakeholders, have alleged that “each DDC machine exists essentially as a stand-alone.”

This is contrary to the general expectation that INEC should have one integrated system capable of crosschecking data from all the DDC machines across the country.

A source, very close to the system, confirmed this off records, when he said tacitly, “What we have are hundreds or thousands of small, disintegrated systems that cannot check information in one computer against information in any of the others.”

This fact, according to our investigation, explains why Nigerians are expressing doubts over INEC’s readiness to implement this system as they argue that such a system cannot contain multiple registration as long as different DDC machines are in use. This, they reason, also means that multiple voting remains possible in 2015, except something is done quickly.

But Idowu, responding to this fear, said the challenges did not go unnoticed in 2011 when INEC conducted the voter registration exercise. He also maintained that the commission has the technical efficiency to detect and delete multiple registration.

“We have a central data base, but at registration centre it is not possible to detect multiple registration except it is on the same machine,” he said, adding, “as far back as 2011, when we did voter registration within three weeks, we were able to detect over 870,000 duplications.

“Since then, we have detected more and eliminated them. You cannot register twice on the same machine because of the software that is built into them. Because the machines were not networked, it was possible to register on one machine and go to another one to register again. But at the end of everyday at ward level, all the data from the polling units were consolidated and duplicates were eliminated. This is brought to local government, states, and national levels. So, if you registered in two different states, it would have been eliminated by now,” he explained.

Illegal importation of guns and firearms is thriving in the country despite efforts to curb the illicit trade, Assistant Editor, Joke Kujenya, Innocent Duru and Nwanosike Onu report.

AFTER years of living in Ohio in the United States of America, Adebiyi (surname withheld), decided to return to Nigeria. “But I was afraid,” he confessed to The Nation reporter. “We hear of armed robbers storming peoples’ homes to claim all your hard-earned labour brandishing their guns to make you paranoid and such stuff; so, I was apprehensive. I had to protect my life, my family’s and the much we’ve worked so very hard to put together. That’s why I have been asking lots of Nigerians both in USA and within Nigeria if I am allowed to have my own gun. If yes, how do I get a gun, which type can I possess as a civilian and how do I get it licensed, among others? I have put this same question to my family that has been on my case to come and settle in Nigeria. Without this assurance, I tell you, I am not coming to Nigeria just yet,” he declared.

“Like many others, the young man, Adebiyi’s has more questions than answers,” said a prominent security expert based in Lagos. “Yet, we won’t blame anyone for wanting to ensure his or her survival with some ‘steel’, as they call it. It’s not out of place for him to ask to ensure his life. And I am sure that people in your kind of job, as reporters, won’t mind to carry one as the current situation calls for such especially with our porous security system,” he told The Nation.

Recently, Abiodun Odiri and Ohikhuemen Alex, two suspects, who, according to a police statement, specialise in the making of local arms were nabbed at their ‘factory’ by the Edo State Police Command based on a tip off. They were believed to be responsible for the supply of lethal weapons to armed robbers, kidnappers and other criminal gangs in the South-West, South-South and South-East regions.

At the time their factory was raided, many items such as double-barrelled gun pipes, two double-barrelled gun butts, three single gun butts, nine single-barrelled gun pipes, seven expended cartridges, one drilling machine and a bag of weed suspected to be Indian hemp, were retrieved from them.

A security expert who spoke in confidence said, the “influx of illegal arms within the country is a threat to Nigeria’s economy and unity.” He cited reports of seizure of large cache of arms through porous borders such as Seme, Idi-Iroko and a few other routes.

On Monday, July 30, 2012, a team of the Joint Task Force (JTF), patrolling Daban Masara, a border town with Chad in Munguno Local Government area of Borno State, intercepted a blue Hilux vehicle with registration number Yobe NGU19XA. The vehicle had reportedly left Bada/Daban in Borno State enroute Maiduguri, the state capital. When stopped, the JTF discovered that the vehicle was loaded with heaps of palm leaves used to cover eight rocket-propelled launchers, 10 rocket bombs, 10 rocket chargers, two AK-47 rifles, 13 magazines with six rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and a Bank PHB ATM card.

On getting closer to the vehicle to accost its occupants, the men in the vehicle, believed to be members of the Boko Haram insurgency group, opened fire on men of the JTF. This led to a bloody exchange of gunfire.

The proliferation of illegal arms in the country has become worrisome both at home and abroad. A 2011 Small Arms Survey by the UN disclosed that about 875million of such weapons produced by over 1,000 companies in 100 countries are in circulation worldwide. The report noted: “Nigeria’s share of between seven and eight million in West Africa puts it in the league of countries with high prevalence of illegal firearms like South Africa, Yemen, and the United States where the quantity of small arms in civilian hands is 5.95 million, 11.5

In a National Crime and Safety Survey 2012 on Firearms and Gun Ownership in Nigeria conducted by CLEEN Foundation (CF), a justice sector reform organisation, 50per cent of those polled believe that gun ownership was necessary for self-defence or personal protection. Thirty-nine per cent said it was needful for hunting, while twenty-five per cent feel gun ownership was needful for protection of their property. Another 19 per cent said it would help in protection against wild animal attack. However, 11 per cent support it for protection at work, and 10 per cent do not know why anyone would need a gun, while the last set of seven per cent represent those who believe it is traditional to possess guns.

Speaking on what qualifies one to own a gun or any ammunition, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Lagos Police Command, Mrs. Ngozi Braide, said there are three categories of firearms which are personal firearms, muzzle loading and prohibited, which involve dynamite, rocket launchers, military guns such as- AK47, pistols, revolvers etc.

The spate of seizure of illegal arms and ammunition at the nation’s border posts has raised concern over the safety of citizens and the porous nature of the borders. For instance, a Briton was arraigned in the United Kingdom for shipping of 80,000 rifles and pistols and 32 million rounds of ammunition illegally to Nigeria. The shipment included 40,000 AK-47 assault rifles, 30,000 rifles and 10,000 9mm pistols.

The man, Gary Hyde, reportedly shipped the huge arm cache without receiving permission from the relevant government department in the UK. But he did not act alone. His partner was one Karl Kleber, a German national based in Germany as the court was told. They acted as middle-men between two Polish companies acting for the Nigerian buyers and Chinese companies. Both men received commission payments for the deals totalling around $1.3m (£840,000 or N351 million). Concerns for such illegal gun and firearms importation grow as Ghanaian authorities also intercepted a truck loaded with arms and ammunitions heading to Nigeria. The weapons of destruction included pump action rifles and live rounds.

During one of the recent routine checks along the Lagos-Badagry Express Road; a team of officers of customs, the Nigerian Immigration Service and a host of others intercepted a truck-load of electronic gadgets under which the importers had concealed heaps of weapons in bags of beans. All the men were eventually nabbed and handed over to the police for onward prosecution.

A booming business

Arms smuggling is currently described as a flourishing enterprise in Nigeria, a nation that is engaged, among others, in an ongoing mêlée against the Islamist insurgency in the north, oil thefts and piracy in the South-East parts of the country. Offences of illegal arms importation are said to be contrary to the provisions of the Firearms Act, Cap F28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and the Customs and Excise Management 2002.

It is reported that within the past thirty years, Nigeria has seen increasingly rapid advances in all form of social vices. Among such, in the heat of most political campaigns, hoodlums are a common feature. Reportedly, political aspirants and candidates employ the use of street urchins to checkmate their opponents. In the same vein, religious violence, armed robbery, pen robbery and recently kidnapping are commonplace.

This rise in crime wave has led many to clamour for citizens to be allowed to carry guns. In fact, in some states and towns across the country procurement of firearms is as easy as buying a pair of shoes.

For instance, Anambra State has become one of the dreaded states in the country in terms of crime due to majority of the citizens’ disregard for value system.

Sale of arms is thriving in the state so much that if to procure a gun all one needs to do is to simply talk to one of the boys hanging around the numerous markets in the state and give them the codes for the specific types of guns needed. For instance, bullets are termed ‘groundnuts’, ‘awka’ or ‘kala, to mention a few.

As a result, illicit guns and firearms have flooded virtually all the markets and homes in the state. Many link the proliferation of arms to the aftermath of the Nigeria Civil War and the operation of quasi military outfits such as the disbanded Onitsha Traders Association (OTA), Onitsha Market Amalgamated Traders Association (OMATA), the then “Bakassi Boys’ and the Anambra Vigilance Service (AVS).

Not only that, armed conflicts within the Aguleri-Umuleri community in 2000 and indeed power struggle for positions and in town unions, using youth have created pockets of undesirable elements who are willing to engage in anything to make money.

Some of these guns and firearms like machine guns, AK-47, rocket launchers, double or multi-barrelled guns, pistols; pump action guns are those weapons of death procured from black markets in the state or illegal sources.

These, end up in the hands of wrong bearers including armed vigilante groups and ethnic militias. However, these illicit small arms are believed to have originated from dark spots across the West Africa sub region.

According to Emeka Umeagbalasi, the chairman of Board of Trustees (BOT), International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, guns and small arms in circulation which are estimated to be over five million are in wrong hands!

According to him, “One out of every 20 residents is in possession of illicit fire arms” due to what he called monstrous vigilantism fed by Onitsha arms’ black markets.

Before now, the black smiths in Awka used to mould assorted guns which they sell to those in need, but they have since moved beyond this as most now use sophisticated imported weapons.

It was also alleged that the popular main market in Onitsha, believed to be the largest in West Africa is home to most of these guns and firearms although other markets such as Eke-Awka and the likes have since sprung up.

When The Nation visited a place in Awka believed to be the major spot some years back, the man spotted in the area denied any knowledge of such. Speaking in low tones he said, “nobody discusses such issue again in this area but I advise you for your own good to leave the place and never to come back here again.” He advised the reporter to stop asking for people’s opinion for his own safety.

Apart from pump action guns and perhaps, double barrelled ones, every other type of gun in Anambra State is illegal even at that, the owners must register it with the security agencies before making use of them. According to a source, who pleaded anonymity, “a pump action gun is sold between N120, 000 and N150,000 depending on the one you want to purchase, while pistol also costs between N150,000 to N170,000.”

During the invasion of the state by kidnappers last year, some arms caches were discovered in the house of some suspects, and were later confiscated by the police.

Also, in 2010, Anambra State Police Command intercepted a truck load of arms and ammunition. The same happened a year later and the suspects were taken to court. The rate at which illegal arms resurface in the state has become of concern to residents wondering if the seized arms were not the same that are pumped back into circulation. This has raised fear over the gubernatorial election which is a few months down the road.

Licensed firearms dealers in Nigeria

There are unconfirmed reports alleging that policemen in the country often ‘sell weapons’ seized from bandits or those returned permit holders to the police for ‘safe keeping’, as stipulated in the licence booklet; to other criminals.

In the past, some individuals were reportedly duly licensed to sell guns and firearms. One of such is the defunct O.A.L Araba and Sons, which was located near Casino Cinema in Yaba, with another of its branch in Garage/Baale area in Apelehin, Bariga, Lagos.

Visits to these two locations show that the man, O. A. L. Araba died some years back. An elderly man in his 80s, who claimed to know the late dealer said “Araba was such a man of integrity. He never sold to criminals. He used to display his guns on the racks and we would come here to watch American movies as the actors used guns on his small TV then. At the time he died, one of his sons took over the business but I don’t know why they went out of operation. We used to speculate then that maybe his sons could not cope with the legal importation demands. But we had no evidence. However, we know that the young man later relocated to Ibadan in Oyo State. But, A. O. L. Araba and sons was renowned as an organisation that sold guns legally in Nigeria during the past half century and it had the reputation for delivering ordered weapon along with the required permit.”

Another licensed gun dealer was the defunct company called Ashamu. It was formerly housed in a stand-alone bungalow, and marked by a road-side signpost advertising guns and building materials, then in Ibadan. Visit to the location revealed that the company was no longer in operation as the people spoken with said they heard the building they now occupy used to be a ‘gun house’.

Nigeria: gun facts, figures and the law

In 2006, during the heated days of the Niger-Delta violence, reports noted that about two million small arms were in the hands of civilians, with half of the number said to have been illegally obtained. With the well-publicised prosecution of the Amnesty Programme by the Umaru Yar’Adua administration in 2009 however, the militants reportedly surrendered a total 2,760 arms, 287,445 ammunition, 18 gunboats, 763 explosives, 1,090 dynamite caps, and 3,155 magazines, among others.

Experts say that such arms and ammunitions can easily flourish in any country due to their inherent qualities such as simplicity, durability, relatively low cost, wide availability, lethality, portability and easiness to conceal, coupled with porous borders, ineffectiveness of security agencies, corruption and increasing level of poverty, particularly in developing countries such as Nigeria, make their smuggling very attractive.

In 2012 alone, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), noted in a publication that between January and June, it seized a total of 2,294 with a duty paid value of N1.8 billion within the country.

The NCS also said that 15 containers of dangerous weapons, including rocket launchers, mortars, bombs, small light arms and ammunition camouflaged as building materials, were imported into the country through Apapa, Lagos, port alone.

Analysts however claim that while the NCS may consider the seizures a big haul, their perceived feat is just a drop of water in a mighty ocean.

This proliferation has continued to pose concern to many although the situation in Nigeria may not have got to the level in the United States where school kids or gunmen often invade schools or shopping malls to indiscriminately shoot people to death.

The hope is that before the Nigerian situation degenerates to this level it would be brought under control.

Dr. Ona Ekhomu, an expert on security issues, is the Chairman, School of Management and Security on Turton Street, Lafiaji, Lagos. In this interview with Joke Kujenya, he gives insight into ways guns possession can be effectively controlled.

Who is lawfully entitled to carry firearms?

As of today, the possession of firearms is very tightly controlled in Nigeria. Asides from uniformed personnel, undercover government agents may bear concealed firearms; State Security Service (SSS) agents are usually armed; close protection professionals working under government auspices may bear concealed arms. Individuals who have ‘CAP 59 Licence’ may also legally bear arms. To carry a pistol, you are required to have a licence signed personally by Mr. President as the Commander-in-Chief. And that’s a tall order.

Record of arms in the country

I think the Force PRO is in a better position to let us know the number of licensed arms in the country, because these are issued by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). Also the NPF may be in a position to issue the statistics on firearms in police armouries nationwide. However, the NPF does not control arms that are borne by other services such as SSS, Customs, NSCDC, NIS, NDLEA. In other words, if you get the total number of arms issued to these agencies and then sum them up you could get a working number.

How guns are imported

Legal importation of firearms is on approved user licence issued now by the Office of the National Security Adviser. Several safeguards control the importation of arms which is mainly for government services. Importation of arms for citizens is highly discouraged by the authorities. So, importers resort to smuggling weapons and ammunitions. The importers bribe their way through our borders. In the creeks of the Niger Delta, guns are allegedly smuggled in on boats for use in militancy and armed robbery. In the northern border towns, the porosity is quite pronounced. Weapons are brought by foot across the borders or on donkeys. The north has been embroiled in conflict for quite a while now. The northeast banditry was fed by illegal weapons imported from neighbouring West African States. These violent criminals have openly challenged police personnel to gun duels with the sole aim of seizing police weapons. Criminals have successfully built up awesome capabilities just by seizing weapons from law enforcement personnel.

Is it the same for bombs?

Now, bombs are a different matter. Bombing in Nigeria started with the use of dynamite, blasting cap and a power source. With the involvement of bomb masters from AQIM and AQAP, volatile chemicals that have long been used for terrorist bomb making in the Middle East entered the equation. Now, we have fertilizer bomb and others. We have high explosives that can cause considerable damage. A lot of the explosives are smuggled in drums like normal chemicals.

There is another class of arms called Rocket Propelled Grenades and Rocket Launchers. These are higher grade weapons which allow target acquisition and destruction from a long distance. These are smuggled in through the ports, through our porous borders and through the creeks. These greatly multiply the security threats in the country.

How can we effect gun control?

Guns kill people and their presence in the community should be tightly controlled for the protection of community members. Since the points through which guns come into the country are well known, then efforts should be intensified to interdict illicit weapons.

To start with, there should be financial incentives for persons who call in tips on illicit weapons.

The next line of action should be aimed at persons who turn in their weapons voluntarily. Such people should be given cash inducement. That is, a sort of weapons buy-back programme. Then, enforcement and prosecution will be helpful. That is, the federal government should assume a law and order stance and be tough on weapons violations. And lastly, offenders should be given stiff mandatory sentences, then others may be deterred.

Concern over alleged wrong diagnosis from medical laboratories and diagnostic centres is growing, but these are not documented. Assistant Editor (Investigations), JOKE KUJENYA, visited a number of such centres and reports.

FROM CHILDHOOD, Miss Jemima (surname withheld) had been suffering excruciating stomach pains, as the mother narrated to The Nation reporter at their residence in Lagos. “We have been treating her stomach pains since she was a little child. I have taken her to both private and public hospitals. We have done series of tests. At some point, we were told in a private hospital (name withheld) that she had appendicitis. At that time, we were told to wait till she’s eleven because she was then too young to be operated on. But by eleven, the appendicitis seemed to have disappeared. Then, as she drew to her late teens, the stomach issue resurfaced again. We then went to LUTH where the claim of appendix was debunked. However, some medications were prescribed to douse the pains; we bought them and life continued. But the health situation has been an on-and-off situation.

“Last December, her health became problematic. A family friend, who is a pharmacist, referred us to a medical laboratory in Ipaja area of Lagos. The laboratory, housed in a one-storey building, looked quite okay to us. After the necessary registration, we were given a 9am appointment for the next day. My daughter was told not to eat any food but to consume as many bottles of table water as possible prior to the test. She had to feel pressed to pass urine as that would bloat up her belly for the Ultra Scan to pick the actual cause of her pains. We followed the instructions to the letter. In fact, my daughter took about eight bottles before she could feel pressed. After hours of waiting, she was ushered in while I waited at the reception. We were eventually told to return for the result in another three days.

“We went and the diagnosis, among other things, was that her liver, though is within the limit of 156mm in its widest diameter has ‘moderate enlargement’ … Gall bladder is noted with wall thickness of 7.6mm … Pancreas is ill-defined poor ducts with a pseudocyst at the head of the pancreas … Hepatobiliary trees/tracts are not dilated etc. At the shocking news, we couldn’t make sense of everything in the report. So, we met the pharmacist who then referred us to one health specialist around Akowonjo area of Lagos. The specialist, on reading the report, announced that my daughter’s case is so critical and required urgent surgical operation. My heart skipped and I requested him to be more explicit. He said the report indicated that my daughter has enlarged pancreas, gall bladder, liver and that one of the images shown on the report revealed that she has a peculiar type of hernia which affects about one-in-a-hundred women. He then urged that quick operation was our best bet to avert losing my daughter. Then, he prescribed some medications which we spent about N14, 000 to purchase because we were gravely afraid.

“However, each time my daughter took the drug, she would weep in anguish saying that the drugs turned her stomach. The development forced me to seek a second opinion, so we went to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). LUTH then gave us referral to a private health care centre in Oshodi, Lagos, for a CT-Scan. Again, she went through gruelling effects of the CT-Scan. The report read that my daughter’s pancreas, gall bladder, liver and every organ of her body was “normal”. We then went back to the initial laboratory and the explanation was that ‘machines often give wrong or inadequate results…’ This is why I decided to speak because if I had gone with the initial suggestion for operation, perhaps, my daughter may no longer be alive today…”

In the case of Bamidele, (last name withheld), a journalist with a magazine based in Lagos, he narrated his ordeal saying, “For about four years, my health gave me so much concern. I have been in and out of the hospital, taken many different medications, consumed lots of herbal remedies, all to no avail. Eventually, I was asked to do test to know what the problem was. So, I went to a well-known medical laboratory around my office in Ikeja, Lagos. A few days later, the report read that my kidney was failing; you know, the usual kidney problem. From there, the story of my life changed. I fell sick more often, got weak easily and I just couldn’t explain the whole situation. In order to stem the bad effect of my situation, I was told that I needed to do kidney transplant as fast as possible. That was how we began the process. I got in contact with a kidney transplant hospital in India. I was counselled to get a kidney donor before I could make any travel plans. I consulted a hospital in India and also started looking for a donor. On the long run, one of my close friends decided to help. My wife and I took him to the same laboratory and he was confirmed to be a perfect match for me.

“Within weeks, we embarked on the journey to India. At the hospital, my friend and I were taken through another set of tests and the Indian doctors said he was in no way a match for me. I became worried and asked what could be done. The doctors then tested my wife and she turned out to be a perfect match for me. And that was after I had spent hundreds of thousands taking my friend to India. And I can’t ask him for refunds because he meant to save my life. After the successful operation, we returned to Nigeria. Then, I went to the laboratory. All they could do was to apologise and blamed it on the ‘machine’.”

“In many ways, the most important phase of treatment is diagnosis,” a scientist, who does not want his name in print, said. He added: “Without an accurate diagnosis it is impossible to make informed decisions about the appropriate course of treatment…and despite training and experience, physicians frequently arrive at the wrong diagnosis and patients may pay a steep price for these medical mistakes. Beyond the direct medical implications of these failures, an incorrect diagnosis can permanently compromise a patient’s fate in the healthcare system and can cause him or her to avoid necessary care in the future, resulting in additional adverse health effects.”

In search of assistance

At Cheers Medical Diagnostic Services along Thomas Salako Street, Ogba, Lagos, Mr. Godwin Uduma, a BSc holder in Business Administration, who co-owns the laboratory with his partner, a BSc holder in Microbiology with an Associate from the MLSCN, said that “wrong or inadequate diagnosis becomes a feature in a situation where old Ultra-Scan machines are used instead of modern up-to-date ones.”

A visit to the medical centre shows the office sited on first floor of a cream-coloured building. Uduma, however, declined the reporter’s request to see the laboratory where tests are conducted. To him, the government needs to subsidise the laboratory business like other countries of the world. He said: “Health facilities and equipments outside Nigeria are subsidised. They are very expensive to acquire and import, government needs to step up the health sector and give zero per cent duty on importation of health equipments.” On inquiry about the professionalism of medical laboratory staff, he said, “all staff of many operators of laboratories cannot be full professionals because they are expensive to maintain. Here we have one micro-biologist and qualified medical laboratory scientist with other support staff.

Director, Lifehelp Diagnostic and Research Medical Laboratory, Mr. Damilola Arewa, a microbiologist and certified medical laboratory scientist, said, “various factors which are patients, equipments and personnel-based, contribute to wrong or inadequate diagnosis. First, submission of wrong samples – urine or faeces – by patients lead to faulty test results. That is why we now ask strictly for blood or more concentrated urine to get a particular ‘hormone marker’ which we may not find in less concentrated urine.”

Arewa, who is completing a Phd in Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), noted that provision of equipment “is a major snag because we are looking at all the key equipments like lights, re-agents and other specialised gadgets, among others. To do culture alone, we need about 12 to 18 hours for organisms to grow into full clinical sample. And with Nigeria’s epileptic power supply, there is no way the re-agents, for instance, can be well-preserved. And where this cannot be well-preserved, they will depreciate and deteriorate and you cannot achieve good result. Without regular supply of electricity, a kit that ought to have a two-year life-span will lapse in six months because there is no light to sustain it. So, where you’re talking about measuring up to international standard of medical laboratory operations in Nigeria, it is not possible where light is the major issue we contend with. ”

On the issue of laboratory personnel, he said: “For us in Nigeria, our workload determines our staff strength. Every true laboratory needs, in the least, one qualified medical laboratory scientist, a licensed laboratory technician and medical laboratory assistants. These are the three major cadres that must be present in any laboratory worth being called one because we must place the life of our patients above money. However, fund is still a major problem. I tell people that if I hadn’t gone into this profession eleven years ago, there is no way I could venture into it at this time. As things stand today, we operate at a loss more than to realise profits. We can’t charge patients as we ought to.”

Another medical laboratory scientist said: “Go to those laboratories that hide under hospitals. The rot you are looking for is more pronounced there than the independent medical laboratories. Those ones employ non-qualified personnel indiscriminately because they, like us, cannot pay the actual salaries we ought to pay our workers. That is the truth. Even the MLSCN cannot do anything about that. There have been many cases of people who studied Science Laboratory Technology, which is not the same as Medical Laboratory Science, doing the same job. Such will automatically contribute to interpreting test results wrongly because it is not their job to do so.

“It is important for you to know that Science Laboratory Technologists are not licensed or trained by appropriate regulating bodies to do the jobs for which labs under hospitals employ them to do. This is a major problem that needs to be tackled. These are some of the loopholes by the government that allow quackery to be thriving in our country. And I dare say that hospital laboratories need harmonised regulation and supervision than we, the private ones. This is a very issue that must not be swept under the carpet!”

Of the sixty-seven medical centres identified in Lagos State alone, none of the few visited was willing to disclose the pay-packet of both their qualified and non-qualified staff while some are yet to kick-off full operations.

A medical doctor at the entrance of Wellpoint Medical Centre, sited on a dilapidated off-white building with barely visible signpost by Pero Bus Stop in Agege area of Lagos, said “the signpost is only placed there for now. We have not taken off. Equipments for operations are still a major problem for us.”

At Ilupeju Medical Laboratory Services, a woman who declined to give her name said: “I am not competent or authorised to speak with the media but I am a laboratory technologist. We test only blood, urine, stool and semen. But we don’t do X-ray examination and scan because the machine is expensive and same for the manpower such as radiographer and radiologist which are expensive to employ on full-time basis. We are also hindered by the safety protocol due to the radioactive emissions. So, people only come to us sometimes hoping to get X-rayed and scanned but we tell them these are not part of the services we can render. However, there are other services we provide.”

She, however, blamed some of the wrong or inadequate diagnosis on impatient patients who want everything done quickly. According to her, in their centre they don’t allow themselves to be rushed to give test results. “Some tests actually require more time to get a definite result. Also, some patients are fat. And it might take time to locate their veins during blood sample collection. But these patients too also get impatient with us. Then, there are the cases of girls who wish to “hook” their boyfriends with negative pregnancy test.”

In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at D-Line Diagnostic Centre, a hospital-based laboratory, an arm of the Providence Maternity and Clinic, along Railway Close, behind NITEL, is located in the storey building of the hospital within the estate. Among others, the hospital provides National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which was indicated by the NHIS sticker conspicuously posted on its reception door.

It runs a 24 hour service with a fully certified and MLSCN-accredited centre with both radiology and laboratory units that are separately located in the building and manned by duly qualified staff with two of them holding a BSc respectively in medical laboratory science while the third person is a graduate of School of Health and serves as laboratory assistant. On the quality of equipment, he said the laboratory has quality tools for its tests and diagnosis. While he admitted the often emergence of better equipment in the market, he lamented the high cost of acquiring them.

A few other diagnostic centres visited in Port Harcourt are either decrepit or out of business.

A consultant at LUTH told our reporter that not only is receiving the news of wrong diagnosis frightening, but the emotional impact on patients can be devastating and destructive to their lives. He said that among physicians, they share their diagnostic errors in confidence to highlight some of the problems and reduce the potential for misdiagnoses; medical errors can occur at any point during patient testing.

“Sadly, there is no survey in the Nigerian situation. But it cannot be denied that such could happen. It occurs more often in the testing phase usually followed by clinician assessment errors, history taking, physical examination as well as referral or consultation errors and delays, among others.

“Also, one of the most serious and frequent reasons for misdiagnoses has to do with physician bias. But when doctors make a mistake, it is something they remember and want to fix most of the time. There are surveys in other countries, but definitely not in Nigeria. However, it happens. And while medical errors, poor judgment and wrong diagnosis can lead to improper treatment and even death, medical mistakes should be prevented because the problem is serious enough for people to be vigilant on many levels. It must be avoided as much as possible.”

At the HealthPoint Diagnostic Centre, Ogba, Lagos, Head of Department, Mr. Olusola Dele, admitted that wrong diagnosis could occur due to either kit errors from the manufacturers or patient sample mistake. He said: “A few inaccurate diagnoses do happen. However, such results must be scrutinised and subjected to further tests to find out what actually went wrong and at what point. In order to redress such, however, patients’ complaints must be listened to and errant laboratories must take steps to redress the error. I won’t say that wrong diagnoses are not a frequent thing in most laboratories. However, we barely have any of such here.”

At the M & P, Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos, the owner, Mr. Ajayi Michael Olusegun, is of the opinion that “Nigeria is not a place where people bother about location or necessarily, quality. They don’t look for standard. They just want something affordable. Until emphasis is laid on degrees, the acceptable qualification for operating a medical laboratory in Nigeria was an Associate, the professional qualification, issued by the MLSCN. And it is still being accepted. It is just that people must now have degrees attached to it.”

He noted that it is capital intensive to run a standard medical laboratory. “If one does not have sufficient funds, it is hard to get things right. Yet to forestall fraudulent practice, it is essential that one acquires the basic equipments as health of the people matters more than the money. Also, the MLSCN should seriously monitor the locations these so-called medical laboratories are sited. Some of the things we close eyes to and take for granted are important.”

Personnel in charge of some of the centres visited within Abuja declined to speak on their accreditation certificates, qualifications of their staff and the genuineness of their equipments.

On visits to laboratory and diagnostic centres within Abuja and Niger State, our correspondent was referred to the various medical councils that issued them the accreditation certificates, stressing that they have the full information the paper needed at their disposal.

Managing Director, Haaflo Medical Laboratories, Maraba Hospital premises on Suleiman Barau Road, Suleja, Dr. Issa Mohammed Yabagi, said: “I cannot answer these questions because I do not know you or why you need them. It is only the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria that can ask me such questions.”

In the same vein, the Managing Director of Unis Medical Laboratory Diagnostic Centre Limited, Suleja, Mr. U. Nwokedi, said: “You have to go to MLCSN to get all these details.”

On whether he can speak on the qualification of the staff and the quality of equipment being used at the lab, he said: “The Council has all the details about this centre. They come here frequently to inspect to make sure we are meeting up with the standard. Even before issuing the certificate, they came here to inspect everything here,” he stated.

Speaking on the activities of medical laboratory operators as it relates to wrong diagnoses in Nigeria, Professor Anthony Emeribe, Registrar/CEO, MLSCN, noted: “It is obvious there are many cases of this nature. The sad thing is that most of such issues are never reported to us to document. I would say that the awareness of such incidence still remains low among the populace as they are often never reported or followed up due to little or no documentation about such incidences. There is, therefore, a compelling need for inter-professional collaboration, cooperation and harmony to have a repository of information about wrong diagnosis, whether laboratory-based or otherwise. If such cases that are laboratory-related are brought to the knowledge of the MLSCN, they will be investigated and adequate measures taken. But I assure you that the Council is actually working hard to engage in related researches to address these areas.”

It is clear that the world standard that medical issues should be open to patients and all is still a far cry here.

Additional reports from: Austine Ehikioya, Abuja, Rosemary Nwisi, Port Harcourt, Damilola Owoyele, Lagos

‘Awareness of wrong diagnosis still low’

Professor Anthony Emeribe, Registrar/CEO, Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), in an an email interview with JOKE KUJENYA, speaks on the activities of medical laboratory and diagnostic centres operators in the country

What are the official roles of MLSCN in the setting up and regulation of medical laboratories and diagnostic centres in Nigeria?

To start with, MLSCN is a Federal Government agency under the Federal Ministry of Health. It was established by Act 11 of 2003 to, among other things, regulate medical laboratory services and practice in Nigeria.

Hence, regulation of medical laboratories is one of the statutory functions. In addition, the MLSCN is also empowered to make rules according to Section 19 (d) of the same Act to ensure the maintenance of good standard of medical laboratory practice and services with respect to regulation and control, including inspection, approval and monitoring of all medical laboratories including those adjoined to clinics, private and public health institutions.

However, it is important at this juncture to make the distinction between medical laboratories and diagnostic centres which is a broad term used to describe facilities where medical diagnostic investigations like medical laboratory tests, x-rays and ultrasound, among others, are carried out. It should be noted that about 70per cent of data required for effective management of a patient comes from the medical laboratories.

However, not all diagnostic centres have medical laboratory components. So, only medical laboratories or medical laboratory component of diagnostic centres are within MLSCN jurisdiction to regulate.

In the way each of them operates in the country as we have it, how will you describe the rate of compliance to the regulations by operators of medical laboratories and diagnostic centres in the country?

Let me put it this way, prior to the enactment of Act 11 of 2003, the regulation and enforcement for the operators of medical laboratories were weak. But since 2005 when MLSCN took over, we started by taking the bull by the horns and commenced mandatory inspection of all laboratories. So, I can tell you that things have started changing for the better. So far, over 2000 medical laboratories have been inspected out of which over 1000 were sealed for not meeting the minimum standards for the rendering of medical laboratory services.