The Nation Newspaper

Category: Special Report

  • We now pick grains from the market to eat, say Niger IDPs

    We now pick grains from the market to eat, say Niger IDPs

    There is a major lack of food in the IDP Camp in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, but the Niger State Emergency Management Authority (NSEMA) feigns ignorance, writes JUSTINA ASISHANA

    “There is not enough food for us. In fact, for two months now, we have not gotten food from the government or anybody. So what I and my children do is to go to the market to pick the grains that fall on the ground when it is being measured for the customer.

    “We gather the grains with the sand and when we get home, we separate the sand from the grains and still separate which grain from each other. Then we cook the one we can cook,” Rayila Bitrus, a 30-year-old Internally Displaced Person (IDP)  in Kuta IDP camp, told The Nation.

    With over 2,000 IDPs from communities bedevilled with insecurity and banditry living in two of the IDP camps in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, feeding has become a big task to them.

    Displaced from the luxury of their homes, these victims, who once boasted of bountiful food, who own farms where they feed people and make their livelihood now have to rely on handouts from people and donations from the government and well-meaning individuals.

    But these foods, when donated, are usually not enough for the large group of people in the camp and are exhausted within a few days.

    With the inability to get steady work but determined to feed their family, most of the women and children in the IDP camps, like Rayila, have resorted to going to the market to pick grains from the ground to get food to eat daily.

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    According to Rayila, the grains they get from the Kuta market are mostly rice, millet, corn and beans, “Some days, we get two to three cups while on other days, we get about five cups. This is because we are not the only ones who go to the market for the picking. That is what we have resorted to doing now because we are tired of begging for food to eat.”

    For Rayila, when they get rice and beans, they cook it together while the corn and millet are saved until it is much to be used for pap or sometimes, the corn is ground for tuwo.

    The story is the same for Musa Abdul who said that he used to get menial jobs when he first arrived at the camp but getting these jobs gets more scarce each day but he often gets to carry loads for people who buy goods in the market.

    “When I go to the market, I go with my children because I noticed that when grains are measured for people, a lot falls on the ground and I also notice that a lot of our people here go to the market and pack this food that falls on the ground.

    “My children are the ones who pick the grains on the ground. They take it home to their mother who separates the sand from the grains and we manage it for the time it lasts. The days I don’t get jobs, only my children go to the market to pick food.”

    Nuhu Hassana explained that they have to go to the market early to get a promising space which is usually at the front of a seller whom they know may attract customers.

    “Once you are there, that space is yours. So any customer that comes, we stay and watch and after filling the bag of the customer, we start packing the ones that fall on the ground.”

    She said that that is what they rely on because food is very scarce in the IDP camp and it has become every family to carter for themselves.

    A visit to the Kuta market revealed that the IDPs were saying the truth. Speaking with The Nation, a trader, Nuhu Musa, who sells beans, rice and millet, explained that it is sad seeing women sweeping the ground to enable them to get some food that they can take home.

    “If you come new to the market, you may feel that they are trying to keep the market clean when they start sweeping the ground after a customer has gone.

    “But they are not cleaning the market. They are sweeping to gather the food that fell on the ground. They will pack it in the bags they bring and take it home. They come as early as 8 am and leave at 2 pm or 3 pm.”

    The Nation reporter, who visited the market, saw some women sweeping the floor after a customer had brought her goods and left.

     

     ‘Top challenge of the IDPs is getting food’

     

    Speaking to The Nation, the Chief Executive Officer of the Development Initiative of West Africa (DIWA), Daoda Kanneh, who heads the secretariat of the Niger IDP Response Coalition, said the needs assessment and profiling conducted on the IDPs showed that the IDPs have challenges of getting food and health services.

    “We conducted a need assessment and profiling on the IDPs. In our assessment, we realised that the IDPs have challenges with health, food, sanitation have been the basic issue they are confronted with. A lot of them are farmers and they left their places because of insurgency and they will need support in those areas but most of the time, they complain about no food and health.”

    The Executive Director of the Victims Support Fund (VSF), Professor Nana Tanko, disclosed that during the scoping mission by the organization to the IDPs camps, they discovered that there is food scarcity in the camps.

    “Our assessment shows that there is a major lack of food. During our scoping mission, we saw IDPs that were living in major food scarcity, they didn’t have food to eat.

    “The needs of the IDPs are so much that the government cannot cope with it and if they do not help themself, your family will suffer.”

     

     ‘We are hearing these complaints about the first time’

     

    The Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Ibrahim Inga, said that the government is not aware of the scarcity of food in the camp where the IDPs stated.

    He also said that the government has been trying when it comes to feeding the IDPs saying those donor agencies also come to give them food.

    “All these donors who come to the state pass through the government and the government is having so much in its hands. The government has done wonderfully well as far as the issue of IDPs camp is concerned in Niger state.

    “Kuta is not the only local government that is affected by this banditry activity, we have about nine local governments at a point that the situation is hostile and the IDP camps were virtually everywhere.

    “If you look at the quantum of the amount of money being expended in providing security, food items, medication, it is on the high side and that is why the Governor had called on kind individuals to come in for support and if we can have support from individuals, then the IDPs cannot complain of not having food.

    “The governor had made it specifically clear that the state cannot do it all alone, that we need kind-hearted individuals to come in and help us. I don’t think there is anything to complain about.

    “That they have no food is a complaint that I am hearing for the first time and I will verify it and ensure what is right is done,” he said.

    However, the Chairman of Shiroro Local Government Area, Suleiman Chukumba, said he was aware of the IDPs’ challenges.

    “I know the challenges we are facing and what we are doing to help with these challenges. And I know what we are doing to address the problems of the displaced people.

    “I will not say that there won’t be complaints because this issue of armed banditry and people becoming displaced has been for a long time, it has been 7 to 8 years.

    “Although we have been doing our best if some of them are coming to complain a little, it is not something I will wave off because we have been facing this problem for a long time and we have been helping them the best way we can. Seven years is not seven days and I am sure that there would be complaints from them.”

    Chukumba appealed for more interventions from individuals and organisations to help assuage the challenges of the IDPs in Shiroro.

  • Huawei’s job fair for varsity students

    Huawei’s job fair for varsity students

    It was a job fair for students of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The organiser, Huawei Technologies Company, identified Information Communication Technology (ICT) as one of the key factors for Nigeria’s development, hence the need to develop more upcoming ICT engineers in the country.

    Huawei Director of Services and Delivery in Nigeria, Melissa Chen who stated this while speaking at the 2021 Huawei ICT Job Fair held at the ABU main campus, however, pledged that Huawei will shape the future of the ICT industry in Nigeria by bridging the digital divide and bringing latest technologies into this industry.

    Chen said: “I see great hope for the development of ICT in Nigeria. I would like to thank the Vice-Chancellor and staff of ABU for promoting the growth of ICT in the school and students. This gives a lot of hope for ICT companies like Huawei to keep pushing for a better Digital Nigeria.

    “Since Nigeria is developing very fast in Industrialization, Infrastructure and Economy in general, ICT is one of the key factors for the country’s development and this is among the reasons why we need to give more opportunities to the upcoming ICT engineers. We wish that Huawei, Universities, and Educational institutions can deepen cooperation in training ICT talents and make greater achievements.

    “We will shape the future of the ICT industry in Nigeria by bridging the digital divide and bringing the latest technologies into this industry,” she said.

    Speaking on the Huawei ICT training for Nigerian students and Job fair, Chen said, “Huawei supports Nigerian students as they learn the latest technologies through our programs. Huawei has been in Nigeria for over 20 years, and the key to success has been given to many Nigerian students through training and preparing them to face new challenges in the ICT industry as it is growing very fast.

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    “We can see there is so much students can offer in the ICT industry because a lot of Nigerian students have shown their capabilities. For example, last year ICT competition, excellent ABU Zaria, University of Port Harcourt and University of Ibadan students won The Global Grand Prize in the Network and Cloud Track and Second Prize in the Network Track a very impressive achievement that has never been achieved by any country in the competition.

    “I would like to congratulate all the students who have gone through the Huawei ICT Academy training, as we all know, it is not easy at all. Today you are here, ready to enter into the ICT industry, which is one of the fastest-growing and important industries in the world. We believe that with the Huawei certificate being your wings, you will be able to fly higher and further.

    “Dear students, Huawei is working to empower you as a learner, not only to work in the ICT industry but also improve the standard of ICT through the use of Huawei ICT solutions. However, I encourage you to continue pursuing more knowledge and skill by getting Huawei Professional and Expert Level certification. This will give you a more solid foundation in ICT and give you more opportunities in the Job Market,” Huawei Director said.

    ABU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Kabir Bala, who congratulated the students that participated in the qualification test and interview session, said the more proficient you were in ICT the more distinguished you would become.

     

  • What Nigerians think of COVID-19 vaccines

    What Nigerians think of COVID-19 vaccines

    As the COVID-19 pandemic gradually settles into its second year, it has so far mutated into different variants and created different waves, presently exhibiting the Delta variant which is being tracked and monitored by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which believes the variant is one with increased transmissibility, GRACE OBIKE writes.

    All viruses naturally mutate over time in ways that help them survive and COVID-19 is not left out. Before the Delta variant, also known as the lineage B.1.617.2, Nigeria had previously identified the B I.I.7 which was first identified in the United Kingdom (UK) and B.I.525 variant strains which were equally initially identified in other countries including the UK, Denmark etc.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus said the Delta variant had, by August 1, been reported in132 countries including Nigeria. According to the WHO, infections have continued to rise in every region of the world, with some even reaching 80 per cent more in the past month. In Africa, deaths have increased by 80 per cent over the same period, Gebreyesus warned. The increase is being attributed to the highly transmittable Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, increased social mixing and mobility, the inconsistent use of public health and social measures, and inequitable vaccine use

    On July 9, Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) Head of Communications Dr Yahya Disu announced the Delta variant had been detected in a traveller to Nigeria and four days later, 12 new infections were reported in Oyo state, Southwestern Nigeria, leading to two fatalities. Six states were placed on red alert following the detection of this new variant in the country

    How far has Nigeria gone

    Historical data accessed from the NCDC indicated that as of August 11 2021, 179,118 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in the country since the first case was reported in March last year. Of this number, 10,783 cases were still hospitalized, 166,141 cases had been discharged and 2,194 people had died from the disease, while a total of 2,589,130 samples had been tested so far.

    In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria took delivery of the first batch of 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, on the 2nd of March 2021. The country is expected to receive a total of 16 million doses over the next few months. Nigeria is the third African country, after Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire to receive the vaccines from the COVAX facility— a joint partnership between the WHO, the Center for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF which aims to send vaccines to developing countries. Nigeria aims to inoculate 70% of its 200 million population by 2022.

    The arrival of the vaccine triggered a surge in anti-vaccine misinformation which such as that perpetrated by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar asked the government not to compel Nigerians to take the vaccine.

    Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello on March 6 went on live TV to insist he would not take the vaccine as he was healthy even as his colleagues from other states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) launched the exercise in their states by being vaccinated.

    Religious leaders have also been at the forefront in spreading harmful misinformation against vaccines. Religious leaders such as General Overseer of the Living Faith Church International (Winners Chapel) Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of Believers Love World aka Christ Embassy Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, have since March been campaigning against the vaccine urging their congregations not to take the vaccine but instead place their trust in God and use ‘anointing oil’ which they are ‘blessing’ and selling to gullible congregants under the pretext that the oil will protect them from getting sick.

    The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna state, the Rev Joseph Hayab has called out these religious leaders for misleading their congregations. He said religious leaders should educate themselves about the virus, the way it is spread, the benefits of the vaccines instead of misleading their congregations with half-truths about the virus and the vaccines.

    The Rev Hayab said he had personally attended several training workshops where he interacted with health experts and he even consulted medical experts and doctors from his congregation and others who provided the information he has been using to urge his congregation to take precautions and to take the vaccines.

    Hayab, who is a survivor of COVID-19, said: “Before COVID-19, many of us had received yellow fever vaccine. Have you ever seen Yellow Fever? Do you know what it looks like? We have received meningitis, tetanus vaccines. When it comes to medical science, let’s not bring stories that are primitive and selfish. I have seen instances where clerics deceive their people not to receive medications and they end up burying them, I am therefore appealing to religious leaders not to comment on things they are not experts of. Just leave it,” he says.

    Quelling the level of hesitancy

    Nigeria Health Watch has already debunked many of these claims and conspiracy theories in an article looking at the reasons for vaccine hesitancy which ranged from low literacy to distrust in the government.

    A global survey found that respondents who trusted their government were more likely to accept a vaccine. Those who distrusted their governments were more likely to believe in alternative explanations for things that were happening.

    “What we keep saying is that the government must know what it says to the people about COVID-19 because I think one of the major confusions is the way and manner the government presents the information. The government tells us to observe social distancing and reduce large crowds but when they have political activities, they meet in large crowds, so they make people ask questions of who is lying,” says Rev Hayab.

    Dismissing the misleading information the former chief medical director of the University of Maiduguri teaching hospital, Prof. Idris Mohammed told off religious and political leaders in an interview with the Punch Newspaper: “Irrespective of your own belief or scientific knowledge or lack of it, you should act in such a way as to protect the people from infection. And if you say the infection does not occur at all, then, you are telling people to just relax and not take any measures to protect themselves, COVID is real, it exists and it is killing people.”

    President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice President Yemi Osinbajo led government ministers, state governors and other state functionaries in taking the vaccine.

    Public awareness campaigns are being carried out in the media as the government kicked off the vaccination beginning with the elderly and frontline workers including health workers and journalists.

    By June 29 the executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Faisal Shuaib said approximately 88 per cent of the total COVID-19 vaccine stock in the country had been administered.

    By July 13, 3,938,945 million doses of the vaccine had been administered, with 1,404,205 people fully vaccinated and 2,534,205 people received at least one dose of the vaccine. Of the vaccinated, the country recorded 14,550 cases of mild/moderate Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI), with 148 cases considered to be severe. AEFI can include fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, diarrhoea, and pain at the injection site.

    Nigeria is expected to receive additional vaccines with 3,924,000 doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca being shipped into the country by the end of July or early August 2021. Another 3,930,910 doses of Pfizer-Bio-N Tech COVID-19 vaccine donated by the US government are due in August.

    “About 3,577,860 doses of Pfizer-Bio-N Tech COVID-19 vaccine in Q3 in the coming months, 29,850,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson (Jassen) COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX facility by the end of September, that will arrive in batches from the African Union Commission,” Dr Shuaib says.

    And just as promised, Nigeria on the 2nd of August 2021, received four million and eighty doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the United States (US) government, with a promise of more to come.

    How receptive are Nigerians?

    A survey on the perceptions of Nigerians to COVID-19 vaccines conducted by the Africa Center for Disease Control released in February 2021 showed that 76% of Nigerians are willing to accept the vaccine, with younger respondents (24 and under) less keen to receive the vaccine than their older counterparts.

    The demographics broken down is as follows: 77% of Nigerian men are willing to be vaccinated as opposed to 76% of women, 71% of Nigerians ages 18-24 are willing as opposed to 87% of respondents ages 55 and over. 88% of respondents who Know someone who has had COVID, would take the vaccine as opposed to 76% of respondents who do not or 80% of respondents who think the general vaccines are safe and 42% of respondents who do not believe in its safety.

    The survey also revealed that 69% of Nigerians are more likely to trust radio for information on COVID-19, while 36% prefer social media. At the same time, 8% of respondents are less willing to trust government sources and 14% less willing to trust healthcare authorities. A breakdown of the response of 488 respondents on the government’s management of the resources provided for the outbreak: 368 of them rate it as poor, 82 rate average and just 38 feel it’s good about it.

    Africa CDC” findings mirror those of a research conducted by global biosecurity titled, “Willingness to Participate in Testing, Contact Tracing, and Taking the COVID-19 Vaccine among Community Members in a Southwestern State in Nigeria.”

    The survey had 691 respondents from different communities in Ondo state. Of the number, 244 were aged 21-29, 436 were willing to take the COVID-19 test, 458 were willing to disclose contacts’ names if tested positive, and 434 were willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

    Persons who earned less than 30,000 naira ($78.95) monthly were more likely to take the COVID-19 test than those who earned less. Those who were better educated ( 10-12 years of education) were three times more willing to disclose contacts if they tested positive for COVID-19. Those whose financial status had worsened due to the pandemic were three times less likely to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

    Vaccines are not widely available to everyone and therefore the issue of vaccine hesitancy or willingness cannot be fully determined. In Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Esther Bitrus said the council offered them the vaccine but she rejected it. “I am not saying that I don’t believe in COVID-19, I do. But to be honest, they just continue to talk of how people are getting sick from the virus but I don’t know of anyone that suffered from COVID-19. I think the government is using it to divert money and scare us enough so we don’t ask questions,” she says.

    Another survey that sought to get the perception of Nigerians to the vaccine and their willingness to accept the jab was conducted by the Nigeria Health Watch in Bauchi, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT). https://nigeriahealthwatch.com/will-you-take-the-covid-19-vaccine-a-household-survey-on-the-perception-of-nigerians-towards-a-covid-19-vaccine/

    A total of 1,089 people participated in the survey with 730 respondents from urban areas and 359 from rural areas. Of those surveyed 85% had heard about the COVID-19 vaccine, over two-thirds were willing to take the vaccine while more than half 56% welcomed the vaccine and had no fears about the jab.

    Reasons for vaccine hesitancy given by Some respondents said they will not take the vaccine because of what they have heard from others, and images and videos of adverse reactions on traditional and social media. Religious beliefs showed up strongly as a reason why respondents said they were unwilling to take the vaccine.”

    People dismiss the possibility of taking the vaccine simply because they do not believe that the COVID-19 virus exists. Responses portrayed a general mistrust of public information as well as a desire to see before believing.

    What government intends to do

    To encourage people to take up the vaccine, Dr Shuaib said the government was going to enhance its public awareness campaigns and share more factual information about the benefits of taking the jab. ”It is increasingly evident that conspiracy theories and rumours are misleading people. We must not allow any information vacuum that mischief-makers would take advantage of to further mislead innocent people.”

    The government was already putting in place logistical details for the storage, distribution, security, and accountability for the 41.2 million doses that it expects between now September.

    The Federal Government has procured 60 units of U701 ultra cold chain equipment and deployed 37 of them to all the 36 States and FCT in readiness to receive the vaccines which are required to be stored in ultra-cold temperatures of below 40 to 85 degrees to maintain efficacy.

    During a facility tour of the National Strategic Cold Store (NSCS), on the 2nd of August 2021, representative of the WHO country representative and Medical officer/ cluster leader, communicable and non-communicable diseases WHO, Dr. Anne Baptiste said the WHO is satisfied with Nigeria’s cold chain capacity and deployment plans.

    Way forward

    During the just-concluded world hepatitis day, several districts of the rotary club in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) organised campaigns in different communities to educate people on the disease and offered free tests and vaccines in places that would have been ignored. The action made a lot of people come out en-mass and partake in it.

    If the same strategy is used with COVID-19, more people might take it more seriously, more Nigerians will be educated on the issue and just like Rev. Hayab said, if the government starts practising what they preach in terms of social distancing and all the protocols put in place to stop the spread of the virus, people might end up taking it more seriously and try to partake in stamping COVID-19 out of the country and continent, rather than seeing it as political than a reality.

    • This article was produced by the Africa Women’s Journalism Project (AWJP) in partnership with The ONE Campaign and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ).

  • COVID-19 DEBACLE! My husband impregnated our housemaid while I was stuck in Dubai, business woman laments

    COVID-19 DEBACLE! My husband impregnated our housemaid while I was stuck in Dubai, business woman laments

    • She had no time for me because of business, says husband
    • Housemaid: I’m eager to become his second wife

    THERE appears to be no end to the dimensions the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s homes since it broke out in December 2019. Many people have lost their loved ones to the dreaded virus. Others have lost their jobs while many others have had their businesses grounded by it.

    For Mrs Mercy Ugba, a 40-year-old business woman from Logo Local Government Area, Benue State, however, it was her marriage that was badly hit by the pandemic. In the midst of the virus’ rage across the world, she travelled to Dubai on one of her business trips and got stranded on account of the restrictions on movement imposed by the government of the United Arab Emirates.

    Unknown to her, her husband and her housemaid had been struck by affection while she was in Dubai longing wistfully for her return to Nigeria. By the time she found her way out of Dubai and landed in Nigeria, she had found herself on the reserve bench in the match of romance and lovemaking.

    Mercy, a holder of the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Benue State University, Makurdi, said her husband, 42-year-old Paul Ajuma, looked every bit a complete gentleman when they first met as fellow students in the school, where the latter was a student of Accounting, and they graduated the same year.

    After graduation, she said, they both joined the United Bank for Africa (UBA), where they worked in the marketing department but left after three years to run a business of their own.

    They, however, did not have a child until they were 12 years in marriage and were blessed with a baby girl.

    She said: “We pulled our resources together and I started the business of selling high quality wrappers to politicians, business executives, bankers as well as civil servants.

    “After some time, I started going to Dubai to buy expensive and quality materials

    “I then told my husband, who had also left the banking job that why didn’t we use the proceeds of our business to buy a plot of land in Lafia (Nasarawa State capital) and build a house, because we were looking at settling in Lafia due to the fact that cost of living is low there.

    “He bought into the idea and we were able to get a land for N1 million. I started sending money into his account for the building while I concentrated on running the business.

    “You see, I got married to Paul because I was under pressure from my parents and friends who had gotten married early. And when I met him in school, he seemed to me as a gentle and good man. He was meek, intelligent and caring, so I was intrigued by his ingenuity.

    “If we had dated for long, I would probably have discovered some of the traits he is exhibiting now.

    “We had gotten married before I realised that he is such a man that would sleep with anything in skirt. He has neither class nor taste. He toasts women anyhow.

    “But in spite of all this, I knew that pulling out of the marriage was not the best option.”

    So, Mercy endured life with Paul and providence smiled on her and the business began to flourish. But she realised that she needed a house help to sustain the running up and down for the business to keep moving.

    “Dorcas completed her secondary education while she was with us in Abuja, Gwagwalada to be precise,” Mercy said.

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    “I am not always around due to the nature of the business that I do, sending money into his account for the building project in Lafia.

    “So when in April 2020 the schools were shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he suggested that our little daughter, who is about six years old, should travel with him alongside Dorcas to Lafia just for them to change environment for the holiday and also use the time to supervise the building project, a three-bedroom flat and three-room boys quarters..

    “It never occurred to me that he could descend so low to lure Dorcas to bed, but that was exactly what happened.

    “Between April and early September 2021 when they were in Lafia, I was in Dubai on a business trip and the COVID-19 pandemic trapped me there. With heavy restrictions on movement during this period, my husband turned our housegirl into his housewife, having sex with her at will until she became pregnant.

    “So when I returned and met Dorcas heavily pregnant, and she narrated to me what happened in Lafia and my husband got to know about it, that was the end of our happiness and that of her daughter.

    “Any small thing, this man would beat me black and blue. He became so aggressive and threatened to stop the business I was doing. He said it is the money I’m getting that is making me to look down on him.

    “He has made a lot of efforts to stop the business but I resisted. Even when Dorcas told me she was pregnant for him, I asked him in the night and in a polite manner as my husband.

    “Unknown to me, there was more trouble ahead. It is a miracle that I am alive today.

    “During my last trip to Dubai, I paid about N3 million into his account to furnish the house and fence it round, but he never used the money. He started beating me, hitting my head against the wall and punching my breasts just because I asked a simple question.

    “He would say the rate at which money was coming in was making him to suspect that I was into prostitution and it was getting into my head and he needed to stop me.

    “While this was going on, I travelled to Lagos on a business trip. He picked Dorcas and dropped our daughter with a neighbour on the day I told him I was coming back.

    “He went to Lafia with Dorcas and are right now leaving as husband and wife. When I called him on the phone, he told me to go about my own prostitution as he had settled down with Dorcas who was pregnant for him.

    “It is about four months now and he has never picked my calls.”

    Asked what she intended to do next, Mercy said: “I have reported the matter to my parents and his own parents, but both of them asked me to keep calm and stop calling him.

    “But his attitude is strange to them. We should all be patient to see what he wants to do.

    I have accepted my fate and I am waiting to see what he intends to do with my younger sister who is pregnant for him.

    They may be enjoying themselves with my own hard earned money.”

    Dorcas was recently delivered of a baby boy in Lafia.

    Several attempts made to meet with Paul, who is now in Lafia, yielded no result as he kept giving the reporter fake appointments until Friday last week when our correspondent met him with his new wife and the new born baby at Lavista, one of the exquisite restaurants in Lafia located around Nasarawa State Polytechnic.

    It was about 4pm when he asked our correspondent to meet him. Although he vehemently refused to speak under camera, he told our correspondent that Mercy was his legitimate wife and they met during their undergraduate studies in the university.

    He said he was instrumental to their brief stay at UBA as members of the staff of the marking department.

    He said: “We raised the capital for the business she is doing together. I have two cars in Abuja which I gave out as taxis and I get returns weekly.

    “Yes, she gave me money to buy a land and develop it from the proceeds of the business and the land was bought in my name, though I’m not claiming it solely because we have a daughter. The property is intact for her if she wants it.

    “Yes, this girl became pregnant courtesy of me, but it was a mistake. But before I knew it, Mercy had told all her friends and neighbours and I was mad. We could no longer manage the information because it was public knowledge already.

    “So when she returned abroad and the two of us became a subject of discussion, we got angry and decided that the worst should happen.

    “She (Dorcas) is in good and safe hands. She has been delivered of a baby boy and I’m extremely happy.

    “Initially, I thought of aborting it and apologise to Mercy that it was the work of the devil, but she exposed it and it became a scandal where we were staying, which is why I left her to settle in Lafia.

    “I intend to pick up the pieces of my life and start all over again. After all, she has just a baby girl for me. So, if she is not ready, she can go.

    “She keeps travelling from one place to another. We hardly have time to make love as husband and wife; a strong factor that lured me into making sex advances to Dorcas.

    “I know it is bad but she didn’t allow us to manage it internally, and the manner she went about it made it impossible for us to think about abortion.

    “Her property is intact. I have not taken it and will not take it. I am waiting to hear from her parents, but I’m planning to visit them to explain certain things to them.

    I learnt they are planning to beat me, but I’m not scared.”

    Also speaking briefly, Dorcas, the new wife, said: “I have decided to settle down with him. I won’t mind being a second wife.

    “Paul actually disvirgined (deflowered) me and he is the biological father of my new born baby boy.

    “What I want him to do is to meet my parents and pay my bride price so that my son can be saved.”

  • Shock as internet fraud trainers take activities to cyberspace

    Shock as internet fraud trainers take activities to cyberspace

    • Trainees bombard sites with requests
    • Cyber criminals demand information to defraud parents
    • Parents aid illegal venture, reap from children’s loot

    Following threats to their operations by security agents, operators of internet fraud training centres have moved their activities online. Checks made by our correspondent revealed that the promoters of the illegal outfits are regularly updating the curricula to keep their ‘students’ abreast of happenings in the cybercrime world. Many people, mostly youths, are thronging the sites in their bids to become successful Yahoo Boys. INNOCENT DURU reports on their activities and the implications of the proliferation of such sites for the society.

    THE opening session of an online training on a blog, Richhustlershub.com, opened with was centred on a topic that would be considered bizarre by any decent visitor: how to become a successful Yahoo Boy (internet fraudster) in 2021.

    “Due to what people are searching for on the net on how to become a Yahoo Boy in Nigeria, I have decided to write something on it. Kindly read from the beginning of this blog post to the end to learn how to be a yahoo boy,” the writer stated as he went on to explain what the illicit practice is all about.

    “You can become a successful Yahoo Boy in Nigeria if you run yahoo with smartness, not disclosing any of your information to anyone, having a strong VPN that hides your identity and many more.

    He listed wire scam, dating billing format, credit card format and sugar daddy/ sugar mummy scam as some of the latest yahoo formats that his students could deploy to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.

    On another site, Naijahomebased.com, its promoters posted what they described as a guide for interested persons to make good money from the dishonest venture.

    The introductory part of the post reads: “In the streets, everywhere I go, I keep hearing people talk about yahoo yahoo (internet fraud).

    “A lot of Nigerian youths are interested in learning how to become yahoo boys. As a result, we decided to publish a guide to help all interested individuals make money off yahoo.”

    Its promoter then went on to justify the reason for sharing the reprehensible message, saying: “With the rate of unemployment in the country, it is easy to understand why people are very much interested in becoming Yahoo Boys.

    “Nobody wants to be broke. It’s totally lugubrious and difficult to be broke in a world where money is needed to live a good life, rent or buy a house, drive a nice car and, in fact, do anything that makes life comfortable.

    “But without proper yahoo boy orientation, you may find yourself gallivanting around the internet without really making one cent.”

    Read Also: Why FG won’t try repentant Boko Haram terrorists – Lai Mohammed

    Thereafter, he went into delivering a step by step tutorial on how readers could scam innocent people, adding: “All the Yahoo Boy formats I shared with you above are actually correct. That is how Yahoo Boys operate.

    “If you’ve been to the university or you hang out with young guys a lot, then it’s not so difficult to come in contact with Yahoo Boys in Nigeria and know all the Yahoo Boys’ formats.

    “Everything is not entirely their fault. There are limited job opportunities in Nigeria. As a result, the hardship and the rate of unemployment in this part of the world have led many into yahoo yahoo.

    Another promoter of one of the ungodly websites, smartlazyhustler, began his post with an apparently deceitful disclaimer.

    He said: “The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. While we endeavour to keep the information up date and correct, we make no representation or warranties of any kind, express or implied.”

    He then went on to say: “If you want to learn how to be a yahoo boy, then this is the post you should read. I will like to teach how to become a yahoo boy because I have the experience. This post is for everyone that wants to become a hustler.

    “I am only teaching you how to become a successful yahoo boy without charging you a dime. Truth be told, I was into this business when I was in higher institution.”

    Acknowledging the illegality of the trade, he said: “Though this is an illegitimate business and it is not good, you should continue reading if you can take the risk.

     

    Cybercrime keywords often searched for by prospective fraudsters

    Many internet search engines are riddled with keywords prospective fraudsters can use to seek information about how they can be successful in the dishonourable venture.

    One of them, Richeetech, listed more than 10 of such websites and the average number of times they are visited every month. The promoter of the site began with a disclaimer that reads thus: “Regardless of this very post, Richeetech does not support internet fraud (otherwise known as yahoo yahoo). This post was written purely for the basis of driving traffic to this website because a lot of Nigerians search google for this information.

    “A few days ago, I was just exclaiming to my work colleagues the number of searches for keywords relating to how to start a yahoo boy career in Nigeria and it was astounding.”

    He listed the keywords as follows:

    1. Learn how to be a yahoo boy (4, 000 searches per month)
    2. Yahoo boy orientation (1, 000 searches per month)
    3. How to start a yahoo boy career (1000 searches per month)
    4. How to become a successful yahoo boy in Nigeria
    5. Latest yahoo boy formats 2018, 2019
    6. How to do yahoo on Facebook
    7. Yahoo boy website
    8. Download yahoo boy app
    9. Yahoo boy names
    10. Cloning app for yahoo
    11. Yahoo boy whatsapp group

    Thereafter, he provided information on what prospective cyber fraudsters needed to be successful.

    Although some of the sites followed up their tips of how to become successful internet fraudsters with disclaimers, a former Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Barrister Monday Onyekachi Ubani, said the disclaimers cannot serve as defence if they are prosecuted for aiding cyber fraud.

    Ubani said: “I don’t know how somebody would go and educate people on how to commit a crime and at the end he is disclaiming the liability. I think security agents should go after such individuals. There is no way they can exculpate themselves even though I know that in law, for you to be liable for crime, intention alone is not sufficient to ground a crime.

    “For you to be convicted in Nigeria for most of crimes, there must an intention to commit a crime and there must be an act for you to be held liable. If somebody commits a crime today and he says that he was able to commit the crime based on XYZ lecture given to me by Mr A, that person can be charged as an accessory, for he has given lecture on how to go and commit the crime.

    “There is no way he can be exculpated from it.  He can come in by way of conspiracy or accessory because he has helped in committing the crime.

    “It may be difficult for such a person to disclaim liability. The disclaimer is not enough. If somebody commits a crime based on the information he has given and when the person is arrested he says I gathered my knowledge from this person, that particular disclaimer is not sufficient.

    “How can you teach someone how to commit a crime and not be liable? Your disclaimer does not exculpate you.”

     

    Students bombard sites with applications

    Regrettably, many young people with intent to embark on internet fraud appear to have had their desire fired up by the tips on the aforementioned sites and others of their ilk.

    Checks made by our correspondent revealed that in spite of the disclaimers they issued with their posts many of the cybercrime promoting websites are often inundated with requests by intending fraudsters for guides non how to become successful cybercriminals.

    Those who are already into the nocturnal venture also take advantage of the opportunity provided by the platforms to ask for assistance in their bids to execute one kind of internet fraud or the other.

    One of such requests from a client who identified himself as Afeez said: “I have just started yahoo after I read your posts. Now, how do I get you to teach me very well, because I want to collect money this year and I need all the tools, formats and pictures?.”

    Another visitor who used the name Yabiti said: “I am interested in becoming a yahoo boy. Please any boss around to help me achieve my goals?

    For Buraimoh, another visitor to one of the sites, becoming a fraudster was a matter of urgency.  “Please I really want to do this Gee business but I have little or no idea. Please I need someone that can guide and teach me. I’m ready to learn. It’s urgent please.”

    Another visitor, Emma, attempted to worm himself into the heart of a willing mentor when he said:  “Please, I want to start yahoo…who can help me (drops his contact). Please help me,I’m ready to learn.”

    Emma’s path was toed by Evergreen, another visitor to one of the sites, who said: “I am new here. I really need a help. Please my guys, I need to learn how to do the work.”

    For King Ose, the cyber fraud lessons were a pleasant surprise he had not expected to come across in a public space. “Thanks, this is an eye opener,” he said. “I was surprised when saw your post.”

    Seeking help to become an internet fraudster took the form of begging for Timothy. His post oozes desperation. “Boss man, abeg, I take God beg you. Abeg (Please) add me to the group (leaves mobile contact).”

    Speaking in pidgin English and in a tone laden with frustration, Moses, who had visited one of the sites, said: “Bros e don taya person to dey work and e come be like person dey pour water for stone. Please someone should please have pity on me and help me.”

    Another visitor, Abbakar, simply posted: “Please I want to be a yahoo boy.”

    It was also a simple request by Lake: “I want to be added to this group. Please add me to the group.”

    Another visitor, Flow, made a straight demand when he told a promoter of one of the websites:  “I need your whatsapp number or the book and also your guidelines.”

     

    Audacious cybercriminals demand information to defraud parents

    With the rise in the number of people being recruited into cybercrime, it may be foolhardy for anyone to be careless with his financial transactions, even with their children and relations. The reporter’s check on some of the websites revealed the extent to which children go in seeking information to hack into their parents’ bank accounts.

    One of the viewers, who posted with the name Prince, said that reading through the website provided him an opportunity to deal with his father.

    His post reads: “My dad has over N500,000 in his account but he is not helping any of his children even in school. I want to hack (into) his account, but the money is in a micro-finance bank. He has no ATM card. Is it possible to hack (into) it?”

    Another visitor, Adeyemi had his eyes on his grandfather’s savings.  “Hello, I have my grandpa’s account via mobile app. All I want to know is how I will make payment without the alert on his phone and not knowing the phone number that he is using on his account,” he posted.

    For Tejiri, blood relationship is never a barrier to hacking.  “How can I order something online with my sister’s ATM?” he requested.

     

    How parents aid illegal venture, reap from children’s loot

    The order before now was for parents and the society at large to question the sources of sudden wealth. That appears not to be the case these days as parents and the society opt to worship wealth rather than care about how it was acquired.

    An economic expert, Dr Austin Nweze, shared in a chat the story of a father who encouraged his son to take to cyber crime in order to liberate the family from poverty.

    He said: “I learnt of someone whose parents had been suffering for years. The father decided to send him to learn cyber crime. The boy has graduated and has been able to hit some small money.

    “He bought an iphone of N200, 000 for himself, gave money to the parents to start a business on the roadside and all that.

    “Cybercrime is growing because the young ones don’t want to pay the price that some of the older ones have paid.  They are not interested. They feel like after going to school, what do you do with the degree?

     

    EFCC keeps mum as security expert expresses concern over development

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had not responded to the enquiries made by our correspondent as at press time after responding to commission’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujare’s request for questions on the subject matter via a text message.

    A security expert, Dr Bala Husaini, said the development has many implications for the society.

    Husaini said: “Those who are into this crime each and every time recruit people into the market. These are the people who are cascading the same criminal training to the younger generation. There will be a time that shopping online will no longer be safe like going to a shop to buy what you want to buy.”

    He added that the menace “will send negative signals to the international community on Nigerians and the Nigerian government itself.  Thirdly, there will be a time when we will produce a community of leaders that cannot be trusted within and outside the country.

    “All this is an indication that the economy is not yet stable. It has to do with global unemployment rate.  It will affect the banking sector and financial institutions.”

    Proffering solutions to the problem, the university don said: “Our security personnel who are manning the cyberspace should be well mobilized.

    “There is also the need for continuous mobilization and sensitization of the community on this issue. People should also be vigilant about their community members who become millionaires overnight. They should report such persons.”

  • X-raying 70 years of refugee convention

    X-raying 70 years of refugee convention

    Nigeria recently joined the world to mark the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 70th anniversary of the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention. Lawyers, members of civil society and other stakeholders said more needs to be done to make life bearable for those forcibly displaced and stateless people, ASSISTANT EDITOR BOLA OLAJUWON writes.

    After the horrors of the Second World War, the United Nations on December 14, 1950, published a statute setting out the terms of operations and instructing plenipotentiaries of 26 states to meet in Geneva to finalise the text of a convention to address the refugee crisis that resulted from World War II. The conference met from July 2 to 25, 1951. The Refugee Convention was presented for signing on July 28, 1951. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was, thereafter, mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country.

    Beginning in the late 1950s, displacement caused by other conflicts, the decolonisation of Africa and Asia, broadened the scope of UNHCR’s operations. Following the 1967 Protocol to the Refugee Convention, which expanded the geographic and temporal scope of refugee assistance, UNHCR operated across the world, with the bulk of its activities in developing countries assisting millions of refugees worldwide.

    The principles of the Convention were reaffirmed in December 2018 by the Global Compact on Refugees, a blueprint for more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing. Both the Convention and the Compact recognise that a sustainable solution to refugee situations cannot be achieved without international cooperation.

     

    State of fundamental principles of refugee convention, 70 years after

     

    A few days ago, the UNHCR in Nigeria and globally marked the 70th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention establishing the rights of people forced to flee. The UNHCR during the anniversary celebration said recommitting to its spirit and fundamental principles is more urgent today than ever.

    According to statistics, no fewer than 82.4 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order. Among them are nearly 26.4 million refugees, around half of whom are under the age of 18.

    There are also millions of stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and lack access to basic rights such as education, health care, employment and freedom of movement.

    At a time when 1 in every 95 people on earth has fled their home as a result of conflict or persecution, the UNHCR’s work is more important than ever before.

    In Nigeria, Deputy Representative (Protection), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), John Mckissick, at a symposium organised to commemorate the 70 years anniversary of the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention in Lagos disclosed that 2.2 million displaced persons now live in IDPs in North East.

    He added that out of the 2.2million people, 1. 8milion are returnees. According to him, there are 380,000 living in IDP camps in Northwest, 317,000 in North Central and 67,000 refugees in Southsouth.

    While Nigeria is also receiving refugees daily, its citizens in Chad, Cameroon and Niger now totalled 317,773.

    However, at the celebration, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said: “The convention continues to protect the rights of refugees across the world.

    “Thanks to the Convention, millions of lives have been saved. Seventy years since it was drawn up, it is crucial that the international community defends its principles.”

    He expressed alarm at recent attempts by some governments to disregard or circumvent the Convention’s principles, from expulsions and pushbacks of refugees and asylum seekers at land and sea borders, to the proposals to forcibly transfer them to third states for processing without proper protection safeguards.

    Grandi said the treaty was a crucial component of international human rights law and remained as relevant now as it was when it was drafted and agreed.

    “The language of the Convention is clear as to the rights of refugees and remains applicable in the context of contemporary and unprecedented challenges and emergencies – such as the COVID-19 pandemic,” Grandi said.

     

    Refugees’ life in Nigeria: From Oru Camp to integration into the society

     

    Oru-Ijebu is a semi-urban town located in Ijebu North local government area of Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria. It is bordered by Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State and shares close territorial boundaries with Ijebu Igbo, the headquarters of Ijebu North, Ogun State. The town once officially housed a refugee camp which was located on the outskirts 500m away from the town, accommodating refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone.  The UNHCR registered about 5,000 Liberian refugees in Nigeria at the height of the Liberian civil war of 1989 to 2003.

    The UNHCR repatriated some of the refugees in phases in collaboration with the Government of Nigeria, the LRRRC and the former Bureau of Immigration and Naturalisation (BIN) of Liberia, now the Liberian Immigration Service (LIS).  Many of the former refugees opted to be integrated into Nigeria, while some wanted to be repatriated to available third countries at the time.

    With the assistance of the Government of Japan and the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), the Liberian Embassy in Abuja had also repatriated 285 refugees between 2012 and 2013. This was out of 500 of them who had applied for repatriation.

    Between 2007 and 2008, the UNHCR, in collaboration with the Liberian Embassy and the Nigerian Commission for Refugees (NCR) came up with a three-way solution to the problem of Liberian refugees. The first of the three options was repatriation, the second was integration and the third was the relocation to a third country under the supervision of the UNHCR.

    By June 30, 2012, the UNHCR officially ended the statuses of Liberian and Angolan refugees the world over after cessation clauses were entered into force for what was considered the “two most protracted refugee situations in Africa”. This, according to the UNHCR then, was on the basis that both countries had enjoyed many years of peace and stability after their respective bitter civil wars.

    Though the official closure of Oru Camp generated misgivings from some of the refugees in the camp, more of the refugees have been integrated into the town and elsewhere. Most registered refugees from Cameroun are hosted by 87 local communities in Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Taraba, Adamawa and Cross River states, among others.

    But, McKissick, at the Lagos symposium, specifically lauded the Lagos State government for welcoming refugees into its city.

    “Lagos has the highest number of urban refugees in Nigeria, with over 3000 who have been recognised by the government. We have 2000 asylum seekers in Nigeria and over 1600 are in Lagos.

    “These refugees come to Lagos for economic reasons and they’re able to start trades, get jobs in order to be self-reliant,” he said.

     

    Fighting for refugees and IDPs rights in Nigeria

     

    McKissick said Nigeria had talented lawyers to represent refugees and protect them before the courts of law. According to him, there is room for further development of international refugee law to make the country a model of refugee protection not only in Africa but around the world.

    He mentioned that because of the fluid security situation in the northeast, IDPs had not been able to stay home, reintegrate and become thriving members of their community.  Similarly, he added that many IDP returnees were continuously making them very mobile and always on the move.

    Mrs. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), said the refugee convention remained the chief cornerstone regulatory instrument for international refugee protection.

    She said without it, other regional and national instruments on refugee protection would be nonexistent.

    Mrs. Sulaiman-Ibrahim, who was represented by Mr. Stephen Medaiyedu, said the commission would continue to provide support and promote initiatives that impact positively on persons of concern.

    She said the three traditional durable solutions to the global refugee problems of voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement have recorded milestone successes. She said that countries of origin had witnessed successful voluntary returns of displaced citizens from countries of asylum in safety and dignity.

    “Under the local solution strategy in Nigeria, the Federal Government has abolished the encampment policy, hence refugees are either in transit settlements or live in host communities. This is in keeping with the tenets of the Global Compact for refugees on burden sharing,” she said.

    Speaking on the anniversary celebration as a panelist, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), said a refugee cannot be penalised for how they arrive in the country and must not be forced to their country of origin. He expressed concern over the way refugees are treated in Nigeria and insisted that they deserve better treatment. He narrated how some Camerounian opposition figures were forced back to Cameroun by Nigerian security agents.

    Falana also warned the Federal Government to respect the rule of law and international human rights law in handling the cases of secessionists, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.

    Falana, who disclosed this yesterday at the Geneva Refugee Convention Symposium to mark it 70 years of existence organised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lagos, noted Kenya and Nigeria have an extradition treaty, adding that what would have been done was to go court and bring back the individual, “of course that was going to be done in the case of Ighoho.”

    He also noted that the government of Benin Republic refused the extradition of Ighoho to Nigeria, citing reasons that they were following the rule of law and due process.

    The human rights activist explained that Nigeria has a very comprehensive law for the protection of refugees such as the National Commission on Refugees’ Act 2004, noting that the law is a domestication of the United Nation Convention of 1951 as well as the Africa Union (AU) Refugee Convention of 1969.

    Falana remarked that the Nigeria law is clear on who is a refugee, “and the majority of the refugees in the country are politically victimised people or who fear that their lives are at stake.”

    He advised the Federal Government to show leadership and take care of the 73,000 refugees in the country, adding that majority of those refugees are from Cameroun.

    On the political crisis in Cameroun, Falana said the Nigerian Government cannot pretend that all is well in the French-speaking country, and urged it to intervene.

    “Regarding the crisis in Cameroun, the government of Nigeria cannot pretend that all is well in Cameroun. There was a judgment delivered in 2006 in which the people of Southern Cameroun sued the government of Nigeria to intervene and they signed terms of settlement that Nigeria was going to take up the crisis in Southern Cameroun at the level of the UN General Assembly. In South Sudan, there is also the violation of human rights and this has led people to flood into Nigeria, so the government must also act on their behalf in a way that you can have this problem resolved politically and amicably.

    On the call by Dr. Oluwole Kunuji, a Constitutional and International Law Specialist and a senior lecturer at the University of Lagos, that Nigeria must amend the Act domesticating the Refugee Convention for accountability and monitoring, especially by The National Assembly, Falana said: “We don’t need to amend the law to accommodate the rights of refugees; once you have entered Nigeria either seeking asylum or as a refugee, you are also entitled to the rights and privileges of a Nigerian. You cannot be expelled from Nigeria without going through due process. Article 12 of the African Charter states that anybody who enters any African country can be deported without going through due process and that is what is playing out in Benin Republic where our ambassador has already prepared a plane for Igboho to be brought back to Nigeria, but the government of the country has refused, stating that he must be tried in their court of law.”

    Founder Well Being Foundation Mrs. Toyin Saraki said that data is key in planning for refugees in the country. She also added that there is need for compliance and contextualised strategy to make philanthropists drive impacts in planning for refugees.

    Mrs. Saraki called on non-governmental organisation to continue to partner with the UNHCR in protecting people who are forced to flee.

     

    A plea for more help

     

    At the Lagos symposium, some refugees living in the metropolis, however, pleaded with the Federal Government to assist them to acquire driver licences and easily open accounts with banks. According to them, acquiring driver’s licences will enable them to move freely in the country. Opening of accounts without the requirement for Nigerian guarantors will enable them to do their businesses without hindrance.

    Acting Deputy Director, Refugee and Migrant Affairs at the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs (NCFRMI) Mr. Titus Murdakai promised that the commission will look into the issues.

  • Nigeria, Togo to renew joint commission

    Nigeria, Togo to renew joint commission

    Our Reporter

    The flagging economic relationship between Nigeria and Togo is to be restructured, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Togo, Mr. Debo Adesina, said at the weekend.

    Mr. Adesina spoke in Lome, the Togolese capital after presenting his Letters of Credence to President Faure Gnassingbe.

    He said: “The key component of my mandate, as given by President Muhammadu Buhari, is to vigorously pursue economic diplomacy and strengthen our partnership in the areas of trade and economic development for the benefit of our people.

    “Therefore, as Ambassador, I will seek to expand the frontiers of our trade relations and economic cooperation. I will work for the resuscitation of the Bilateral Trade Agreements between Nigeria and Togo as well as the reactivation of Nigeria-Togo Joint Commission.”

    Read Also: Reports of insecurity exaggerated, says Korean Ambassador

    The ambassador, a former editor/editor-in-chief of The Guardian, also promised “to promote the change agenda of President Buhari by joining hands with you in your commtted fight against corruption and a relentless one against insecurity.”

    He added: “The development of infrastructure, reducing unemployment , eradication of poverty and many other things in your Development Agenda are in tune with President Buhari’s vision. In Nigeria, therefore, you have a strong supporter.

    “I am committed to sustaining Nigeria’s policy of good neighbourliness and continued quest for the unity of Africa. As Africans, we are one. Our borders are lines of convenience, not barriers to our unity and collective progress.”

    Adesina commended the Togolese leader for “giving women, in very good numbers, positions of responsibility and authority in your government, I must remark, Mr President, you have set the pace in our region and set the tone for a chorus which must be sung by all who believe in the future of Africa and the pivotal role of our women in it.”

    He described Nigeria and Togo as strong allies and strategic partners.

    “We have a long history of togetherness. Our joint leadership in fostering unity in the West African sub-region and our shared vision of dignity for our people remain examples for many to follow.”

  • In search of a safer maritime environment

    In search of a safer maritime environment

    The cash from Nigeria’s maritime corridor is regularly reduced by the activities of pirates and other criminals. President Muhammadu Buhari put the financial loss at a whopping $26.3 billion. The Federal Government has now deployed a technology to curb the loss, writes OKODILI NDIDI

    It sounds too good to be true and raises a poser: How can the Nigerian Navy control the country’s vast maritime domains just at the push of a button? With the Falcon Eye, a cutting edge technology, the Navy insists this is easy. It says oil theft, piracy, illegal bunkering, kidnapping, maritime terrorism and illegal fishing, among other criminal activities, are about to be fought to a standstill. And these criminals will no longer have the ability to drain the massive benefits in the maritime environment.

    Falcon Eye Project, a state-of-the-art surveillance facility that incorporates various sensors located along the nation’s enormous coastline will generate a real-time situational awareness of the activities within Nigeria’s maritime environment.

    The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), said the project was a child of necessity.

    “The project was borne out of the necessity to combat the myriad of security challenges within the maritime sector, ranging from “cases of kidnapping of oil workers, sea robbery/piracy, incessant problems of crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, hostage-taking, maritime terrorism amongst a host of other criminal activities perpetrated within the maritime domain,” Gen. Monguno said.

    Giving more insight into the project, which was started in 2014, the NSA said the Falcon Eye was designed to provide Nigeria with an effective surveillance capability of her entire maritime domain. The facility provides total radar coverage of Nigeria’s maritime environment. The Falcon Eye is a state-of-the-art surveillance facility that incorporates various sensors located along the nation’s enormous coastline, such as radars, long-range Electro-Optic Systems with thermal or night vision capability, Automatic Identification System Receivers, Weather Stations and marine Very High-Frequency Radios for communication. The integration of these sensors into the Falcon Eye system generates a real-time situational awareness of the activities within the nation’s maritime environment.

    Gen. Monguno hailed President Muhamamadu Buhari for completing the project. According to him, Nigerian Navy personnel have been trained to man the facility.

    Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo said the major significance of the facility is the need for a national maritime security architecture that would leverage modern technology to enhance the safeguard of the immense hydrocarbon and other mineral resources in the nation’s maritime domain.

    Read Also; Nigeria to save $156m on Maritime insurance

    “Nigeria’s maritime environment is strategic to her national survival, prosperity and the sustenance of her pre-eminence position among the comity of nations. Unfortunately, this environment also experiences a myriad of illegal activities owning to the large maritime space in relation to the available policing and logistic capabilities.

    “This threat situation precipitated the need for a robust Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) system necessitating the establishment of the Falcon Eye Alignment by the Office of the National Security Adviser in 2015,” he said.

    Enumerating the advantages of the piece of technology, Gambo explained that “the Falcon Eye System incorporates surveillance and intelligence capabilities that enable decision making on shipping activities, maritime safety and violation of maritime laws. The system combines various sensors such as Coastal Radars, Over the Horizon Radars, Cameras to generate a comprehensive picture of the Nigerian maritime environment.

    “In particular, the project includes the deployment of 5 Over the Horizon Radars to cover the entire nation’s coastline and up to 200m (370.4 km) seaward. This translates to complete coverage of Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Monitoring and analysis of data from the various sensors sites strategically located along the nation’s coastline are facilitated through the four Falcon Eye Centres in Abuja, Lagos, Yenagoa and Calabar.

    “Pertinently, the coverage of the satellite aspect of the Automatic Identification System of the Falcon Eye Alignment extends beyond the Nigerian waters to Cote D’Ivoire at the West, Cameroun at the East, Angola at the Southeast. This significant capability enhances the maritime projection capabilities of the country and enables the Nigerian Navy to maintain strategic partnership in information sharing, especially with the navies of the Gulf of Guinea nations, as well as the Indian and Italian navies.

    “In the domestic arena, the Falcon Eye Alignment collaborates with various maritime regulatory agencies such as the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Immigration Service and other sister Services. Accordingly, the Nigerian Ports Authority has deployed its staff who has since resumed at the Falcon Eye Main Control Centre.

    “This collaboration would not only foster synergy but also promotes a holistic understanding of the activities in Nigeria’s maritime domain which is crucial to the commonality of efforts by all stakeholders towards curbing maritime crimes.”

    Giving further insight on the gains of the facility, the Chief of Naval Staff disclosed that, “the Nigerian Navy has recorded successes in her fight against illegalities at sea through the employment of the Falcon Eye facility. From 2016 to date, the intelligence generated from the Falcon Eye System led to the seizure of over 300,000 bags of foreign rice, valued at N9 billion and the arrest of over 500 suspects. It also led to the arrest of 70 oil tankers laden with stolen products valued at over one billion dollars.

    “Furthermore, it led to the arrest of over 30 vessels engaged in Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing, as well as the arrest of over 50 pirates. Also, the system is a force multiplier that helps the Nigerian Navy to optimize its limited resources in terms of limited available platforms and logistics requirements towards intelligently policing the nation’s vast maritime space.

    “The Falcon Eye System is indeed valuable surveillance and intelligence asset for the Nigerian Navy and the Service is better positioned to guarantee maritime security to the outermost limits of the nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone. This will, in turn, boost Nigeria’s oil and gas production.”

    While inaugurating the facility, Buhari lamented the huge loss of revenue to maritime criminality. The President put the loss at a whopping $26.3 billion annually, a development, he said, has become harmful to the nation’s economy and the safety of citizens.

    According to the President, the country’s hydrocarbon resources which are largely domiciled in the maritime environment remain the mainstay of the nation’s economy, adding that it accounts for 55% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 95% of export earnings and about 70% of government revenue.

    Buhari noted that given Nigeria’s economic aspirations and commitment to international trade, ensuring the security of shipping lanes within and approximate to Nigerian waters is in the national interest.

    According to the President, who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, “the Maritime industry occupies a prominent position in the matrix of our vital economic interests and it encompasses activities ranging from fishing and resource exploration to marine research and shipping among other endeavours. Of all these activities shipping stands out as a critical link in Nigeria’s international trade engagements because it is the cheapest and the most efficient means of moving large volumes of goods.

    “Given our economic aspirations and our commitment to international trade, ensuring the security of shipping lanes within and proximate to our waters is in our national interest.”

    The President said: “Falcon Eye Project is a state-of-the-art surveillance facility that incorporates various sensors located along the nation’s enormous coastline, such as Radars, long-range Electro-Optic Systems with thermal or night vision capability, Automatic Identification System Receivers, Weather Stations and marine Very High-Frequency Radios for communication.

    “The integration of these sensors into the Falcon Eye system generates a real-time situational awareness of the activities within our maritime environment for further analysis.”

  • ‘Our 53 years in jail without trial’

    ‘Our 53 years in jail without trial’

    Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf in a chance encounter with three victims of police brutality under the now infamous Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) captures their harrowing experiences in prison custodies in Agodi (Ibadan) and Ibara (Abeokuta) prisons respectively for a cumulative period of 78 years until they regained their freedom with the help of some public-spirited Nigerians in April of 2020

    TO parody the words of Sir William Blackstone, an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century, it is better that 10 guilty persons escape, than allow one innocent person to be convicted. Unfortunately, Blackstone’s doctrine was observed in breach in the case of three individuals, namely: Adedeji Taiwo, Abass Owonikoko and Samuel Opabi, who spent the prime of their lives serving various jail terms for offenses they may not have been convicted for, given the right hearing.

    Some 30 years ago, the trio of Adedeji Taiwo, Abass Owonikoko and Samuel Opabi were total strangers living their separate lives and leading their own destinies. Yet by a twist of fate, these individuals came to live among each other and in fact have kept the same company for almost 30 years in circumstances that are not in any way pleasant. The trio met in prison, no thanks to failure of the justice system.

    Adedeji Taiwo, who turns 57 in August, earned the sobriquet, General, while in prison. He was imprisoned in 1995, and set free in April 9th, 2020, spending 25 uninterrupted years in jail.

    He tells his story: “I was dealing in foodstuffs at the popular Bodija market in Ibadan. I sold food stuff and farm produce precisely. Most times, I usually bought from farmers directly and at other times I get suppliers who sell to us directly in the market. It so happened that some men who dealt in farm produce came to introduce themselves in the market and started selling produce to us, unbeknownst to us that they were selling farm produce meant for supply to certain buyers in Ogbomosho. Most times, they came with Mercedez Benz 911 loaded with produce including rice, beans, maize and all sorts. They sold to us randomly and a lot of market women and men used to patronise them even after we discovered that they were stolen goods.

    “So when the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operatives apprehended them, they led them to the market where they identified some of their customers. That was how I was picked up. The SARS men asked me to bribe them with N200, 000, so that I would not be charged to court. But my family was only able to raise the sum of N50, 000. We pleaded for time to raise the balance but it was futile.  I was kept in awaiting prison in Agodi for four years and later transferred to Abeokuta Prisons, where I spent another 21 years before my release in 2020.

    “Life in prison is not a tea party at all. But I can only thank God for His mercies. I obtained an NCE Diploma from Yewa Central College of Education and another one at Theological School at the Gospel Minister’s College. I later became a Pastor in my cell. My wife stayed the course for 10 years but later left when she wasn’t sure I was going to survive the ordeal. I also lost a daughter within the period. My wife left with my four kids. I don’t know where they are as we speak. I lost my parents too. All I want is to go back to my foodstuffs business. It is one of the areas I have passion for.”

    If General’s experience is bad, Abass Owonikoko’s case is even more pathetic. Owonikoko, who got arrested in 1993, spent almost 29 years in detention in Ibadan. He is 56 years.

    According to him, he was a dealer in livestock in Ibadan. Hear him: “One fateful day, two masquerades, Egugun New System and Egugun Oyin had a clash which caused a total breakdown of law and order in Ibadan town. In reaction, SARS made some random arrests at the scene of the crime and I was among the unlucky victims. About six of us were arrested for wandering, out of which four died in SARS’ custody. My family tried all they could to prove my innocence to no avail, as the SARS men insisted on being bribed. They later took undisclosed sums of money from my family but on April 14th, 1994, I was remanded in prison. I got a lawyer, one Barrister Isiaka Adeniji, who died even before the case was heard at the Tribunal in Ibadan. I was sentenced to death in May 3, 1999 but the then Governor Alao Akala commuted it to life imprison in 2011. I spent four years and eight months in Agodi and an additional 24 years in Abeokuta. I also lost two kids, a male and female aged nine and seven years respectively. My wife left me. I lost both parents and even our family house in Ibadan collapsed. I studied Islamic studies at Dawah Voice of Nigeria, Abeokuta, where I qualified as an Imam. I was Imam at the condemned prison in Ibara from 2010-2020. Under my tutelage, I organised Walimot for 42 inmates who also learnt the fundamentals of Islamic teaching and are today Islamic scholars themselves. I currently squat with a family member in Ibadan.”

    Samuel Opabi, yet another victim of police brutality at the hands of the now infamous SARS, who hails from Igede in Benue State, suffered for an offense for which he knew nothing about, a pure case of mistaken identity.

    He shares his story: “I was staying with my elder brother in Ibadan, whom I had joined to learn about trading in clothes. He ran a boutique somewhere in Ibadan. I was doing that as well as playing football on the side. There was this teenage boy who used to visit me at my brother’s house. He was interested in playing football, so he saw me as a role model of sorts. But his dad was not happy about it and warned me from associating with his son, whom he accused of playing truancy. Of course, I asked the boy not to visit me again because his father resented me. Everything went well, as the boy indeed stopped coming around. However, one fateful morning, the boy’s father paid an unscheduled visit to my house; I had just returned home from the shop to prepare breakfast for me and my elder brother. He came asking for the whereabouts of his son. I had to call my landlady as a witness to say if she had been seeing the boy in my place since the father raised his objection to our friendship, to which she answered in the negative. We ended up having a shouting match with the father, who threatened to deal with me. About two hours or so later, he came in with some plain clothes policemen, accusing me of being part of a robbery gang.  It was like drama straight from a Nollywood scene. The men in black bundled me into their waiting van and that was it. The SARS team requested for a bribe of N150, 000 but my family was only able to raise N35, 000, which they paid to one Sergeant Leo. We got a lawyer, Pade Obisesan to help with the case but unfortunately the lawyer died along the way, precisely in 2006. In May 10, 1999, I was condemned but I was also a member of the Ibara Football Club in the prisons. I spent 19 years in prison and have been surviving on donations ever since my release last year. Of my parents nine children – five male and four females, only three of us are alive today. I’m the only male among the three surviving siblings.”

    “I got in when I was 23 years and I’m 51 years now. What else can I say than to plead for assistance from Nigerians? I spent the prime of life in prison for a crime I did not commit. I’m not bitter anymore. But I need help.”

    So far all accusing fingers point to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a Nigerian Police Force unit created in late 1992 to deal with crimes associated with robbery, motor vehicle theft, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and firearms. It was part of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID), headed by the then Deputy Inspector General of Police Anthony Ogbizi.

    SARS had been as controversial as ever for its links to extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, extortion, torture, framing, blackmail, kidnapping, illegal organ trade, armed robbery, home invasions, rape of men and women, child arrests, the invasion of privacy, and polluting bodies of water with the illegal disposal of human remains. SARS was investigated several times in response to protests, but without results; reforms were promised in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. The unit was disbanded on 11 October 2020 after a worldwide showdown in the now historic “End SARS” protests.

    How help came to the ex-offenders

    Thanks to the concerted efforts by the Prison Rehabilitation Mission International PREMI, including Bishop Kayode Williams, Oba Adedapo Adewale Tejuoso, the Osile Oke-Ona Egba, one of the four autonomous constituent kingdoms making up Egbaland; Aare Afe Babalola, the famous legal luminary; Hon. Justice Oluseun Shogboola, who presides over the Integrity Ministers International Incorporated, the men are now free. They all played very important roles in ensuring that some of the awaiting trial inmates were set free after some legal fireworks.

    Narrating how help came to them, General said, “PREMI, headed by Bishop Kayode Williams, who himself was an ex-convict, who served a 10 year jail term until 1981 and was later granted a presidential pardon in 2001, used to minister to us at the prison. When he visited the prison ahead of the 2019 December and Christmas festivities, he came with his team to donate cow and other items to us. But we the inmates rose in unison and said we wanted freedom instead of being fed in prison and kept in awaiting trial. We told him we wanted to lead normal lives. It was not easy at all. But through fervent prayers, and the commitment of Bishop Kayode Williams’ team, we regained our freedom.”

    Established in 1982 as a non-governmental organisation, Prison Rehabilitation Mission International Inc. (PREMI) has been consistent in advocating the overhaul of the prison system and the reform of the penal system in Nigeria and Africa. Its goal is to assist in the realisation of the national objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy. The most important of these is the replacement of scolding with schooling, and punishment with prospect. This, PREMI believes, will reduce re-incarceration and assist in the reintegration process of released offenders. The four Rs of this organisation are Reformation, Reintegration, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement.

    PREMI has successfully operated in Nigeria for over 38 years, providing the required assistance and helping to secure the release of hundreds of prisoners and detainees. Presently, PREMI has branches in Texas where the Osun State-born Dr. Silas Olayiwola Falokun volunteers as coordinator, supervising North and South America.

  • 10 years after graduation, woman begs UNIUYO to release certificate

    10 years after graduation, woman begs UNIUYO to release certificate

    •Says her job with Lagos State under threat; denied promotion
    •Over 600 students suffering same fate – OSSCEILA

    What could delay a student’s certificate for a whole nine years, even when she has fulfilled all requirements? This is the question the management of University of Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State needs to answer, as one of their students in a degree programme done in conjunction with Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun (OSSCEILA), is alleging that the delay is costing her more than she can endure. The student, Rukayat Olayemi Ajao, spoke with Gboyega Alaka.

    RUKAYAT Olayemi Ajao a former student of Political Science (Education) of Osun State College of Education degree programme affiliated with the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State is currently distraught and calling on the officers of the university to release her degree certificate nine years after she graduated.

    Ajao, with matriculation number: 03/ED1/EF/183; said she enrolled for a degree programme in 2004, graduated in 2010 and served in Cross River State in 2012. However, nine years down the line, she is yet to be given her certificate, even though the school acknowledged that she fulfilled all requirements by giving her the temporary statement of result.

    “I was issued a statement of result, with a pledge that our certificates would be ready in due course. I went back in 2014, they said it was not ready; thereafter, I didn’t go there for some time, since I had no job and had no means of moving around. Sometime in 2018, I was processing a job online and they asked for my certificate; I went over to Ila Orangun, but they again told me it was not ready. Since then I’ve been going there to request for my certificate but they’ve always told me, ‘It is not ready.’ They’d tell me to write my name and other details but the story has not changed.

    “At one time, they gave me an attestation letter in lieu, but the problem now is that the Lagos State Local Government Service, with which I currently work, has insisted that it’s either my certificate or nothing. Earlier this year, they summoned me to present my certificate, because it was not in my file. They warned me that I would not be eligible for promotion unless I presented it. I went back in April this year but I did not see the provost. However, the officer in charge of the programme told me they were working on it; that they would call the registrar in Uyo and that I should exercise patience. Again they collected my details, offered to give me another confirmation letter, but I told them my office was not interested in any other letter other than the certificate. The explanation they have given me is that there was a fire incident. The question therefore is, for how long will I wait? Are they saying my certificate has gone with the fire? To make matters worse, I cannot go to UNIUYO to demand for my certificate directly, because they will only deal with my college.

    “True to the warning of my employers, the promotion exam/exercise is ongoing (July 5) as I speak to you but I am not part of it,” Ajao said.

    Asked if she has made any effort to reach out to the Lagos State officials in charge of promotion to explain her case, Ajao said: “I went to see the director-in-charge at the commission, but he said ‘no,’ that the order was from above because of past experiences of people presenting fake credentials.”

    On whether she knew of any member of her set, who has collected their certificate, Ajao said yes. She said she knows some of her course mates who finished the same year as her, who have collected their certificate; likewise those who have not. My appeal as I came here is to the management of the University of Uyo to please release my certificate.  The situation has become an embarrassment to me, with people openly wondering if I indeed graduated from the school.  Somebody even said it to my face that, “What kind of school did you attend that you don’t have a certificate ten years after?”

    We’re reaching out to UNIUYO on the matter – OSSCEILA

    When The Nation reached out to some officials of Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun (OSSCEILA), where Ajao did her NCE as well as her degree programme in affiliation with the University of Uyo, none were willing to make any statement on ground of being civil servants.

    However, after some persuasion, one of the officials who pleaded for anonymity said he was aware of Ajao’s predicament but said the delay in releasing her certificate does not lie with the college but with owners of the programme, University of Uyo.

    He said, “We are ready to assist, just that there was a fire incident at the University of Uyo; but we’ve reached out to them and they told us it has been rectified and promised to release the certificates soon. Unfortunately, we have not been able travel to Uyo because of insecurity.”

    Asked how come some of Ajao’s mates have collected their certificates while has not, the official said: “Indeed the problem is not peculiar to Ajao. The last time we compiled the list, they were well above 600 names that are yet to collect their certificates. I even know a student who finished in 2002 and is suffering the same fate. Meanwhile, I also know a student who finished three years after Ajao who has collected her certificate. So we really don’t understand the pattern they use in printing certificates over there. In our own case at OSSCEILA, we use the graduating list to write the certificates.”

    The official however maintained that Ajao’s certificate, as well as others’ would soon be out, as they are not relenting.