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Tag: CAPPA

  • Kaduna drone mishap: CAPPA seeks speedy, thorough investigation

    Kaduna drone mishap: CAPPA seeks speedy, thorough investigation

    Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called for speedy and thorough investigation into the airstrike by the Nigerian military targeting terrorists in northern Kaduna State, which left at least 80 civilians dead and more than 60 injured, mostly women and children.

    In a statement, Executive Director, CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, while sympathising with victims of the strike, called for a comprehensive probe of the incident and compensation for victims.

    He described the incident as a ‘‘recurring intelligence failure’’ that has jeopardised innocent lives.

    The  military jet was on a routine counterterrorism operation when it mistakenly bombed civilians and residents in the Tundun Biri village of Kaduna State, who had gathered to celebrate the Muslim festival of Maulud.

    He urged the Federal Government to adopt a holistic approach that includes administrative, institutional, and accountability measures to  prevent similar incidents and safeguard lives.

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    The statement reads in part: “We  are deeply saddened about the horrendous and needless deaths of innocent Nigerians. Once again, we are confronted with the question of when these deaths will stop. Too frequently, we have seen innocent civilians fall victim to military strikes which authorities are often quick to describe as “accidental”. 

    ‘‘Firstly, this investigation must extend beyond this singular event to include similar incidents since the inception of counterinsurgency in Northern Nigeria. We demand the constitution of an independent panel with representatives from affected communities and civil society to ensure a broad spectrum of perspectives and objectivity in evaluation. We equally demand that the findings of the investigation be made available to the public.’’

    ‘‘Secondly, we ask that the government actively engages with affected communities to facilitate healing and build lasting peace, both in impacted communities and across the country. Financial aid, necessary as it is, cannot replace the precious lives lost or erase the scars of trauma. The Nigerian State must also recognize the irreparable nature of these losses and provide additional interventions, such as psychosocial services to bolster the mental health of victims.’’

    ‘‘Beyond immediate actions, we urge the Nigerian government and military authorities to consider a radical shift in how security operations are conducted in the country, particularly in areas with high civilian populations. Nigeria, as a signatory to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights is bound both by legal and moral obligations to ensure the right to life and the observance of all necessary precautions and intelligence in its military engagements.’’

  • CAPPA’s Documentary on Climate Change Impact on African Communities Screens at COP 28

    CAPPA’s Documentary on Climate Change Impact on African Communities Screens at COP 28

    As part of activities at the ongoing United Nations Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP 28, the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has released a documentary on the impact of climate change on frontline communities.

    Titled “Climate Change: Africa’s Cooked and Sinking Communities”, the documentary highlights the threatening impacts of climate change in Taita Taveta County, Kenya; Kambele, Cameroun; and Ayetoro, Ondo state, Nigeria.

    The documentary exposes the impact of mining and oil extraction in those communities, reinforcing the call for a Loss and Damage mechanism that will address the plight of local communities across Africa who bear the most brunt of climate change.

    In the context of the UNFCCC process, loss and damage is the harm caused to human societies and the natural environment by human-generated climate change.

    In Kenya’s Taita Taveta County, the documentary tells the moving story of drought in a community once known for agriculture and animal husbandry. The hitherto, agrarian community has been transformed by climate change into arid terrain where farmers are compelled to adapt by becoming emergency miners, further exacerbating climate-related challenges.

    Gideon Ndambuki, a resident in Taveta, speaks about the harsh drought in the community: “This land which you are seeing here was used for farming for all of our lives. But things have changed. We used to plant cassava here, we used to plant sweet potatoes here, we used to plant green grams here.

    “For the last three years, we haven’t gotten anything from this land. We have been waiting for rain for all this time, and it has not rained. So, this land now is no longer productive, this land is no longer suitable for agriculture due to changes in the climate.”

    In Kambele, residents have battled landslides, incredible heat, and irregular weather patterns as a result of indiscriminate gold mining. Close to 150 persons have died from landslides and open pits dug by gold miners. That is aside varying degrees of health problems residents battle daily.

    Kulu Nduanghan Florin, a native of Ngaland Le Trois, explained the hardship caused by mining-induced changes in weather patterns: “The first problem is that of the climate. We are in October. Since I was born, we have always known the month of October to be the rainy season.

    “The sun hardly came out, but now we are experiencing climate change. I am wondering if this continues till December or even January, are we going to live in the swamps? Aside from that, we used to experience flu during the dry season, but since the Chinese arrived with their toxic chemicals, we no longer know when the flu starts or when it ends.”

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    For Ayetoro, it is the sad story of a city sinking because of ocean surges. This, according to the locals, became aggravated immediately after oil extraction facilities were installed close to its shoreline.

    The Oba of Ayetoro, HRH. Oba Ojagbohunmi Oluwanmbe JP said: “In the latter part of the 80s when oil exploration started, our people noticed that it used to be a normal cycle of the sea to take a few portions of land away and after six months, it would add that same portion or even more; that was normal.

    “But, in the latter part of the 80s, our people noticed that the rate at which it was taking the soil was higher than the rate at which it was returning it.”

    CAPPA stated that the plight of the communities and several others across the continent reinforced the need for sustainable climate finance for the continent.

    “These sad stories make it imperative for COP 28 to come up with a predictable, democratic, and sustainable mechanism for operationalizing Loss and Damage that will address the impact of climate change in frontline communities across Africa,” said CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi.

    “The West owes Africa and the global south climate debt. The time to start paying is now”, he added.

    You can watch the documentary here: https://youtu.be/rSLsbwzEmNU

  • Why FG should extend tax waivers probe to tobacco firms, by CAPPA

    Why FG should extend tax waivers probe to tobacco firms, by CAPPA

    The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called on the federal government to extend the planned probe of tax waivers, grants, and other insidious benefits unduly awarded to corporations by past governments, to include the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) awarded to tobacco companies.

    The EEG scheme is a post-shipment incentive introduced by the Federal Government to encourage indigenous exporters to expand their export volume and value in the global market.

    The group made the call in a statement reacting to the resolution of the House of Representatives to investigate all tax waivers granted since 2015, and a recent observation of the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax Reforms and Fiscal Policy, Taiwo Oyedele.

    Oyedele declared in a recent television interview that the country’s administration of tax waivers was lacking in both prudence and transparency.

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    While welcoming the probe, CAPPA urged the government to extend its investigative search to the probably sleazy waivers granted to the tobacco industry since 2003. 

    It noted that the waivers, benefits, and recognition granted to the tobacco industry were further complicated by the multifaceted impacts of the tobacco industry on public health and the environment.

    Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi said: ‘‘We demand a full and transparent inquiry into these shady waivers that have ripped the country of its revenues. Moreso, we are concerned about the benefits awarded to the tobacco industry under the Export Expansion Grant Scheme, and other untoward agreements which insult every Nigerian striving for a healthier and more equitable society’’.

    CAPPA pointed out that global health bodies and scientific and medical research have consistently highlighted the severe health implications of tobacco consumption, linking it to a host of chronic diseases including cancer, heart diseases, and respiratory illnesses.

    According to Oluwafemi, ‘‘by exempting the tobacco industry from its fair share of taxes, the Nigerian government inadvertently compromised public health in Nigeria and other West African countries and widened the country’s poverty gap.

    “This preferential treatment granted to an undeserving industry deprives the nation of crucial revenue needed for public services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure development.’’

    ‘‘These waivers and grants not only undermine our country’s fiscal responsibility but also tacitly endorse an industry that poses significant health risks, affecting many Nigerians,’’ Zikora Ibeh, CAPPA’s Policy and Research Officer, added.

    In a similar vein, CAPPA’s statement also called for an increase in taxes on tobacco products to reduce consumption as well as safeguard public health.

  • Halt unjust fee hikes, commercialization of education, CAPPA tells FG

    Halt unjust fee hikes, commercialization of education, CAPPA tells FG

    The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has condemned the recent hike in school fees across public universities in Nigeria, saying they are outrageous.

    In a statement issued in Lagos, the group said that this disheartening trend was not just a knife in the back of poor students and their families struggling amid grim economic conditions, but also a direct assault on the fundamental right to education as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

    Highlighting the arbitrary and recent increments in school fees by the administrations of the University of Lagos, University of Maiduguri, and the Obafemi Awolowo University, among others, CAPPA expressed dismay that these increases persist despite directives from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Ministry of Education to public tertiary institutions to refrain from imposing additional financial strains on students.

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    According to the organization’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, “These astronomical fee increase have wrought devastating consequences already, with countless students being pushed out of the system, forced to watch their dreams crumble or resort to back-breaking, often perilous and mentally draining menial jobs to keep their academic hopes on life support. 

    Worse still, the government has failed to fulfill its commitment to alleviate the plight of impoverished Nigerian workers. The current minimum wage remains a pittance, yet to be increased despite repeated promises from state authorities. “This sad situation has further worsened the hardships of austerities and soaring living costs. To then expect already battered Nigerians to make additional sacrifices for their children’s education is to rub salt on an open wound,” the statement noted.

    CAPPA noted that while university authorities offer flimsy excuses, alleging that the fee hikes are inevitable due to current economic realities, it categorically rejects the warped narrative.