The Nation Newspaper

Tag: death

  • Death, the leveller of men!

    Death, the leveller of men!

    In recent times, we’ve seen the transition of the powerful, but we must not ignore the transition of millions of ordinary people, for their lives also count. We are reminded of John Donne’s famous admonition that we should “never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee”, as it reminds us of our shared humanity.

    For the high and mighty, we are reminded of the wise counsel of former French President Charles de Gaulle. When sycophants and party hacks tried to dissuade him from resigning, he sternly told them that “the graveyard is full of the bodies of indispensable men” before throwing them out. Those who, for their own convenience, turn humans into deities would be well-advised to always remember de Gaulle’s words.

    The key point is that people shouldn’t be terrified of death. Even figures like the biblical Methuselah have passed on, yet the world continues to exist. This demonstrates that no individual is indispensable to the continuation of the world. Perhaps what truly terrifies people is not death itself, but the possibility that their lives were never truly lived. This is not surprising, as our earthly journey is full of twists and turns, making us question our impact and purpose.

    Go to Atan Cemetery and you will find people with names like Málomó, Kòkúmó, and Dúrójayé. These names, which mean ‘Don’t go again’, ‘He did not die’, and ‘Endure life’, are a reflection of the human desire to cheat death. Yet, as de Gaulle said, they are all now in the graveyard, lifeless. If Àìkú, a name that means ‘one who does not die’, eventually succumbs, what does that tell us?

    The Yoruba proverb says it all: “Ikú á pa eni à ń pè. Ikú á pa eni tí ń pe ni!” (Death is no respecter of persons. It kills the Celebrator, it kills the Piper). Once upon a time, those whose destinies now lie in the graveyard were the ones feeding their families and paying their children’s school fees. They were the ones providing shelter. At one time or another, they all flew away, never to dwell in this wide, wild world of war again!

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    The lack of intellectual honesty in analyzing transient historical interludes is deeply disturbing. Today, assessments of the high and mighty are often based on the words of paid hacks whose objectivity is questionable at best. These are not serious analysts but revisionists serving a specific agenda.

    It is worth pondering the lasting impact of what the high and mighty and their often-delusional supporters do with the rare opportunities given to them. This leads to a crucial question: In any honest assessment, will they be given the same kudos 30 or 50 years from now?

    Kudos must be given to people like Jawaharlal Nehru, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahamadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Lateef Jakande and Sam Mbakwe. These individuals have not merely faded into history; they have become legends. They decisively altered the perception of public service, proving that it could be an endeavour of lasting, positive impact rather than a fleeting opportunity for self-interest.

    Again, consider the lasting impact of Brazil’s current president, Ignacio Lula da Silva. In his first two terms, his administration, through social programmes like Bolsa Família, lifted 40 million people out of poverty, significantly reducing income inequality. This was accomplished within a democracy with a genuine separation of powers, where he controlled only a minority of the National Assembly.

    “De mortuis nil nisi bonum.” The misinterpretation of the Latin admonition that we should not “Speak no ill of the dead”, attributed to the Greek philosopher Chilon of Sparta, is reckless, immoral, and self-serving. The claptrap is a deliberate, dishonest distortion of its original meaning. The correct interpretation is that one should be circumspect in expressing one’s opinion or verdict on people who are not there to defend themselves.

    Those who use this claim to silence criticism are practising a disingenuous form of opportunism. Does a fair assessment of figures like Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Pol Pot, Idi Amin and Mobutu Sese Seko constitute ‘speaking ill of the dead’? Awolowo and Okpara have been gone for decades, yet life has continued. The world doesn’t stop because a powerful person is no more. The idea that we must sanitize history out of some misguided respect for the dead is a convenient myth, not a moral imperative.

    A person with a game-changing track record has no need for adulators and paid opportunists to secure a deserving place in the pantheon of history. His contributions alone would have earned it. This is the way it should be!

  • Youth leader arrested over death of married lover during romp

    Youth leader arrested over death of married lover during romp

    • Allegedly fabricated kidnap escape testimony as cover-up

    Tuamene Nwibiagbor, a newly married Youth President of the Methodist Church, Rumukalagbor in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was oblivious of the fate that awaited him when he mounted the pulpit on the night of Friday, May 24 to give a testimony about how he miraculously escaped from kidnappers.

    While the congregants glorified the name of God and repeatedly shouted Alleluia as he delivered his theatrics on his purported encounter with the supposed kidnappers on May 14, which he claimed led to his phone being lost, plain clothed detectives who had tracked him to the church waited till the end of the service to arrest him over the killing of a married mother of three, Mrs. Perpetual Okeke, with whom he had an unholy rendezvous at De Reggy’s Hotel.

    Nwibiagbor had reconnected with the deceased woman at his wedding on April 27. The two, according to police findings, were lovers during their days at the Educational Management Department of Rivers State College of Education (now Ignatius Ajuru University of Education).

    They had dated between 2010 and 2012 when they graduated and lost contact only to reconnect at Nwibiagbor’s wedding and agreed to meet up privately on May 14.

    Our correspondent gathered that the duo met at Rumuola Junction on the agreed date and proceeded to the hotel located at Rumuigbo, where Nwibiagbor booked a room and they had some romps.

    But Nwibiagbor, whose marriage was barely 17 days old, left the room afterwards without the woman and never returned.

    Suspecting a foul play, the hotel went for a check and found the woman lifeless. They subsequently alerted the police about the mysterious death of the woman in the room and how the man she came with fled.

    Armed with this information, detectives began investigation by analysing the close circuit television (CCTV) footages of the duo and processing information from the deceased woman’s phone.

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    It was gathered that the police could not locate his residence as he did not provide that information while booking the hotel room. The most practical option left was to track his phone which he had switched off deliberately.  

    While he was at the vigil narrating his false kidnap story as testimony, the same phone he told the crowd had lost was in his pocket. He also did not know that the police had located him and had embedded themselves in the congregation waiting to grab the target their tracking device indicated was in the church.

    A source that was privy to the case said: “His theatrical performance and praise for God’s deliverance were met with enthusiastic responses from the congregation but the police team was not swayed by his story.

    “As the service ended and the congregation congratulated Tuamene, the detectives approached and arrested him.

    “Initially, he denied any involvement in the woman’s death, but when the police obtained a search warrant and discovered the sky-blue outfit and bag he had worn on the day of the incident, he confessed to being with the deceased.”

    During interrogation, Nwibiagbor claimed that the woman started sneezing and convulsing shortly after they had fun, adding that he fled the scene when he saw that he could not help her.

    He also told the police that the woman was very active during their intercourse as they explored different positions.

    Contacted, the Rivers State Police Commissioner, CP Olatunji Disu, commended the officers of the command for their swift and professional handling of the case.

    He said investigation had commenced to ascertain the exact cause of death, adding that autopsy would reveal if there were drugs or any substance in her system.

  • Man stabs wife to death over missing phone

    Man stabs wife to death over missing phone

    A man in Adamawa State has been arrested for stabbing his wife to death over his missing phone.

    The 33-year-old Ibrahim Abubakar, reportedly accused his wife, Hajara Sa’adu, 25, of taking his phone, following which there was an argument that apparently resulted into him using a knife against the wife.

    Adamawa Police Command said the suspect, who resides in the Sabon Gari area of Girei Local Government Area, stabbed the deceased around her back repeatedly.

    The Nation gathered Tuesday the  incident took place about 4.30 am on Monday, April 8 when he needed his phone but could not find it.

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    Adamawa Police Public Relations Officer, SP Suleiman Nguroje, who confirmed the incident, said Abubakar, a professional butcher, stabbed his wife and left her in a pool of blood.

    Nguroje explained that the suspect was arrested after the father of the deceased reported the matter to the police.

    He added that preliminary investigation led to the recovery of the blood-stained knife that the suspect used on his wife.

    He said the suspect had actually confessed his act, expressing the regret of killing the mother of their only child.

  • Death on the wheel

    Death on the wheel

    • Such tragedies can be averted by routine health checks

    The shocking story of a commercial bus driver, on a University of Ilorin (Unilorin) shuttle dropping dead on the wheel, is a reminder of the grim possibilities of sudden death. 

    That can be minimised though, by simple health checks. But these checks can’t be mainstreamed without mass health literacy; and without tamping down fatalism — what will be, will be — among faith zealots, even among the most sophisticated.

    That’s the challenge facing governments of the federation, particularly the local governments. Local governments are supposed to run primary health care, the very base of the health care pyramid, with a stress on prevention which is better — and far cheaper — than cure.

    The driver’s case was truly shocking. But it could have been more tragic — leading to a crash and possible loss of lives and limbs — had one of the passengers, closest to the driver, not known one or two things about cars. Aside, he was also very alert.

    His direct, eye-witness account: “The other person beside me just called my attention, shouting: ‘Baba!’ [referring to the slumping driver] multiple times. By the time I looked up, he was already gasping, and the bus was drifting away from the road. I had to press the brake, take control, and bring it to a halt. He was pronounced dead at the school clinic. Everything happened within 30 minutes.”

    Thirty minutes! That might look very sudden for a life ebbing away. But the warning signs would have built up for days, even months. 

    Still, a stark health illiterate — even among the generally literate — wouldn’t notice anything, beyond the odd dizziness here or a splitting headache there. Sound health education schools you to attentively listen to your body; and act immediately to fob off a crisis. That would appear not the case of the ill-fated Ilorin driver. We can only commiserate with the family and friends he left behind.

    With a biting economy and a very harsh weather, stress is very common, even among the well-heeled. Indeed, stress would appear the most acute global threat to wellness. With the daily hustle getting more grinding: the poor getting over-worked for less pay; but the rich also falling victim to own peculiar lifestyles, stress appears inevitable, in modern, exerting living.

    Which is why everyone must take basic precautions: in routine medical tests to gauge cholesterol level, blood pressure, fasting lipid profile, fasting blood sugar, full blood count and cardio-vascular capacity, as advised by doctors.

    Cholesterol level: to gauge and control excessive, thus injurious, fat in the blood; blood pressure: to monitor and control abnormally high blood or low blood pressure — the one can lead to stroke; the other can paralyse bodily activities. Both can be fatal; fasting lipid profile: to avoid needless dizziness, leading to sudden slumps; fasting blood sugar level: to fend off diabetes; full blood count: to confirm there is neither excess nor shortage of blood; cardio-vascular capacity: to ensure the heart is strong and sound, since it’s the “pump” that energises the bodily functions, and BMI — body mass index — test: to ensure healthy weight, as against underweight, overweight and obesity.

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    Aside from these basic tests, add a kidney function test. Kidney failures don’t often manifest symptoms until it’s too late. A liver function test is also necessary, particularly for folks that quaff a lot of alcohol and also smoke.

    Women should also do a complete hormonal make-up test to get a glimpse of the general wellness of their body. Women — 40 and above — should do a mammogram, which can detect lumps in the breast to prevent breast cancer, so prevalent in the West African region. For men above 45, a prostate test is imperative, before it becomes cancerous. Again, prostate cancer is most prevalent among the African male.

    For many however, the challenge is not health literacy or otherwise. Even for many families with sound health education, funding is always a big challenge, which leaves many folks to live in denial, hoping the worst wouldn’t come.

    That funding challenge has made imperative the mainstreaming of health insurance. Here, Lagos State has taken the bold initiative with its “Ilera Eko” scheme, with a premium plus, for an individual, going for as low as N15, 000 a year. Other states — and the Federal Government too — should push similar policies and aggressively mainstream them as the Lagos government is now doing, among the various economic demographics.

    But as important as medical tests are, dietary discipline is also critical to wellness. So, the government should, as part of a public health emergency, invest in dietitians as public health educators, to mainstream mass dietary literacy. After all, a heathy nation is a strong nation.

  • Furore over mysterious death of UK-bound First Class graduate

    Furore over mysterious death of UK-bound First Class graduate

    • How simple medical check-up terminated her life seven days to foreign trip
    • Police arrest hospital’s manager, interrogate two doctors

    The police in Rivers State have launched an investigation into the painful death of Rebecca Sekidika, a 24-year-old first class graduate of Microbiology.

    The death of Rebecca, a vivacious and brilliant daughter of Sampson Sekidika, who hails from Okirika Local Government Area, Rivers State, occurred at the theatre of Paragon Clinics and Imaging situated in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

    Her journey to untimely grave was painful and brief. The promising beautiful girl was hale and hearty when she walked into the hospital’s theatre for a minor medical procedure but an hour later, she had become lifeless in a pool of blood like a dead cow on the slaughter slab.

    If Rebecca’s parents, especially her wealthy father who has been working as a COREN-certified engineer for the Nigeria LNG Limited for about 25 years had the premonition of the danger that lurked around, they would have discouraged their daughter from seeking further inquiries into her minor health problem.

    But February 2, 2024 began like a normal day.

    Rebecca had advanced her preparations to travel abroad in pursuit of further studies. Her first destination would have been the Brain Station in the UK. She was billed to travel on February 9. Her father had already secured the required visa and paid for her flight and accommodation for a six-month course on Software Engineering.

    The plan was that after her six-month course, Rebecca would settle down for her master’s degree and her PhD.

    Indeed, she had already parked her belongings to take off for her trip before she decided to know her health status and to have her medical record handy. The UK-bound student was already undergoing online classes before the incident.

    The only complaint that moved her to seek a medical inquiry about her health was her delayed menstruation. She had gone for some weeks without observing her menses. Hence she became curious and wanted to know why.

    Her curiosity took her to Paragon, a hospital serving as a retainer in Port Harcourt for the LNG where her father works. But that singular decision has become a source of agony and regrets for the Sekidikas.

    Sekidika, who could not control his tears, recalled that her daughter had gone to the hospital prior to February 2, ran some medical examinations, including a pregnancy test, which turned out to be negative. He said the hospital advised her to return on the aforementioned date for further examination.

    The engineer said: “Prior to February 2nd, my daughter had a brief clinical visit to Paragon Clinics and Imaging located at Number 96 Stadium Road.

    “The complaint was that she had not seen her menstruation for a while. So she needed to know why. When she had the clinical visit they subjected her to some tests including pregnancy test which came out to be all negative.

    “But they called her again to say she needed to see a specialist for the final examination. The specialist booked an appointment with her to come between 12 and 1pm on the 2nd of February for a simple procedure they called hysteroscopy.

    “It is just a procedure that involves using a tube and a light bulb through the vagina to check if there is anything in the uterus. It is purely for diagnostic purposes. It takes between 15 to 20 minutes depending on the doctor. They have a monitor to check. It doesn’t involve giving anaesthetic. It doesn’t involve any surgery.”

    On the fateful day, Sekidika drove her daughter and her mother (his wife) in his car to the hospital to undergo the procedure. They waited for the doctor for more than four hours but to no avail.

    Maybe the long wait was a tell-tale sign for the parents to take their daughter home, but the senior Sekidika was no longer within the hospital; he had gone to attend to some issues within the city.

    However, when he called at about 3pm to find out from his wife whether the doctor was around, he was told that they were still waiting for the specialist. In fact, the wife told him that his daughter was already online undergoing a virtual class with other students on her laptop.

    At 4pm, the father, who felt that they had waited for too long, raced down to the hospital to take them home.

    The traumatised Sekidika said: “I took my daughter. She was healthy. She had no medical condition. I took her with the mother to the clinic. When we got there the doctor didn’t show up between 12 and 1pm.

    “I decided to leave them there to go and do one or two things and come back to meet them. At about 3pm, I called my wife and she said the doctor was still not around.

    “She said my daughter had even started online classes because she went with her laptop. They were doing online classes because the physical classes would start on Monday.

    “She was supposed to travel on the 9th for her masters and PhD. Everything had been arranged, including flights.

    “At 4pm, I called and they said the doctor was still not around. I decided to be on my way to go and pick them.”

    On getting to the hospital, it was already late. The engineer explained that when he got to the hospital, he was told that her daughter walked into the theatre at about 4:30pm.

    He said: “But when I got there close to 5pm, they had already taken her to theatre at about 4:30pm. I asked why theatre and they said it was where they had the monitor.

    “Since they started around 4:30pm, by 5pm she should have been out, but she was not out. At 5:30pm my wife heard a shout from the theatre: ‘Rebecca, wake up!’ That could be when she passed, I don’t know.

    “We saw them running around, going in and, out and they were not telling us anything. They only told us, ‘Everything is okay. Your daughter is fine.’ We didn’t know she had died.

    “Around 7pm, the doctors came out and broke the sad news to us: ‘Sorry, we did everything we could, your daughter has passed’”.

    Sekidika and the wife died temporarily with the news of their daughter’s passage. While the father was numb, lost in thought and gazed motionlessly, the wife was screaming, crying and throwing herself up and down. Where did they go wrong?

    The engineer said: “It was as if I was dreaming. I only asked God to wake me up from this bad dream.

    “My wife started shouting and throwing herself up and down. During this period, the doctor, anaesthetist and nurses all disappeared at the third floor, leaving us there with the lifeless body.

    “They ran, and where they went to, l didn’t know. In the process of shouting and crying, my wife called her sons and told them what happened to their sister. It was around 10pm.

    “When we went into the theatre, we saw blood all over my daughter’s body and on the floor. I was confused.

    “I have the gory pictures. I didn’t know why the blood. Nobody explained to me.”

    Sekidika said while in the confused state, his colleague, who had heard what happened, rushed to the hospital to see him. He said it was the colleague, who dragged him to the office of the doctor and the anaesthetist.

    He said: “My colleague came and dragged me down to see the doctor and the anaesthetist, and when we got to them, my colleague asked them what happened. The doctor pointed to the anaesthetist and said he gave her spinal anaesthesia.

    “The doctor said 30 minutes after he gave her, she said she wanted to throw up and from there she started throwing up blood. At that point, the doctor said he became confused, he didn’t know what to do.

    “They tried to see how they would manage the situation until she lost too much blood and passed.

    “When we came out I was still confused. I didn’t know they were going to give my daughter spinal anaesthesia.

    “Experts have already analysed the situation. Spinal anaesthetic is only given during a major operation. My immediate elder sister is a consultant physician. Her husband is a surgeon.

    “I could easily go to any other hospital and take care of it. But this hospital is a retainer with my company. The company refers us there.

    “We go there for clinical visits. But this does not entail any surgery or any form of opening up. That was why we went to this particular retainer qualified by my own company. I didn’t go there on my own”.

    Sekidika said he had to reach out to his sister, the consultant physician, and told her how her niece passed at the hospital

    He said: “I told my sister that I didn’t understand what they were saying. It was 12 midnight already. My sister came with her husband, went up and saw the niece and started crying. She almost fainted.

    “The husband took her to see the doctor and the anaesthetist that did this. The doctor explained a similar thing that 30 minutes into the procedure he noticed that the girl was throwing up blood.

    “This means that in the process of using the tube, they ruptured an artery or a vessel. The anaesthetic was killing her and then the rupture. So she bled throughout.

    “My sister turned to the anaesthetist and asked, you gave her spinal anaesthetic; what for? She said even D and C and evacuation are done without anaesthetic.”

    Sekidika believes that the hospital killed her daughter out of sheer negligence. But the hospital, in the sighted death certificate it issued to the family, wrote that the girl died out of coronary failure due to pulmonary embolism/vascular rupture.

    The engineer has vowed to secure justice. He immediately reported the matter to the police following the advice of his company.

    He said the police had begun investigation into the matter, adding that the hospital and persons involved in the painful and untimely death of his daughter must be brought to book.

    It was also gathered that the NLNG had opened an independent investigations into the incident with a view to helping the family get justice and reviewing its relationship with the hospital.

    The hospital, however, evaded inquiries about the incident. The reporter visited the hospital and demanded to speak to either the Chief Medical Director or the Manager, but the female receptionist said the CMD doubled as the manager.

    After filling the visitation form, the receptionist demanded to know the purpose of the visit. When she was told, she made some intercom calls and eventually said the person who was supposed to attend to the inquiry was not on seat.

    She took the reporter’s telephone number and promised to call him but she failed to do so. When our correspondent called the telephone number on the hospital’s website, the receiver, who identified himself as Chima, also promised to relay the inquiry to the management.

    The police have since intensified investigation into the circumstances that led to the tragic end of Rebecca.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed that the manager of the hospital had been arrested and two other doctors were invited in connection with Rebecca’s death.

    Iringe-Koko expressed dismay that an earlier invitation by the police to the doctor and the person that administered the anaesthetic was not honoured.

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    She said: “Yes, I can confirm that the manager has been arrested. We have also invited the doctor and one other person as part of our investigation. The matter has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for proper investigation.”

    But while the investigation is ongoing, Sekidika and his family are grieving. “If there is something I don’t wish my enemy to go through, it is this emotional trauma,” he said.

    Explaining the bond between him and her later daughter, he said: “She was my second child but my first daughter. We have been together as a close family. I have four, two girls and two boys, but they have taken away one.

    “Father-daughter relationship is always very strong. This is someone that was very promising. She had everything going for her. You can imagine someone going for her masters and PhD.

    “To send someone to abroad for studies by this time is not easy.  You can imagine what I have gone through in opening up all accounts to get her money to send her overseas.

    “Imagine the bond that we share as a closely-knit family. She was supposed to have her 25th birthday on the 29th of May. She was the event planner for the mother’s 50th birthday on the 10th of May.

    “She said she was going to plan the magazine and monitor everything through zoom.”

    Sekidika urged the police to be thorough in their investigation with particular reference to the foul play that dimmed his star.

    He said: “I was there when the foul play took place. First and foremost they didn’t tell us they were going to give her spinal anaesthetic. They said it was a simple procedure. That is already a red flag.

    “In the course of the procedure you ruptured a vessel. You were coming out and going in without telling the parents who were outside the problem.”

    He said if the hospital had told them exactly what happened before her daughter’s death, he would have called her sister and the husband to immediately activate an emergency process to save her life.

    He said: “I am asking for justice. I don’t wish my enemy to go through what we are going through as a family. Full investigation must go into this case. It is now between the police and them.

    “A legal autopsy must be carried out to determine the real cause of death.

    “From the report of the autopsy we will seek legal redress. If it is established she died out of incompetence and sheer negligence, the law knows what to do with them.

    “I lived most of my life overseas. I studied them. If we were overseas, first and foremost they would have sealed that hospital because every minute something similar will happen again.

    “I want my own case to be the last. I will do everything to get justice. I want them to bring these people to book.”

    Painfully, even Sekidika knows that justice will not bring her daughter back to life. Forever, the memories of her lovely daughter will continue to resonate in him. He will continue to imagine the pains she passed through before giving up as well as her unfulfilled dreams and aspirations.

  • Death with malice

    Death with malice

    • On both sides, the allies of Akeredolu and Aiyedatiwa betrayed bad faith

    As lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa steps into his second week as the man at the helm in Ondo State, the transition of power from the deceased and ebullient Governor Rotimi Akeredolu still seems incomplete.

    Other than the mourning, a sense of unspent rancour mixes with premature jubilation. Before he died, the former governor and his allies locked horns with the allies of now Governor Aiyedatiwa who was his deputy and later acting governor.

    There was a sense of excess on both sides. A haste to impeach Aiyedatiwa that got hooked in the court of law, while the then deputy acted as though he saw himself taking over even while his boss still battled with the debilitations of blood cancer (Leukemia) and prostate cancer.

    The impression lingered, and with palpable justifications, that Aiyedatiwa would not allow Akeredolu to, in the words of the Poet Dylan Thomas, “go gentle into that good night.” While Akeredolu was raging “against the dying of the light,” Aiyedatiwa seemed, in the eyes of not a few, stoking a different sort of fire to burn the man out of office and existence.

    No matter how exaggerated or even false these impressions may seem about Aiyedatiwa, it is a lesson in patience and respect in our political realm. The final months also showed how the malice and ambition of politics can soil the sacred, devalue life and diminish the privilege of public service.

    On the part of the Akeredolu allies, the stories of forgery can never be ascertained, but few have justified why the governor, when he returned from treatment abroad, domiciled at his home in Ibadan even though Akure is the state’s seat of power. No explanation was adduced and an air of defiance marked the silence of his team.

    The paradox was that while similar incident happened in the past, Akeredolu resonated as a voice of conscience when former President Umar Yar’adua was on his deathbed. Forces of change and egos of incumbency duelled over whether the nation’s highest office holder should relinquish his hold on the saddle. Akeredolu berated the president’s allies. It will be precipitous to judge the late governor and tar him with double standards because we cannot say he was in good enough health to make a stand. This also raises the issue of transparency in our leaders because the public, especially Ondo State citizens, had no clear knowledge about his health, whether he was recuperating or dying.

    There were also yet unproved allegations against his wife that traversed the decencies of a first lady’s role into the forbidden terrain of tribe. It unveiled how bitter it was.

    In the final analysis, both sides did not treasure enough the voter who had a big stake in the health of the governor’s office. Health, in this sense, bore an elastic definition, as it was not just about the physical wellbeing of one man, but the psychology of both sides.

    We must recognise that we do not place superhumans in office, and every man or woman voted into office could face the wild forage of disease or pain. In such a case, the least the public expects is the barest minimum of information. We did not get it.

    We need the health of a leader to make judgements about education, infrastructure, healthcare and other weighty matters. So, if one man is ill, if he or she does not act in the full mental and physical powers, it could impale a million others in ways that are difficult to determine or prevent. It may even harm a future by harming the present.

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    The greed for power often beclouds these considerations. The pity is that such values necessary from players cannot be legislated. We can only hope for a ruddy sense of legacy when such crisis erupts.

    After his death, we were appalled with the haste with which Aiyedatiwa was sworn in. He was already the acting governor. He might have waited a few more days. He declared three days of mourning, and it was a right thing for his service to the state and respect for his stature as a public servant. While this was on, he allowed himself to be sworn in. He was not a deputy. He was already the chief executive of the state with full authority under the constitution. He did not require fanfare or the extravagance of clothing. It was a great day in the life and career of Aiyedatiwa but it was also an hour of mourning. If he were a deputy and not operating in an acting capacity, it would be understandable if he was sworn in. In that case, law needed to upend culture.

    But given our culture of revering the dead and the air of mutual suspicion and disrespect and accusations of sacrilege, he might have waited. When John F. Kennedy was assassinated in April, 1963, Lyndon Johnson was sworn in immediately in an aircraft jammed with his aides, his wife and Kennedy’s wife. Johnson was not acting. The position did not abide a deputy. It was solemn and without fanfare, even if they do not have our perspective on the soul and respect of the dead.

    It was Aiyedatiwa’s lack of sense of location and time that made him utter the words, “a ku orire,” meaning “congratulations to us.” Some have asserted that it was justified since, in Yorubaland, the king never dies. He only travels. Even then, the king is not replaced in a ceremony immediately or within hours.

    We run a democracy, not a monarchy, so we must respect where modernity calls for restraint. By uttering those words, he seemed to have soiled the sacred stream and grinned over his predecessor’s grave. If he did not realise it, he reflected a naïve lack of cultural intelligence. If he knew, it was unfortunate.

    In spite of the hoopla over it, he has failed to address it, not even with his own side of the perspectives. Or even an apology. It is unfair to show mirth while mourning a person you once deferred to as a benefactor and mentor and who called you a friend and publicly vowed to advance your ambition to succeed him. There was a patently partisan echo, though; in those who condemn his seeming hilarity. There was truth in the charge, nonetheless.

    All of these happened because of the bitterness on both sides and lack of decency, also on both sides. The drama of the last days of Governor Akeredolu did not ennoble our political class or even governance. It highlighted a rancorous juvenility we also want to expunge.

  • Seven celebrities who were victorious over death rumours

    Seven celebrities who were victorious over death rumours

    Death in the Nigerian entertainment industry for a long while seems to be better acknowledged than life for some reason. This is because the news of an entertainer’s death oftentimes earns more reactions from netizens than news of their birthdays. 

    In the age of social media, rumours and fake news can spread like wildfire, leading to stories that can cause unnecessary panic and concern.

    Nigerian celebrities, in particular, have not been immune to death rumours circulating online. 

    Despite the false reports, some personalities have faced such challenges head-on, proving that they are very much alive and well.

    Here are a few Nigerian celebrities who have been victorious over death rumours.

    1. Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD): 

    Richard Mofe-Damijo, a veteran actor has also been a victim of death rumours. 

    In 2016, RMD was involved in a ghastly car accident in Delta state. His survival from the accident was regarded as a miracle due to the extent of damage done to the car from the accident which stemmed rumours that the actor was dead.

    Addressing the false reports on his Instagram page, he assured his fans that he was very much alive and urged them not to believe everything they read online. 

    The husband of former TV presenter, Jumola, wrote: “Hello people, please I am not dead neither was I in a coma following my accident. I came out without a scratch by Gods grace.

    “My wife Jumobi turned 40 today and its a happy day for the entire family. Please quell the rumours. Have a good night.”

    2. D’banj

    In 2012, Dapo Oyebanjo, better known as D’banj was rumoured to have died after he was shot by three gunmen in Atlanta. 

    Reacting to the flase news, the ‘Oliver Twist’ crooner wrote on Twitter(now X) saying: “Pls ignore the nonsense rumours. I’m very much alive and well! Thanks be to God! Thanks you 4 all ur concern.”

    3. Sky B

    A singer, Sky B has also been rumoured to have died in 2019 after suffering a heart attack and was found unconscious in his home. 

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    The ‘Ma Bebe’ crooner, however debunked the rumours saying: “The rumor about my death started after acting a movie last week in Owerri, I died in the movie not in real life. The main one that hit the net was the one that happened yesterday around 2:30am I had an emergency which I was taken to the hospital and I called a few friends to pray for me and I updated on my status that I was critically ill and needed prayers only for me to come out after hours of taking drip to hear about my death rumor everywhere. I was shocked at first but, now I thank God today that I didn’t die and I can’t die and please let no one post anything about my death.”

    4. Pete Edochie

    Former broadcaster and actor, Pete Edochie, considered to be one of the continent’s most talented actors has also been the victim of death rumours.

    In 2016, His son and actor, Yul, debunked the death rumours saying: “My father Chief Pete Edochie is alive and well. What do people gain from spreading these fake rumours without confirmation? Its just crazy.”

    5. Chiwetalu Agu

    In February 2020, veteran actor, Chiwetalu Agu, debunked the death rumours circulating about him. Taking to his Instagram account, he wrote: “If you see such nonsense posts on Facebook, please report the owner of the account.”

    6. Angela Okorie

    Actress, singer and former model, Angela Okorie, has also had her fair share of death rumours.

    In 2014, the actress was mistaken for another actress and declared dead on social media. Some had even started commiserating with her family before Okorie took to Instagram to assure her fans that she was very much alive. 

    She wrote: “I am not dead; I’m balling hard. As a matter of fact, 150 years have been added to my age. I bear the mark of Jesus Christ. RIP to all the people who used my photo on their blogs, newspapers, and social media status, saying I, Angela Okorie, am dead. I’m still the unstoppable moving train. My God is alive.”

    7. Tony Umez

    In September 2023, actor Tony Umez was rumoured to have passed away. 

    The actor however, while debunking the rumours threatened to take legal action against the persons behind it as it is causing unnecessary distress to his loved ones and fans. 

    Taking to his Instagram account, Umez wrote: “Good day, my lovely people. I need to address this disturbing issue that has come to my attention. There are some unscrupulous individuals who have been using my pictures and videos maliciously, falsely reporting me as deceased in order to gain traffic to their pages.

    “First and foremost, I want to assure you that I am very much alive and well. These false reports are nothing but baseless rumours spread by individuals with ill intentions.

    “I will be taking legal action against these persons, as their actions not only infringe upon my rights but also cause unnecessary distress to my loved ones and fans.

    “I understand the power of social media and the impact it can have on spreading information. However, it is disheartening to see how it can be misused by a few to spread false news for personal gain.

    “I urge you all to be vigilant and only trust information that comes directly from me or my official channels. Love you all loads.”

    The prevalence of death rumours in the age of social media is a reminder of the importance of fact-checking and responsible information sharing. 

    These instances serve as a testament to the power of social media in spreading both accurate and inaccurate information, and the importance of celebrities using their platforms to set the record straight.

  • ‘How to defend persons facing death penalty’

    ‘How to defend persons facing death penalty’

    Criminal defence lawyers in Nigeria and Ghana have been sensitised on defending Persons Facing Death Penalty.

    The training which took place in Abuja intends to prepare the lawyers on how to provide quality legal services to capital offenders and, at the same time increase their knowledge and expertise in criminal defence.

    It also aims to increase their commitment to pro bono legal services, which they can on their own continue to extend to other indigent persons.

    The program was organised by Hope Behind Bars Africa, Center for Legal Support and Inmate Rehabilitation, and The Inclusion Project; all members of the Nigerian Alumni of the Makwanyane Institute hosted by the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide.

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    Executive Director Hope Behind Bars Africa, Mrs. Funke Adeoye, said the programme was funded in part by the Makwanyane Institute Stewardship Grant.

    Adeoye said: “The training workshop is to prepare the lawyers to provide quality legal services to capital offenders and, at the same time to increase their knowledge and expertise in criminal defence, increase their commitment to pro bono legal services, which they can on their own continue to extend to other indigent persons. The trained capital defenders will also be encouraged to conduct cascade training for other regional lawyers.

    “The Makwanyane Institute is named after the landmark judgement of the South African Constitutional Court which presided over the decision abolishing the death penalty in South Africa.”

  • 3,298 on death row

    3,298 on death row

    No fewer than 3,298 persons are on death row due to governors’ failure to sign death warrants, rights groups the Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS) and the Inclusion Project (TIP) said yesterday.

    They urged the Federal Government to set up an official moratorium (or suspension) on the use of the death penalty in Nigeria.

    In a statement on the 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty, the groups also urged the Federal Government to embark on comprehensive prison reforms to improve the living conditions of death row inmates.

    October 10 is World Day Against the Death Penalty, a day set aside every year to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. The theme for 2023 is: “The death penalty; an irreversible torture.”

    It aims to raise awareness of the inhuman living conditions of people sentenced to death and their physical and psychological sufferings that amount to torture.

    HURILAWS and TIP, in a joint statement by the legal directors Collins Okeke and Pamela Okoroigwe, joined the global community to call for an official moratorium and the abolition of the death penalty in Nigeria.  

    The statement reads: “The Nigerian Constitution guarantees the right to life and respect for the dignity of the human person, including the right not to be subjected to torture, but the criminal justice system does otherwise.

    “The following language must be used by the judge while delivering the death penalty under our legal system: ‘The sentence of the court upon you is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead, and may the lord have mercy on your soul.’

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    “While a judge must formally rule on this following a conviction for a capital offence, the law compels the governor to execute the sentence or order its commutation to life in prison, another prison term, or a pardon at the recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy.

    “In practice, since May 29, 1999, most state governors have failed, refused, or neglected to sign warrants of execution. The result is that death sentences are handed down by the courts and are not carried out.

    “According to data made available by the Nigerian Correctional Service, 3,298 persons are known to be under the sentence of death in Nigeria as of April 2023. For many of these death row prisoners, conditions are traumatic, harsh, and dehumanising.

    “Most death row cells are seven by eight feet, shared by three to five people, the cells are dark and with hardly any ventilation. Prisoners use buckets as toilets and sleep on the bare floor.”

  • Rising death toll amid widespread arms proliferation

    Rising death toll amid widespread arms proliferation

    Over the past decade, Nigeria has been plagued by a disturbing surge in gun violence, leading to the tragic loss of lives and serious humanitarian crises. While the government has taken measures to combat this issue by establishing the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), persistent challenges such as inadequate resources, staffing limitations, and delays in enacting critical legislation, particularly the National Commission for the Coordination and Control of the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons Bill 2022, have hindered the Center’s ability to fully fulfil its mandate. MUSA UMAR BOLOGI highlights the challenges in tackling the gun pandemic and their far-reaching implications.

    Sixty-two year-old Hassan Yusuf, who was battling with illness, was inside his hut alongside his wives and children in Magami village in Shiroro local government area of Niger State when terrorists forced their way in, dragged him out and shot him in full public glare. His son, who wanted to intervene, was also shot and killed. The criminals left Yusuf’s family grappling with trauma and agony that they continue to endure to this day. Like Yusuf’s household in the North-Central, the Olorunda family in Ilesha, Osun State, in the South-West geopolitical zone, are also nursing the pains brought on them by marauders who stalk the country with illegally acquired weapons of death. Olorunda was killed by a stray bullet during a clash between rival cult groups—a situation that is prevalent in the southern part of the country.

     Although the culprits were later arrested by the Police, the family never got their son back. This is the agony of the devastating effects of gun proliferation and the consequent deaths and destruction the anomaly has inflicted on the country. And Yusuf and Olorunda are just a few examples of casualties of this menace. Nigeria is plagued by insecurity across the six geo-political zones – terrorism in the North-East, banditry and kidnapping in North-West, herders/farmers crisis in the North-Central, separatist agitation in the South-East, cult clashes in South-West, and oil theft in the South-South. This violence, according to experts, is usually perpetrated through small arms and light weapons (SALW), such as rifles and pistols. While some of these guns are imported through various illegal means, others are made locally.

     The proliferation of these arms has contributed enormously to the insecurity and deaths of thousands of people in the country. Recent data obtained from Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), a project of the Council on Foreign Relations, which documents and maps violence in Nigeria that is motivated by political, economic or social grievances, revealed that 63,111 people were killed in the last eight years due to terrorism, banditry, herders/farmers clashes, communal crises, cult clashes, and extrajudicial killings.

    The link between small arms and insecurity

    There is a unanimous consent among security experts and researchers that the proliferation of small arms poses serious challenges to the sustenance of peace and stability of any society. They also agreed that the availability of SALW has a direct influence on the escalation and sustenance of insecurity. “The local roots and causes of insecurity are numerous and diverse. However, in nearly all these cases, the diffusion of small arms has played a decisive role in the escalation, intensification and resolution of insecurity,” says Dr. Osimen Goddy Uwa, Senior lecturer and Associate Research Fellow in the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti.

     In his 2022 research paper entitled “Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation and Problem of National Security in Nigeria,” Uwa stated that although Nigeria’s problem with SALWs is not new, “its increasing availability in the last decade has helped to stoke a wave of insurgencies, ethno-religious conflicts, cross-border banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes.” Also, between May 2019 and April 2020, SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence, with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), conducted a study into the proliferation of small arms in Nigeria and the links this proliferation has with mass atrocities and mass migration. The report of the study concluded that there is interconnection between the concepts as “proliferation of small arms drives mass atrocities, which triggers the movement of people within Nigeria.”

    A trail from the past

    Nigeria’s border with its neighbours and booming business of gun-running has been blamed for gun proliferation in the country. Over the past decade, arms proliferation in Nigeria continues to rise especially after the fall of Libya, as thousands of illicit guns found their ways through the Sahara and Sahel into Nigeria. A three-year study into the proliferation of weapons used by armed groups involved in Nigeria’s herder-farmer conflict, by the Conflict Armament Research (CAR), an independent investigative organisation based in the United Kingdom, “shows that most of the weapons were smuggled into the country from Libya, Turkey and Côte d’Ivoire.”

     Former President Muhammadu Buhari also shared the same view, when he said at the 16th Summit of Heads of State and Government that “a substantial proportion of the arms and ammunition procured to execute the war in Libya continues to find its way to the Lake Chad region and other parts of the Sahel.” He had said that despite the successes recorded by troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force and the various ongoing national operations in the region, terrorists’ threats still lurk in the region due to increasing arms proliferation. A security expert, Dr Abdullahi Muhammad Jabi, said arms proliferation surged in the country after the fall of countries like Somalia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and most recently Niger. “A lot of arms and ammunition come into these countries from the western nations, whose main interest is to sell their military equipment. And they know they can only do that in a country where there is conflict or instability,” he said.

    Jabi, who is the Secretary-General, International Institute of Professional Security (IIPF), Abuja, said unless coups are stopped in Africa, arms proliferation will continue in the continent. Although Nigeria’s porous borders are always the first culprit for arms proliferation, there are several ways to get a gun in Nigeria, and one of such is through the local blacksmith. There are several examples of blacksmiths that make local guns for hunters and vigilantes. A non-governmental organisation observing arms globally, Gun Policy, mentioned in a 2016 report that “unregistered and unlawfully held guns cannot be counted, but in Nigeria, they are estimated to be between 1,000,000 to 350,000,000.”

    Also, a recent report by SBM Intelligence noted that about 6,154,000 SALWs are illegally circulating among civilian non-state actors and criminals in Nigeria. According to the report, of this number only a total of 224,200 and 362,400 firearms were in the possession of the military and other law enforcement agencies, respectively. These ugly revelations on arms proliferation in Nigeria aren’t good news, particularly at this time the country is facing serious security challenges.

    Dangers

    The proliferation of SALWs is believed to have aided non-state actors like Boko Haram, bandits, militants and insurgents. It also undermines the state’s monopoly of instruments of coercion, portraying the country’s security system as weak. Another danger arises when SALWs fall into the hands of non-state actors: they become instruments of terror wielded by those who have no regard for international laws and conventions, thus complicating conflict resolution. Perhaps, it is the former Secretary General of UN, Kofi Anan that succinctly described the dangers of arms proliferation in his famous Year 2000 millennium report to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). According to him, “The death toll from small arms dwarfs that of all other weapons systems – and in most years greatly exceeds the toll of atomic bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In terms of the carnage they cause, small arms, indeed, could well be described as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Small arms proliferation is not merely a security issue: it is also an issue of human right and development. The proliferation of small arms sustains and exacerbates armed conflicts. It endangers peacekeepers and workers. It undermines respect for international humanitarian laws. It threatens legitimate but weak governments and it benefits terrorists as well as the perpetrators of organised crime.”

    Halting SALW proliferation

    Over the years, successive administrations in the country have tried to curtail proliferation of small arms and light weapons through regulations, such as Firearms Prohibition Act. However, in May 2021, the Federal Government established the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), in line with the requirements of Article 24 of the ECOWAS Convention for the Establishment of Small Arms and Light Weapons Commissions by the member states, with the aim of stopping firearms proliferation in the region. The NCCSALW was established to replace the defunct Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and is to serve as the institutional mechanism for policy guidance, research and monitoring of all aspects of SALWs in Nigeria.

    The Centre, domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), has a broad mandate to coordinate and implement activities to counter the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, build public awareness about the dangers of illegal arms, and strengthen legislation and operational capacities to prevent, trace and eradicate illicit small arms and light weapons. Since its establishment two years ago, the Centre under the National Coordinator, Major General Abba Muhammad Dikko (retired), a former Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole and Corps Commander Artillery, Nigerian Army, has pursued its mandate with vigour, and recorded several feats. Dikko, in his message on the Centres website, said it is his “utmost desire to position the Centre in light of prevailing insecurity caused by wanton circulation of illicit arms in the country through its vision, mission and core functions to promote an illicit arms-free society.”

    With this mind-set, the Centre activated some departments and zonal offices in the six geopolitical zones of the country as contained in the Technical Review Committee (TRC) report, in order to quickly mainstream the fight against SALW proliferation in our national polity. The Nation learned that these Zonal Offices, located in Ado-Ekiti, Calabar, Enugu, Kaduna, Minna and Maiduguri, have commenced operations with a limited number of staff, as approved by the National Security Adviser (NSA). The zonal offices work closely with security and intelligence agencies on prevention and control of proliferated arms, as well as tracking weapons in the hands of non-state actors. It was also learnt that the quick activation of this structure, in line with the requirements of ECOWAS Convention on SALW and global best practice, was responsible for the Centre’s achievements in the past two years. For instance, on November 24, 2022, the National Coordinator disclosed at an event in Kaduna that the Centre had retrieved over 3,000 illicit small arms and light weapons between May 2021 to November 2022, from various theatres of operations across the country, and those who willingly surrendered their arms.

     However, the number of illicit firearms retrieved in the first half of this year has surpassed the total from the past two years. Media reports revealed that the Centre has received 4,110 arms and 2,868 ammunition, between February to July 2023. Specifically, the Centre retrieved 3,980 illicit arms and 2,358 ammunition from the Nigeria Police in Abuja on February 16, 2023, while on July 31, 2023, it retrieved 130 illicit arms and 510 ammunition from Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) in Jos, Plateau State.

     The seizures, according to experts, are indications that the efforts of the Federal Government in curbing proliferation of illegal firearms in the country are yielding positive results, considering the volume of recovered illegal firearms within short period the Centre came into being. “When we look at the level of illegal arms and ammunition that were recovered across the country last year, and the recent one in Plateau state, it showed that with these kinds of efforts, in no distant time, we will be able to reduce arms proliferation in the hands of non-state actors, and consequently, criminalities will drastically reduce,” Jabi said. “Illegal arms can’t be curtailed in one day, but Nigeria is taking the right step. Presently, it is focusing on collection, control and utilisation; and that is the way it should go.”

     In 2001, UN member states adopted the programme of action to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects. In the instrument, member states agreed to, among others, improve national small arms regulations, strengthen stockpile management, ensure that weapons are properly and reliably marked, improve cooperation in weapons tracing and engage in regional and international cooperation and assistance. Early this year, the National Center for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons organised the first multilateral conference of stakeholders from the Lake Chad Basin to be hosted by Nigeria, as part of a regional and global initiative in the fight against illicit weapons. The conference, which was attended by representatives from Republic of Niger, Chad, Benin, and Cameroon, articulated a regional response to the menace of proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons.

     According to the UN, one of the most important components in the fight against SALWs proliferation is weapons tracing. It was gathered that the Centre has conducted several trainings and workshops for its staff and arms bearing agencies on weapon identification, marking and destruction; appraisal of International Tracing Instrument (ITI); Customs Exemption Procedure on importation of arms, ammunition and related materials; Specialised Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration; and train the Trainer on Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM), and Leadership and Change Management. One of the major core functions of the Centre is the establishment of a robust database that will warehouse critical information on all SALW in Nigeria. It was gathered that the Centre has prepared platforms for capturing information from all arms bearing security agencies, which has been operationalised.

     It was further gathered that the Centre has prepared 5 proforma for retrievals, which include SALW, ammunition, missing/recovered accessories, improvised and craft production and reporting of missing SALW. The data collated from returns of arms bearing security agencies and retrieved SALW are used to populate the Centre’s National Database. The Centre has also initiated the process of setting up an integrated ICT system that would interface with the office of the National Security Adviser, the centre’s zonal officers and arms bearing security agencies for real time information exchange. This, therefore, necessitates the need for a state-of-the-art ICT facility which is yet to be installed.

     As part of efforts to deepen and widen the campaign against the proliferation of illicit SALW, the Centre has also developed information, education and communication materials in both audio and visual in various major local languages for radio and television stations. Also, the Centre’s leadership had also met with critical stakeholders, including the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs, heads of paramilitary and intelligent agencies, and civil society organisations (CSOs) in order to get the needed support and commitment.

    Daunting challenges

    Despite achieving these much within a short period of its establishment, the NCCSALW faces several challenges, which security experts say is inhibiting the attainment of its full potential. The most significant of these challenges is lack of aforementioned legal instruments. Under the ECOWAS charter of 2006, which Nigeria is a signatory nation, it is mandated on each member state to establish an agency to regulate acquisition, use and disposal of small and light weapons. At present, all member states, except Nigeria, have given their agencies and commissions legal teeth to carry out its functions as required.

     To bring Nigeria at par with other countries in the ECOWAS sub-region, a Bill for an Act for the control of Small Arms and Light Weapons 2021, was transmitted to the National Assembly by former President Muhammadu Buhari shortly after the establishment of NCCSALW. In July 26, 2022, the Senate, at its plenary, passed for Third Reading the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons Bill, 2022. That would be the first time such a bill was passed for Third Reading in either chamber of the National Assembly since it was first introduced in the 7th National Assembly. The Bill is the product of the consolidation of three bills on the subject passed by the Senate for Second Reading at different times. These are: The Nigeria National Commission against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Establishment, etc) Bill, 2020 (SB. 283) – February 2020; The Nigeria National Commission against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Establishment, etc) Bill, 2020 (SB. 513) – November 2020; and The National Centre for the Coordination and Control of the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Establishment, etc) Bill, 2021 (SB. 794) [Executive bill] in November 2021.

     The proposed Centre, when established, will identify sources and routes of illicit trade of SALWs, enhance coordination and collaboration among Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) to address the challenges of the proliferation of SALWs and disseminate information among intelligence units and law enforcement agencies. Other functions of the proposed commission include providing training for officers in identifying individuals that are involved in the illicit trade of SALWs and establishing mechanisms for the prosecution of offenders involved in the illegal importation of SALWs. The Centre also requires the backing of an Act in line with the provisions of ECOWAS Convention on SALW, Ammunition and Other Related Matters. This is intended to give the necessary legal authority to function in line with global best practices.

     Pundits wonder that an important centre like the NCCSALW, established to curb illicit arms in circulation, and by extension help in the fight against terrorism and other forms of criminalities in the country, is left for too long without proper backing by an Act of Parliament. The delay in the passage of the bill into law has some implications on the centre and the country. As a result of delay in the passage of the bill into law, the Centre is yet to attain its full status which would accord it optimal benefits from the various capacity building resources and opportunities provided by multinational organisations. The delay in the passage of the bill has given room for fraudulent organisations to parade themselves as legitimate agencies saddled with the mandate to mop-up illicit arms in the country. The implication is that some unsuspecting members of the public are already dealing with such fake organisations, thereby jeopardising the effort of the federal government in the fight against illicit arms in the country. These organisations have also perfected ways of defrauding unsuspecting members of the public in the name of recruitment, thereby giving the impression that they are being backed by some powers.

     Another implication posed by the continued delay in the passage of the bill is that it would probably leave the Centre with inadequate funding, manpower and equipment that could enhance effective operations. It was gathered that the Centre currently engages a few staff on a contract basis due to the lack of legal backing for full-time recruitment. Undoubtedly, more staff is required to adequately and effectively position the Centre to perform its operational and administrative responsibilities. Inadequate funding occasioned by the delay in the passage of the bill has also hindered the centre to establish a robust database that will warehouse critical information on all SALW in the country; build national and state zonal offices and armouries across six geo-political zone where retrieved weapons and ammunition can be stored, Presently, the Centre stores all recovered SALW at designated temporary armouries situated in the nearest military establishments. However, many Nigerians believe that most of these challenges are surmountable if the SALW Bill 2021 can be speedily passed to law, especially now that the new government is about to settle down. “Everything revolves around good leadership, and we have gotten one in place now. The present administration is result oriented in terms of responsibility and obligation,” Jabi said. “The bill should be reintroduced, and the National Assembly should do the needful, as we are all suffering from the instability caused by arms proliferation.”