The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Terrorism

  • Report suggest ways by which Nigeria can permanently defeat terrorism 

    The Federal Government has been called upon to exit the ‎Rome Statute and its creation, the International Criminal Court, ICC.

    According to a C‎ommunique issued at the end of an International Conference on Human Rights and Armed Conflict in Nigeria, Amnesty International was accused of hindering the fight against Boko Haram by blackmailing the military with the ICC.

    ‎According to the conference organised by Global Amnesty Watch in conjunction with the Institute for African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, participants agreed that the government must‎ in the interim assure the military that it is insulated from the International Criminal Court in view of its operations meeting international standard of rules of engagement.

    ‎‎In the communique signed by

    Dr. Mutiullah Olasupo

    Chairman, Communique Drafting Committee and‎ Barrister

    Maxwell Gowon

    Secretary, Communique Drafting Committee‎, the conference agreed that‎ a special task team should be set up  to review and respond to any report emanating from Amnesty International, UNICEF and or their associates.

    “The task team is to help citizens understand when they are being willfully misled by these entities. The task team is made up of representatives from the CSOs that attended the conference”, the communique said.

    ‎Participants also agreed in the communique, “We demand that the Federal Government immediately activate the necessary steps for Nigeria to exit the Rome Statute and its creation, the International Criminal Court, to ensure that the military can fight terrorism without the cloak of blackmail constantly hanging over them.

    “The Government must in the interim assure the military that it is insulated from the International Criminal Court in view of its operations meeting international standard of rules of engagement.

    ‎During the conference,

    participants and resource persons evaluated Nigeria’s war on terrorism in the three years from 2015 till date, the period the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has been in office.

    According to them, the war against terrorism made progress in the three years under review during which senior commanders of the terror group have been killed arrested or surrendered; remnants of the group have resorted to sporadic cross border raids – they launch attacks from neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon as well as retreat back to these places once the Nigerian military is in pursuit.

    ‎”It is regrettable that there has been a stall in the efforts to totally eradicate Boko Haram insurgents owing to several external interferences.

    These interferences include strategic support for the terrorists by international NGOs like Amnesty International and other groups representing its interests in Nigeria and the failure of Nigeria’s neighbors to honor international and regional commitments.

    “The support from these NGOs has ensured that Boko Haram continues to get sympathy to use as propaganda for recruiting and radicalizing new members and continue to attempt occasional attacks on soft targets. It has in this regard moved from using hardened fighters to deploying underage girls that are able to evade security scrutiny to carry out attacks”, the Communique also said.

    The communique also sad, “The International Criminal Court is constantly used to harass and intimidate military commanders and troops to discourage them from being committed to defeating Boko Haram. The myriads of false reports from Amnesty International and other groups usually have built in texts that threaten military personnel with arraignment for war crimes and crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court.

    “It was noted that South Africa, Burundi, Kenya and the Gambia are countries that have taken different steps towards exiting the court created by the Rome Statute because of its confirmed selective justice and usage as a tool for modern day colonialism”.

    Local and international speakers at the conference include David Falt, Global President, Global Amnesty Watch, Geneva, Professor Pita Ogaba Agbese, University of Northern IOWA, [USA]; Mary Johnson, Human Rights Lawyer, [USA]; Dr Malfouz A Adedimeji former Director, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ilorin Kwara State and Mr. Stuart McGhie, Senior, Expert/Practitioner in Humanitarian Law, London.

    Others are Professor Emmanuel O. Ezeani of the Conflict Resolution and Peace Building Unit, Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Dr. Udenta O. Udenta as Conference Moderator.

  • Ending terrorism in Nigeria and the task before the ICC

    Nigeria has been down the rough road in the past ten years; It has seen the worst of conflicts, especially in the North-eastern region. Insecurity has been a significant dare to the Nigerian government in recent times. The actions and activities of the Islamic sect known as Boko Haram has led to enormous loss of lives and properties in the country. Some of these activities include intimidation, bombings, suicide attacks, sporadic shooting of unarmed, blameless and innocent Nigerian citizens, burning of police stations and churches, kidnapping, raping of school girls and women. Nigeria has also been, in recent times, included amongst the terrorist countries of the world. This is worrisome.

    The activities of Boko Haram and other armed groups such as Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Niger Delta Avengers have greatly affected the economy and the people and this is of great concern to the government of Nigeria as well as the international community. I will say holistically, that the efforts of the Nigerian government so far have been quite commendable. However, more is still required, even from the international community and other such agencies like the International Criminal Court.
    To get the import or the gravity of the situation at hand, it would suffice to highlight some of the facts on the atrocities of the armed groups in Nigeria and how they have led to the death of innocent people. According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), with about one million people displaced9 from their homes, Nigeria has the third highest number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in the world, coming behind war-torn Syria and Iraq. He quoted the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) Global Overview of 2014, which said that “Boko Haram’s ruthless campaign to establish an independent Islamic state in North-eastern Nigeria also drove new significant displacements.”
    The report said, “Never in 9the last ten years of IDMC’s global reporting, from the peak of the Darfur crisis in 2004, have we reported such a high estimate for the number of people newly displaced in a year. Today, there are almost twice as many IDPs as there are refugees worldwide.”
    In my opinion, the time to act is now. The relevant international agencies should come to the rescue of Nigeria. Top amongst these organizations is the International Criminal Court (ICC). And you might want to ask what the ICC is. The ICC is an independent judicial institution with the mandate to investigate and prosecute the most serious crimes under international law – genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes – when national jurisdictions are unable or unwilling to do so. As a permanent court of last resort, the ICC plays a crucial role to end impunity for the perpetrators of these atrocious crimes, ensure justice to victims and contribute to the prevention of such crimes.
    The ICC was created by a multilateral treaty, the Rome Statute, in 1998. Today, the Rome Statute has 124 States Parties, including 8 Member State of the Pacific Islands Forum. Nigeria deposited its instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute on 27 September 2001. The ICC may, therefore, exercise its jurisdiction over Rome Statute crimes committed on the territory of Nigeria or by its nationals, from 1 July 2002 onwards.
    As a flashback, sometime in 2013, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday reported that, there was a reason to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in Nigeria by Boko Haram. A report issued by the office of ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda identified the atrocities committed by the group as murder and persecution. It found that the group had, since July 2009, “launched widespread and systematic attacks that have resulted in the killing of more than 1,200 Christians and Muslim civilians in different locations throughout Nigeria.”

    The scale and intensity of the attacks have increased over time, according to the report I had, based on preliminary information through December 2012. And true to it, the casualties of the deadly attacks increased until the advent of the current administration.
    The threats posed by armed groups in Nigeria are undermining the existence of Nigeria as one political territory. It needs to be sufficiently stated, that Boko Haram and other militant groups in Nigeria have maimed and destroyed. They have committed mass murder; they have infringed on people’s right to a peaceful life and destroyed their human rights in every possible manner. The United Nations along with other international rights groups have demonstrated that the respect for human rights and protection of civilians is the most important thing for any country. The United Nations also now, wonders why organizations like the International Criminal Court (ICC) have kept mum.
    It is instructive to state that the ICC needs to consider the petitions of agencies and organizations against the act of Boko Haram, IPOB, and IMN along with ascertaining the number of civilians affected by the military intervention. As stated earlier, they have been known to mete out indiscriminate torture and have carried out horrifying executions. Boko Haram is enlisting young men and women into its violent doctrines at very high speed. Behavioral scientists have found out that instead of delivering justice, revenge often creates only a cycle of retaliation, in part because one person’s moral balance rarely aligns with that of another.
    According to a report published by one of Nigeria’s popular news medium, TheCable, it stated that a total number of 4,780 people got killed in 2015 alone. The number of casualties is depressing. Other news mediums in Nigeria have also questioned the lack of support for Nigeria in ending terrorism in Nigeria. We are all aware of the external support these that groups have received and are still receiving. The pertinent question is who are the people/countries supplying these arms and ammunitions, including military hardware. They are not faceless – they are not ghosts, they are human beings and organizations and nations.
    As simple as it sounds, if Nigeria is unsettled, sub-Saharan Africa will remain unstable. If acts of terrorism are not abated, we might be dealing with a more significant problem in the future, humanitarian crisis that the world might not be able to handle.

    What are my suggestions?
    Acts of genocide should be treated as one. And perpetrators brought to book. The Rwandan genocide of 1994 is still fresh in our minds. The time for the ICC to act is now. The sponsors of these heinous crimes must be made to face the law for their atrocities. The case of Nigeria is peculiar because of its heterogeneous composition.
    The ICC cannot feign ignorance on these crimes. Boko Haram insurgency has taken its toll on Nigeria as a nation. The effect was much; there is a high number of victims, mostly civilians. Some were killed, others displaced, while women and children were raped and forced to marry against their will. There was also the wanton destruction of property and pillage. There is no doubt that with all these atrocities committed by Boko Haram, the only thing that can justify resort to force by an armed group as rightly pointed out, is the legitimacy of their goals, the decency of their means and their ability to respect IHL of which I can unequivocally state are lacking in the case of Boko Haram and other armed groups in Nigeria and their sponsors. History is waiting to judge us. It’s high time the ICC began to take a different approach to sanction criminal elements, who take humanity for granted.

    Johnson is a human rights lawyer working across Africa to achieve peace for humanity.

  • AI as obstacle to Nigeria’s war on terrorism

    Before the Iraqi War of 1991 there was a report of Iraqi soldiers ‘throwing Kuwaiti babies out of incubators’. That story was a fabrication of no other than Amnesty International, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that says it is “campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all”. Amnesty International’s star witness in that sordid saga, ‘Nurse Nayirah’, who turned out to be the daughter of the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the US at the time. Nayirah’s testimony before the US Congress was instrumental to the authorization of the Gulf War, the precursor to the hell that the modern-day Iraq is.
    Amnesty International issued a correction to distance itself from Nayirah only after the damage has been done, when the first Gulf War was over there was no evidence to back up the testimony of its star witness. The war and its chain reactions, which are still ongoing, has however provided AI with raison d’etre, it exists to profit from war, helping willing hostile nations start war and blaming the victims (targeted countries) for the hell unleashed on them.
    The trail runs longer and farther afield than Iraq. The whole of the Middle East is practically on fire and the fingers of Amnesty International shows through the gloves in all instances. The NGO has honed its skills to a point where its template is easily adapted to destabilize any nation of its choosing. It sets up a local franchise in the targeted country, recruits citizens of that country who who are unable to resist the allure of comparatively large pay checks and set a foreign slave master to direct them on how to destroy their own country under the guise of defending human rights and the cookies crumble from thence. Yemen, Iran, Syria, Libya, Egypt and other countries in that axis are just a few of the places where its goods are delivering destruction as intended.
    There is however a limit to how long and how far a fire would burn once it has consumed the incendiary materials available to it. The Middle East, whose peoples have erroneously walked their legitimate struggles into the Amnesty International trap, is in most part a waste land; its population have in some cases been completely uprooted while in some areas there is nothing left to destroy. Amnesty International is therefore compelled to source a new set for the horror show it is addicted to – the new location must have viable economies, resources and large population whose death and displacement would be tear jerking enough to present Amnesty International as a messianic organization that is committed to eradicating human suffering while its sponsors pillage the resources of the doomed nation.
    Unfortunately, Nigeria happened to fit the bill as it met all the criteria for the kind of nations that Amnesty International select for destabilization; the country has great economic potential, abundant resources and a large population. Tragically, Nigeria also has a population that are awake to demanding for their rights, which is an added bonus for Amnesty International as it is exploiting this to actively recruit Nigerians free of charge to destroy their own fatherland without realizing that they risk becoming refugee. (This of course does not include the compromised Nigerians on AI’s staff as these ones have been confused by the relatively higher pay).
    Now that Amnesty International is all but done in the Middle East it is increasingly turning its attention to Nigeria. The groundwork of lies it has been building in the past one decade are now being activated for what may yet be its greatest onslaught, one that would define whether Nigeria descends into the Middle East kind of chaos or emerge to keep waffling along, depending on what the citizens decide as being in their own best interest.
    As is the case everywhere else that Amnesty International has ever sold its lies, the target has been the Federal Government of Nigeria even though the NGO’s attack is through the Nigerian Army, which has the constitutional role to prevent what Amnesty Internatinal wants to happen to the country, render it into a failed nation-state – a no man’s land where its corporate clients can come to exploit raw materials without having to pay prevailing global rates to a legitimate government. If allowed, this questionable organization will present the Nigerian Army as a criminal outfit that is not deserving of international support and one whose leadership should be punished for daring to defeat the terrorists that were commissioned to take the nation apart.
    These apparent intentions perhaps explain why the achievements of the Nigerian Army or military in defeating terrorists – Boko Haram, IMN, IPoB separatists, militants and other criminals while operating within global best practice of human rights observance is never acknowledged. Rather, the NGO engages dozens of Nayirahs, male and female, faceless witnesses and victims, whose testimonies cannot be trusted to accuse the military of atrocities that exist only in movie scripts written by Amnesty International staff. The organization, of course, usually ignore how these criminal elements maim and kill security personnel and innocent Nigerians because that does not fit its agenda.
    The success of the Nigerian Army in degrading Boko Haram terrorists and other security threats to Nigeria has made Amnesty International’s work difficult in Nigeria. Troops are endeared to citizens who never stop singing the praises of their country’s military for keeping them safe. This makes rubbish of the manufactured stories that AI peddles as reports and brings it under increased pressure to deliver to those that have paid it to manage Nigeria into chaos.
    The NGO has recently resorted to another of its tricks, which is to outsource its lies to other international NGOs to increase the prospect of Nigerians believing such and the international community acting on them. The open support for Boko Haram by these lies easily give the agenda away and the NGOs that have been so contracted are easily outed as liars, which means they will beat a retreat faster than Amnesty International.
    Notwithstanding that the Nigerian Army has been able to ride above the muck laid out for it by Amnesty international and its allies, it must be noted that the organization’s unrelenting sabotage of the efforts to root out Boko Haram and other terrorists is a drain on the country. Its support has made Boko Haram persist longer than it is capable of without outside help. It is for this reason that Nigerians must hold Amnesty International responsible for whatever they have suffered in the hands of Boko Haram as long as it lasted. This would be a first step to Nigerians mentally preparing themselves to deal with Amnesty International the way country that enjoy stability dealt with the NGO and that is to give it no space to operate as an agent of instability.

    Ocholi is a Peace and Conflict Resolution Expert based in Abuja.
    [adahocholi@outlook.com]

  • Our Girls; Terrorism: Garrison Villages

    It is four years + since our Chibok Girls were viciously kidnapped on April 15, 2014. However we await the release of the remaining Chibok girls and the Dapchi girl-child, 14 year old, Leah Sharibu and an end to war hostilities or terrorism by both Boko Haram and The Fulani herders and their murderous rampage across most of the innocent and unarmed and now terrified and terrorised general population. There are attacks and killings in every location from Local Government Headquarters to roadside culminating in those 27+ BBC says 51,  slaughtered in Kaduna and those recently killed inside religious houses. This is a maximum terror tactic because it is the religious leaders who are charged by God and even by government with keeping the citizens calm and holy and ‘turning the other cheek’.

    Murdered people, Priests or Paupers, Senators or servants, are equally precious to families, friends and God. Terrorism, mayhem, destruction of property and laying waste other people’s labour are a breach of their human right to a good life but obviously Herdsmen do not agree! President Buhari is being reactionary by crying wolf after the recent killings. We need  preventive leadership, nipping potential death and disaster in the bud before the loss of  a single life. The current rate of loss of human life and the cost of the ‘laying waste crops and the burning the land’ if added to the well-known coming potential violence associated with elections will further cripple the country into 2019 in a nation where it has taken 6 + months to think of passing a budget!

    Our Nigerian democratic system pretends when it suits it to follow the UK system and now the US political system. However our political leaders are not forced to put their activities under the microscope of scrutiny like in the UK and its Question Time in UK parliament  or US’s press conferences. Why did not President Buhari cry out, and take decisive proactive actions during the last 3 years before accumulating thousands of deaths under his watch and now suddenly giving the Ghadaffi-sponsored- them angle as a lame excuse to side-track accusations to escape personal responsibility. To the dead, does it matter who sponsored those who killed you on your own father’s farm and in your own sovereign country which has not yet declared war?  For years Buhari said nothing even in the face of rumours arising from a study of lapses in Presidential conduct marked by inactivity and lack of condemnation of the massacres. He as Grand Patron, must know more than he is telling Nigerians and his routine silence is not comforting to the corpses or the living citizens. No president we know ignores the death of thousands and displacement of millions and survives an election. The herders War against farmers and road users and villagers is a major ‘2019 Election Issue’ because the war impacts with misery and mourning so many millions of eligible voters. They cannot explain logically the slaughter and cannot have faith in a security apparatus that has allowed such murderous routing of village and roadside populations. Potential voters in every state – far beyond the Boko Haram War will react to this insurgency/invasion by Ghadaffi in diaspora -something every security observer pointed out as far back as 5 years, including in this column. How come therefore can the security and even the president be pointing out to us what we know after doing no counterinsurgency measures for years?  A failure! Murderous armed herders are murderous armed herders, no matter where they have come from-local or Ghadaffi bred. No ranching will stop the thirst for blood or the pattern of wonton destruction because ill managed-ranches will not hold the herders in check as the grass will die and not be nurtured and will always be greener on the other side of the fence where the diligent farmers are tilling and watering and  tending crops -soon to be food, not for humans but for cows! Nigeria is a sad country where cows are better fed on stolen and seized  yams and cassava than the citizens who plant the crops. Should we become like cows and led to other people’s farm to farm for free feeding?

    following the okada motorcycle epidemic every single Nigerian has witnessed an okada attack or knows a victim. Unchecked herders violence and the destruction of livelihoods  and human life have meant that most of us know farmers and families and places where these nefarious crimes are being committed. In addition to discussing the questionable origin of marauders with Trump, has Buhari strategized with Nigeria’s  security agencies who need to change from post attack visits and reporters of terrorism to preventers of terrorism.  He has not been proactive enough in the mayhem. Buhari’s finding that many are Ghadaffi/Libya mercenary graduates is no comfort to Nigerians under terrorist alert. Just provide security, close the barracks and redeploy to garrison the villages and use drones for surveillance and ask Trump and UN bosses for hourly satellite terrorist movements. Nigeria must garrison its villages.

    There was a local council election across the UK on Thursday. Approximately 22 million people were eligible to vote. No violence or marked fraud and everybody went to work. What stops us in Nigeria replicating this ‘normal cyclic democratic activity’?  Politicians or he people. Ourmumudondo-Charlie Boy!

     

    • NB: Uncover ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019 -SDG 16.

  • Nigeria, US unite against terrorism, trafficking

    President Muhammadu Buhari and his United States (U.S.) counterpart Donald Trump spoke yesterday against terrorism, human trafficking, rights’ abuses and other issues. It was at a joint news conference at the White House in Washington D.C. In their remarks, both leaders promised to maintain close and cordial relations.

    President Buhari, I want to thank you very much for travelling to Washington for these important discussions. It’s a true pleasure to welcome you to our nation’s capital.

    Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa. As I conveyed to President Buhari in our discussions, the United States (U.S.) deeply values and appreciates Nigeria’s role as a strong democratic leader in the region.

    The United States is currently working to expand trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria, to create jobs and wealth in all of our countries. We hope to be the economic partner of choice for nations across the continent and all around the world.

    And you see what’s happening with respect to trade and the United States. We are being respected again.

    I hope all African countries and countries throughout the world, that we also will be supporting you and that they will, likewise, support us in our bid, along with Canada and Mexico, for the 2026 World Cup.

    We will be watching very closely. And any help that they could give us in that bid, we would appreciate.

    I’m pleased that Nigeria is one of our largest trading partners in the region, and we look forward to growing our trade relationship based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.

    But, we give Nigeria well over $1 billion in aid every year. And we have already started talking with the President about taking down the trade barriers – very substantial barriers to the United States trading with Nigeria. So, we think that we are owed that.

    President Buhari has also taken several steps to fight corruption and improve the Nigerian business climate. And, most of all, to me, yet again, is ripping down those trade barriers.

    These measures will make it easier for Nigeria and the United States companies to invest, and we will be investing substantially in Nigeria if they can create that level playing field that we have to, very much, ask for and maybe demand.

    I especially want to thank President Buhari for Nigeria’s partnership and leadership in the fight against terrorism. He’s been a real leader.

    Nigeria was one of the first African nations to join the Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and Nigerian forces are currently leading regional efforts against ISIS in West Africa. And doing very well as we have.

    Nigeria is also leading African nations in the fight against Boko Haram and another ruthless jihadist terrorist group. They – we’ve been reading about them. They kidnapped the young girls and young women, many of whom never are seen again. It’s tough stuff.

    This summer, it was my honour to meet with two brave young women, Joy Bishara and Lydia Pogu, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in April of 2014 at the secondary school in Nigeria.

    I was deeply moved by their inspiring stories of courage, resilience and survival. They really were two amazing young women.

    I told Joy and Lydia, my administration is committed to combating both jihadist terrorism and the scourge of human trafficking and smuggling.

    In the world today, there is more human trafficking than there has ever been, if you can believe this. They use the internet better than almost anybody is able to use the internet. So, think of it: In a modern world, in this world, there’s more human trafficking and slavery than at any time in the history of this world. It’s hard to believe.

    To protect Americans from these menaces, I have called on Congress to close deadly immigration loopholes that are exploited by terrorists, traffickers and criminals.

    Just look at our southern border and our weak and obsolete immigration laws. They are obsolete and they are weak and they are pathetic. And there’s no country in the world that has laws like we do. They’ve got to change and they’ve got to change now for the safety of our country.

    We’re also helping our Nigerian partners by facilitating intelligence cooperation and providing training and military equipment to Nigerian forces.

    For example, we recently sold Nigeria 12 U.S. A-29 Super Tucano aircraft – it’s a great aircraft – in the first-ever sale of American military equipment to Nigeria. These new aircraft will improve Nigeria’s ability to target terrorists and protect civilians.

    Finally, we’re deeply concerned by religious violence in Nigeria, including the burning of churches and the killing and persecution of Christians. It’s a horrible story.

    We encourage Nigeria and the federal, state and local leaders to do everything in their power to immediately secure the affected communities and to protect innocent civilians of all faiths, including Muslims and including Christians.

    Mr. President, thank you again for visiting the White House and being with us today. Nigeria is a valued partner and a good friend.

    I look forward to working closely with you to deepen our cooperation and forge an even closer partnership. The United States is committed to working alongside Nigeria as we seek a future of strength, prosperity and peace for both of our countries.

  • Fed Govt restates commitment to global fight against terrorism

    THE Federal Government has affirmed its commitment to the global fight against the financing of terrorism, Finance Minister Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said yesterday.

    A statement issued by the minister’s Special Adviser for Media and Communications, Oluyinka Akintunde, said Mrs. Adeosun spoke at an international conference against the financing of terrorism in Paris, France.

    The conference, which has the theme: “No money for terror”, was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and was attended by International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde; World Bank Group President Jim Kim; United States (U.S.) Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and United Kingdom (UK) Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Hammond.

    Adeosun, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the conference, said the country was reinvigorating efforts to tackle the financing of terrorism.

    The minister said: “The Nigerian Government is very committed to the fight against terrorism and cutting off funding for terrorists’ activities.

    “The government, in addition to monitoring of the formal channels of finance via the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and other bodies, is also monitoring ‘non-formal cash-based structures’, which can often be used for illicit purposes.”

    Adeosun emphasised the need to address the root cause of terrorism and not the symptoms.

    She added that the men and officers of the Nigeria Customs Service were working to effectively track physical cash movements and transactions at the various borders, including Niger, Benin Republic and Cameroon.

     

  • Culture, terrorism and education

    At  the Commonwealth  Meeting this week  UK Prime Minister  Theresa May  reportedly offered   aid  and support for  member states of the Commonwealth  that repeal  anti gay and lesbian  laws   pledging to help  them  know that the world is different nowadays  and people should be allowed  the freedom to choose  who  to love. Since the   Nigerian president also  visited the UK  PM this week  I  do not know whether  the issue was discussed  or  not but  I intend to talk  about  that request  at length today. I will  be discussing  this  alongside  the  reported  remark  by the Benue State Commissioner  for Education  who  raised  the alarm  that  there  is similarity  in the consequences of the terrorist  tactics  of    armed  herdsmen destroying schools  especially primary   and   secondary  schools  in the state  and that of Boko  Haram  whose name means’ No  to western  education’.  The consequences  of  both  the herdsmen raids  on schools and farms  and that  of Boko  Haram  are not unintended  consequences  the Commissioner   lamented   loudly,    but  planned  and deliberate  action to slow down  the growth  of education in other parts of the nation  as  Boko  Haram  has done so  effectively  in the six states  of the former  North  East  of Nigeria.

    These  two  events, Theresa May’s plea   for  LGBT   recognition  at  the Commonwealth Heads of Government  Meeting  [CHOGM]  and the  destruction of primary and secondary  schools in Benue  State  and the North East  form  the kernel  of discussion  today. We  will  look  at the two issues in all  ramifications  especially  how  importantly  they  affect humanity  and  civilization  and  the background  of how gay  values  evolved  and how they impact  religion  and culture. These  are  touchy issues  but since the British  PM  has belled  the cat  it is high   time  we  spoke   the truth as we  know it  in  this part  of  the world.  Which,  fortunately   or not,   is still a part  of the Commonwealth with  its own  dose  of the historical, or should we say –  the usual   all – pervading    colonial  mentality.

    According to statistics  36  out  of 52 nations  in the Commonwealth  regard  homosexuality  as a criminal  act   and the history of that  dates  back to the Colonial era  where  Sodomy Acts ban  sex  between  people of the same sex. So  most  Commonwealth  nations have just  not repealed  such  acts which  the Mother nation of the Commonwealth  through its PM  is asking them  to do  with the dangling carrot,  for now  of aid   and I presume sanctions later  if  they reject  the offered carrot.  Worse  still, the British  PM  gave  a historical  analogy  that the world has  changed  and that in the early  fifties  the British  Monarch  and Head  of the Commonwealth traveled  the world in five weeks  but now the world is a global  village and the whole  world is watching the Commonwealth  Games in Australia and CHOGM  in  London  simultaneously.  Yet, it is apparent  that majority  of  Commonwealth  nations  loathe same sex  marriage  and that  is why  they  have criminalized  what  the UK  government  and leader  is urging them  to adopt  to show they  are modern and are moving with  the times. Sadly  and very  strongly  I disagree  with  the British  PM   and  wish  to tell  her that it is her nation  that has fallen  out of step in the march  of modernity  and development   and  it is Britain  that should retrace its step and retract  from being a LGBT rights  peddling nation  to one that recognizes  that marriage  is between  a man  and a woman  and not between two men  or two  women. Indeed  in the 36  out of the 52 Commonwealth nations that  Britain  is wooing,  it is their culture  and way  of life  and a sign  of human progress  that men  and women should marry  and procreate  and a sign  of  backwardness  and inhumanity  and a perversion of good  culture  and upbringing for people  of same sex  to  love  each  other like a man would  love a woman. Of  course  it goes with  the public  mood  and fashion  in Western  Europe nowadays  to brand those  who  resent LGBT people as intolerant and unaccommodating   but   then  European  values  are  deteriorating  and are  decadent   when men  are  men  are expected  to marry  when it is obvious  they can not on their  own raise children. I  think  it is European  nations who should pause at  the cliff edge of their decadence  and take another  look  at why majority  of their former  colonies  do  not agree  with them  on  gay  rights.

    I   urge  the Europeans  to look at  China  and the  former  Soviet  Union and see  what  those  two  nations  value  now  and in their  recent past.  China  today  is having  hundreds  of  cooperative  projects  to build infrastructure, roads, power  plants along the old historical route called   Belt  and Silk  Road  where  in the past  trade routes  were opened linking China with  Asia and from  where economic  travels and migration  created the likes of  Marco  Polo in  the    history  of global  trade  and  commerce. Although  the Chinese  government  is  unrepentantly  atheist  and  communist same sex  rights  are  non  existent   in  China   just   as they  are  extolled  in Britain. Yet  China  practises  the philosophy  of  Confucius  which   preaches  hard work  honesty  and  diligence. Whereas  Max  Weber  had written  that  Protestant  ethics  of hard  work, punctuality   make  such protestants  or Calvinists successful  capitalists,  I am  sure  Weber  will  be fuming in his grave to  see  that descendants  of Protestants and Calvinists  are now in their  new  world selling  same sex  marriage to people  who  abide by the dictates  of  the bible  that marriage is between  a man  and a  woman.
    Similarly  Russia  was  a Marxist  state  where  state  terrorism  was government policy  to execute  opposition  leaders  and  entrench  the goals and objectives of  Lenin  and later  Stalin.

  • FG plans stiffer penalty for terrorists, financiers

    The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), said on Monday the Federal Government has set in motion procedure for the amendment of existing terrorism Act to ensure stiffer penalty for terrorists and their financiers.

    Malami said the proposed law currently in the form of a bill would also expand the definition of terrorism and create additional sanctions for perpetrators of terrorism and those funding their activities.

    He said the proposed law – the Terrorism Prohibition and Prevention Bill – is meant to replace the current Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 (amended in 2013).

    Malami spoke at the opening session of a three-day “regional workshop on prison intelligence in a counter-terrorism context” held in Abuja.

    The event put together by the International Institute for Justice and Rule of Law (IIJRL) is being attended by at least eight West African countries including Mauritania, Chad, Kenya and Benin Republic.

    Malami, who was represented by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Etsu, said the move to amend the Terrorism Act was part of government’s measures to strengthen its anti-terrorism mechanisms.

    He said: “The new provisions seek to enhance coordination amongst relevant law enforcement, intelligence, prisons and security agencies.

    “The new bill has also expanded the definition of terrorist financing and sanctions applicable to terrorists and those who fund terrorists.”

  • Nigeria, EU, UNODC renew commitments against terrorism

    • Unfold new project

    The European Union has unfolded a three-year funding plans for the ongoing fight against terrorism. This was the highpoint of a final Project Steering Committee meeting involving Nigerian, EU, and UNODC officials to reflect on the achievements made under the second phase of the EU-Nigeria-UNODC partnership to counter terrorism in Nigeria.

    The two-year project funded by the European Union came to a close at the end of March. While it lasted, the project focused on further strengthening the capacity of Nigerian criminal justice officials to effectively investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate terrorism cases, in accordance with the rule of law and human rights.  It built on the groundwork laid under the previous EU-Nigeria-UNODC project.

    Mr. Kurt Cornelis from the European Union noted that “The European Union is particularly pleased to have been able to support the Government of Nigeria to address the significant terrorist threat facing the Northeast by working with Nigeria to develop an Action Plan on the Criminal Justice Responses to Terrorism in Northeast Nigeria which will support implementation of the Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism.  The EU looks forward to partnering with Nigeria on its implementation during the next phase of the project.”

    Ms. Catherine Udida, from the Office of the National Security Adviser, stated “Over the last two years, Nigeria has made important progress in its fight against terrorism.  We continue to be grateful for the partnership with the EU and UNODC in addressing this challenge and in particular for the support provided to the Nigerian Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism.”

    Ms. Elisabeth Bayer from the UNODC Office in Nigeria thanked the European Union and Nigeria for their on-going close collaboration, noting that “This project has been tailored to the needs identified by the government.  As a result, it has built a significant cadre of trained Nigerian counter-terrorism practitioners who are armed with the skills and knowledge needed to respond to the terrorism-related criminal justice challenges that Nigeria is currently facing.”

     

  • Fed Govt to deregister NGOs over terrorism, money laundering

    THE Federal Government has begun the profiling of Non-Governmental organisations (NGOs) with the intention of deregistering those involved in questionable activities.

    It was learnt that the measure was aimed at curbing money laundering and terrorist financing,

    The profiling activities presently being carried out by the Special Control Unit on Money Laundering (SCUML), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) is in compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendation.

    The FATF recommendation requires countries to adopt necessary measures to prevent the use of NGOs for nefarious activities.

    NFIU’s Director Francis Usani, who broke the news in Abuja yesterday, said the need to profile and review activities of NGOs were informed by the realisation that the groups have become “veritable tools to launder money and finance terrorism”.

    Usani said the government was also exploring other options, including sensitising NGOs on their obligations to ensure they do not unwittingly yield themselves to terrorists and other criminals.

    The NFIU Director spoke at a “regional workshop on the development of effective frameworks and structure to fight terrorist financing/money laundering through non-profit organisations (NPOs)”.

    It was organised by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).

    “It is obvious that Designated Non-Financial Business or Profession (DNFBP) and particularly NPOs pose a major challenge in our respective Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) culture, and this challenge has been identified in our various national risk assessments.

    “There are case studies in Nigeria and in the West African sub-region and globally too, where NPOs have been used as veritable tools to launder money and finance terrorism,” Usani said.

    He added that the realisation of this fact informed why FATF, under its Recommendation 8, directed that countries should review the adequacy of laws and regulations that relate to NPOs/NGOs that could be abused for the financing of terrorism.

    GIABA’s Director General Kimelabalou Aba said the workshop was to educate players in the NPOs and a measure to protect NPOs against abuses because their extended logistical networks, large transitory workforces, cash-intensive nature of operations now make them highly vulnerable to terrorist financing.

    Mrs. Stella Maduka of the Federal Ministry of Finance blamed the growing unemployment rate globally for the increasing in terrorist activities.