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Tag: threat

  • When handbag becomes a threat

    When handbag becomes a threat

    Designer handbags are accessories to complement women’s dressing. But, at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), the bag has become a threat to security. This has prompted a ban by the school management. Women are complaining, saying the ban is revealing their world of secrets, writes NGOZI CHRISTOPHER (300-Level Mass Communication).

    Handbags are fashion accessories, without which many women will feel incomplete. Most women carry handbags, which usually contain their makeups and other handy personal effects. Handbags come in different sizes and usually, they are made from non-transparent materials. This, it is believed, is to protect the content of the bag.

    •Some students showing contents of their bags
    •Some students showing contents of their bags

    But, elegant ladies who cannot do without their handbags should consider the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) in Borno State capital a no-go area. Reason: the school management has introduced a regulation that bars female students from coming into the campus with opaque handbags. All students, the school said, must carry their personal effects in transparent bags if they must come to the campus.

    The university introduced the rule because of the security situation in the state.

    Borno State has been the epicentre of Boko Haram insurgency.

    The ban on handbag has made the school unattractive for dress-to-kill ladies, who like to come to the class with expensive colourful handbags. The authorities said the decision was reached to tighten security measure on the campus in the face of growing incidence of suicide bombing by women, who place explosives in impervious materials to wreak havoc in the city.

    But, the ban seems not to go well with most female students, who said they feel incomplete without their handbags. Carrying their handbags, they said, gives them a lady-like and classy outlook, saying they cannot continue to swing their arms like guys.

    For most ladies, handbags represent their world of secret. In addition to being an accessory of fashion, ladies’ handbag can contain survival kits, such as mobile phones, tampons, make-up, money hair strengtheners, laptops, keys and clothes.

    As the school now wants students to carry transparent bags and wallets, the ladies said their male counterparts would use the opportunity to invade their privacy.

    A student, who did not want her name mentioned, said her designer handbags make her to look elegant. “I don’t know how I will cope, as a lady with high sense of fashion, not carrying my expensive designer handbags,” she said.

    Some ladies, who spoke with CAMPUSLIFE, said they prefer to go out with big handbags because they can carry along most of the things they need for a whole day. A 300-Level Pharmacy student, who simply call her name Sarah, said: “Women love big handbags because it enables them carry electronic gadgets, such as phones and laptops in one place. It is not good if the bags are transparent because they will attract attention to the content.”

    Since the school management announced the ban, Sarah said she has lost many of her personal effect, such as money and books.

    A Mass Communication student, who identified herself as Rachael, said: “I love to carry hand bag because I can keep make-up essentials, body splashes and hand sanitisers close for use. Now, I can only go out with my books. With handbag, one only needs to walk in to any restroom to freshen up. With transparent bags they want us to use, there is no way we can carry our sanitary materials to ease ourselves.”

    Joshua Abraham, a medical student, said it has been hard for him to cope since the ban on the use of bags. “I can no longer go out with my laptop and my voluminous textbooks; it has been difficult for me to cope,” he said.

    The management is not planning to rescind the decision anytime soon, except the insurgency is brought under the control. This means that the content of the bags students are required to carry  must been seen by everyone.

  • Brothers seek probe of magistrate’s ‘threat to life’ claim

    There is a twist in the allegation by a Lagos State Chief Magistrate, Mrs Adeola Adedayo, that two brothers standing trial before her wants her dead.

    The accused – Sulaiman Sanusi and Kehinde Sanusi, have petitioned the Chief Judge, Justice Funmilayo Atilade, asking that the matter be probed.

    The brothers are accusing Chief Magistrate Adedayo of using instruments of state to deny them of their rights, adding that the lawyer, Charles Nwadiani whose petition to the police led to their arrest, detention, and arraignment is her acquaintance.

    Sulaiman and Kehinde, who are children of the late business and steel merchant, Chief Abdul Razak Sanusi, are being tried by Chief Magistrate Adedayo for alleged possession of firearms. They are also accused of disrespecting court order, in what started as a family dispute over inheritance.

    Last April 13, Chief Magistrate Adedayo raised the alarm that her life was under threat, claiming that she received letters at home from the suspects.

    She said in open court: “Let the world know about it so that if anything happens to me and any member of my family the whole world will know who to hold. Somebody is alleged to be in possession of firearms and he wrote letters to threaten my life, analysing my marital status, my family background, where I live and who I live with and how I move in and out daily”.

    In their petition, the brothers said these “weighty allegations” must be investigated by the Judicial Service Commission and Office of the Attorney-General of Lagos State.

    The petition, signed by Kehinde reads: “We are sad and distressed over these baseless accusations as they are calculated to paint us as criminals to the public. Unless this charge is transferred to and heard by another magistrate, we stand convicted by Mrs Adedayo even before the trial starts before her”.

    The petitioners said they sent an October 29, 2014 petition to Justice Atilade, wherein they accused the chief magistrate of acting the script of one of their siblings, Ms Tola Sanusi, a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Justice, currently on posting to Lagos State Safety Commission.

    The petitioners accused Mrs Adedayo and Ms Sanusi of using their positions to oppress them, claiming that their last year’s petition was ignored. “If our petition had been treated, the accusations of the chief magistrate would not have happened,” they said.

    In the 2014 petition, the brothers accused Ms Sanusi, of using her position to “unlawfully oppress, intimidate and compel us to relinquish the management of our father’s company to her”. They alleged that Sulaiman was arrested and detained by officers of the Zone 2 of the Police over allegations that he defrauded their father’s company, which he manages, of N6billion. “On October 17, 2014, he was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Adedayo at Igbosere, Lagos, on a charge of showing disrespect to a court order and possession of firearms,” the petition said.

    The police were said to have searched his office and taken away a dane gun, which the brothers described as “a family relic” displayed in their late father’s office.

    Sulaiman accused Chief Magistrate Adedayo of “deliberately” denying him bail by leaving the court through her private door.

    The petitioners accused Chief Magistrate Adedayo of bias, claiming that before their arraignment last October 17, Ms Sanusi, Afusat Bunmi Ibraheem and their mother, Alhaja Rashida Sanusi, were spotted leaving her chambers at Igbosere.

    They said the police ballistic report described the dane gun as “unserviceable” claiming that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) advice said it was a “shot gun in order to persecute us at all costs”.

    The case comes up on Monday.

  • Magistrate alleges threat to life

    The Chief Magistrate handling the trial of two of the children of the late business mogul, Chief Abdul-Rasak Olajide Sanusi of the famous Sanusi Brothers in Lagos, has alleged threat to her life.

    Mrs Adeola Adedayo of an Igbosere Magistrate Court alleged  that her trial of Suleimon and Kehinde Sanusi, who are facing charges for illegal possession of firearms and contempt of court, has exposed her.

    She claimed that the defendants had been threatening her life and that of her family.

    The two brothers are fighting with their siblings over the estate of their late father who died 17 years ago.

    The criminal charges were sequel to a petition filed by one of the children of the late businessman against them.                                                                                                But the defendants pleaded not guilty.

    Their trial could not proceed last year as the Lagos State Directorate for Public Prosecution (DPP)  sought adjournment, pending a legal advice on the charge.

    The re-arraignment of the two, however, could not go on  at the resumed sitting of the court as the prosecuting counsel Mrs. S. Dawudu requested for further adjournment, saying that there was a correction for the Office of the DPP.

    Before granting the request for adjournment, Mrs Adedayo  raised the alarm that the defendants were thretening her life.

    She claimed that the duo had written several petitions against her and forwarded same to her residential address.

    The magistrate said the petitions contained details of people who the defendants claimed had been visiting her home over the matter and wondered how the defendants knew  her address.

    “I feel threatened by this development. I feel I should let the world know about it so that if anything happens to me or any member of my family, the whole world will know who to hold.

    “I don’t know why a defendant should know my house, my life is at risk; somebody is alleged to be in possession of firearms and he wrote petitions to threaten my life analysing my marital status, my family background and where I live, who I live with and how I move in and move out everyday.

    “I want the world to know about the threat so that I will not be killed like others have been killed in the past, so that if anything happens to me, they would know who to hold responsible,” she said.

    During the proceedings, Chief Magistrate Adedayo  also threatened to get the counsels to the defendants, Gbolu Agbaje-Akadiri charged for  court contempt due to his disposition to the court.

    The trial Chief Magistrate has, however, adjourned the matter till May 11, pending DPP’s advice.

    The late Alhaji Sanusi bequeathed his properties and companies, including, Sanusi Brothers Nigeria Limited, Sanusi Steels Industries Limited, Sanusi Robber Works Limited, Nigeria Industries Products Agencies and Global Stars Nigeria Limited, (formerly Sambros International Limited) to his  22 children.

    The will, which was prepared by late Chief F. R. A. Williams, also listed  Alhaji Sanusi’s five wives, Alhaja Suwebath, Alhaja Simbiat, Alhaja Adikatu, Alhaja Rasheedat and Alhaja Musilat as beneficiaries

    Since the execution of the will, the Sanusi siblings have been engaged in war over the management of their father’s estate.

    Some of the children have alleged gross mismanagement of the estate by the executors.

    In a petition dated October 2, last year, and addressed to the Police AIG, Zone 2 Headquarters, one of the children  of the late Chief Sanusi, Mrs.  Bimbo Sanusi Lawal accused her brother, Suleimon Sanusi of unlawfully taking over of the administration of the father’s estate.

    Besides the petition, many cases filed by the siblings are also pending in the State High Court.

  • ‘Boy’ George’s empty threat

    Before the March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections, some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains were so sure of  victory that they ran their mouths. There was nothing they did not say about President-elect Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his party. Femi Fani-Kayode, the rabble-rouser, was in his element, dishing out lies about Buhari. Fani-Kayode came up with the story  that Buhari does not have a  school certificate. He said his party was putting Buhari to the ‘’strictest proof’’ to show that the president-elect has that certificate.

    ‘’Strictest proof’’ or not, Buhari did not have to break a sweat to prove anything. His school came to his aid by releasing his West African School Certificate (WASC). According to the result, he made Grade 2, but the Fani-Kayodes of this world refused to believe the documentary evidence tendered by the school. Fani-Kayode, Director of Media and Publicity of the Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation, claimed that the document was forged, but he could not prove his assertion, thereby rendering it valueless.

    Step in Doyin Okupe, the loquacious doctor-politician, who swore heaven and earth that Buhari will not become president.  ‘’If Buhari wins’’, he said, ‘’call me a bas….’’ Okupe, who is always on the side where his bread is buttered, was not done yet. ‘’The choice before Nigerians in this election is either good luck (making a pun of his principal’s name) or bad luck’’. Going by Okupe’s submission, it is our ‘’good luck’’  as a nation that Buhari defeated President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the historic March 28 poll. Buhari won because men are not God; they can only play god but they do not have the power of the omniscient and omnipresent One, who anoints leaders.

    He anointed Buhari and that is why the former Head of State won the March 28 election. APC and PDP went into the contest determined to win and as both parties know only one of them could emerge winner. Since the return to democracy in 1999, PDP has been in the saddle. For 16 years, it has held sway at the national level. Its founding fathers had a dream for the party to be in power for 60 years. It is a good intention but it seems it was  not backed with a plan of action. If there was a plan for the country, the party did not execute it for the 16 years it held power. Can it then benefit from its mistake? Why did it not impress it upon its members, who led the country between 1999 and now,  on the need to execute programmes that would make the party the people’s choice?

    PDP lost the March 28 presidential contest because the people were fed up with it. The party had run out of ideas. It is good to have a concept to be in power for 60 years; but a concept will remain a concept if not backed with plans and programmes for the country’s  growth. Ideas, they say, rule the world. If PDP had bold ideas for moving the nation forward, it would not have suffered defeat in last month’s elections. It had a golden opportunity to turn things round, but it flunked it. Things got to a head under outgoing President Jonathan, who did not help matters because, as it were, he lacked what it takes to reinvent the wheel.

    But we must credit Jonathan for running a good race and for conceding defeat in a sportsmanlike manner. By his action, he nipped in the bud the plan of some people to create crisis. He should remain true to himself to the end by not allowing the hawks in government to use him to foment trouble. The president has acted like a true statesman. He pulled us back from the brink despite the huge cost to his own ambition. If he had played Laurent Gbagbo,  the former Ivorian president who refused to leave office after losing election, only God knows where we will be as a nation today.

    After the 16-year disaster that PDP was, Buhari will be a breath of fresh air on assuming office on May 29. The president-elect knows that he carries a huge burden because the people are looking forward to a magical performance from him. He knows too well that the mission to rescue Nigeria from the 16-year rot of PDP is one that must be won, come what may. His party, APC,  also knows that PDP and its members will not wish it well. The Fani-Kayodes and the Okupes will always be waiting in the wings to run it down no matter the good it does. But no matter what they say, the good the party does will always speak for it. The only way to keep their mouths shut is for the party to concentrate on the job at hand.

    Like Fani-Kayode and Okupe, Commodore Bode George has also been running his mouth. George is still finding it difficult to accept that Buhari has emerged president-elect – about two weeks after the election. George is threatening to go on exile because his party will no longer be in power from May 29. Why does he want to go on exile? Is it because his party has destroyed the economy? Our economy is in doldrums today because of the wrong policies enunciated by the so-called eggheads of the Jonathan administration. So, he should have since gone on exile to protest the bad policies of PDP, which has led the nation thus far. Threatening to go on exile because Buhari won the election is just to draw attention to himself.

    ‘’What will I be doing here? I can decide to go and live anywhere. So, I am not joking about it; what will I be doing here? At 70, what will I be doing here? All we have been doing to restructure the country has been lost. We have been trying to ensure balance in the polity, but all that has gone. What will I be doing here?’’ Is he still around? By the time he returns from exile, he would be shocked to see that things have changed for good in the country.

  • Group decries threat to Tinubu’s life

    Group decries threat to Tinubu’s life

    Yoruba Ronu, a socio-political group has warned the Federal Government against doing anything that will harm the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Bola Ahmed and his family.

    The group said in a statement signed by its national president, Prince ‘Diran Iyantan that it was disturbed by the report that the government in collaboration with some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are planning to eliminate the APC leader who is  seen as a stumbling block to perpetrate themselves in power.

    The statement reads in part: “Any threat to this man naturally translate into challenging the Yorubas to a duel. It is an undisputable fact that by providence and political evolution Asiwaju Tinubu remains the leader of the Yoruba race, his unquantifiable contributions to the sustenance of the primordial role and relevance of the race in the national polity is an attestation to this assertion. Hence any uncivilized and unorthodox attack on Tinubu is by extention a disrespect and attack on the Yoruba race.

    “It is unwholesome and melancholic for Asiwaju Tinubu to be singled out for unwarranted attack amongst the leaders of the ethnic nationalities that have political inclinations. The PDP coordinated disparaging and defamatory assault on Asiwaju Tinubu the leader of the Yorubas who promote peace, civility and harmonious living in the country is seen as a flagrant provocation of the very peaceful, accomodating and reticent Yorubas.

    “All the uncouth language employed against our leader who is not contesting any election justifies our fear for his safety. We the Yoruba Ronu Group admonish politicians not to overheat the polity with inflamatory statements and attack on personalities instead they should engage in issue-based discourse. For example the unethical and Machiavellian AIT documentary on Asiwaju Tinubu is at best a national embarrassment and the highest level of impunity and lawlessness that is only a re-enactment of an animal kingdom documentary, which can only be found in the jungle that PDP is building out of Nigeria.”

  • I’m threat to Ajimobi, says Folarin

    I’m threat to Ajimobi, says Folarin

    The Oyo State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Teslim Folarin, has described his emergence as the flagbearer of the party as a threat to the opposition.

    Folarin said when the opposition parties heard that he was the winner of the primary, they became ‘jittery’.

    Folarin, who visited Bodija International market, Ibadan, promised not to let the people down, if voted as the governor.

    He urged the electorate to get their permanent voter’s card and vote for President Jonathan and other PDP candidates.

    “The opposition parties are now jittery when they heard I won thae primary of our party. Meanwhile, these are the people that were praying that I win the primary because they believe I am not a threat to them. Let me tell you, come February 28, we are going to contest and win the election. I am the next governor of the state”, he added.

    The Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Chief Olajumoke Akinjide, urged the electorate to support President Jonathan and the PDP candidate in the state.

    “Our reporters here should not forget how Buhari jailed many people when he introduced decree number 4 during  his tenure as the head of state. If media write anything bad about him, they will go to jail. However, Jonathan came and signed. Freedom of Information Bill. So, which of them is good? Who is the friend of the masses? Who is the friend of the youths? Please, vote for him. Also our governor, Folarin is a credible candidate, who has contributed to the development of the nation. He is a young man. He is a true son of the soil and he has promised to collaborate with the federal government to create Ibadan State. Trust him, work for him and pray for him. He is the only credible candidate to rule Oyo State at this critical time.”

    The dignitaries at the event include; the chairman of the party, Alhaji Yinka Taiwo, former senator Lekan Balogun, chief Yekini Adeojo, Senator Ayoola Agbola, former deputy governor Alhaji Azzem Gbolarunmi, and Alhaji. Kehinde Olaosebikan.

    Others are: Alhaja Abosede Adedibu, Senator Ayo Adeseun, Proffesor Taoreed Adedoja and Muraina Ajibola.

  • Harmattan: Threat to cocoa harvest

    Harmattan: Threat to cocoa harvest

    Nigeria’s mid-crop cocoa output is threatened by dry winds from the Sahara Desert that have evaporated moisture and caused buds to break off trees, a farmers’ group said.

    According to Taiwo William, national coordinator of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, the harmattan winds have persisted for one month unbroken by rainfall, increasing the adverse effects on cocoa trees. He lamented that the buds that break off would have formed cocoa pods.

    “The very cold and dusty winds have stunted the growth and healthy development of cocoa buds on the trees,” William said in a telephone interview yesterday from the southwestern city of Abeokuta. “By now we should be seeing at least between 12 and 15 buds on each tree, rather we are seeing just an average of 6 buds.”

    Nigeria, the world’s fourth-largest producer of the chocolate ingredient behind Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia, set a target to produce at least 500,000 tons of cocoa by the end of the season running through September 2015 as more trees got to an age where they produce the beans. According to the ministry of Agriculture, the country produced 350,000 tons of cocoa in the 2013-2014 season, although the International Cocoa Organization put that year’s production at 240,000 tons.

    ‘Severest Intensity’

    The last rains in the southwest belt that accounts for about 70 percent of Nigeria’s production were recorded in November, Ayodele Adegoke, a cocoa farmer based in the southwestern town of Ado Ekiti, said yesterday by phone.

    “If there had been one or two rainfalls during the period, the story would’ve been different,” he said.

    The dry winds from the Sahara manifest the “severest intensity” in January and begin to weaken afterward, John Chigbu, manager at the Meteorological Office in the commercial capital, Lagos, said in an interview in his office.

    While the winds last, they aid rapid depletion of moisture, causing young cocoa seedlings to die, Layi Olubamiwa, a researcher at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, in southwestern Ibadan, said yesterday in a phone interview. For the surviving trees, the quality of yield declines, resulting in cocoa pods with underweight beans, he said.

    The West African nation’s two cocoa harvests include the main crop from October to December, and the smaller mid-crop from April to June, estimated at 66,000 tons in the 2013-14 season. Most of the country’s output is from farmers working on small plots in the southern cocoa belt.

    Cocoa fell 0.2 percent to 2,044 pounds per ton as of 5:08 p.m. yesterday in London, declining for the third day in the longest falling streak since Nov. 14.

  • UN expresses concern over threat to peaceful polls

    UN expresses concern over threat to peaceful polls

    United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern that insecurity in Northeast may have dire consequences on next month’s elections.

    He said the prevailing attacks by members of the Boko Haram sect pose threat to peaceful conduct of the elections on February 14 and 28.

    The UN secretary said he will continue to rally UN member nations to discuss how to tackle the problem.

    Ki-Moon observed that not only was the activities of sect escalating the insurgents now pose threat to peace in neighbouring countries, particularly Cameroon.

    In a statement at the UN headquarters, New York, but made available by the National Information Officer at the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Oluseyi Soremekun, the UN secretary urged the insurgents to embrace peace in the interest of humanity.

    It reads: “We face another grave test as Nigeria readies for its election next month.  Boko Haram has continued its violence, killing Christians and Muslims, kidnapping even more women and children, and destroying churches and mosques.

    “Mayhem has spread across the region, and is now having a direct impact on Cameroon and other countries.

  • ‘Niger Delta under threat by Boko Haram’

    ‘Niger Delta under threat by Boko Haram’

    In this interview, Richard Anthony, lawyer and conflict mediator,  speaks with BISI OLANIYI on the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and threat to oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta by the Boko Haram insurgency. 

    Is the Boko Haram insurgency politically motivated or a religious issue?

    We should look at Boko Haram insurgency, as it is now, from the angle of conflict. We should not look at it from only one aspect. We should look at it from all the aspects, in order to effectively address the issue. We should look at it from the religious, political and developmental aspects. I will not want us to limit it to religious and political angles. We should look at Boko Haram suicide bombings holistically.

    Are Boko Haram suicide bombers not holding other Nigerians to ransom with their activities?

    Boko Haram insurgency is a thing of concern to most Nigerians, as we move towards the 2015 general elections. It is an issue that needs to be addressed more seriously, including other issues arising from the Boko Haram insurgency.

    If you are the President of Nigeria, how will you address the issue?

    It is beyond one man’s thinking to address the issue quite effectively. It is an armed violence that has its roots both within Nigeria, West Africa, Africa and internationally. So, it requires collaborative efforts in addressing it effectively. Governments within Africa can actually collaborate to see how Boko Haram issue is addressed, to ensure it does not escalate.

    There are fears that the general elections may not hold in the Northeast because of the insurgency. What is your reaction?

    The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan is sincere in fighting Boko Haram, which is now transcending borders. So, it is wrong for anybody to say that the President is not concerned about the Boko Haram issue, because if it is not properly addressed, it will affect the sovereignty of Nigeria. Anything that threatens the existence of this country also threatens the Presidency.

    Is President Goodluck Jonathan really working hard to end the insurgency?

    Nigerians need to take ownership of the struggle, especially on how to proffer solutions to adequately address the menace of Boko Haram.

    Boko Haram insurgency has been traced to corruption in Nigeria. Are the anti-graft agencies effective?

    It has been researched globally that corruption actually fuels insurgencies in countries. Large-scale corruption can actually lead to violence, because funds that would have gone into social and economic developments would go into the pockets of a few persons. It is true that corruption can lead to uproar and uprising in nations, thereby requiring different approach.

    So, we need to be sincere in addressing the issue of corruption in Nigeria. The institutions that are supposed to prosecute corrupt persons must live up to their responsibilities.

    Often times, we tend to blame the President for ineffectiveness in tackling corruption, but we should also know that as a nation, we have a responsibility to ensure that our anti-graft agencies are strengthened.

    Some leaders from the Northern part of Nigeria are being accused of sponsoring Boko Haram insurgency. How do you react to this?

    We need to look at it from global perspective, because if we look at what is happening in ISIS (a dangerous militant/terror group, whose aim is to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and in Syria) and Al-Qaeda (a global militant Islamist organisation, founded by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other militants), the trend in crude oil theft and narcotic trade is global. The funds are transferred through the financial sector. How are they transferring these funds? How do they get the arms and ammunition? These are global and critical issues that need to be addressed. Our airports and seaports must not be porous. The institutions and persons in charge must be alive to their responsibilities and there is need for stakeholders’ engagement.

    Won’t it be necessary to dialogue with the Boko Haram insurgents?

    We must look at this issue from different perspectives. For every violent situation, people need to dialogue. I am for the process of negotiation between the Federal Government and the Boko Haram suicide bombers. The Federal Government’s efforts in ensuring that the military protects the sovereign integrity of Nigeria are also steps in the right direction. Bold steps need to be taken to address the issue of insurgency effectively. Negotiations and the military aspect need to go simultaneously.

    How can the Federal Government of Nigeria address the issue of over 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) suffering from the insurgency?

    That is a potential explosive issue for this country, because the issue of IDPs needs to be taken care of properly, We need to address the issue effectively, towards the 2015 general elections. We should not create vacuum that will lead to crisis after the 2015 general elections. It has created a legal aspect for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to resolve, because we have to look at the issue from Law, from different perspectives.

    Firstly, we need to look whether the Boko Haram issue is an international or non-international arms conflict, in which case, different legal requirements will apply. From my understanding, the Boko Haram issue is an international arms conflict, because from researches by renowned research institutions in the United Kingdom and the United States of America, among others, Boko Haram has been linked to the ISIS and the Al-Qaeda, which makes it an international arms conflict.

    From the perspective of the violation of war crimes, hostages are taken of women and children, civilians are killed in their thousands and child soldiers are recruited. These are international issues that are guided by international laws, making it an international arms conflict.

    To consider the issue of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) critically, especially with Boko Haram as an international arms conflict, we need to apply humanitarian aspects of the international humanitarian law, international human rights law and the international refugees law.

    To protect the rights of the IDPs, we need to find out if they are properly documented, because documentation will enable us to know the actual persons who are internally displaced. The rights of eligible voters who are internally displaced are human rights. So, they must exercise their rights to vote, as guaranteed by international laws and the constitution of Nigeria. We cannot disenfranchise them. They have a right to vote.

    Won’t the persons who are being displaced up North through Boko Haram insurgency will be moving down South, especially to the Niger Delta, and what is the implication?

    The implication is that most of the IDPs will not be able to vote, if they are not documented, because most of them would have lost their Temporary or Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in their former places of abode/residence. The law stipulates that you must vote at the unit where you registered. If the IDPs do not have access to their voter cards, how will they vote? Most of the IDPs are not documented. Documentation is very critical for the IDPs to exercise their voting rights.

    How can the IDPs be compensated by the Federal Government?

    The constitution of Nigeria guarantees the Federal Government to protect/provide security for all Nigerians and take care of their welfare. The constitution also allows Nigerians to settle and own property in any part of the country. If the property is vandalised, destroyed or burnt, the affected persons should be compensated by the Federal Government. The IDPs need some level of assistance from the Federal Government. It is constitutionally guaranteed for the Federal Government to provide such assistance for the people.

    INEC has just put a committee in place to look at how the IDPs can vote during the 2015 elections. How do you react to the initiative?

    It is a step in the right direction, especially for INEC to critically look at the issue of IDPs, in order not to disenfranchise them. INEC must conduct elections in 2015 and declare the results, without leading to violence. It will be unconstitutional, illegal and immoral not to allow the IDPs to vote during the 2015 elections, considering their plight and for not being the cause of Boko Haram insurgency.

    Members of the INEC’s committee of experts on IDPs must look at the issue from both the local and international laws and requirements, because the rights of the people to vote are guaranteed under the international laws.

  • ‘Niger Delta under threat by Boko Haram’

    ‘Niger Delta under threat by Boko Haram’

    In this interview, Richard Anthony, lawyer and conflict mediator,  speaks with BISI OLANIYI on the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and threat to oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta by the Boko Haram insurgency. 

    Is the Boko Haram insurgency politically motivated or a religious issue?

    We should look at Boko Haram insurgency, as it is now, from the angle of conflict. We should not look at it from only one aspect. We should look at it from all the aspects, in order to effectively address the issue. We should look at it from the religious, political and developmental aspects. I will not want us to limit it to religious and political angles. We should look at Boko Haram suicide bombings holistically.

    Are Boko Haram suicide bombers not holding other Nigerians to ransom with their activities?

    Boko Haram insurgency is a thing of concern to most Nigerians, as we move towards the 2015 general elections. It is an issue that needs to be addressed more seriously, including other issues arising from the Boko Haram insurgency.

    If you are the President of Nigeria, how will you address the issue?

    It is beyond one man’s thinking to address the issue quite effectively. It is an armed violence that has its roots both within Nigeria, West Africa, Africa and internationally. So, it requires collaborative efforts in addressing it effectively. Governments within Africa can actually collaborate to see how Boko Haram issue is addressed, to ensure it does not escalate.

    There are fears that the general elections may not hold in the Northeast because of the insurgency. What is your reaction?

    The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan is sincere in fighting Boko Haram, which is now transcending borders. So, it is wrong for anybody to say that the President is not concerned about the Boko Haram issue, because if it is not properly addressed, it will affect the sovereignty of Nigeria. Anything that threatens the existence of this country also threatens the Presidency.

    Is President Goodluck Jonathan really working hard to end the insurgency?

    Nigerians need to take ownership of the struggle, especially on how to proffer solutions to adequately address the menace of Boko Haram.

    Boko Haram insurgency has been traced to corruption in Nigeria. Are the anti-graft agencies effective?

    It has been researched globally that corruption actually fuels insurgencies in countries. Large-scale corruption can actually lead to violence, because funds that would have gone into social and economic developments would go into the pockets of a few persons. It is true that corruption can lead to uproar and uprising in nations, thereby requiring different approach.

    So, we need to be sincere in addressing the issue of corruption in Nigeria. The institutions that are supposed to prosecute corrupt persons must live up to their responsibilities.

    Often times, we tend to blame the President for ineffectiveness in tackling corruption, but we should also know that as a nation, we have a responsibility to ensure that our anti-graft agencies are strengthened.

    Some leaders from the Northern part of Nigeria are being accused of sponsoring Boko Haram insurgency. How do you react to this?

    We need to look at it from global perspective, because if we look at what is happening in ISIS (a dangerous militant/terror group, whose aim is to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and in Syria) and Al-Qaeda (a global militant Islamist organisation, founded by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other militants), the trend in crude oil theft and narcotic trade is global. The funds are transferred through the financial sector. How are they transferring these funds? How do they get the arms and ammunition? These are global and critical issues that need to be addressed. Our airports and seaports must not be porous. The institutions and persons in charge must be alive to their responsibilities and there is need for stakeholders’ engagement.

    Won’t it be necessary to dialogue with the Boko Haram insurgents?

    We must look at this issue from different perspectives. For every violent situation, people need to dialogue. I am for the process of negotiation between the Federal Government and the Boko Haram suicide bombers. The Federal Government’s efforts in ensuring that the military protects the sovereign integrity of Nigeria are also steps in the right direction. Bold steps need to be taken to address the issue of insurgency effectively. Negotiations and the military aspect need to go simultaneously.

    How can the Federal Government of Nigeria address the issue of over 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) suffering from the insurgency?

    That is a potential explosive issue for this country, because the issue of IDPs needs to be taken care of properly, We need to address the issue effectively, towards the 2015 general elections. We should not create vacuum that will lead to crisis after the 2015 general elections. It has created a legal aspect for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to resolve, because we have to look at the issue from Law, from different perspectives.

    Firstly, we need to look whether the Boko Haram issue is an international or non-international arms conflict, in which case, different legal requirements will apply. From my understanding, the Boko Haram issue is an international arms conflict, because from researches by renowned research institutions in the United Kingdom and the United States of America, among others, Boko Haram has been linked to the ISIS and the Al-Qaeda, which makes it an international arms conflict.

    From the perspective of the violation of war crimes, hostages are taken of women and children, civilians are killed in their thousands and child soldiers are recruited. These are international issues that are guided by international laws, making it an international arms conflict.

    To consider the issue of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) critically, especially with Boko Haram as an international arms conflict, we need to apply humanitarian aspects of the international humanitarian law, international human rights law and the international refugees law.

    To protect the rights of the IDPs, we need to find out if they are properly documented, because documentation will enable us to know the actual persons who are internally displaced. The rights of eligible voters who are internally displaced are human rights. So, they must exercise their rights to vote, as guaranteed by international laws and the constitution of Nigeria. We cannot disenfranchise them. They have a right to vote.

    Won’t the persons who are being displaced up North through Boko Haram insurgency will be moving down South, especially to the Niger Delta, and what is the implication?

    The implication is that most of the IDPs will not be able to vote, if they are not documented, because most of them would have lost their Temporary or Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in their former places of abode/residence. The law stipulates that you must vote at the unit where you registered. If the IDPs do not have access to their voter cards, how will they vote? Most of the IDPs are not documented. Documentation is very critical for the IDPs to exercise their voting rights.

    How can the IDPs be compensated by the Federal Government?

    The constitution of Nigeria guarantees the Federal Government to protect/provide security for all Nigerians and take care of their welfare. The constitution also allows Nigerians to settle and own property in any part of the country. If the property is vandalised, destroyed or burnt, the affected persons should be compensated by the Federal Government. The IDPs need some level of assistance from the Federal Government. It is constitutionally guaranteed for the Federal Government to provide such assistance for the people.

    INEC has just put a committee in place to look at how the IDPs can vote during the 2015 elections. How do you react to the initiative?

    It is a step in the right direction, especially for INEC to critically look at the issue of IDPs, in order not to disenfranchise them. INEC must conduct elections in 2015 and declare the results, without leading to violence. It will be unconstitutional, illegal and immoral not to allow the IDPs to vote during the 2015 elections, considering their plight and for not being the cause of Boko Haram insurgency.

    Members of the INEC’s committee of experts on IDPs must look at the issue from both the local and international laws and requirements, because the rights of the people to vote are guaranteed under the international laws.