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Tag: UNODC

  • UNODC educates border communities on immigration management

    UNODC educates border communities on immigration management

    United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) has urged parents, traditional rulers, school children and other residents of border communities of Ikom and Etung Local Council Areas of Cross River state to shun illegal migration, trafficking in persons and other related crimes.

    Leading a team of security operatives and representatives of relevant government agencies including the media in a three-day sensitisation visit to the area, UNODC Communication Officer, Mr. Sylvester Atere, said though people must migrate from point A to B but “we must be sure of how and why the movement in order not to be vulnerable”.

    Atere, who was in company of Immigration Officers, interacted with the various stakeholders at Ikom, Abia, Mfum border post, Ajassor and Etung communities on the need to promote better immigration management in Nigeria..

    According to Atere, choosing the wrong path to migrate via traffickers is not the way to go, adding that there are agencies whose responsibilities are to guide people on modes of migration.

    While addressing the traditional rulers and opinion leaders at the palace of Majesty Ntufam (Dr) Emmanuel Oruojong I, the paramount ruler of Abia Community, in Etung local government council of the state, Atere said: “Every nation is very conscious of its border and security. So, we must be abreast of the movement of people around the border, especially the youths who go through traffickers. We are here to create awareness on how we can seek knowledge about migration from the appropriate authorities especially the Immigration Services. So at this interactive session, we want to know the challenges and how we can assist”.

    At the CRINA Schools on Border Road, Ajassor, Etung Local Council,  he advised the pupils to shun vices such as illegal migration and trafficking in persons, adding that they must know how to move from one place to another following the normal means and method. He enjoined the students to believe strongly in themselves and that they are priceless and as such cannot be bought at any amount by traffickers. “I am priceless nobody or money can buy me,” the students echoed in unison.

    Principal of CRINA Schools, Mr. Ogar Raphael Mgbam, praised the UNODC for choosing his school out of the lots in the locality, assuring that the students would find the counseling useful in their day to day life.

    Officer in charge of Mfum Border post, Assistant Comptroller Immigration Lawrence Asuquo, also warned the students against fake neighbours and relations who trick young ones into human trafficking or smuggling of migrants. “Don’t be deceived by anybody to undertake a trip you don’t know much about. It is proper and better to live and grow up under your parents than moving illegally and living with people you don’t really know,” Asuquo added.

    Head of Station, Cross River Broadcasting Corporation at Ikom, Engineer Nick Ntun charged government to ensure that travel documents are readily available and easier to get as this will enhance the promotion of trans-border movement and business.

    The advocacy visit to the stakeholders, community leaders, schools, police station, religious leaders, traditional rulers and security agencies, was held between Monday, November 5 and 8.

     

  • UNODC promises support for justice system

    UNODC promises support for justice system

    The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) has promised continued support for Nigeria and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in the quest for accountable and transparent justice in the country.

    Speaking at a special workshop session organised by UNODC in conjunction with the NBA at its recently concluded national conference held in Lagos, Cristina Albertin, the UNODC Country Representative in Nigeria said, “Accountable and transparent justice is key to any society and without any doubt the aim and desire of each and every citizen in any part of the world.  We all can relate to what justice means for ourselves and others. Good Governance can only happen when it is grounded in accountable and fair justice systems.”

    She lauded the NBA for championing some legal reforms in the country and asked the body to do more. She averred that public officials will be judged by citizens for their commitment to fair and effective justice delivery. According to her, the role of the legal profession in shaping the legal frameworks, policies, administrative and accountability/oversight structures of the justice system cannot be ignored, and appealed to lawyers to use their training and expertise to ensure justice is carried out fairly.

    Albertin while stressing the importance of good and effective justice system noted that worldwide, “It is only two years ago that the importance of good justice systems was recognized as one of the 16 Sustainable Development Goals focusing on the -rule-of-law, justice and strong institutions. Your role (as lawyers), is how you assume it and how you make others comply with these in Nigeria is key to achieving this goal in Nigeria.”

    She emphasised that in her about two years stay in Nigeria, she has witnessed the tremendous efforts that have been undertaken to implement justice reform in a comprehensive and holistic way involving all stakeholders. She specifically mentioned the entry into force of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, which she described as a major breakthrough which allows justice officials to expedite justice and work towards overcoming the appalling situation of 75 per cent of remand prisoners found in the country.

    She said, “I also wish to congratulate the Nigeria Bar Association for providing the platform for an NBA-UN Forum and Strategic Technical Working Group/Session. This is a big plus for Nigeria as it has the potential for fast tracking several reforms on the justice, security and development sphere in the country. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) is very happy to play a key role in fostering and supporting this initiative.”

    The UNODC Country Representative congratulated the executive, legislative and judiciary for what she called “their persistence in pursuing justice reform in Nigeria” and lauded the roles of civil society organisations and private persons including lawyers who have been at the forefront of identifying, initiating, advocating and implementing required reforms and services.

    She pledged her agency’s further supports to such programmes adding, “We will continue to do so in the future. Our core mandates and programmes on countering organised crime, terrorism and corruption have never been more relevant today. However, we will only be successful when our efforts are grounded in efficient and effective justice systems with each and every criminal justice official being committed and equipped on a daily basis to deliver speedily justice in their own role and area of responsibility.”

    Speaking at the special session workshop, the Project Coordinator, Dr. Uju Agomoh, said the major components of the project were to support the justice system by helping to develop laws and policy initiatives under the programme, ensure access to justice, building capacity of all those involved in the justice system and ensure child access to justice and compliance with international standards.

    She observed that the objectives of all the interventions would have been achieved if there was increased awareness among NBA members on activities of UNODC and other UN agencies in the country.

     

  • NJC faults UNODC/NBS report on corruption in judiciary

    NJC faults UNODC/NBS report on corruption in judiciary

    •Council admits existence of ‘some bad eggs’

    The National Judicial Council (NJC) has faulted the report of a survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBC) listing the Judiciary as the second most corrupt public institution in the country after the police.

    The UNODC and NBS, in the report titled: ”Corruption in Nigeria: Bribery – public experience and response,” released in Abuja on August 16, said it found that the public service is the most corrupt sector in the country, with law enforcement agencies, particularly the police and the Judiciary being most susceptible to corruption.

    NJC, in a statement yesterday, said although there were few bad eggs in the Judiciary, the institution has consistently taken necessary steps to curb corrupt practices among its personnel.

    In the statement signed by its Director, Information, Soji Oye, the NJC queried the criteria adopted by the UNODC and NBS in arriving at their conclusion.

    It said the concussion was not only subjective but speculative.

    Part of the statement reads: “The question that should agitate the minds of the people is the criteria used by the UNODC and the NBS to measure the level of bribe taking in the judiciary to grade it as the second largest receiver of bribe.

    “For instance, what is the percentage of judges caught receiving bribe out of a total number of 1,059 judges in both the federal and state judiciaries? What is the percentage of magistrates caught taking bribe from an estimated total number of 4,000 in the country?

    “How many judges or magistrates have been arrested and/or prosecuted and convicted of corruption till date to deduce such conclusions? One then wonders the criteria used by the organisations to arrive at the conclusion.

    “There is no denial of the fact that there are few bad eggs in the judiciary, like in every other arm of government; at the same time, there are many honest and hardworking judicial officers and magistrates making the judiciary and the country proud.

    “It should be noted that the judiciary is the only arm of government that has been investigating its judicial officers and dealt appropriately with those found guilty by dismissal or removal from office, subject to approval for such recommendation from the President or the governor of a state as the case may be, and publish such in electronic and print media for the consumption of the public.

    “Members of the general public are also aware that the NJC has been recommending judges found guilty of corrupt practices to the appropriate security agencies for prosecution.

    “It is unfortunate that this orchestrated allegation is coming at a time the current Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, Hon. Justice W.S.N. Onnoghen, GCON, is making frantic efforts to stamp out corruption, restructure the judiciary and also give the Nigerian legal system a new lease of life for the rule of law to take its firm roots in the country.

    “The Judiciary calls on the general public to disregard the aforestated allegation as it is untrue, baseless, unfounded and a figment of the agencies’ imagination.”

  • UNODC tasks security agencies on anti-terror war

    UNODC tasks security agencies on anti-terror war

    The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) has called on law enforcement agencies to step up efforts towards combating terrorism.
    UNODC representative in Nigeria, Cristina Albertin, made the call at a three-day workshop on border control and management in Lagos over the weekend.
    She emphasised the needs to bring together law enforcement agencies in neighbouring countries for training on combating crimes and terrorism across national borders.
    While noting terrorism is an organised crime that should be combated strongly, she said there was need for constant training of those involved in tackling the menace.
    “This is the first of its kind and we have to see how it works. But this will probably not be the last one.
    “We’ll be trying to achieve a lot of objectives and very much focusing on terrorism especially on Boko Haram and not only on crimes.
    “I can’t really say how often this will happen but I think we are on the way start working in this direction.”
    A representative from the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) Commodore Yaminu Musa said the current administration is doing everything to discourage the root causes of extremism.

  • UNODC, NAFDAC launch report on narcotics, use

    UNODC, NAFDAC launch report on narcotics, use

    Eleven percent of global opiate users live in Africa, with more than half in West and Central Africa, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has said.
    It made this known last Friday at the launch of the 2016 annual report of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) at the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Laboratory, Oshodi, Lagos.
    The report said the number of women arrested for drug-related crimes had increased significantly.
    UNODC’s Project Officer Ms Harsheth Virk said once imprisoned, drug use was more prevalent among female prisoners than their male counterparts.
    “There is a strong link between sex work and drug use. Some women turn to sex work as a means to support a drug dependent lifestyle, while sex workers may use drugs to cope with the demands and nature of their work,” Virk said.
    She said there was a rise in the involvement of African nationals in drug trafficking worldwide, adding “West Africa has been increasingly affected by criminal operations that involve not only trafficking of cocaine from South America to Europe but also distribution for local abuse and illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs destined mainly for markets in Asia.
    “According to the UNODC, Opiates originating from Afghanistan are increasingly being trafficked to East and West Africa, either for local consumption or onward shipment.
    NAFDAC Acting Director-General Mrs Yetunde Oni represented by the Director, Narcotic and Controlled Substance Directorate Dr Umar Musa said the agency would ensure the availability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes and prevent their diversion.

  • Women, girls are two-thirds of trafficked victims, one-third children – UN

    No less than two-thirds of trafficked victims are women and girls while one-third of the victims of human trafficking are children, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said on Wednesday.

    UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, disclosed this on Wednesday at the launch of the 2016 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.

    According to a new report from the UNODC, the vast majority of all human trafficking victims – some 71 per cent – are women, girls and children.

    “Trafficking for sexual exploitation and for forced labour remain the most prominently detected forms.

    “But victims are also being trafficked to be used as beggars, for forced or sham marriages, benefit fraud, or production of pornography,” Fedotov said.

    According to him, the 2016 UNODC Global Report disaggregates data on the basis of gender and found that women and girls are usually trafficked for marriage and sexual slavery.

    “Men and boys, however, are trafficked into exploitative labour, including work in the mining sector, as porters, soldiers, and slaves.

    “Worldwide, 28 per cent of trafficking victims are children, but children account for 62 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa and 64 per cent in Central America and the Caribbean.

    “Sixty nine countries detected trafficking victims from Sub-Saharan Africa between 2012 and 2014.”

    Fedotov emphasised the link between armed groups and human trafficking.

    He noted how armed groups often engaged in trafficking in their territories of operation, coercing women and girls into marriages or sexual slavery.

    According to him, armed groups also pressed men and boys to act as forced labour or combatants. (NAN)

  • UNODC to train Immigration officials

    UNODC to train Immigration officials

    The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will tomorrow hold a training for Immigration officials. The training will hold at Dover Hotels in Ikeja, Lagos.

    UNODC Country Representative Mrs Christina Albertin, who led a delegation to The Nation’s headquarters in Lagos yesterday, said the training would discuss smuggling of migrants, with the view to prevent and combat the menace. Immigration officials will also be taught social media skills.

     

  • CCT shifts hearing in cases involving Saraki, Orubebe, others

    CCT shifts hearing in cases involving Saraki, Orubebe, others

    The Code of Conduct Tribunal has postponed the trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki earlier scheduled to resumed on Wednesday, till after its annual vacation in September this years.

    Also to be affected are cases involving former Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, former Deputy Controller General, Rasheed Taiwo and all other cases earlier scheduled for July and August.

    Saraki, Orube and Taiwo are being triaed for alleged false declaration of assets. The tribunal had scheduled judgment for July 19 in the Orubebe case and ruling in Taiwo’s trial for July 28.

    CCT’s spokesman, Ibrahim Al-hassan said, in a statement, that although members of the tribunal were not immediately proceeding on vacation, the postponement of the tribunal’s sittings was informed by an on-going training involving its members and other stakeholders both from within and outside the country.

    He said: “The Chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal, Hon Danladi Yakubu Umar on Tuesday adjourned all sittings scheduled for this week and those to come within July and August till after the resumption from recess to be embarked by the tribunal’s Judges soon.

    “The decision was taken due to the ongoing Roundtable Discussion involving the CCT and other critical stakeholders within and outside the country, to develop the Code of Ethics and Practice Directions for the Code of Conduct Tribunal to ensure fair and speedy trials, sponsored by European Union (EU) and implemented by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, (UNODC) .

    “He however, assured litigants currently with cases before the court, would have their new dates shortly after the vacation in September, 2016, which would be communicated to them, appropriately.

    “The tribunal regrets the pains caused by the sudden change.”

  • Buhari to Int’l community: Expedite repatriation of our stolen funds

    Buhari to Int’l community: Expedite repatriation of our stolen funds

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday urged the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to facilitate the faster recovery of Nigeria’s stolen wealth stashed abroad.

    A statement issued by the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the president made the call when he received the Executive Secretary of UNODC, Mr Yury Fedotov, in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    President Buhari said that the process of recovering the stolen assets had “become tedious’’ to the consternation of many Nigerians.

    “We are looking for more cooperation from the EU, United States, other countries and international institutions to recover the nation’s stolen assets, particularly proceeds from the stolen crude oil.

    “It is taking very long and Nigerians are becoming impatient,’’ he said.

    According to president Buhari, his government has worked very hard in the past 11 months to reverse the very negative global perception of Nigeria on corruption.

    “Our genuine efforts to deal with corruption and drugs have earned us international respect and this has encouraged us to do more.

    “We know that by fighting the scourge of drugs and corruption and rebuilding trustworthiness, integrity, good business practices, and imposing discipline on youths to avoid drugs, we are not doing a favour to the international community, we are doing a favour to ourselves,’’ he added.

    The president also promised that his administration would work with the UN agency to rehabilitate young Nigerians who had been misled into consumption of illicit drugs and drug trafficking.

    In his remarks, Fedotov said that UNODC had chosen Nigerian as a pilot country for support and strategic cooperation in the fight against drugs and corruption.

  • Buhari to U.S, others: Fast-track recovery of stolen funds

    Buhari to U.S, others: Fast-track recovery of stolen funds

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday urged the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to facilitate the faster recovery of Nigeria’s stolen wealth stashed abroad.

    He made the call while receiving the Executive Secretary of UNODC, Mr. Yury Fedotov, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Buhari, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the process of recovering the stolen assets had “become tedious’’ to the consternation of many Nigerians.

    He said: “We are looking for more cooperation from the EU, United States, other countries and international institutions to recover the nation’s stolen assets, particularly proceeds from the stolen crude oil.

    “It is taking very long and Nigerians are becoming impatient.”

    He also told Mr. Fedotov that his government has worked very hard in the past 11 months to reverse the very negative global perception of Nigeria on corruption.

    Buhari added: “Our genuine efforts to deal with corruption and drugs have earned us international respect and this has encouraged us to do more.

    “We know that by fighting the scourge of drugs and corruption and rebuilding trustworthiness, integrity, good business practices, and imposing discipline on youths to avoid drugs, we are not doing a favour to the international community, we are doing a favour to ourselves.”

    The President promised that his administration will work with the UN agency to rehabilitate young Nigerians who have been misled into consumption of illicit drugs and drug trafficking.

    Mr. Fedotov told President Buhari that UNODC has chosen Nigeria as a pilot country for support and strategic cooperation in the fight against drugs and corruption.