Nigeria

27, October 2019

Nigeria committed to ensuring welfare of Southern Cameroons refugees’ ⁰

How has it been since the refugee camps started?
By October 2017 when this crisis between the Southern Cameroon people and the government of Cameroon started, they got to Nigeria and by our being part of the signatory to the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) Convention on Refugees, we are not supposed to send any refugees back because of the non-referral policy. So, since that time, we have accommodated them.

We went to the host communities to interface with them; we spoke to the people that the refugees were vulnerable and that they came here out of need. We asked that they should be allowed to be there. SEMA, at the instance of the government of Cross River State, led by Senator Ben Ayade, provided settlements and camps for the refugees. And since then, they have been here.

In mass care of this nature, which we call camp coordination and camp management, we have nine sectors, but they have been fused into about six. These bother on WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) protection; health and education, which fundamentally are their rights, and issues of sustainable livelihood for the refugees.

Initially, when they started, they were given food and non-food items directly. At some point, however, it became necessary to convert the supplies to money. So, as we speak, each Cameroonian or each refugee earns about N7, 200 based on the standard in the food basket. So, if you are five in number, it means you are earning N7, 200 times five in each household (amounting to N36, 000). When you contrast this with what obtains in Nigeria where N18, 000 is what an average household of five takes as minimum wage, you should know the worth of our effort.

The government of Cross River State, by extension the Nigerian government, has taken the Cameroonians and given them refuge. In different ways, they have been united with the host communities. Presently, the refugees are paying almost nothing to have their wards in school up to secondary school, courtesy of the Cross River State government. A primary school pupil pays a stipend of about N1, 000, while a secondary school student pays about N2, 000 because of their vulnerable situation.

The state has also given them settlement areas. There are five of such with two already working – that is Adagom and Okende. There are about 11, 000 inhabitants in Adagom and 4, 000 in Okende, making a total of about 15, 000 refugees that are in the settlements. Given that the settlements were made for less than the population we currently have, the state government, through the Director General, SEMA, have been able to secure a place in Adagom that is a bigger than the current settlement. This is in addition to new ones in Uyia and Oban that would also accommodate refugees.

Regarding the health situation in camp, the refugees have been integrated to state health facilities. Apart from that money paid to them, the health facility and education is free. They also have the right to interface with the communities in terms of livelihood. So, they can go to work and earn a living as Nigerians. There is a policy that ensures that the refugees will not be cheated or undermined. We have a mechanism that takes care of all the fundamental human right of settlers.

How many houses do you have?
We have up to 41 communities and each community has not less than 18 households or houses. In Okende, we have about 15 settlements (houses). We have about 15, 000 refugees here.

And how many refugees do you have in the state?
We have about 45, 000 in the country and Cross River state has more than 60 per cent of those refugees, about 28, 000 or more. Those are the ones that are biometrically registered. But those in the host communities who have not been registered are more. So, as we manage them here, we still go to the host communities where they are. They are in about eight or nine local government areas of Cross River State. They are in Boki, Obanliku, Etung, Akampka, Calabar South and Calabar Municipality, Ogoja and Odukpani.

Do you think their population could overwhelm the state and the Nigeria government in terms of resources?
Human wants are insatiable and in any economy, you have limited resources. The resources have been over-stretched, no doubt. But we have accommodation and we have a way of containing the people even though facilities are over-stretched.

Issues of poor health facilities, poor education standard and discrimination against the refugees have been raised. What is your take on this?
I wouldn’t agree with that. We signed the referral policy of being part of the AU and UN convention that allows for refugees to be part of us. We did that with the knowledge of the entirety of what it contains in terms of their rights and whatever is enshrined in the convention.

For instance, the schools in the host community are the same schools children of the Cameroonians attend. It is the same situation with health. A human being is a human being irrespective of where you come from. So, when you go to a doctor, he will not ask you whether you are a refugee or not. All the doctor knows is that somebody is sick and needs to be attended to.

It is said that since the camp started, over 80 persons have died because of alleged poor health issues and nutrition?
That is not exactly correct. However, they do have the attitude of not going to the hospital or health facility because of their belief in herbs. Some of them only surrender to the medics when their health situation has got to the critical stage. But we are doing a lot of sensitisations in conjunction with SEMA.

Prostitution is alleged to be very high in the camp due to lack of jobs?
Prostitution is not as a result of vulnerability. It is your act or your person. If you want to be promiscuous, you will be promiscuous. There are people in the settlements that are not promiscuous. We have some of them here who are heading organisations in three countries. There are two of them, for instance, that are here; they got jobs and are working and interacting in Ghana and Sierra Leone.

So, if you have come and you want to work, you will work. If you go through Ogoja, most of them are working in different areas. If you don’t have the attitude to work and you want everything to come to you, it is alright. But on the whole, in this intervention, one of the sectors is livelihood and professionals are the ones handling it. The ones willing, who are serious, are getting jobs. As we speak, we are trying to de-emphasis the issue of giving fish to them but to teach them how to fish, which is what they call durable and sustainable solution.

What are the major challenges that you face taking care of the refugees?
Resources are scarce generally. We need more resources, and more hands on deck. Multinational agencies and others should come to our aid and collaborate with UNCHR, the government of Cross River State and by extension, Nigeria. Again, when people come from another area with cultural differences, there would always be issues of variations. But we are trying to manage them to see how we can co-exist.

Source: The Guardian

15, October 2019

Nigeria: Uber launches boat service in Lagos ⁰

Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc on Friday launched a pilot test of a boat service in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos to attract commuters seeking to avoid the megacity’s notoriously congested roads.

The United Nations predicts that Nigeria’s population will more than double to 400 million by 2050, which would make it the third most populous country in the world after China and India.

The combination of population growth and congestion has made Nigeria, and more broadly West Africa, attractive to foreign transport companies.

Uber’s chief business officer told Reuters in June the company planned to launch the service to carry travelers in the Lagos megacity of around 20 million people that is built on a lagoon.

The waterway service, UberBOAT, is operated in partnership with local boat operator Texas Connection Ferries and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), said the ride-hailing firm.

“This initiative is aimed at providing commuters with an easy and affordable way to get in and out of the city’s business districts,” Uber said in a statement.

The pilot phase will operate on weekdays from 0700 GMT to 1600 GMT on a fixed route between two locations in the city.

Water safety

Passengers will be charged a flat fare of 500 naira ($1.39) per trip, compared with about 300 naira by minibus for a similar journey in the commercial hub of the West African country where most people live on less than $2 a day.

At a press conference on Friday, Uber officials said there would be four trips a day, carrying up to 35 people on a boat, during the two-week pilot.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos state, said the Uber boat service, and the use of waterways in general, were part of a raft of initiatives aimed at easing congestion that include a program of road repairs.

“We want ferries that carry 60 to 80 people,” he said, referring to his hopes for the future use of waterways, on Thursday at a forum with businesses.

Uber’s boat initiative follows a number of motorcycle ride-hailing firms that have targeted West Africa as an area for expansion in the last few months.

Technology giant Google also launched a new feature in July that allows Nigerians to hear travel advice in a local voice on Google Maps. Another feature allows users in Lagos to seek directions from “informal transit” services, such as private minibuses.

Source: Africa News

15, October 2019

Nigeria: First Lady warns against spread of Fake News ⁰

Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari on Saturday dismissed rumours circulating online that her husband plans to take on a second wife, cautioning against the rise of fake news in the country.

Aisha, who had been on holiday in the United Kingdom for two months, returned to the country, at a time when a video was circulating on social media, purportedly showing that she had been denied access to the presidential residence.

While she confirmed the authenticity of the video, which showed her complaining about huge deployments of security, and asking unidentified people to leave the palace, she clarified that it was an old video.

Aisha dismissed rumours that president Muhammadu Buhari intended to marry fellow politician Sadiya Farouq, who was recently appointed Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development.

Her spokesperson later issued a statement saying the First Lady was happy to be aback in the country after a ‘deserved rest’.

‘‘She confirmed that she was fully rejuvenated to continue the work of improving the health and well-being of women, children and other vulnerable Nigerians,’‘ Suleiman Haruna said.

Ruling party officials also added to Buhari’s voice, warning against the negative impact of fake news.

‘‘I wholeheartedly welcome our dear First Lady back to the country. Her elegant return has put full stop to fake news which dominated our public domain,’‘ a publicity secretary of the APC Kate Ofor told local journalists.

‘‘I think we have to not only find legitimate means to curb fake news, but also come to terms that social media have no gatekeeper. Therefore, we must cultivate the culture of sieving the genuine from fake news.’‘

Buhari herself had cautioned that the courge of Fake News ‘could lead us to something unimaginable’.

The president himself has repeatedly warned against the rise of fake news and hate speech in Nigerian discourse.

Source: Africa News

15, October 2019

Nigeria: Female supporters of Zakzaky accuse govt. of holding abducted girls ⁰

The announcement was made during a press conference by female supporters of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, who accused soldiers of the Nigerian army of abducting twenty-three girls in December 2015 during the massacre in the northern Nigerian town of Zaria.

The ladies demanded for the release of the girls and asked all people of conscience and civil society organizations to make the issue of the twenty-three Muslim girls an important national and international agenda in order for the truth to prevail.

The ladies also said that seven hundred and five people are still unaccounted for following the 2015 Zaria Massacre, and their families are still waiting for answers regarding the whereabouts of their loved ones.

Hundreds of Zakzaky supporters are reported to have been killed and buried in mass graves outside the northern Nigerian city of Zaria. The whereabouts of several others remains unknown.

Zakzaky supporters have a list with the names of the twenty-three girls abducted and believed to be held by security forces.

Both the army and the police did not respond to Press TV’s request for an interview on this matter.

Zakzaky supporters also want to know when the Nigerian government is going to start the process of prosecuting the people responsible for the 2015 Zaria Massacre.

They accuse security forces of continuing with the persecution of Zakzaky supporters judging by the attacks on their religious processions.

Source: Presstv

7, October 2019

Nigeria: 16 killed in jihadist attacks ⁰

At least 16 people, including 11 soldiers, have been killed in jihadist attacks in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, military and militia sources said Saturday.

Rival factions of Boko Haram launched the attacks on military and civilian targets between Thursday and Saturday, they said.

On Thursday, fighters from the IS-aligned Islamic State West Africa Province ambushed a military convoy near Mauro village in Benisheikh district, a military source told AFP.

“Our men on patrol fell into a terrorist ambush… which claimed 11 soldiers and wounded 16 others. Two other soldiers are still missing,” said the officer, who asked not to be identified.

He said the troops were travelling in three vehicles.

“The terrorists made away with 11 AK-47 rifles and anti-aircraft gun mounted on the gun truck,” he said.

In another attack the same day, Boko Haram gunmen opened fire on a vehicle at Frigi village, killing one person and injuring another, militia sources said.

Jihadist fighters also killed two militiamen in Gubio, 80 kilometres from the state capital Maiduguri.

On Saturday, Boko Haram militants stormed a camp for those displaced by the conflict in the town of Banki near the border with Cameroon, killing two residents and injuring three vigilantes guarding the area, two militia sources said.Shop Related Products

The decade-long Boko Haram campaign has killed 35,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes in northeast Nigeria.

The violence has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to fight the insurgents.

Rival factions of Boko Haram launched the attacks on military and civilian targets.

Source: Wion

26, September 2019

Nigeria: Daesh kills 14 soldiers, aid worker in northeast ⁰

The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group has killed more than a dozen Nigerian people, including military forces and an aid worker, in the country’s volatile northeastern region.

The terrorists killed 14 Nigerian soldiers in attacks in the northeast state of Borno on Wednesday.

The fatalities took place when the Takfiris ambushed soldiers in the state following heavy clashes, according to a Nigerian military source speaking to Reuters.

Also on Wednesday, members of the terrorist group executed one of the six aid workers of the charity group Action against Hunger whom they had kidnapped in northeast Nigeria.

“The armed group holding captive an employee of Action against Hunger, two drivers, and three health ministry personnel, have executed a hostage,” the Paris-based organization said in a statement.

This picture shows the offices of the humanitarian group Action against Hunger shut down by the military in the restive Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, on September 19, 2019. (By AFP)

The aid workers were abducted in the restive northeastern city of Maiduguri in July.

The Nigerian army has closed the offices of the humanitarian group Action against Hunger n Maiduguri with no explanation, as tensions simmer with aid organizations in the region.

The Boko Haram terrorist group and its ISWAP splinter group — which is also affiliated with Daesh — have intensified attacks on civilian and military targets in recent months, despite the Nigerian government’s insistence that the terrorists have been defeated.

Around 27,000 people have been killed in the decade-long terrorism in Nigeria, which has spilled over into neighboring Chad, Niger, and Cameroon and has forced more than two million people to flee their homes.

The said countries have created a joint military force to stop the terrorists from further spreading their activities, but sustained efforts to eradicate the militants have failed and the military continues to suffer heavy losses.

Source: Presstv

10, September 2019

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Nigerians Call for Help After Attacks ⁰

Nigerians living in Cameroon are asking both their government and their host country for help after at least 20 Nigerians were killed in separatist violence.

Ngozi Ester, 27, says she, her husband and three children escaped from the English-speaking northwestern town of Kumbo after suspected separatists attacked them one week ago.

Hundreds of Nigerians, in the company of Cameroonians, pray for peace in Cameroon's restive English-speaking regions, at Saint Joseph's Anglophone Parish in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, Sept. 6, 2019. (M.Kindzeka/VOA) — Hundreds of Nigerians, in the company of Cameroonians, pray for peace in Cameroon’s restive English-speaking regions, at Saint Joseph’s Anglophone Parish in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, Sept. 6, 2019. (M.Kindzeka/VOA)

“I pleaded with them that I am a Nigerian, but they insisted that since they are using the money for the taxes I pay to buy weapons and kill Anglophones, I am supporting the crisis, and they burned all of my goods and they destroyed everything I was doing,” she said from Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.

Separatists in north- and southwestern Cameroon ordered all businesses to close to protest the lifetime prison sentence given to their leader, Ayuk Tabe, by a military tribunal in Yaounde.

Joseph Ukah Mbila, president of the Nigerian Union in Yaounde, says they have taken in at least 100 Nigerians who fled the crisis. He says many of them were kidnapped and released only after ransoms were paid.

“Nigerians in those two regions have suffered a lot,” he said. “You know, we do not depend on salaries; we depend on our business and when you see they are not doing business, they have children, they have house rents to pay, they have electricity bills to pay, water bills and other things, they are suffering a lot. Many of them have packed out to Yaounde, to Douala, to Bafoussam.”

North- and southwest Cameroon have been rocked by violence since 2017, when English-speaking separatists began pushing to secede from Cameroon and its French-speaking majority.

Men hand out flags to people praying for peace in Cameroon's restive English-speaking regions, at Saint Joseph's Anglophone Parish in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, Sept. 6, 2019. (M.Kindzeka/VOA) — Men hand out flags to people praying for peace in Cameroon’s restive English-speaking regions, at Saint Joseph’s Anglophone Parish in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, Sept. 6, 2019. (M.Kindzeka/VOA)

Since Friday, a series of special church services has been organized in Yaounde to raise funds to assist stranded Nigerians. John Ibe, secretary general of the Nigerian Union in Yaounde, says the beneficiaries will include families of 12 Nigerians who died in a shipwreck in late August.

He says the 12 victims, like thousands of commuters between Cameroon and Nigeria, had avoided traveling to Nigeria by road for fear of being killed or kidnapped by fighters.

“In less than one year, we have had four shipwrecks between Nigeria and Cameroon. This kind of loss of life, this kind of wanton loss of material resources. … Nigerians cannot take it anymore,” Ibe said.

Mbila says Nigerians want their government to help the government of Cameroon find a lasting solution to the crisis.

“There should be dialogue because there is nothing in this world that cannot be resolved on a round table,” he said. “There should be an exchange of ideas so that peace will come back to this great nation. We suffered civil war in Nigeria and we know what it means.”

It is estimated that between four and five million Nigerians live in Cameroon, the majority living in the English-speaking regions. The government has advised foreigners who feel threatened to leave, but says it is protecting everyone.

Source: VOA

30, August 2019

President Buhari says few diasporans giving Nigeria bad name with criminality ⁰

Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari says the country will do all it takes to combat the negative image that some citizens have saddled the country with.

He stressed that all will be done to combat the activities of such elements, be it at home or abroad.

Speaking at a side event at the ongoing Tokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD, in Yokohama, Japan; Buhari said: ”There are few Nigerians in the Diaspora that are giving us a bad name by engaging in criminal activities.

“These Nigerians are a minority, they do not represent the values of our country, and I plead with them to change their ways.”

“We will not condone any crime whether at home or abroad, and we will also not allow these Nigerians define us as a people with reputation for criminality,” he added.

Nigeria has long been associated with financial crimes especially online fraud. The country endured bad press weeks back when FBI arrested a famed entrepreneur and scores of online fraudsters – in under a week.

Nigerians on Twitter bemoaned the impact of the reports on the country’s image with some calling for a government response to the arrests.

Source: Africa News

12, August 2019

Nigeria: Militants attack army base, village, 8 killed ⁰

Eight people, including three soldiers, were killed in attacks on an army base and village in northeast Nigeria ahead of Monday’s Eid al-Adha festival, military sources said.

Three troops and three civilians died on Saturday when fighters from the Daesh-aligned ISWAP group attacked a base in Gubio, a town 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the regional capital Maiduguri, two sources said Sunday.

Three soldiers were killed “defending the base from ISWAP terrorists who wanted to overrun it”, the first source said.

“Three civilians were hit and killed in crossfire,” said the source, an officer who asked not to be identified for fear of punishment.

Two soldiers and six civilians were injured, he said.

The militants attacked the base in eight pickup trucks fitted with machine guns, leading to a two-hour long battle, said the second source, who gave the same toll.

The attack was repelled with the aid of a fighter jet which deployed two hours into the clashes, said the officer.

“The terrorists were pulverised and forced to withdraw. Eleven of them were killed and three of their vehicles were seized,” he said.

ISWAP ransacked the same base in May, killing three soldiers.

In a separate assault on Sunday, rival Takfiri Boko Haram terrorists killed two residents and burnt homes in an attack on the village of Ngwom, 14 kilometers (eight miles) from Maiduguri.

Gunmen in pickup trucks stormed the village in a pre-dawn attack, shooting dead two male residents before robbing women of jewelry and torching four houses, anti-Boko Haram militia leader Babakura Kolo said.

“A woman had one of her ears chopped off by the insurgents as punishment for resisting being robbed,” Kolo said.

The militants attempted to seize a nearby military base after the raid, but were rebuffed following a one-hour gunfight, Kolo and a military source said.

The decade-long insurgency in northeast Nigeria has killed over 27,000 people, displaced some two million and spilled over into neighboring countries.

The militants are notorious for stepping up attacks during the Eid season, prompting heightened security across the region.

ISWAP split from the Boko Haram faction headed by long-time leader Abubakar Shekau in 2016.

Since mid-2018 ISWAP has ramped up attacks on the military, while Shekau’s group tends to hit softer civilian targets.

On Saturday, several soldiers were also wounded when their vehicle hit a mine planted by ISWAP near the border with Niger, the military sources said.

(Source: AFP)

7, August 2019

Twin bombings kill three in Nigeria ⁰

Three civilians have been killed and eight others wounded when two female bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of people in northeastern Nigeria.

The twin bombings took place in the town of Mafa, some 50 kilometers from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, late Tuesday.

“The female bombers killed three people and wounded eight others,” Bello Danbatta, head of security for the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Borno state, told AFP on Wednesday.

Danbatta added that the attackers entered the town among a group of local women who had gone to bring firewood for cooking.

Local district spokesman Adamu Mohammed confirmed the toll, noting that the bombers waited until almost 8:30 pm (1930 GMT) before conducting their attack.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which bore the hallmarks of the Boko Haram terrorist group.

The group uses female bombers, many of them young women and girls, to attack soft targets such as mosques, markets and bus stations.

Also on Tuesday, militants set fire to 11 houses and stole food in an assault on the village of Kotori, 12 kilometers outside Maiduguri, Danbatta said, noting that no one was hurt in that attack.

Boko Haram and its Daesh-supported ISWAP splinter have intensified attacks on civilian and military targets in recent months, despite the Nigerian government’s insistence that the terrorists have been defeated.

Some observers allege that certain Nigerian officials are profiting from the unrest via corruption and have little interest in ending the bloodshed.

Rights groups have accused some Nigerian security forces of abuses in the fight against Boko Haram, including extra-judicial killings and mass arrests.

Around 27,000 people have been killed in the decade-long Takfiri terrorism which has spilled over into neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon and forced more than two million people to flee their homes.

On Monday, three civilians were killed when a gun fight erupted between Nigerian forces and ISWAP fighters who made an incursion into the garrison town of Monguno in Borno state.

Presstv