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Tag: Violence

  • Presidency ‘disappointed’ at UN rapporteur report on violence in Nigeria

    The Presidency on Friday faulted the United Nations rapporteur report on violence in Nigeria.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, described the report as disappointing.

    He said: “We have read press reports of the UN rapporteur on violence in Nigeria.

    “While we agree that the violence in Nigeria, or in any country, is a major concern and that there is a rippling effect, we are disappointed that the rapporteur was silent on intra-group violence.

    “In Benue, Taraba, Cross River States and many parts of the country, most of the casualties result from intra-group, inter-group and community violence.

    ‘Many of the displaced persons across the nation are also victims of these conflicts.”

    He pointed out that the Federal and State governments have handled violence in the country effectively.

    “There is absolutely no doubt that violence between farmers and herders, which has a long history in our country spiked in recent years but the effectiveness with which the Federal and State authorities responded made a big difference.

    “Calm has virtually returned to all parts affected by the peculiar violence.

    “Therefore, we are saddened that the rapporteur did not address intra-ethnic conflicts and cattle rustling as key elements in herder/farmer conflicts. In Benue State for instance, the Tiv/Jukun conflict and kidnapping is a major problem.

    “We are glad that local communities have fully realized this, and scholars with a strong motivation for peace and stability in their communities and the nation are trying to address the problem.

    “Ignoring the salient issues will not help to solve the problem. If you are going to address violence and the general insecurity in Nigeria, incidents everywhere should be part of the narrative. Not addressing this might make it easier to blame the Federal Government, but national peace and security is community based and a collective responsibility.”

    According to him, arrests, prosecution and locking people up are only small parts of National Security and Safety strategy.

    He went on: “In Benue State as cited earlier, the work of a US scholar of Tiv extraction, Professor Dick Adzenge deserves special mention for attempting to get aspects of violence addressed.

    “The expectation that arresting and putting people in prison is the only credible response to violence is a mistake. Professor Adzenge and a few others like him are working with young people, traditional rulers and communities to seek peaceful resolution of conflicts and encourage peaceful co-existence.

    “The sort of effort we are talking about here has so far revealed interesting facts about the problem in Benue State that cannot be ignored.

    “And it is the sort of support we seek from the UN rapporteur in reporting, not the report that scratches the surface of the subject then ends up blaming the government under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.”

    The UN representative, he said, needed to be truthful and even-handed in her assignment.

  • INEC expresses worry over possible violence during Kogi poll

    The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Kogi, Prof. James Apam, on Tuesday, expressed worries over possible violence during the Nov. 16 governorship election in the state.

    Apam disclosed this at the unveiling of “Get out the Vote (GOTV), Voter Education and Stop Violence Against Women In Politics (STOP VAWIP)” campaign projects and multi-stakeholders’ meeting, in Lokoja.

    He said that INEC had, on several occasions, prepared to conduct credible elections and would have always put necessary machinery in place to ensure free, fair and acceptable elections only for such elections to be disrupted by violence.

    The REC said that the commission intended to correct the flaws identified in past elections during the forthcoming election, saying “we intend to correct them and make this one a test case for elections in this country.

    “INEC is doing everything possible to organise free, fair and credible governorship election in November. We have met with traditional rulers and other stakeholders in the state on the way forward.

    “People always blame INEC when there is problem, but the truth of the matter is that in most cases, the electorate and politicians are responsible for the problems.

    “Yes, on our part, we normally encounter some problems but I can assure you that some of these problems will be solved before, during and after election. Our main worry has always been violence.

    “You spent a lot of time to prepare for elections, putting resources together, training men and women for the exercise.

    “You send them to the field for the exercise and all of a sudden, someone with a gun appears and starts shooting and before you know what is happening, everything has been disrupted,” Apam lamented.

    Apam, therefore, enjoined parents, especially women, to help talk to their children and wards on the need to eschew violence, adding that with absence of violence, there would be massive turnout during the election and the exercise would be hitch-free.

    The REC also urged the electorate to conduct themselves in an orderly manner before and during the election to enhance smooth exercise.

  • Technology used to incite violence in Nigeria, Buhari raises alarm

    Technology used to incite violence in Nigeria, Buhari raises alarm

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday noted that technology has been abused as a tool for instigating violence in the country, instead of its good intent.
    He spoke at the State House while receiving the Chairman and Board members of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).
    He said “Generally, technology has been enabler for good however in recent times, we are seeing this platform more and more being used to instigate violence and hate.
    “Nowhere is this disturbing trend more apparent than in the various media platform, where fake news is gaining momentum and is being used to divide and destabilise communities and indeed nations around the world.
    “We see images being manipulated to give legitimacy to lies. We hear voice on radio preaching falsehood and hatred. We also read stories that are already sponsored by individuals who stand to gain at the expense of truth, peace and harmony,” he said.
    Despite all these, he said, that the powerful weapon that can counter such manipulations is truth.
    He said: “Like I mentioned a few months ago, at the World Economic Forum in Jordan, since digital information age is borderless, this means we must be ready to respond with the best weapon we have; truth.”
    The President urged journalists to save their profession by tackling the growing trend of fake news.
    “Journalism as a profession is primarily based on being truthful. With the growing increase in fake news, the future of your profession is under threat and therefore you must be ready to correct this and safeguard your professionalism and reputation,” the President advised.
    While giving the FRCN a special assignment, the President said: “In the case of Federal radio Corporation of Nigeria, you must proactively develop programmes based on truth, facts and broader national interest.
    “You should also have strategies to react to fake information and sensitize our citizens not to believe stories at face value especially when the source is unknown or not credible, where supporting facts are not available.”
    Commenting on the requests presented by the FRCN Board, the President advised the Corporation to make a formal presentation through their supervising ministry.
    Speaking earlier, the Board Chairman of FRCN, Aliyu Hayatu, advocated more funding for the broadcast outfit, in order to compete favourably with its equals.
    “It should be noted here, Mr President, that powerful foreign countries such as Germany, China, Britain France and the US, spend the equivalent of billions of Naira of their tax payers’ money to broadcast in local Nigerian languages.
    “Only recently the British government set aside about two hundred and seventy million pounds sterling, the equivalent of one hundred and thirty-five billion naira, to enable the BBC expand and boost its foreign languages broadcast. As part of this expansion, the BBC is now broadcasting in lgbo, Yoruba and Pidgin English, in addition to the well establish Hausa language broadcast which has now been on, for well over fifty years.
    “The sponsors of these foreign broadcast outfits are not competing with each other in broadcasting to Nigerians for immediate gains in terms of Naira and Kobo. The competition is for the soul and mind of Nigerians. The regrettably disturbing result is that because of the very weak transmission capability of particularly, the FRCN, Nigerians are left with no option but to listen more and more to these foreign radio broadcasts,” he said.
    He pledged FRCN’s unwavering support for the success of the current administration’s next level agenda.

  • Violence Against Women – Forget #Metoo, we need #Youtoo to Stand with Women – Nkiru Balonwu

    Senator Elisha Abbo’s behavior is deplorable. This is not debatable. The footage that’s been released of him violently beating a woman inside a shop is simultaneously shocking and familiar for many (African) women. It’s obvious that this vicious behavior must be condemned, now. We at AWB join the global voices demanding for Senator Abbo’s immediate removal from office. Period.
    Let’s dive deeper. What we also know in our hearts as Africans and global citizens is that regrettably, bringing someone in power to justice, principally when the issue is a charge of violence against women, is the exception globally. Ask yourself how often we have seen our nation’s brutalizers not just behind bars, but shamed rather than excused by their counterparts for harming women? We, alongside a whole force of courageous minds, will work tirelessly to ensure that Senator Abbo faces the justice he deserves for his actions. We will call for jail time, fines, his impeachment from office; but we’re also not naïve enough to realize that he just might evade a real responsibility that our society once treasured: the respect for and protection of our women.
    Where are our men?
    Where are our African men? Where are our men who will stand with women? Who will protect the agency of our women and protect the space for them to be unapologetically female? Who will deflect the hands of our attackers? Where are our men who will say, no, we don’t do that here?
    The Abbo footage shows that while the Senator is attacking a woman, he is flanked by multiple men who say little and do nothing. As the Senator’s hits land on the woman’s head, these bystanders swiftly lose all innocence and become complicit as they allow the beating to happen. Towards the close of the video, some of the men decide to put themselves between the attacker and the woman. Imagine if they had made that decision from the start. What could have been prevented?
    In this movement that AWB is wielding to advance the causes of African women, our focus is not just on this specific violent incident with Senator Abbo. We are also agonizingly disheartened by the recent Busola Dakolo interview, wherein she shares in detail an account of being raped by Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo; but the issue is far greater than these moments. Adeptly, we know that these men are just today’s face of a twisted system, a synthetic fabric laced with blind eyes in the countless cases of violence against women.
    Men as allies, not accomplices
    It is this system, this violent culture that we’re really gunning for. We’re after the individuals who backlashed against Dakolo’s testimony. We’re after the individuals, male and female, who excuse the violent manifestations of the anger of men which happen daily. In this type of social environment, women are having to constantly police themselves to exist in a culture that views them as guilty and deserving of violence. How then are they expected to achieve with countless individuals actively allowing abuse to be directed at them? Staying silent on this issue, standing on the sidelines is equivalent to choosing the side of the abuser.
    Men, we need you. We women share this earth with you and cannot afford to be disunited from you. This means we demand to be included in the heavily-male saturated halls of power and also need your presence and power behind our causes for equity and justice. We need you as our allies: our Fathers, Brothers, Husbands and Sons. We need you on this global task force to right societal wrongs. We cannot make sustainable change without you on board, without you using your agency to protect the whole.
    #Youtoo
    The shift in western culture which has been sped up by movements like #metoo and TIMES UP, have not reached us here on the continent. But we still need something that works. We must ask ourselves, what kind of society gives men who witness violence being done against women reason to decide it’s not their business. Why are we siding with oppressors?
    There is no neutral position, when the attacker is on one side victimizing another. We are talking about the survival of our people.
    This is a societal, cultural and business-based issue. If you continue to hurt half of your population, your industry, your workforce, then you bind your own hands from achieving growth. The vision of a prosperous and outward looking Africa that was forged at the turn of the millennium and the start of the internet age is now in danger of being eroded again, by the archaic and barbaric perpetuation of unchecked male power within our society. Instead of debating the veracity of survivors’ testimonies, as we often do with the #metoo movement, we are turning the focus on you, because #Youtoo can be an agent, an activist in this zeitgeist for equality for all.
    We at AWB, beseech you to stand with African women. We are a non-profit organization run by African women for African women. Our goal is to amplify African female voices, support African female empowerment and help to create a world in which African women and girls across all classes, including those of the diaspora, are given the tools and resources they need to fully realise their potentials.
    Dr. Nkiru Balonwu is CEO RDF Strategies and Chair of African Women on Board.

  • BREAKING: African Union suspends Sudan

    BREAKING: African Union suspends Sudan

    The African Union (AU) on Thursday suspended Sudan days after the military launched a crackdown on protesters that killed dozens of people.

    The AU’s Peace and Security Department said in a post on Twitter that Sudan’s participation in all AU activities would be suspended with immediate effect – “until the effective establishment of a civilian-led transitional authority” as the only way to “exit from the current crisis”.

     

  • Reps, Women Group Want Domestication of Violence Against Persons Act at States, LGAs

    Reps, Women Group Want Domestication of Violence Against Persons Act at States, LGAs

    From Jonas Ike, Abuja.

    Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development Hon. Stella Ngwu, members of the Committee, women groups among other stakeholders on Tuesday, called for the Domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, 2015 at state and local councils of the Nigerian federation.

    They made the call at a one-day summit on the topic: “Domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, 2015” in Abuja where women groups and other stakeholders converged to brainstorm on the issue.

    Speaking on the event, the lawmakers, invited stakeholders and other groups harped on the imperatives of domestication of the Act as a tool for the protection of women and other vulnerable persons in the society.

    In an opening remark, the Committee chairman said that the passage of the Act by the parliament and its endorsement the Presidency signaled the birth of legislative activism that would ended all forms of violence against women and vulnerable persons.

    She therefore called for the speedy domestication of the newly enacted legislation which has become operational at federal level in all the states and local councils areas of the federation.

    Similarly, the Speaker of the House Hon. Yakubu Dogara said that the Violence Against Persons Act if well implemented, will make the right of persons to be respected by all no matter the circumstances.

    Dogara who was represented by the House Deputy Minority Leader Hon. Chukwuka Onyema said that government has a responsibility to protect the lives and properties of citizens.

    He therefore assured that the National Assembly will ensure that the lives and properties of the citizenry is protected by the government and its agencies.

    Other women right groups notably Prof.Joy Ezeilo of Women Aid Collectives (WACU) and Hajia Saidatu Mahadi a gender activist also spoke in the same vein saying that state and local government councils have a responsibility to ensure full implementation of the Act in their enclaves and localities.

     

  • Monarchs, other highly placed Nigerians collaborating with bandits to incite violence in Northwest – FG

    Minister of Defence, Gen. Mansur Dan Ali on Tuesday warned those collaborating with bandits to desist of face the full wrath of the law.

    Relying on security reports, the minister said some highly placed persons, including traditional rulers, had been collaborating with troublemakers.

    In a statement issued in Abuja by his Public Relations Officer (PRO), Col. Tukur Gusau, the minister said the Federal Government and the Nigerian Armed Forces had taken proactive steps to curtail the problems in Zamfara by launching various operations, but the activities of the collaborators have been frustrating the efforts.

    He lamented that those profiting from the situation have been providing information to the bandits and other criminal elements within the Northwest zone to escape the onslaught of the various military operations and strategies.

    Gen. Dan Ali maintained that the government would not shy away from its responsibility of making the country safe and secure, warning that those compromising military operations would be made to pay for their crimes legally.

    The minister said: “The Ministry of Defence is very concerned about the security challenges in the Northwest, particularly, in states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and Birnin-Gwari axis of Kaduna. Due to the recent prevailing security situation in the states, the Defence ministry, through the Nigerian Army, is now conducting Exercise HARBIN KUNAMA IV simultaneously in Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto states.

    “The purpose of the exercise is to effectively flush out the activities of criminal elements in the Northest. The Nigerian Air Force has also intensified air strikes against the bandits in Zamfara. So far, the combined efforts have yielded lot of successes, leading to the killing of many bandits, rescue of many innocent persons, including the renowned Islamic scholar Sheik Ahmad Suleiman.

    “The government is also addressing the remote and immediate causes that gave room to high spate of armed banditry in the states. Recently, the government acted on the advice of the Ministry of Defence to suspend all mining activities in Zamfara State and environs following intelligence report that suggest close collaboration between the activities of the bandits and illegal miners.

    “It is instructive to mention here that insurgency and terrorism are global phenomena that cannot be addressed through military actions only. The whole society has to rise in unison to support the government’s efforts to address the problem.

    “However, in spite of the concerted efforts of the Armed Forces and other security, some unpatriotic persons, including highly placed traditional rulers in the areas, were identified as helping the bandits with intelligence to perpetuate their nefarious actions or to compromise military operations.

    “In the last three years, the Ministry of Defence had carried out several reforms geared towards the reorganisation and expansion of the Armed Forces in order to meet up with contemporary security challenges across the nation and the sub region.

    “In line with this, the Nigerian Army established 8 Division with headquarters in Sokoto to cover Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara states while the Headquarters of 1 Brigade was relocated from Sokoto to Gusau.

    “Presently, the tactical headquarters of 8 Division has since located to Gusau. Similarly, the Nigerian Air Force also established Quick Response Force in Gusau and landing areas in Gusau and Birnin Magaji, respectively.

    “The Ministry of Defence, therefore, wish to warn any person or group of persons who choose to connive or sympathises with the bandits to perpetuate crime against the law abiding citizens to henceforth retract their steps or face the full wrath of the law.

    “The Armed Forces of Nigeria have been directed to deal decisively with anybody identified helping the bandits under whatever guise, no matter how highly placed the person or persons may be.

    “The Ministry of Defence wants to, once again, use this medium to assure Nigerians that the Armed Forces of Nigeria, in conjunction with other security agencies, will continue to protect lives and properties of law abiding citizens of this country. The general public is also requested to cooperate with the Armed Forces to discharge of its constitutional responsibilities effectively.”

     

  • Supplementary poll: Kano govt reacts to reports of violence, vote buying

    The Kano State Government on Tuesday dismissed reports that killings were perpetrated during the March 23 re-run Governorship Election in the state.

    The government, therefore, challenged those who made the claims come forward with a proof of such killings.

    The State Commissioner of Information, Malam Mohammed Garba, threw the challenge while addressing a news conference in Kano.

    “I want to challenge anyone with proof of killings during the election to come and give the names of those killed.

    “The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) claimed that two persons were killed in Nasarawa Local Government Area but we went to the area and Nasarawa Hospital as well, but we were not able to get report of any death.

    “So, if there is any person who witnessed killing of somebody in Nasarawa local government or anywhere, let him or her come forward and say so,” Garba said.

    He also debunked the rumours that there was protest after the election results were announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    According to him, there were a lot of fabricated stories during the election which were the handiwork of those he described as desperate members of the opposition who wanted to discredit the election at all costs.

    “The desperation of the opposition to discredit the election was the reason why they continued to spread all sorts of rumours and lies on social media platform to misinform the public,” he said.

    The commissioner said that the supplementary election was generally peaceful besides two incidents which were quickly addressed by the security agents in the affected areas.

    He said the State Government would continue to ensure the security of lives and property in the state and urged all residents of the area to remain law abiding.

    “Kano is very peaceful because people are going about their normal businesses since the declaration of the election results by INEC, contrary to the rumours being peddled on social media platform.

    “I commend journalists for their adequate coverage of the exercise and call on them to continue to use their various media to promote peace in the state,’’ Garba said.

  • Kano supplementary polls characterised by widespread violence, vote-buying – EU

    Kano supplementary polls characterised by widespread violence, vote-buying – EU

    The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) on Monday in its report said that the supplementary election held in Kano on 23 March 2019 was characterised by widespread violence and vote-buying across the state.

    The mission said it was disturbed that both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies did little to address the violence and malpractices, which spread to many parts of Kano State.

    Also in the statement, the EU said its deployed observers, some of whom were prevented from accessing some polling units, witnessed widespread interference and vote-buying by party agents during the supplementary poll.

    “Extensive electoral security problems were observed in some areas, with groups of men with weapons intimidating and obstructing the process, and security agencies ineffective at protecting citizens’ right to vote,” the EU said in its report sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday afternoon.

    “In particular, parts of Kano were largely inaccessible to EU observers, and citizen observers and journalists were also obstructed. EU observers also witnessed increased interference by party agents and cases of vote-buying,” the major foreign observers’ group found.

    Recall that supplementary governorship elections were conducted in five states – Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Plateau and Sokoto — where results from the March 9 initial ballot were declared inconclusive as the margin of victory was less than the cancelled votes.

    Notwithstanding the violence across Kano, INEC on Sunday declared Abdullahi Ganduje of the All Progressives Congress winner of the governorship supplementary election, handing the scandal-ridden governor a second term.

    Ganduje was initially trailing Abba Yusuf of the Peoples Democratic Party by about 26,000 votes before the March 9 first ballot was declared inconclusive, but INEC said additional figures from the supplementary election put the governor ahead of his main challenger.

    The EU Mission acknowledged general improvements in the supplementary polls, but said these were overshadowed by apparent disregard for ballot secrecy, inability to access some polling units, amongst other issues.

    “Throughout the day, INEC did not comment on electoral disturbances, despite its overall responsibility for the
    election and security arrangements,” the observers said. “In the polling units that could be fully observed, there were improved logistical arrangements and procedures were mostly followed, although there were problems with secrecy of the ballot.”

    The mission identified suspected political thugs, who patrolled Kano streets with machetes and other deadly weapons as largely responsible for the brutality — which neither police nor INEC could do anything about.

    “In some areas the environment was intimidating and not conducive to voters’ free participation in the election.”

    “Party leaderships locally and centrally did not appear to take any steps to rein in supporters and prevent evident violence, intimidation or other misconduct.”

    “In Nasarawa local government area (LGA) in Kano, which accounted for approximately one-third of all registered voters for the supplementary governorship election, EU observers witnessed organised intimidation of voters.”

    “Groups of youths with clubs and machetes patrolled the streets, and people with party agent tags harassed voters. During collation in Kano, EU observers saw that several INEC polling staff had been attacked.Large groups of men with weapons were not contained by the police.”

    Due to intimidating crowds and disturbances, EU observers in Kano could not access or continue observation in polling units in Dala and Nasarawa LGAs.”
    The observers also noted previously reported cases of violence against media practitioners on election duty.

    “The electoral process in Kano was further compromised by the harassment and obstruction of citizen observers, and journalists from BBC Hausa, the Nigerian Television Authority, and TVC. This compromised scrutiny of both polling and collation of results in the affected areas,” the reports said.

     

  • Supplementary poll: Kwankwaso speaks on violence, rigging in Kano

    The leader of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano State and serving senator, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh rerun elections in the state.

    He said there were no elections on Saturday in the state.

    Kwankwaso, who spoke on Saturday to journalists at his residence, condemned the alleged role of the police under the command of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Anthony Micheal–Obizi, who he said provided back up for thugs to perpetrate violence and massive rigging.

    He said the widespread violence and rigging of the supplementary polls took place in all the 28 local government areas affected by the rerun.

    “It is very sad that elections could not hold today because, by yesterday evening, all the polling units in the rerun areas were overtaken by thugs. Very early morning today, elections were concluded in many polling centres.

    “And even more concerning is the role of the police under the leadership of DIG Anthony Obizie who actually backed up thugs under the leadership of the Kano state government. It is a very sad day for all of us and a very sad day for democracy.

    “There are very few places where elections took place, especially here in the city. But there was no election in the overwhelming places because they were overtaken by thugs. People were going around with ballot papers and result sheets, writing what they wanted and submitted them to the INEC officials.

    “Our prayer is that these elections should be cancelled and re-scheduled so that we can have better, free and fair elections in Kano. I don’t think by all standards, the elections here in Kano can hold water. It is unacceptable and I don’t think INEC can go ahead to count because there is nothing to count,” Kwankwaso said.