Nigerian lawmakers are pushing for the death penalty for rape, weeks after allegations of sexual assault against senior religious clerics sparked nationwide uproar, amidst concerns over rising cases of sexual abuse.
“We should review our laws and make it a death penalty and by the time we kill one or two persons, those who are raping will control that thing that is making them to rape,” said George Sekibo of Rivers State, during plenary on Tuesday.
The lawmaker made the statement while contributing to a motion on “Sexual abuse in Nigeria: a growing scourge”, sponsored by Rose Oko and 10 other senators.
Ms Oko had raised a point of order to present a motion on the increasing rate of reported rape cases and sexual assault especially on children across the country.
Cases of rape have been widely reported in recent times. In June alone, PREMIUM TIMES reported several rape cases including the case of and Islamic cleric who raped a16-year-old girlwhodid not deny having sex with the girl but claimed that he got married to her a day before the first rape incident.
There was also the case of a pastor who wasjailedfor raping a 14-year-old.
The most controversial case came two weeks ago when Busola Dakolo, wife of the singer, Timi Dakolo, accused Biodun Fatoyinbo, the senior pastor at COZA of raping her when she was a minor.
Mr Fatoyinbo denied the charge, but stepped down as pastor.
The motion
Rose Oko, who represents Cross River, described rape as a “dastardly act” and said it is perpetrated on children as young as six months.
She referred to a UNICEF report of 2015 which states that six of ten children under the age of 18 experience emotional and sexual violence.
Using the rape cases of asix-month-oldbaby in Kano andOchanya Ogbajein Benue State, Mrs Oko said there are more reports of children being raped by school teachers, relatives among others.
She also faulted the unserious attitude of relevant agencies towards rape crimes and that failure of states to implement laws protecting children against such violence.
“Authorities have been accused of treating child molesters with levity. Nigerians have complained of the lackadaisical attitude of government agencies towards the fight against child sexual abuse,” she said.
“In most cases, prisoners, rapists inclusive, get released because of overcrowding. The lack of training of security officers on how to deal with victims of sexual abuse.
“Despite international agreement, laws aimed at protecting minors such as the Criminal Code Act, Penal code act, Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Law Enforcement and administration Act 2003.”
Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015, and the Child Rights Act have not been fully implemented.
“The Child Rights Act has been adopted by only 23 states as state laws. While Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015 adopted by three states,” she said.
She also said state and non-state institutions have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation and commended recent reactions by the public especially Interest Groups and NGOs against perpetrators of all forms of rape and violence.
Lawmakers want death sentence
In his contribution, Mr Sekibo blamed the government for failing to implement penalties for rape crimes. He called for death sentences for perpetrators of the act.
“If a man commits sexual abuse on a six-month old baby, it is criminal. That person ought to be killed not to be sentenced. It has been happening in this country and perpetrators are not punished. Are there no laws? don’t we have departments of governments that are handling these laws?
“No religions accepts that. We should either review our laws and make it a death penalty and by the time we kill one or two persons, those who are raping will control that thing that is making them to rape.
“The problem is, when issues are reported, people take it for granted. Parents may be poor people who may not be able to push the matter to a higher level and then the matters will die there.
“My appeal is, when an abuse takes place, let the parents report and if they can, run to the Senate. If the police cannot handle it, I’m sure the Senate through its committees will address the issue,” he said.
Kogi senator, Dino Melaye, said the issue was not only evil but “satanic, nefarious, barbaric and outrageously wicked”.
“It is an evil that if we do not propose stiffer punishments, people will continue to exhibit it and get away with it.
“Unfortunately, because of the corruption that is endemic in our systems, many rape victims get away with it. You report a case of rape to the Police, it is treated as a minor offence.
“The National Orientation Agency and other relevant agencies must take seriously, sensitisation programmes concerning this issue,” he said.
On her part, Oluremi Tinubu said a lot has been said about rape but nothing has been done. She said children are the most vulnerable groups who don’t even understand the meaning of sex.
“It is very criminal and I think it will warrant a death sentence at this point in time. What has been done to this child besides physical damage.
“Most of these acts are done by people living with the victims. They are mostly relatives. It is time we do the right thing to do to curb this menace.
“Parents should be given the orientation how raise their children. They should sensitise their children on sex education too,” she said.
Resolutions
The Senate thereafter directed its Committees on Judiciary, Police Affairs, Women and Social Development (when constituted) to seek ways of improving implementation of all legislation and policies aimed at protecting minors from rapists and other forms of violence.
It also directed the committees to review the relevant legislations to provide stiffer penalties against sexual abuse of infants and minors especially.
The Senate called on the Police and other law enforcement agencies to conduct mandatory training for officer in dealing with cases and young victims of abuse.
Other resolutions include, “urge the judiciary to establish a National Sentencing Framework for child sexual abuse cases and judicial officers to impose the heaviest penalties committed by law on perpetrators of all forms of abuses against minors to serve as deterrent;
“Urge federal government to domesticate and robustly implement the child rights act and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015 in order to curb sexual abuse against minors and
“Urge the general public to continue to act as watchdog and voice of voiceless as a way to curb sexual abuse and all forms of violence.”
The answer depends on what's type of land we're talking about from the quick glance I've seen on google. The general rule is 2 acres per cow calf pair then you'll need to supplement their diets. This will be an interesting math problem for the stakeholders to figure out. Im pretty sure the new ranchers will start using irrigation since it would crazy to depend solely on rain.
Other than that Nigeria's population is expanding rapidly so we'll need to import beef to fufill needs inevitably. It's especially true when wealth grows and demand follows. China and the United States do. That latter is especially interesting since its the largest importer and a top exporter.
There has been a lot of talk about RUGA recently. Apparently, there may be a National Livestock Plan driven by the Vice President’s office which is different from the RUGA initiative which was pushed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. I say “may” because there is such little official information that many, myself included, aren’t too sure exactly what is going on.
Be that as it may, I read a bit about grazing land and cattle recently. Turns out we may have a big problem. A problem because the statistics on the amount of grazing land required for livestock is just wow.
An example: Take the United State for instance. According to data from the US Department of agriculture, almost 30 percent of all land in the United States is used as grazing land, mostly for cows. In total, about 655 million acres were used for grazing in 2012. Given the US cattle population of 90 million at the time, that puts it at about 7.28 acres per cow.
The quagmire: So, if we wanted to give our current 20 million Nigerian cows the same space to graze as their US counterparts then we would have to allocate 145 million acres as grazing land. Or 589,500 km squared. Or 63.81 percent of the entire country. Note: this is before you add land used to grow crops for cattle feed. You would need to add 20 percent more land if you included that.
So yeah, open grazing looks dead on arrival. Going by US standards anyway.
To be fair the United States may be special and may just have allocated excess land to cattle. Data on other countries is a bit difficult to find but Brazil, currently the country with the most cattle, may currently be managing about 2.34 acres per cow. But that is Brazil, the country with “almost as much farmland with more than 975 millimetres of rain each year as the whole of Africa and more than a quarter of all such land in the world”.
But even if we managed to get to Brazil’s grazing land per cow rate, we would still need to carve out 20.46 percent of the country as grazing land for our current 20 million cattle. Not barren land but good land. Land with enough rain and stuff on it for the cows to eat. The morale of the story is; when you crunch the numbers we really do have a problem with an as yet unclear solution.
To be clear I think that the question of land use and ownership is more complicated than “this is our ancestral land and you can’t graze here”. I think in the end you need to have very clear land use laws with enforcement. I also think that herdsmen, who by the nature of their lifestyle would have no fixed “ancestral” land have as much right to earn a living as farmers who also mostly don’t pay for the land. Mostly. But yes, it is complicated. Very complicated.
Thanks to the public backlash that heralded the Federal Government’s plan to establish Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) settlements for Fulani herdsmen, President Muhammadu Buhari announced, yesterday, that the plan is hereby suspended.
Why was there ever the need for RUGA?
The Government’s decision to introduce the RUGA settlement initiative was informed by the seemingly endless dispute between Fulani cattle herdsmen and farmers. As you may well know, the dispute has caused the deaths of thousands of Nigerians.
In defense of the RUGA, the Presidencyhad promised that the initiative will bring about a drastic reduction in the conflict between herders and farmers. RUGA was also envisaged to boost animal production. But despite these positives, many Nigerians were not quite happy with the move. Little wonder the initiative was met with widespread condemnation. Some Nigerians even alleged that the initiative is a preconceived attempt to “Islmatise” some parts of the country.
President Buhari in DauraA “No-Good” Policy
Without a doubt, there is a pressing needto amicably resolve the farmers versus herdsmen problem once and for all. However, Nairametrics believes that the RUGA move by the Buhari-led Federal Government could not possibly have been the best solution. This is mainly because the initiative does not make any economic sense. Below are some of the economic blunder the RUGA initiative could have triggered.
1. First of all, the billions of naira worth of “investments”: Note that the Presidency had earlier made it clear that the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) which was introduced in June 2018, is not the same as RUGA.
• The NLTP is a whopping N170 billion initiative by the Federal Government to champion ranching as the way forward for cattle rearing in the country. While this is already huge, more billions will go into RUGA.
• The billions will be assessed by cattle herders as they are expected to be registered with a cooperative for the purpose of the ranching schemes.
• Note that according to the Presidency, 13 States are already in the process of implementation of NTLP to transform the livestock production system in Nigeria along a market-oriented value chain while ensuring an atmosphere of peace and justice.
2. Too expensive for the Government to fund: According to statements recently released by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Umar, RUGA settlements have already started springing up. A total of 11 states have so far been designated as pilot states.
• These states include Sokoto, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kogi, Taraba, Katsina, Plateau, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Niger.
• As stated by the Presidency, the RUGA settlement initiative would secure land from “willing states” to build schools, clinics, houses, and other infrastructure which would facilitate the nomads’ settlement in those locations.
• To say the least, the plan is for these RUGA locations to become mini towns. Providing these facilities will obviously gulp billions of the country’s already depleting revenue.
3. No clear-cut pathway to investment recovery: It is unclear how the Government intended to recoup the billions of naira worth of investments that would have been made if the RUGA initiative had been implemented. In other words, this could as well have been another socialist initiative, characterised by “Jamboree” money splashing by the Government.
4. The threat of increased insecurity: There is the probability that the implementation of the RUGA initiative could eventually encourage insecurity. This is because as herdsmen increasingly multiply within communities, the possibility of friction between indigenes and immigrant herdsmen abounds.
In other words, full-blown conflicts mayensue in some states, especially those whose citizens are were gearing up to vehemently resist the Federal Government’s attempt to secure the states’ lands for herders’ settlements. The sovereignty of states’ lands resides in the state governments who can choose to allocate such lands to the Federal Government.
In Conclusion…
RUGA’s suspension is a move in the right direction. The Federal Government of Nigeria should probably consider learning a few things from other countries around the world who, through very strategic private sector participation, have been able to turn around their Agric sectors. Typical examples as regards cattle production are Brazil, Israel, Singapore, and Australia.
• Brazil, for instance, is the world’s highest cattle producer with 1.46 billion herds.
• Singapore tactfully introduced measures to stop open grazing which has ultimately resulted in the modernization of the country’s cattle industry.
• Also, Israel is reputed to have the highest milk yield per cow, all thanks to the cutting edge techniques it adopts.
In order for any country to truly diversify its economy, the need to fully engage the private sector can never be undermined. Therefore, it is high time private sector investors are encouraged to tap into the opportunities offered by the cattle industry. The Government’s role here should be to regulate.
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu privately met with the Publisher of Sahara Reporters and Former Presidential Candidate, Omoyele Sowore at a hotel in New York.
Both leaders discussed strategies on how to deal with what they called ‘Injustice’ in Nigeria. Speaking after the meeting, Sowore said;
“We met to talk about things we’ve both been passionate about but on a different plane and we respect those boundaries but we’ve had very useful conversations today so that everybody that is aspiring for a fair and just society can come together and rise up now and bring an end to the sorrow and suffering and the domination and the oppression that has become almost synonymous with our generation and our genes in Nigeria.
“Those of you out there who think we have big differences and that we can’t talk, know that when people have revolutionary minds, these minds meet and bodies eventually meet.”
Kanu on the other hand, described Sowore as his Good friend, saying;
“I met with my good friend Sowore and it has yielded today a confirmation that people can come together.
“There isn’t much of a difference for what we are fighting for because we are fighting for justice. We know and hope that the people that found themselves today trapped in that contraption called Nigeria will one day be free and it takes people to do it.
“I doubt it comes from heaven and we have to do it, we have decided to do it and it must be done.”
This will probably get ignored by the concessionaires. Then after FG cancels contract we'll get media circus definitely and few lawsuits potentially. Im not sure any of the dry ports approved by 2006 will be ready in 6 months. We'll see if the government follow through.
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) said concessioners, who were yet to develop the dry ports would lose their license in six months time.
This was revealed by the executive secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Barrister Hassan Bello, at a one-day seminar for the Abuja Transport and Aviation Correspondents Association in Abuja, yesterday.
Speaking at the function,Bello stated that “we have given the last warning to the concessioners of the drive belt that if they don’t develop the ports in six months to cancel the contract.”
He also explained that the agency understands that some of the dry ports were going through political interference but it has become necessary to give a deadline for their development in order to avoid wastage of resources already invested.
Bello further explained that “it is important not to build ports for political reasons as it will not be viable and would be wasted, noting that every port is as important as the goods and cargo it attracts.
“Every port built now must be multi-modern approach, with train services road and other modern facilities as this will solve the problems currently being experienced with the Apapa port, where we have port built for 30 million tons and now the port is handling 80 million tons, thereby being overstretched.”
The executive secretary also noted that the agency would soon advertise for Truck Transit Park in Obollo-Afor, even as he noted that there was ongoing discussion with the FCT for a large Truck Transit Park and dry ports in Abuja.
Lamenting the cost of lack of efficient ports in Nigeria, the executive secretary revealed that in 2015, Nigeria spent over $9billion on freights imported from other countries as Nigeria does not usually export, but rather rely on imports.
Speaking on the advantages of the ports already established,Bello said dry ports built in each state, creates about 5000 direct jobs and the Kaduna dry port is an example as it is being studied right now to ensure that it actualises that aim.
The seminar, with the theme: “Optimising The Full Potential Of The Transportation Industry Through Journalism,” brought together dignitaries and veterans from the media industry, where transportation and maritime reporting was addressed.
The Ghanaian Minister of Railway Development, Joe Ghartey(MP) has confirmed that his country, Ghana, has no deal or contract with the Chinese company building the Lagos-Ibadan rail line in Nigeria.
In the past few days, the media in Nigeria was awash with stories that the Chinese company, CRCC has been contracted to construct a 560km railway line in Ghana for $2 billion (Two billion Dollars), which the stories claim, is about the same cost, the same Chinese company is using to build the156km Lagos-Ibadan rail line.
As a fall out from these stories, questions were raised as per the cost of the Nigeria railway line, with many casting aspersions on the integrity of the immediate past minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, alluding that he may have corruptly inflated the cost of the Lagos-Ibadan railway line.
However, on Tuesday, while speaking on a Television programme, the Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria dismissed as fake news the story of the $2 billion contract to build a 560km Ghana railway line by the Chinese company. He challenged anyone that says otherwise to publicly provide proof of the $2 billion Ghana railway contract. According to Okhiria, “the point is that the rumour-mongers are comparing something (Lagos-Ibadan rail project) with nothing because there is no such rail contract in Ghana as it is being peddled by the mischief makers”.
In a letter to the Managing Director of the Chinese company, CRCC, Joe Ghartey, the Ghanaian minister of Railways Development, confirmed that the $2 billion Ghana rail story is fictitious. In the letter titled, ‘Re: CRCC to Construct 560km Railway line for $2bn- same cost as the 156km Lagos-Ibadan rail’, the Ghanaian government through the Minister also cancelled the ‘non-binding’ Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) they had with the Chinese company.
In the letter, the Minister stated, “My attention has been drawn to a media publication with the caption ‘CRCC to construct 560km railway line for $2bn-same cost as the 156km Lagos-Ibadan rail.’ I regret the said publication which contains a lot of factual inaccuracies. “The minister went on to rebut the publication and state the facts of the matter as, “the Ministry of Railways Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated 21st March, 2019 with Messrs China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC).
“Messrs CRCC expressed interest in supporting the Ministry to develop and modernize Ghana’s railway network, particularly the Trans-ECOWAS line, which runs along the coast between Aflao, on the border with Togo, and Elubo, on the border with Cote d’Ivoire. The purpose of the MOU is for CRCC to undertake feasibility studies through the use of independent consultants.
“CRCC has NOT submitted any Report of the feasibility studies to the Ministry of Railways Development, let alone the project cost estimate. The Ministry of Railways Development has not received any offer from CRCC for the construction of the proposed Aflao-Elubo railway line (Trans ECOWAS line).
“The Ministery of Railways Development therefore does not intend to proceed with the relationship between the two Parties as established by the non-binding MOU.”
Why are you bothering me with long winded nonsense. I didnt know you were the advocate for accused traffickers. They are accused of being part of criminal network hence they should be in jail. I answered you idiotic questions but your just repeat lame arguments like broken record. Im guessing the sun turned your brains your brains to scabled eggs.
Lol ghanians and their stupid conspiracy theories. I dont care for that idiotcy. Call your diplomats to handle it if you're offended the illegal alien is being detained loser. Yawn you keep whining this boring. This my last reply to your mentally challenged drivel.
PetroDollaxxx: Brain-dead Nigerian spewing nonsense! I asked you what specific crime the Ghanaian was said to have committed and you were spinning crap about what someone who claimed to be his “father” living in Ghana said. Is that how your crmininal justice system works? Utter crap. If indeed they were arrested for being “illegal” aliens, the sensible thing to do is to repatriate them to their home country. Who were they trying to traffick?
From the entire report, it was obvious the Nigerian immigration were trying to spin a story that will implicate and justify their heinous intentions for the Ghanaians. There is absolutely nothing beyond a grand scheme of lies and deceit just to implicate two citizens of Ghana. What is their offense and you spin a stupid imaginary plot, based in conversation with the so-called Ghana resident father of so-called “illegal” alien. Is that the “evidence” to “prosecute” the arrested Ghanaians? You referred to trafficking, yet there was nothing to suggest indeed they were trafficking anybody. It is obvious this is a stupid nigerian vendetta against Ghanaians in Nigeria, for which nigerians living in Ghana will pay a heavier price . Already our jails are full with your criminally-minded nigerians. Mass deportation may be the most effective way to handle these fools.
Listen clown stop whining about your criminal alliens. You ask too many dumb questions then rattle on pointless or baseless stats you cant substantiate. The are accused of trafficking hence why they should be in jail so dont ask again. Ask his father what crimes he committed that's who made the statenent.
Yes you are whining since this legal arrest has you crying like a wounded animal. You avoided answering where you hold illegal aliens before deportation. If Nigerians are in your country illegally stop whining on nairaland and go report them to proper authorities.
They were arrested for being illegal aliens and suspected of other crimes, naturally they should be held in prison till so they can interogate them. Its perfectly legal to hold suspect in custody while police investigate. Dont they do that in Ghana to suspected criminals? If you feel there's wrong doing go inform Ghanaian diplomats to Nigeria or battle their case in court.
He said a father of one of the illegal migrants in Ghana said that he has spent huge amount of money training his son but he refuses to be responsible rather he engaged in criminal activities resulting to his several jail terms, “therefore anything we wish to do with him including eliminating him the father approved to us”.
The Cameronians and Ghanians, who were said to be headed to Libya, were suspected to have formed a highly-placed international criminal links specialized in trafficking and other criminal acts in Nigeria and other West African States.
PetroDollaxxx: Stop talking trash. It sounds funny when a nigerians tries to sound intelligent. Your stupidity is clearly obvious for all to see. Who are they trafficking? “One of the Ghanaians has a lengthy criminal history”. Do you mind telling us what crimes that particular Ghanaian committed in Nigeria? Whine? You keep talking like a fool. What crime did those individuals commit? My understanding was that they were arrested for being “illegal” aliens. If that is the offense for which they were arrested and for which fools like you are advocating a jail term, then there is a lot of jailing to do here in Ghana as well. Because very few of the five million Nigerians who live in Ghana have legal status. That is a very logical argument. So why do you keep talking like a demented ediot?
PetroDollaxxx: Crap. Which emotional tantrums? Nigerians are naturally people who don’t obey laws, even basic laws, and I am speaking from experience. Most of the 5 million Nigerians living in Ghana are illegal aliens. The Situation with those nigerian illegals is still loading...........
Go ahead and jail Ghanaians for living in your country illegally, but don’t talk crap when Ghanaiansvstart jailing illegal Nigerians living in Ghana. There are more than 5 million Nigerians in Ghana, about 80 percent of them live here illegally.
They need to be investigated? For what? Why should I give a fvck about Cameroonians?
Lol ok dont come crying over criminals like a hypocrite. Stop asking dumb questions you already know they're suspected of human trafficking. One of the Ghanians involved has a lengthy criminal history. That's reason enough to investigate the group. If you're going to whine you should at least logically consistent.
The cameroonians and ghanians were treated and fairly under law. Legal residents aren't bother so relax unless you're the criminal advocate go argue their case in court.
PS: Where does ghana hold suspected human traffickers before deporting them? Your emotional tantrums wont let you see the obvious hence why your whining about an act you'd naturally celebrate in Ghana.
He said a father of one of the illegal migrants in Ghana said that he has spent huge amount of money training his son but he refuses to be responsible rather he engaged in criminal activities resulting to his several jail terms, “therefore anything we wish to do with him including eliminating him the father approved to us”.
The Cameronians and Ghanians, who were said to be headed to Libya, were suspected to have formed a highly-placed international criminal links specialized in trafficking and other criminal acts in Nigeria and other West African States.
If the customers refuse to pay why are you supplying them? This is the 2nd or 3rd state I read with this issue. It's funny it's the government not paying government.
How many of you guys get water from this agency? Is their service good and inexpensive?
The General Manager of Taraba State Water Supply Agency, Mr Buba Musa, has disclosed that the agency currently loses N72 million annually as a result of water leakages from broken pipes and nonpayment of bills by water consumers.
Musa made the disclosure at a media roundtable meeting tagged: E-WASH (Effective Water Sanitation and Hygiene Services) on Thursday in Jalingo.
The programme was sponsored by USAID in Nigeria.
According to him, among the agency’s debtors were government ministries, agencies, parastatal organisations and residents.
He, therefore, appealed to all the consumers to pay their bills, promptly, to enable the agency serve them better, warning that the increase in population of people in Jalingo, due to insecurity in some states in the Northeast, called for an efficient water supply within the state to cope with the pressure.
Musa reminded the consumers that the high cost of generating potable water and maintenance of broken pipes were affecting the operations of the agency.
According to him, the agency injects a minimum of N8 million monthly into the generation of water but realizes only N2 million monthly.
He urged the residents to also report activities of vandals to the agency, adding they were militating against sustainable water supply in the state.
PetroDollaxxx: Jail them for what? And what if the Ghana Immigration also starts arresting n jailing nigerians illegally living in Ghana? FYI there are about 5 million Nigerians currently in Ghana.
Arent people held in detention facility before they're deported? Im not offended by a country enforcing the rule of law. Theres no point to having laws you dont enforce. Are those 5 million Nigerians there illegally, If they arent whats your point? You dont see Nigerians deporting legal residents so relax. Your emotional tamtrums is odd since you're usually cool with enforcing immigration laws.
He said that while checking them, the NIS officers found out that the foreigners have no legal document on them legalizing their stay in Nigeria.
The Cameronians and Ghanians, who were said to be headed to Libya, were suspected to have formed a highly-placed international criminal links specialized in trafficking and other criminal acts in Nigeria and other West African States.
These reasons are enough to jail them. This needs to be investigated. Btw why aren't you crying about the cameroonians being treated the same?
PetroDollaxxx: And why did nigeria immigration arrest them if they were planning to travel to libya? They are being vindictive because of the Ghanaians involved. If the Nigerian immigration is so effective, how come they are allowing Nigerians, even those without documents, rush to Ghana in their thousands every day? Frankly, there are too many Nigerians in Ghana these days. The Nigerian immigration should do better
Did you read story or just getting emotional over your fellow Ghanaians being deported? If they're here illegally they should go especially if they're involved in human trafficking. Why are you suddenly outraged when you're in support of enforcing immigration laws. I agree the NIS should do better.
The Nigerian are probably moving through land borders through multiple counties or they overstay ECOWAS. It seems Ghanaian immigration doing ok job. I dont think majority of Nigerians doing anything illegal so there's nothing to do.
The Cameronians and Ghanians, who were said to be headed to Libya, were suspected to have formed a highly-placed international criminal links specialized in trafficking and other criminal acts in Nigeria and other West African States.
He said that while checking them, the NIS officers found out that the foreigners have no legal document on them legalizing their stay in Nigeria.
ThePreachersSon: The Ghanaians are ECOWAS citizens. They can come and go any time. They should just free them.
You must come through a legal check point and you cant exceed stay of 90 days without getting visa. There are rules the immigration official listed aswell. Then we still need to determine if they're involved in criminal activity.
I dont see cameroonians being deported often. I see Ghanaians more often in news especially since ghana cracked down on criminal Nigerian nationals. These guys being here show there's gaps that need to be addressed at border. The E-border solution Nigeria has should be scaled up.
Border security solutions by CONNOR COLLINS: • Incorporate a network of electronic detection systems, such as radars, ground based sensors, cameras, and drones in select regions.
• Invest in physical instrastructure, establishing checkpoints and forward operating bases in the remote regions.
• Increase military patrols in high threat regions, to demonstrate a consistant presence and control that spans the border region.
NIS did good arresting these illegal aliens. They should jail then deport them if they're part of syndicate. They probably have good intel to share. Other than that NIS should double their efforts on this issue.
Officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, in Kano have apprehended seven Cameronians, two Ghanians, wondering about the State without any genuine and legal documents indicating their nationalities.
The Cameronians and Ghanians, who were said to be headed to Libya, were suspected to have formed a highly-placed international criminal links specialized in trafficking and other criminal acts in Nigeria and other West African States.
Speaking while parading the illegal foreign nationals arrested in Kano, the Assistant Comptroller of Immigration in Charge of Kano State, Olaide Ishaka Yussuf said the intelligence units of the service uncovered the movements of the foreigners within the week.
Yussuf disclosed that the operatives were on a nine-mile routine tracking to Bichi local government when they stormed on the illegal migrants and arrested them around Danzabuwa village while trying to escape.
He said that while checking them, the NIS officers found out that the foreigners have no legal document on them legalizing their stay in Nigeria and that they were moving to Libya through the Daura hometown of President Buhari in Katsina State.
The Comptroller said section 14 subsection 1 of the immigration act entails that an immigrant must reports to the immigration posts of the country he is coming from and the one he entered, which they have not done.
Similarly, he said the foreigners violated another section 18-1 of the immigration act which says one must have his documents intact, must be authorized by the immigration and have enough money to carter for themselves else they become automatical threat to National Security.
Olaide Yussuf explained as part of their intelligence duties, the immigration has already established contact with the families of the nine illegal migrants in Cameroon and Ghana “but surprisingly must of them preferred us eliminating their sons because of the troubles they put them back in their Countries”.
He said a father of one of the illegal migrants in Ghana said that he has spent huge amount of money training his son but he refuses to be responsible rather he engaged in criminal activities resulting to his several jail terms, “therefore anything we wish to do with him including eliminating him the father approved to us”.
Border security solutions by CONNOR COLLINS: • Incorporate a network of electronic detection systems, such as radars, ground based sensors, cameras, and drones in select regions.
• Invest in physical instrastructure, establishing checkpoints and forward operating bases in the remote regions.
• Increase military patrols in high threat regions, to demonstrate a consistant presence and control that spans the border region.
Sadly border commuinity that should notify Custums and Immigration of presence of Alliens are accomplices who speak the same language with the people accross the border.
That's where re-education comes in. Alot of them are cousins but they should be required to use legal channels to travel. If they're criminals they probably wont have an issue reporting. Its up to millitary to stomp them out.
grandstar: It was Pakistani Taliban militants coming through the porous borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan that frustrated America's effort in that country.
That and all the covert gulf state money just like Nigeria. Saudi Arabia bankrolls these Salafi Jihadists including boko haram as I told.
An effective counterinsurgency policy requires West African states to execute a wide variety of programs concurrently and successfully. These programs include those that focus on local and national security, health, welfare, and (re)education, among other aspects.
I really dont know if the NE redevelopment commission has plan all of this. The re-education is vital in my opinion to make sure the next generation doesn't repeat these events. Other than that they'll need to get economy normalized then diversified. I've read food production reduced due to insurgents.
On the national security side Chatham house made a few good suggestions. Other stuff like decentralizing police wont be immediate since the NASS are dragging their feet. Ending security votes is must to increase security forces budget and reduce corruption associated with this. Sadly Buhari is uninterested...
• End Security votes •Create US-style inspector general offices tasked with exposing corruption, revealing waste and protecting whistle-blowers. • Consolidate the numerous security agencies and integrate each of them into either the military and police. • Consolidate Military support functions by creating joint combat support agencies that could help the force improve its dismal ratio of non-combat elements to frontline units.
The solutions mentioned here are some of the things the government is doing with Eborder plan. The author makes great suggestions Nigeria should introduce like radars, ground based sensors, cameras, and drones in select regions. A few bases located hot spots like lake chad area are best.
The federal government did a bad job communicating their border security plan but it's a good policy. Its funny foreign media does better job at coming up with solutions. Even during the presidential debates the candidates could only talk about replacing security chiefs as their grand plan.
Terrorist organizations survive and prosper in countries with ineffective, porous, and unsecure borders. Organizations like Al Shabaab in Somalia, the Haqqani Network in Pakistan, National Liberation Army in Venezuela, and Boko Haram in Nigeria use weak and porous borders to evade the grasp of whichever government they are attempting to subvert. They will often establish training camps in the relative protection of an unstable country unable to secure its borders, then conduct attacks in the neighboring countries. Boko Haram has flourished in West Africa due to the lack of border security in the region. The organization uses the unsecured borders of Nigeria to conduct operations in Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, acting as a destabilizing force in these neighboring countries. These countries must start taking border security seriously if they wish to defeat Boko Haram.
The lack of a solid border and border security apparatus allows for cross-border illicit actions, such as the drug and arms trade, and human trafficking. According to Polaris, there are approximately 40.3 million victims of human trafficking, and in some parts of West Africa, almost 100% of the victims are children. Human trafficking is a major source of revenue for Boko Haram. Moreover, the absence of a secure border allows terrorist organizations to cross legal and geographical boundaries with impunity, hindering any one nation from capturing or defeating Boko Haram fighters and perpetuating the suffering of the local populations. Therefore, for these nations to successfully defeat Boko Haram, they must mount a closely coordinated effort.
An effective counterinsurgency policy requires West African states to execute a wide variety of programs concurrently and successfully. These programs include those that focus on local and national security, health, welfare, and (re)education, among other aspects. In the conflict with Boko Haram, border security plays a key role in finally defeating Boko Haram. Nigeria and other West African nations do not have the infrastructure nor the manpower to constantly patrol their border regions. Therefore, Nigeria should incorporate a network of electronic detection systems, such as radars, ground based sensors, cameras, and drones in select regions. This targeted network will reduce the workload required to surveil the border regions, while keeping costs relatively limited. Nigeria should then begin investing in physical instrastructure, establishing checkpoints and forward operating bases in the remote regions, allowing for a rapid response to any triggered sensor. Finally, Nigeria should increase military patrols in high threat regions, to demonstrate a consistant presence and control that spans the border region. This hybrid approach of technical and physical security infrastructure, and roaming patrols in targeted sections of the border reduces costs and workloads while improving effectiveness.
Despite owning a floating dock acquired at a whopping sum of more than N50 billion and that has been lying idle for over a year, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has awarded a contract worth N248,850,000 to one Thames Hudson Consulting and Contracting Limited for the dry docking and repair of one of its boats, MV Ofure.
MV Ofure is a search and rescue boat that has been in service since 2000.
Thames Hudson Consulting and Contracting Limited is not known to own any ship repair facility either in or outside Nigeria. The foreign company merely engages in brokerage with a few shipyards outside Nigeria. The company admitted this much on its website, stating that it merely operates “like a project management company”.
Recall that NIMASA had in June 2018 took delivery of the much-touted floating dock, which it said would help boost ship repair capacity, generate wealth and create employment for Nigerians.
According to the Director-General of the agency, Dakuku Peterside, “Nigeria loses up to $100 million annually simply because when our ship owners need to dry dock their vessels, they mostly take them to neighbouring countries like Ghana and Cameroun thus spending avoidable foreign exchange. When this facility is fully operational, it has the capacity to dry dock any vessel in country and save the much needed foreign exchange.”
Clearly, the promises by Dakuku concerning the use of the floating dock is a fluke as the agency continues to waste huge taxpayers money on foreign dry docking of its vessels. What is more, the agency has sidelined indigenous ship maintenance yards like Starzs Marine Engineering Limited, Nigerdock and the Nigerian Naval Dockyard in maintaining its vessels in contravention of the provisions of the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act (Cabotage Act) 2003.
This development has further confirmed the fears of stakeholders that NIMASA is really at a loss as to what to do with the floating dock after the huge investment it had committed to its acquisition.
A memo seeking the approval of the NIMASA’s Parastatal’s Tender Board (PTB) for the award of the contract, exclusively obtained by SHIPS & PORTS, and signed by Head, Maritime Safety and Seafarers Standard Department, Capt. Sunday Umoren showed that the contract will run for a period of six months.
Two young Canadian women freed from their kidnap ordeal by Ghanaian security forces were unharmed, the government said Wednesday, after the development volunteers were snatched at a golf club in the city of Kumasi last week.
Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said five Ghanaians and three Nigerians are being held in connection with the kidnapping, a relatively rare incident of violence targeting foreigners in a country seen as a bulwark of stability.
The women, aged 19 and 20, have been flown to the capital Accra.
"Preliminary investigations show they are fine and are receiving the necessary attention," Oppong Nkrumah told reporters, adding that the operation began overnight Tuesday and lasted less than half an hour.
The Canadians were named as Lauren Tilley and Bailey Chitty by Youth Challenge International, an international development organisation headquartered in Toronto.
"Bailey and Lauren are receiving emotional and psychological support from professionals as they travel home. Medical reports are that they are both physically unhurt," the organisation said in a statement.
The women were abducted on June 4 in Kumasi, Ghana's second largest city, located some 200 kilometres (125 miles) northwest of Accra.
They had been travelling in an Uber with a third Canadian woman.
When they reached their destination, the pair got out of the taxi first and were kidnapped. The third woman then went to alert the police with the Uber driver.
Oppong Nkrumah earlier sought to give security assurances.
"Citizens and travellers are once again assured that Ghana remains safe," he said.
Local media quoted President Nana Akufo-Addo this year as warning that action must be taken to ensure that kidnapping "doesn't become a feature of our society".
"Our brothers and sisters in Nigeria have known it," Akufo-Addo said.
"But we have not known it in this country, and we need to do something about it, to make sure that it doesn't become a feature of our society."
Police on Tuesday briefly detained Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, the chairman of the largest opposition party, in connection with a spate of kidnappings.
He was later released but ordered to report back to the Criminal Investigations Department on Thursday, according to a post on the official police Twitter account.
Last year, three Ghanaian women were kidnapped in the southern port of Takoradi.
In April this year, an Indian man was reportedly abducted, also in Kumasi, by an armed gang demanding a cash ransom. He was swiftly rescued by police.
The Estonian consul was also briefly abducted in April, but released soon after.
The guys over reacted yesterday assuming CBN was going to float naira. I had my suspicions since they're adamantly opposed to it. This seems more likely if they decide to make any changes. I do think they will merge exchange rates since they have good opportunity since they're naturally merging as Bloomberg pointed out months ago.
the Nigeria Customs Service allegedly directed importers to pay for duties at the rate of N326 per dollar against the official rate of N306. The new price regime was cited as an order from the CBN.
Latest development suggests the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may finally allow the Nigerian naira to be floated and freely determined by market forces from the currently pegged N305 per $1.
The development also revealed that a new exchange rate regime has flagged off at the Nigerian ports. The President of Shippers Association of Lagos State, Jonathan Nicol, reportedly disclosed that the Nigeria Customs Service allegedly directed importers to pay for duties at the rate of N326 per dollar against the official rate of N306. The new price regime was cited as an order from the CBN.
Also yesterday, data obtained from the CBN site shows that the interbank rate depreciated by 0.2% to N360.43 per dollar at the close of trading, while the parallel market remained steady at N360 per dollar.
The CBN had earlier signaled that naira may be floated and be determined by the market forces of currency demand and supply. Nairametrics was first to publish the purported signal by the CBN to float the Nigeria naira.
Note that the exchange rate data which is usually published on the CBN macroeconomic indicator’s section, was earlier removed and replaced with “The Naira exchange rate is market-determined“. A market-determined exchange rate is often referred to as one that is floating or a floating exchange rate.
However, the CBN later denied the claims the bank has indeed floated naira. Meanwhile, the latest development suggests the devaluations of Naira may be officially announced soon.
The Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, Yewande Sadiku, was reportedly quoted as saying the apex bank was in talks with other agencies to move to a single rate for the nation’s currency.
What this means is that the CBN will no longer intervene in the foreign exchange (FX) market, as it will allow a convergence of Nigeria’s exchange rate system. This move for a market-determined exchange rate by the CBN would be greeted by investors, who have long accused the government of mismanaging the naira with its multiple exchange rates.
Insecurity, geological mapping, modern laboratories, consistent government policy are some of the things investors in the industry look out for before going to invest their money in any country.
The security forces should be dealing ruthlessly regarding this issue. Fact is illegal mining is prevalent everywhere with few people ever getting arrested. The ministry of mines and states should have get things like geomaps and labs settled already. Zamfara should start since they're willing to import rice for herdsmen.
Ghana has been able to organise its illegal miners (known as galamsey) into a manageable associations, thereby giving the country more revenue from its gold resource.
They practice carrot and stick approach. Ghana also arrest illegal miners frequently. You cant go a month without reading they arrested dozens of people. Nigeria law enforcement is a joke by comparison.
Politics › Nigerian Lawmakers Want Death Sentence For Rape by Blue3k2(op): 3:41am On Jul 10, 2019
