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 Crime / Insecurity: Ogun Leads As 165 People Killed In South-west In Last Five Months by Shehuyinka: 4:06pm On Jun 14, 2022 |
RECORDS have shown that Ogun state has the highest number of deaths from violence in the last five months in the Southwest region of Nigeria. The Southwest states are Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, and Oyo. A total of 165 deaths were recorded from 122 incidents of violence that occurred in the region between January and May 2022. The data figure is less than the number of deaths in the Southeast, which stands at 287 deaths from 154 incidents within the same period. Data obtained from the Council on Foreign Relations' Nigeria Security Tracker (NST) – a website that tracks violent incidents related to political, economic, and social grievances directed at the state or other affiliated groups – covers January to May 31 2022. The deaths are mainly from cult-related activities, armed robbers, kidnappers, farmers/herders crisis and security operatives. According to the data, there were 122 incidents within the period which resulted in 165 deaths. Ogun state has the highest fatalities, with a total of 44 deaths within this period, with many of them linked to cult-related violence. For instance, a supremacy fight between rival cult groups in the Sagamu area of the state led to the death of eight (  people in March 2022.In another incident, no fewer than five persons were killed and many others injured in a crisis between farmers and herders in the state. Also, in the same state, on 24/10/2022, unknown gunmen assassinated a traditional ruler, Oba Ayinde Odetola, and four of his aides at Agodo village in the Ewekoro local government of the state. Coming behind Ogun is Lagos state, with 37 deaths from violence within the period. Lagos is the Nation's commercial capital and has a vast population, so it is expected that security issues should be paramount. The data shows that two people were killed and shops looted when hoodlums clashed on Lagos Island. Similarly, two people were also killed in the Ebute Meta area when hoodlums engaged in violence during a clash. Osun state is also on the list of states with a high number of deaths from violence, with 31 deaths within this period. Four prison inmates were killed and a prison warder injured in an attempted jailbreak on January 4, 2022, in Ile Ife. This led to the Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola ordering prison officials to employ ruthless measures in repelling attempts at jailbreaks in the country, including shooting offenders to death. Five people also died, while seven were injured in Osun when rival cult groups clashed in late January 2022 in Ilesa East Local government area. The death of ten people was also reported in the same state in February 2022 in another cult gang clash in Ilesa. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/insecurity-ogun-leads-as-122-people-killed-in-south-west-in-last-five-months/
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| Politics / Fraud: High Profile Arrests Made By EFCC In 2022 by Shehuyinka: 11:30am On Jun 14, 2022 |
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has made some high-profile arrests in the last few months. Data generated by the ICIR from media reports between January and May 2022 showed that the arrested persons were alleged to be involved in one alleged fraud or the other. Those arrested between January and May 2022 included a senator representing Imo West and former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha. Suspended Accountant-General released from EFCC custody The EFCC picked him for allegedly diverting public funds and properties to the tune of N2.9 billion. The ICIR reported that operatives of the EFCC stormed Okorocha’s Abuja residence and arrested him. It was learnt that the EFCC agents insisted that the former Imo State governor must present himself for arrest following a long-standing invitation addressed to him, which he ignored. Another high profile arrest by the EFCC was Nsima Ekere, a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Ekere was arrested on May 18, 2022 on an allegation of diversion of N47 billion NDDC funds through registered contractors. The EFCC also arrested Ahmed Idris, the former Accountant General of the Federation, on May 16, 2022 for misappropriation of N80bn through bogus consultancies and other illegal activities using proxies, family members and close associates. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/fraud-high-profile-arrests-made-by-efcc-in-2022/ 1 Like
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| Business / Nigeria’s failure to harvest benefits of $100 oil price rise hurts the economy by Shehuyinka: 10:29am On Jun 13, 2022 |
NIGERIA risks losing outright gains from rising oil price of above $100 dollars per barrel since it has failed to embrace reforms that could make it reap such gains. Nigeria’s highly-priced brent crude presently sells for $123.06 per barrel, a price which could have impacted on Nigeria’s economy postively and reduced borrowing. A large chunk of Nigeria’s income and its Federating budgets are dependent on proceeds from oil resources. Furthermore, sharing of allocations by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to the Federal, states and local governments is derived from proceeds from Nigeria’s oil earnings, which have risen from the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, but are having no positive impact on the country’s fortune because of oil imports. Poor economic choices by the government and delay in the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) have threatened Nigeria’s federation allocation and foreign exchange inflows. As a result of poor inflow of oil remittances, the federal government had borrowed over N10 trillion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a step which intensified inflationary pressures on the overall economy. To compound the concerns, Nigeria is currently not meeting the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) allocated oil quota of 1.7 million barrels per day, as oil theft and pipeline vandalism have made it produce a lesser number of barrels. OPEC’s data showed that Nigeria’s oil production has slumped to an average of 1.35m barrels per day. Although it hit roughly 1.4m bpd in May, according to secondary sources, Nigeria still has a deficit of 350,000 barrels per day to contend with. How does this hurt the economy? On the back of dwindling revenue resources following poor revenue management of oil resources, the government has resorted to borrowing. According to the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s debt figure has risen to N41.6trn. The government has to borrow to meet most of its capital and recurrent expenditure, including payment of salaries. The nation’s current foreign exchange crisis arose largely from plummeted oil income, which is a dollar-related business and contributes largest to Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings. Oil majors look away from investing in Nigeria Nigeria has been witnessing gradual divestment by key international oil companies, whose investments are worth billions of dollars. Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Total have divested their operations to other regions, despite Nigeria being Africa’s biggest producer of oil in the region. The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Chief Mele Kyari had, at the ongoing International Energy Summit (NIES 2022), said oil majors were leaving Nigeria and shifting their portfolios to where they could add value to their journey towards carbon net-zero commitment. Kyari noted that major oil companies were leaving Nigeria not primarily because there were no opportunities in the country, but because of the push from fossil fuels in the last 10 years. However, analysts say there are several other critical issues that have also contributed hugely to the divestment. The ICIR had reported that by November 2020, the NNPC had paid $3.1 billion to five international oil companies (IOCs) for cash-call obligations, but the oil company still owed the IOCs a $1.5bn debt. By last year, the NNPC owed Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) an outstanding balance of $917m, while Total E&P Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Agip Oil Company were owed $252m and $370m respectively. Lack of refineries forces government to import PMS The Nigerian government has settled for importation since the state-owned refineries – Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries – became redundant. The country is known to have consequently been losing billions of dollars from crude oil swap deals. According to the Nigerian Extractive International Transparency Initiative (NEITI) 2021 reports, Nigeria lost a whopping N2.1trn as a result of crude oil production deferment in one year. The NNPC uses direct sales and direct purchase agreements for its fuel importation. This method has made it the sole importer of fuel, crowding out other importers who had complained of inaccessibility of the dollar to engage in the importation. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/how-nigerias-failure-to-harvest-benefits-of-over-100-oil-price-rise-hurts-the-economy/
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| Crime / Anguish, Horror, Pain: Inside Story Of Owo Catholic Church Shootings by Shehuyinka: 9:21pm On Jun 12, 2022 |
BEFORE she left for church that Sunday, Caroline Agboola did not know that would be the last time she would be setting her eyes on her son, Ibidowo Tope, and her 10-year-old granddaughter, Fagbeun Ayomide, who she passionately doted on. Until her horrific death at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Agboola was a petty trader producing beans buns, known in Yoruba language as akara. Tope told The ICIR that his 65-year-old mother was killed by one of the dynamites thrown into the church by the assailants. He said his mother’s head was instantly decapitated from her body due to the impact of the explosive. Ayomide, who was at the children’s section of the church, gave a gory description of the drama that ensued when the incident happened. According to her, barely had the church’s Mass ended when the shooting started. She said she was waiting beside the altar alongside other children for hands to be laid upon her by the priest, who was already coming down from the altar, when the pandemonium broke out. The seven-year-old girl said she only survived from being killed by a mere chance and luck. “They immediately led some of the children into the Sacristy,” she said. From there, Ayomide said, someone started lifting them to the back of the church so that they could run and escape. The Owo shootings, which resulted in the death of more than 38 people, including women and children, have continued to attract condemnations and sympathisers from within the state and all over the country. The Catholic Church and the state Muslims had, during their separate visits to sympathise with the church’s leadership, described the incident as “horrific and barbaric.” When The ICIR visited the scene of the incident on Tuesday, it could still see parts of human flesh and bloodstains all over the tiled floor of the more than 400-capacity church auditorium. ‘I survived by mere miracle’ Narrating what he saw, the church’s head of Man of Order and Discipline (MOD), James Anagu, who was at the main entrance of the building, told The ICIR that the gunmen, numbering about four, entered the compound through the main gate. Anagu said when the first shot that killed a petty trader that was waiting to sell his candies to children coming out from Mass at the entrance of the church’s gate sounded, worshippers thought it was the usual cult clashes in the town. His efforts to shut the thick wooden door of the church’s main entrance were not enough by the time it dawned on him that the worshippers were the target. He said that the only thing that prevented him from being killed was that he immediately took cover under one of the benches close to the entrance. Anagu said, “When we heard the first shot, we thought it was the activities of cultism because that is how they usually clash with each other. “However, immediately after the first shot, I saw two young guys with guns shooting directly towards the church, so I quickly rushed to close the door because I was very close to the entrance.” He noted that two of the gunmen had immediately positioned themselves by the side of the church from where they were shooting indiscriminately towards worshippers, who had already gathered themselves at the church’s altar. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/anguish-horror-pain-inside-story-of-owo-catholic-church-shootings/
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| Politics / To Quench Thirst, Meet Basic Needs, Abuja Communities Turn To Caves For Water by Shehuyinka: 2:27pm On Jun 10, 2022 |
Despite the N50 million naira budgeted in 2021 for constructing motorised boreholes in Kwali and Kuje, children within these Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) still die from water-borne diseases due to a lack of access to potable water.https://www.icirnigeria.org/to-quench-thirst-meet-basic-needs-abuja-communities-turn-to-caves-holes-for-water/ 1 Share
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| Politics / APC Presidential Primary: Osinbajo, Tinubu, Lawan, Amaechi In Four Horse Race by Shehuyinka: 10:41am On Jun 07, 2022 |
ON the day of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary election, the race for the ticket has narrowed to a straight contest between four leading aspirants - Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former governor of Lagos State Bola Tinubu, former minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi and Senate President Ahmad Lawan.https://www.icirnigeria.org/analysis-apc-presidential-primary-osinbajo-tinubu-lawan-amaechi-in-four-horse-race/
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| Business / Food Prices Rise Over 100% Under President Buhari by Shehuyinka: 6:46pm On Jun 06, 2022 |
Nigerians have been struggling for feeding as a result of over 100 per cent hike in the prices of key staple food prices since 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office. As shown by statistics, continuous depreciation of the macroeconomic indices of inflation, exchange and lending rates have been negatively impacting food prices. Federal government’s interventions in vital sectors of the economy through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have not been helpful as impeding forces interplay to push up the rates and, consequently, also push up food prices. The interventions include the Anchor Borrowers programme, in which the CBN has been sinking billions of naira on loans to farmers with a view to integrating backward on crops like rice and tomato, and conserve dollars the country had been spending on importing the items. Unfortunately, attacks on farmers by bandits and Boko Haram insurgents have truncated the success level of the initiative. The bandits have killed or kidnapped many farmers, destroyed farms and displaced the owners. Statistics have it that in 2016 alone, bandits killed 2,500 people in Nasarawa, Kaduna, Benue and Plateau states, many of them farmers, while 62,000 were displaced. An estimate of $13.7 billion calculated on farms, crops, houses and cash was estimated to have been lost in the tragedies. In Zamfara and Niger states, bandits’ attacks have been growing every year since 2015, with reports that many farmers are being forced by the bandits to pay regular levies to enable them cultivate and harvest their lands. The situation has escalated so badly that the CBN disclosed that many beneficiaries had declared they would not be able to service their Anchor Borrowers loans because of the destructive activities of bandits’ activities on their farming ventures. Like in farming, distribution of farm produce across the country has also been hampered by the activities of bandits, mostly kidnappers. This development has been affecting prices as sellers factor their losses into prices at the retail end of the chain. A restaurant manager in Kubwa, the Federal Capital Territory, Oluchi Nwanegbo, told TheICIR how difficult it has become to make purchases of food items for the business. “As much as we can, we appeal to customers to keep buying as they keep complaining of the high cost of living,” Nwanegbo said. According to Nwanegbo, price surges in food consumables had made her to lose customers, many of whom had complained of their inability to meet her charges. “From crayfish, gari, cooking gas, vegetables and castor oil to bitter leaf, the prices are almost 100 per cent increase; some are actually above 100 per cent over the last seven years. In the recent past, we we were serving a plate of gari and bitter leaf for N500, now we serve it for N900. Customers grumble all the time about rising prices, even when we try to give them a fairly stable price to enable us remain in the market,” she said. Another restaurant manager in Dei-Dei, an outskirt of the Federal Capital Territory, Roselyn Okoromadu, told our reporter that food prices were on the rise with no sign of abating. “I have been in this business for 20 years now. The present situation on cost of food items is putting us under intense pressure. It is only vegetable that has manoeuvred inflationary pressure; prices of other food items over the past seven years have more than doubled,” she said. What prices of staple food reflect from 2015-2022 Survey checks conducted by the ICIR team showed that a kilogramme of chicken that sold for N1000 in 2015 is now sold at N2,200, an increase of over 100 per cent. Also, the price of a 50kg measure of white gari that went for N6,000 in 2015 has a lot more than doubled to N17,000 in 2022. A 50kg of rice sold for N10,000 in 2015, but it is now selling for N30,000, while a 50kg measure of beans that sold for N21,500 in 2015 is now selling for N34,000. A litre of oil that could be purchased at N250 in 2015 now costs N800. A big basket of fresh pepper, which sold at N11,000 in 2015 is now selling for N17,000. Also, a big basket of tomatoes, which was sold for N10,000 in 2015, now costs N17,000. Also up from N100 in 2015 to N170 in 2022 is 120 grammes of noodles. A crate of egg, which sold for N600 in 2015, now sells for N2,200 in 2022, while a litre of vegetable oil which cost N300 in 2015 now goes for N1,700. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/food-prices-rise-over-100-under-president-buhari/
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| Crime / Lagos Property Agent Accused Of Defrauding Client N300,000 On The Run by Shehuyinka: 7:26am On Jun 03, 2022 |
On March 2, Wumi, a Lagos-based seamstress, met Shola Jagun, the chief executive officer of Pizzle Properties. The visit was to help secure an apartment after being introduced to the property agent by a friend. So, her expectation was simple, she told the ICIR. She thought if Jagun, the property agent, could help secure an apartment at a strategic location in Lagos, it would foster a steady growth in her business. Thus, improving her livelihood. However, what ought to be a step toward life-changing turned out to be what she described as an agonising experience. She got scammed. Jagun, the property agent she consulted to help secure the apartment, allegedly conspired with one Femi Fadipe, a caretaker, to rip her off a sum of N300, 000 initial payment. Three months later, Wumi is yet to get the accommodation, Her previous rent had expired in January, and she is now homeless. Reoccurring reality In a quest for to get accommodation, unsuspecting Nigerians have fallen victims to fake property (house) agents and dubious property firms. Wumi has solely been responsible for catering to her needs and her siblings ever since her father’s demise. She is an unemployed university graduate but decided to go into fabric designing to make ends meet. On March 2, Seyi, Wumi’s friend, arranged for a meeting between the concerned parties. And after resolving her choice of accommodation in a business-friendly area of Lagos, Jagun introduced her to Femi, a caretaker whom the agent assured her of his sincerity, giving testimonies of the different successful transactions they have had in the past. He claimed, “they have been doing business for long,” Wunmi said. Shortly after, Wumi received a call from Jagun announcing an available apartment in the Gbagada area of Lagos. The total cost for the rent was N480,000. She agreed to advance payment of N300, 000 while she pays the N180,000 outstanding after two weeks when the current occupant of the apartment would have moved out, then she moves in. “I met Femi, the caretaker, on March 3. I made the first payment on the same day,” Wumi said. On March 3, Wumi was called to inspect the apartment that fits her specifications somewhere around the Charly boy area, Gbagada, Lagos. Upon arrival, she could not go into the apartment to check the interior, with the excuse that the current occupant was out of town and had locked the apartment. This was her first and only meeting with Fadipe, the caretaker. Out of desperation, she eventually withdrew all her savings and solicited financial support from friends and relatives to pay for the rent. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/accommodation-scam-lagos-property-agent-accused-of-defrauding-client-n300000-on-the-run/
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| Crime / Despite Fraud Allegations, Adama Adama Wins APC Reps Ticket by Shehuyinka: 6:00am On Jun 03, 2022 |
ADAMA Adama, the Chief Executive Officer of Enadama Group, accused of fraudulent investment schemes, has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for Apa/Agatu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. He will contest the election to represent the constituency in the National Assembly during the 2023 general elections. This is despite several allegations of theft and abuse of trust levelled against him before he went into politics. On April 24, Adama’s campaign posters emerged on social media, which became an issue of public debate among the aggrieved persons who had invested in his failed business schemes. For a while, Adama was labelled a professional scammer and called out mainly for failing to pay investors returns after the victims committed several millions into the politician’s multiple investment schemes – Viablex, Farm4me and Ceepas with no Return on Investment (RoI). Viable X was an export financing platform, Farm4Me was designed as a platform for contract farming while Ceepass served as a digital bank for savings and investments. But, the party electoral committee, chaired by Samuel Shagbaor, and the secretary, Franklin Shankodi, over the weekend, said Adama recorded 21,747 votes to defeat his rival Godday Samuel Odagboyi, an incumbent lawmaker, who polled 3,151 votes, in the primary election. The ICIR earlier reported on February 23 how the businessman turned politician allegedly ripped off an investor of over N8 million and shut down the office. More investors criticised the businessman for reneging on his promise and still went incommunicado. The aggrieved persons raised the alarm and tagged him with unprintable names. Adama later admitted to some of the allegations in a letter submitted to the antigraft agencies – the Economic Financial and Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and other security operatives between January 10 and 11. He promised to commence payment by the end of March or the third week of April, but only a few had since confirmed a price of about N100,000 capital, excluding the RoI. Aiseosa Ogunbor, who invested over N6 million, told The ICIR that a social media group was set up to monitor the payments and design communication strategies to ensure the aggrieved members are paid. But since the group was created, he disclosed the candidate still owes most of the investors whose investment amounts to over N457 million. The ICIR contacted the ICPC spokesperson, Aruba Ogugua, over the development and the politician’s inability to fulfil his pledge despite his initial promise. A copy of the letter titled “Situation Report on Business Activities involving: Farm4Me Agriculture Limited, Viable X Agribusiness Limited and Ceepass Digital Limited” was also shared with ICPC officials. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/despite-fraud-allegations-adama-adama-wins-apc-reps-ticket/
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| Politics / Commuters Groan As Lagos Govt Enforces Ban On ‘Okada’ Operations by Shehuyinka: 5:20pm On Jun 02, 2022 |
MANY commuters in some local governments (LGAs) and local council development areas (LCDAs) in Lagos State where the government has banned the operation of commercial motorcycles were compelled to trek long distances today as the enforcement of the ban took effect.https://www.icirnigeria.org/commuters-groan-as-lagos-govt-enforces-ban-on-okada-operations/ 3 Likes 2 Shares
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| Politics / ANALYSIS: APC Presidential Primary – All Eyes On Buhari by Shehuyinka: 10:54am On May 30, 2022 |
JUST as he promised during an interview with Channels Television in January, President Muhammadu Buhari has not revealed the name of the candidate who he would prefer to succeed him when he leaves office in 2023. “I wouldn’t say (the name) because he may be eliminated if I mention. I better keep it. It is secret,” Buhari had said when asked if he has a preferred successor. Few days to the presidential primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which was initially slated to hold at the Eagles Square, in Abuja, on May 29 and 30, 2022 but now rescheduled to June 6, 7 and 8, 2022, Buhari’s choice is still a big secret. But as delegates converge to elect the ruling party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections, it is expected that the President would, at last, unveil the anointed successor. All eyes are on Buhari. Although he usually projects a largely aloof disposition that suggests that he has no interest in issues that did not affect him personally, Buhari has demonstrated that he has the ability and capacity to influence the state of affairs in the APC. Late into the long-drawn contest for the position of APC national chairman, Buhari brought former Nasarawa State governor Abdullahi Adamu into the race and ensured that he was elected as the party’s national chairman as an unopposed, consensus candidate at the party’s national convention. Such a feat will be more difficult to replicate in a crowded presidential primary election that involves several hugely ambitious politicians but it is certainly not beyond Buhari to decide who emerges the APC flagbearer, and by extension, his likely successor. Pilgrimage to Buhari Major presidential aspirants on the APC platform are aware of the importance of Buhari’s endorsement. Aspirants like former Lagos State governor and party stalwart Bola Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Ebonyi State governor Dave Umahi and others officially announced their intention to contest the election after visiting Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The aspirants understand that being the President’s preferred candidate is, more or less, all it will take to emerge the APC presidential candidate for the 2023 elections. But, going by available information, Buhari offered the same advice to all the aspirants who came to see him. The summary of his advice: Consult widely. Crowded field Twenty-eight expression of interest and nomination forms for the presidential election were purchased – some by proxy – in the build-up to the APC presidential primary election. Twenty-five of the forms were filled and submitted, signifying the intent of the concerned aspirants to participate in the primary election. Barring last-minute disqualification of aspirants – the party is yet to screen the presidential hopefuls – the primary election is going to be a crowded field with an unprecedented number of contestants. The APC National Working Committee (NWC) is compounding the situation by insisting on screening 28 aspirants, including those who bought, filled and submitted forms, and those that had forms purchased in their name but not submitted. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/analysis-apc-presidential-primary-all-eyes-on-buhari/
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| Business / INSIDE STORY: Illegal Loan Apps ‘victims’ Form Groups To Seek Retribution, Vow N by Shehuyinka: 5:10pm On May 26, 2022 |
DEBT collectors for many loan apps in Nigeria exploit unconventional techniques to shame defaulting borrowers to retrieve loans. This has been the subject of discourse and multiple media reports. Some people who borrowed money from loan apps have come together to form groups on Facebook. One such page is the Mobile Loan Apps Debts Victims in Nigeria. One of the admins told the ICIR in a chat that the purpose of the group is to support each other against debt collectors that harass them with calls and messages. The page has messages that encourage people to collect loans from ‘illegal loan’ apps and not pay them back. It also claims to enlighten the public about the loans. One such message reads “If any loan app shares what transpires between you and them with a third party, automatically you have repaid that loan!” Another post stated “you can never be the one at wrong against 14/7 days loan tenor. As long as it’s such a short tenor with an interest higher than what CBN has laid down as guidelines, such loan apps will always be the one on the wrong whether you are indebted to them or not!” It went further to state “If the loan apps will not stop operating illegally in our country, then why should they not be given a lesson of their life? Please stop telling people not to take loans abeg” Then added “This is an anti loan apps platform please, where we give no slightest consideration to mobile loan apps. Na their destruction be our own happiness. We can’t wait to see them fall!” The admin who spoke to The ICIR noted that she is using a pseudo name. A similar group on Facebook with over 20,000 members is called Say No to Sokoloan, LCredit ETC, also has a Telegram channel. This group states they provide psychological support for victims of loan app harassment. To be a member, you will be asked numerous questions which include; if you are a loan app defaulter. Other questions are ‘Are you a loan app victim?’, “Since when have you been using loan apps”, “How many loan apps are you indebted to? Please list them, and “where is your location in Nigeria?”. The ICIR gathered that these groups sprang up in reaction to the method loan apps-which are largely unregulated, used to retrieve their funds. “Loan Apps Victims Initiatives”, “Mobile Loan Apps Debt Victims in Nigeria”, and “Say No To Illegal Loan Apps” are some of such groups. Earlier investigations by The ICIR show how illegal loan apps ignore Nigeria’s cyber laws and shame customers over late repayment of loans, threatening and using inappropriate words for customers amid excessive use of debt recovery tactics by their debt recovery agents. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/inside-story-illegal-loan-apps-victims-form-groups-to-seek-retribution-vow-not-to-repay/
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| Crime / Insecurity: 287 People Killed In South East In 5 Months by Shehuyinka: 10:10am On May 26, 2022 |
TWO hundred and eight-five people have died due to insecurity in the last five months in the southeast region of Nigeria data suggests.https://www.icirnigeria.org/insecurity-287-people-killed-in-southeast-in-5-months/ 2 Likes
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| Business / Ekiti: Why Senator Olujimi, Rep. Bamisile’s LGA Has Been In Darkness For 7 Years by Shehuyinka: 10:05am On May 23, 2022 |
THE Ekiti East Local Government Area (LGA) of Ekiti State is among the areas that have not seen grid electricity for some years in Nigeria. The Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), which supplies light to the state, cut the LGA off the national grid for over seven years due to unresolved conflict, putting its people in total darkness. Efforts by the LGA and the state government to restore power to the area have since failed, as the outage unleashes massive blows on socio-economic activities in the LGA, writes The ICIR’s Marcus Fatunmole. Residents of Ekiti East Local Government Area of Ekiti State said the LGA had been cut off from the national grid since 2014, making the area remain in darkness for over seven years. Affected communities include Araromi-Ugbesi, Ahan, Omuo-Oke, Araromi-Oba, Ikun-Araromi, Ilasa, Eda-Ile, Omuo, and Isinbode, among others. A two-term senator representing Ekiti South, Biodun Olujimi and Olufemi Bamisile, representing Emure/Gbonyin/Ekiti East in the House of Representatives, are from the LGA. The ICIR reporter saw the former Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) office in Omuo, a two-storey building at Iworo, along Isinbode Road, converted to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) office. Many of the transformers in the LGA have been overgrown with weeds. The absence of power supply has crippled businesses, even though some people have switched to solar power and use power generating sets. Many residents said they could not afford solar power to run their businesses; a few mounted the device on their rooftops to provide light at night. There are also solar-powered street lights across different parts of the local government. The ICIR’s check showed that many homes in the area use solar power. Solar power lights are in different categories, selling from about N2,000 to millions of naira. The smallest and cheapest forms of the device have in-built bulbs producing light after users keep them in the sun. Medium solar power products can charge phones and power customised fans and bulbs, while big and costliest ones are strong enough to pump water, power fridge, television and other gadgets in homes and offices. The use of power generating sets has been minimal because of fuel costs in the LGA. Over a dozen people interviewed said many youths had left the area because of a lack of power supply. They left for other parts of the state or the country where they could see the light to conduct their businesses or plan their lives better. Businesses such as fish selling, hotels, bars and restaurants, barbing, point of sale (POS), laundry and welding suffer due to the power crisis. The problem also affects services in public and private organisations, including banking. For instance, the general hospital, local government secretariat, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office and the Omuo-Oke Divisional Police Headquarters are among the institutions in the LGA that run on solar power and power generating sets. Apart from crippling services in those organisations, especially hospitals, a lack of power supply discourages staff from coming to work, many workers who spoke in confidence said. Staff at the General Hospital, Omuo-Oke, said the facility ran on power generating set and solar power, making it difficult to operate optimally. Until last year when the hospital got a solar-powered cold room from a donor, there was no way to preserve vaccines and other drugs needing cooling systems. The hospital uses formalin – a chemical – to ‘dry’ corpses in its morgue, says one of the hospital workers. “You can imagine a hospital telling patients to come with jerrycans of water when coming because there is no water at the hospital,” the worker told The ICIR when explaining how not feasible it is to use fuel to pump water. When the reporter called the hospital’s Medical Director, identified as Dr Ojo, to confirm the claims, he told the reporter to call back. He eventually rejected the reporter’s calls, after the reporter had explained the issues to him. Parties speak on cause of power outage Reasons adduced by many residents of the LGA differ from what power firms said was responsible for the outage. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/ekiti-why-senator-olujimi-rep-bamisiles-lga-has-been-in-darkness-for-seven-years/
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| Religion / How Pastor Keeps Dozens Of Nigerians In Church In Preparation For ‘rapture’ by Shehuyinka: 11:33am On Apr 29, 2022 |
NOAH Abraham, the founder of the Christ High Commission, is keeping about 40 people in his church at the Araromi-Ugbesi in Omuo-Oke, Ekiti State in for what he describes as preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, otherwise known as the rapture. Some of those he keeps have sold their belongings and taken the money to him, hoping Jesus would meet them while camping at his church relatives who spoke to the ICIR say. A few others have also abandoned their families who refused to join them to live at the church, the ICIR gathered. The pastor believes a “mighty palace” will descend from heaven and land on his church, where members would live forever with the “one that sent him.” Because of the way he camps his church members, some of his members’ relations accuse him of abduction. On Wednesday, April 27, the ICIR’s reporter visited the church where he was given a tour by Abraham. The situation The people of Araromi-Ugbesi in Omuo-Oke, Ekiti East Local Government Area of Ekiti State are currently in shock that the community hosts a church allegedly holding people captive. News had filtered on the social media during the week that the founder of the Christ High Commission Ministry, Noah Abraham, held people captive in his church in preparation for the rapture and that he made them pay N310,000 each. The church is barely eight months old. The pastor, Abraham said he a native of the town. He had run a church in Kabba, Kogi State, in 2009 and another in Kaduna before returning to his hometown. His church at Omuo-Oke is the only one he claims to now own. He told The ICIR he had ordered the demolition of the Kaduna church after his assistant laid claim to its ownership. He believes a mighty palace will soon descend from heaven and land at Araromi-Ugbesi in Omuo-Oke, where he runs his current church. To this end, he is assembling people from different parts of Nigeria and camping them in preparation for the rapture. Some of the people at the camp are secondary and university students who have decided not to return to school because they are waiting for the rapture, relatives say. As of April 26, 38 people, including almost a dozen children, had been with him for weeks. His wife does not live with him at the church. She stays in Kabba. But the reporter saw a lady the pastor said was his daughter who assisted him in the church. How an aggrieved member exposed the church A former member of the Kaduna chapter of the church had told The ICIR that his wife and children were at the camp without his consent. He involved the Police at Omuo-Oke to secure the release of his family on a day before the ICIR’s visit. The man’s wife refused to follow him after staying at the church with her three children for nearly 20 days. But the man succeeded in taking his three children away. One of the children attends a private university in Ondo state. He claimed his children said they were no longer interested in going to school but would wait for rapture at the church. A man who gave his name as Tobi, told the ICIR he plans to go to Ekiti from Kaduna where he is a resident to attempt to pull out his brother-in-law and his nephew who are in the camp. He said his brother-in-law sold his belongings and took the money to the pastor. Tobi explained that his brother-in-law told the wife (Tobi’s sister) that she should forget about the marriage since she refused to follow him. They have been married since 1991. He eventually left for Ekiti with one of his sons abandoning his wife and four children. The church The church – Christ High Commission Ministry – is at a remote location, inside a large and fenced building. It is close to the fuel station along the expressway at Araromi-Ugbesi. The compound has a big gate and about six buildings. There are at least eight palm trees and some mango trees on the premises. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/exclusive-how-pastor-keeps-dozens-of-nigerians-in-church-in-preparation-for-rapture/
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| Health / How Nigeria Got Over $1 Billion From Donors In Four Years To Fight Malaria by Shehuyinka: 11:30am On Apr 27, 2022 |
NIGERIA received at least $1.147.5 billion in foreign aid to fight malaria between 2014 and 2017 as the country sought to achieve its National Malaria Strategic Plan (NMSP) 2014-2020. Despite the foreign support and domestic funding to combat the scourge, the country remains the world's most burdened with the disease. The 2019 Malaria Programme Review (MPR) shows that the country failed to achieve the National Malaria Strategic Plan. The National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), a department under the Federal Ministry of Health, blamed the failure on the government's failure to commit adequate funds to fight the disease. On Tuesday, The ICIR reported how the country remained the world's malaria capital, parading the highest cases and deaths, 74 years after launching its National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP). Nigeria's budgets for malaria between 2014 and 2017 The MPR notes that in 2016, the Federal Ministry of Health got N250 billion, out of which the government earmarked N750.5 million for its malaria programme. The amount represented 0.003 per cent of the health budget. In 2017, the ministry got N310 billion. The malaria programme got N284 million from the allocation, representing 0.0009 per cent of the health budget. Similarly, in 2018, the Federal Government allocated N340 billion to the health sector. The National Malaria Eradication Programme got 103 million, being 0.0003 per cent of the health budget. That year, the actual release for NMEP was N15 million. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/how-nigeria-got-over-1-billion-from-donors-in-four-years-to-fight-malaria/
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| Politics / 2023: How Moves For Consensus Candidate Led PDP Into Fresh Crisis by Shehuyinka: 9:26am On Apr 25, 2022 |
“THE only thing that can make me step down is death. If I am alive, we will run this thing. We will hold the primary on May 28 and 29.”READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/2023-how-moves-for-consensus-candidate-led-pdp-into-fresh-crisis/ 1 Like 1 Share
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| Sports / How NFF Sold ‘n120m Worth Ticketing’ Right At N5m For Nigeria–ghana Return Match by Shehuyinka: 9:12am On Apr 25, 2022 |
ON Tuesday, March 29, 2022, Nigeria’s Super Eagles played the Black Stars of Ghana in the return leg of the final play-off for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja. The 60,000-capacity stadium was filled to the brim in the game which ended in favour of the Ghanaian team. The Black Stars had played goalless in the first leg in Kumasi, Ghana, but drew 1-1 with the Eagles in Abuja. The Abuja match was so well attended that scores of other football fans who could not access the main bowl to cheer the Eagles crowded outside the stadium. The match ticket for regular sold for N2,000 while the VIPs were sold for N10,000. The ICIR learnt there was a VVIP ticket category which sold for N20,000. This category was confirmed by the president’s special assistant on social media, Bashir Ahmed, via his verified social media handle. However, he did not state the cost. The NFF denied claims that there was a VVIP category and also that there was a ticket for N20,000. READ ALSO: INVESTIGATION: How ‘Pinnick era’ of funds misuse, zero transparency is killing Nigerian football INVESTIGATION: Poor pay, shaky structure, zero transparency sound death knell for Nigeria’s premier football league How grassroots clubs are robbed through transfer matching system in Nigeria Independent findings by The ICIR revealed that about 1,000 white seats were set aside for executives at two varying ticket types identified as Fanfest and Fanfestplus. This newspaper could not establish the exact sum allotted to those ticket types, but they were valued higher than the regular. Notwithstanding, by simple estimate, if all the 60,000 spectators procured regular tickets for N2,000, that would mean they have ultimately paid N120 million. This is based on the estimated value of the stadium’s total capacity. This includes the ‘over 20, 000 free tickets’ jointly bought for fans by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports and the NFF. The ICIR would later find out that the NFF and the sports ministry were yet to pay the ticket fee, contrary to the claim widely publicised in the media. Twenty four hours to the match, Ahmed had announced the early closure of public offices to encourage civil servants to watch the game. This was part of the strategies to drum support for the national team which may not be unconnected to the large turnout at the stadium. “The Office of the Head of Service of the Federation has directed that all offices be closed at 1.00 pm tomorrow to enable public servants to be at the MKO Abiola Stadium to support and cheer up our Super Eagles as they go against the Black Stars of Ghana. #GoEagles — Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) March 28, 2022.” Despite the crowd that watched the game, the NFF could only account for N5 million as proceeds from the ticketing. This sum was confirmed to The ICIR by the NFF Head of Corporate Communications, Ademola Olajire, when the reporter visited his office about a week after the match. How NFF, Daar Communications signed controversial ticketing deal - Advertisement - On March 11, 2022, the NFF announced Daar Communications Plc, owners of the Africa Independent Television (AIT), as the sole right ticket holder for the international match. At the media briefing, the NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, applauded the firm for its consistency in supporting the sports industry. Sanusi said the support informed the decision to award the media company the ticketing right. “Since the inception of its operations, Daar Communications has consistently shown remarkable love and support for the growth and development of Nigeria football. “The ticketing rights awarded to Daar Communications PLC today reflect our confidence in the organisation to raise the profile of the game and fill the stadium to the capacity approved by FIFA with passionate fans who will cheer the Super Eagles to victory and on to Qatar 2022,” Sanusi said. It is not clear if the bid was made open for other interested entities to partake before the final selection. No part of the ticketing agreement was made public, not even on the NFF’s official handle. Attempts to get a copy of the deal were unsuccessful, even when The ICIR approached Daar Communications through its head of sport, Calistus Ebare, who reportedly facilitated the agreement. There have been concerns about the sum the NFF received for the ticketing right. The critics raised eyebrows over the lack of transparency surrounding the contract agreement. “NFF used to selling the ticket itself, but we do not know what happened this time around,” a source in the stadium said. Another source familiar with the activities in the sector said an organisation could take all proceeds after securing the ‘broadcast right’ of a match. Still, this source could not tell if it applied to ticketing rights. Yet, the source maintained the amount paid for the exclusive ticketing right was too little compared to the crowd. “I wasn’t involved in the nitty-gritty of the deal… I’m sure that figure may be too small. I’m sure AIT would have paid more than that for that deal. That’s not the right figure. “Probably they may feel we may not be able to market, and the reason they gave it out that cheap, I wouldn’t know,” the source added. According to the media organisation’s chairman, Raymond Dokpesi (Jnr), Daar Communications’ job was to raise the game’s profile and fill the stadium to capacity as approved by the world football body, FIFA. Dokpesi spoke alongside the firm’s Group Managing Director (GMD), Tony Akiotu. Meanwhile, many issues bordering on corrupt practices have been raised generally in Nigeria’s sports management. An instance was a corruption allegation of a $2.2 million basketball deal exposed by The ICIR. These concerns are more pronounced in football management. In July 2020, FIFA offered the NFF $1 million as a COVID-19 palliative to support Nigerian football. In October 2020, the NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, confirmed the payment and applauded the world football body. A breakdown of the spending was reported here, but not much has been heard on the fund’s utilisation of the 2.0 projects in Birnin-Kebbi and Ugborodo. Popular concerns have been on promoting and establishing more transparency in the nation’s sports sector. Some even attributed the football failure to mismanagement, favouritism, and lack of proper coordination. The NFF is aware of these issues that it highlighted 10 of its ‘Essential Anti-Corruption Norms.’ The norms, positioned at the entrance of the federation’s office, just by the reception, include warning against the bribery of referees and match-fixing of football matches, age cheating in football, corrupt offers and seven others. Still, relevant questions begging for answers are the rationale for selling ticketing right with a potential of N120 million for N5 million? What was the number of tickets sold for the match, and how much of the proceeds went to the NFF? How much would be allotted for the management of the sports facilities? Is the deal a one-off or does it cover more years, to mention but a few? READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/inside-story-how-nff-sold-n120m-worth-ticketing-right-at-n5m-for-nigeria-ghana-return-match/
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| Business / Cost Of Preparing Pot Of Jollof Rice Rises By 7.3 Per Cent To N8,500 — Report by Shehuyinka: 1:20pm On Apr 22, 2022 |
THE average cost of making a pot of jollof rice for a family of five in Nigeria has risen by 7.3 per cent, from N8007.50 in the third quarter of 2021 to N8,595 at the end of the first quarter of 2022, reflecting the worsening food crisis in the country. The hike was disclosed in SB Morgan’s latest report titled; ‘Jollof Index Q4 2021 & Q1 2022: Geopolitics Comes for Dinner.’ The SB Morgan Jollof Index, developed by SBM Intel, an Africa-focused research firm, simplifies the appreciation of food inflationary trends using a common delicacy that most Nigerian households enjoy – the jollof rice. It tracks how much it costs to make a pot of jollof rice across 13 markets in nine states in the six geopolitical zones for a family of five or six, the average rural and urban family size in Nigeria. The Jollof index covers major food items used in making a pot of jollof rice, such as rice, curry, thyme, seasoning, groundnut/vegetable oil, turkey/chicken, beef, pepper, tomatoes, salt and onions. The report states that insecurity has plagued the country to disturbing degrees, citing that this has affected food distribution as some food supply routes are considered unsafe. “The average cost of making a pot of jollof rice for a family of five went up from N8007.50 in Q3 2021 to N8595 at the end of Q1 2022, a 7.3% increase,” the report states. It notes that price surges are now a common phenomenon in all the markets as the approach of running to outskirt markets in a bid to save costs is no longer tenable. “This showed particularly in Abuja. It will cost the most to make a pot of jollof rice in Wuse II at N10,900, while Bayside Mbakpa in Calabar accounts for the lowest cost of making a pot of jollof rice at N6,840,” it notes. It reveals that traders now call dealers on a daily basis to confirm if there is a price change before they begin the day’s sales because they stand a risk of not being able to replace stocks, as profits are very marginal due to the high cost of goods. The report reads, “Customers also complained about their inability to add protein to their meals. A respondent stated, ‘Beef, chicken, and fish have become so costly these days. I am not even talking about turkey. I removed that one from my menu a long time ago, and now that everybody wants to add egg, it has gone up too. It is now about N80 or N90, depending on whether you buy the small or big one.’ “ It says that due to the high poverty level in the country, food quantity has become the major priority for people over dietary requirements and food quality. The SBM Intelligence report corroborates the report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March 2022, which revealed that Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 15.92 per cent in March 2022, the highest rise since October 2021. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/food-crisis-cost-of-preparing-pot-of-jollof-rice-rises-by-7-3-per-cent-to-n8500-report/
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| Business / As Easter Celebrations Wind Up: Chicken, A Luxury, Say Consumers by Shehuyinka: 8:37am On Apr 19, 2022 |
JUST recently, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for March 2022, revealed that Nigeria’s inflation increased to 15.92 per cent in March 2022, indicating the highest increase since October 2021. The inflation could not have come at a worse time than now for christians who have been celebrating the Easter period. This piece is on the hike in the price of chicken, a constant staple in Lagos homes during Easter celebrations. JOSEPH OLAOLUWA reports. For four days, Christians all over the world have been celebrating the Easter period. The situation has not been different in Lagos. The norm for many years during Easter in the city had been Christian homes celebrating with rice, sumptuously topped with enticing pieces of chicken. The period was always so lavishly celebrated that many Christian families would, after satiating themselves, magnanimously share plates of rice and sizeable pieces of chicken to neighbours and friends. Chicken meals have become so synonymous with Easter celebrations. There would be no such fiesta in many homes in Lagos this dying Easter period, as a survey by The ICIR revealed. Spiralling inflation has hit the cost of chicken so much so that it was impossible for many consumers to buy the bird for the Easter celebrations. The price of the fowl Bunmi Fajeminigba wanted to buy at the Ogba market on Saturday, March 16, 2022 was enough to throw him off his feet. Fajeminigba began to prance round and round, thinking of what next to do. He appeared clueless in the fez cap that he donned. After much thought, he asked for a white bird, which he weighed in his hand. Then he gave the order for it to be killed and cleaned. It had cost him N4,500, he told The ICIR. The consumer lamented that this Easter season was unusually difficult. He explained he would have easily bought four fowls two years ago with the amount he was using to buy the white hen. “Two years ago, I bought four chickens. Today, I cannot afford more than one, and that’s with stress. Things are too costly this time around. “Last year, I bought a breeder for N4,500. Today, that size of breeder costs N11,000,” he groaned. ‘Chicken is a luxury’ An accountant, who gave his name simply as Lawrence and who The ICIR spoke with also at the Ogba market, described chicken, at its present cost, as a “luxury.” Lawrence asked, “The common man can now only buy small pieces of meat from a meat seller. How many common people can afford to pay N13,000 for a broiler and N4,000 for a layer? “This time last year, a layer was N2,800-N3,000 maximum. Now, we are buying a layer for N4,000 plus. The inflation is really biting hard. It is not just feeding alone, but in everything. I am surprised how everyone is surviving.” Celebrating Easter with eja egun Many low-income residents of the city of Lagos who could not meet up with the norm of celebrating Easter with chicken have been having to do with the round, roasted (panla) stock fish, hailed in the local parlance as eja egun. The delicacy got the name from the fact that it was hawked or sold in markets mostly by women from Badagry, whose people are widely known as egun. Eja egun has always been well patronised in Lagos, but mostly by the financially challenged, because it comes at a relatively cheap price. The fish became more popular during the Covid-19 restrictions when many homes found it difficult to access markets and were short on funds. Eja egun hawkers, therefore, became ubiquitous in the city serving the useful purpose of filling consumers’ soup pots. As prices of chicken virtually flew out of the window for many low-income earners in Lagos, it has been eja egun to the rescue. A celebrant at Somolu, an average density population in the city, Mrs Comfort Bajulaiye, told The ICIR she did not hesitate to resort to eja egun to prepare Easter meals for her family when she found prices of chicken astronomically unaffordable. Bajulaiye gave the price of four not-too-small pieces of the eja egun as N500, saying she prepared a good meal for her family of three children and her husband with N1,500 worth of the fish. Another Easter celebrant, Shola Akinsanya, a carpenter, also said he had to buy eja egun to celebrate the festival with his family of his wife and four children. “I definitely can’t afford to buy a chicken. Even if I had bought a small one of N2,500, it won’t be enough for my family for one meal. There is nothing in it. Raw fishes are also expensive, whether it is titus, kote or panla (stock fish). But eja egun served my purpose and my family well. Nigeria now is to do according to your means,” Akinsanya said.' READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/as-easter-celebrations-wind-up-chicken-a-luxury-say-consumers/
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| Politics / Humanitarian Ministry Diverted Multi-million Naira Rural Women Grant by Shehuyinka: 10:19am On Apr 17, 2022 |
This report by Elijah Akoji, reveals how the cash grant programme for rural women launched in 2020 was fraught with problems of corruption, irregularities, politicisation, lack of transparency, and accountability in the implementation of the programme in Jigawa, Kaduna, and Kano states. Between 22 and 29 December 2020, while the covid-19 pandemic was at its peak, the federal government through the humanitarian affairs and disaster management ministry claimed to have spent N1.01bn across 15 states including the FCT as a cash grant to rural women. The Grant for Rural Women (GRW), is part of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), introduced to sustain the social inclusion agenda of the Buhari administration and ensure the realisation of the national aspiration of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. The gesture was designed to provide a one-off grant to some of the poorest and most vulnerable women in rural Nigeria. The sum of 20,000 each was supposed to be disbursed to 16,000 vulnerable women in rural areas in Kano, Kaduna, and Jigawa states. A further breakdown showed that 8,000 women were targeted in Kano, while Kaduna and Jigawa states had 4,000 women each as intended beneficiaries. This implies that the sum of N320 million was meant to be disbursed across the three states. While over the years several investigations have revealed the level of corruption in the execution of many the social investment programme, where targeted beneficiaries are excluded from the programme, this investigation by the ICIR revealed widespread corruption and fraud in the disbursement of funds and selection of intended beneficiaries. Account names without faces Payment receipts record from GovSpend – a platform that tracks government expenditure showed that Oladapo John Ogunyanmodi, Musa Yusuf Dauda, and Devine Sekibo were among the fifteen persons whose name was captured to have received over one billion naira from the humanitarian and disaster management ministry, money meant as a grant for rural women. Disbursement Breakdown On the 29th of December 2020, just three days to the end of the year, Oladapo John Ogunyanmodi, received N86.4 million into his account with payment description ‘Non-personal advance payment’, as a grant for rural women in Jigawa state, although, 4,000 vulnerable women were targeted in Jigawa state, while this money paid into Oladapo’s account could go for 4,320 poor and vulnerable women in the state which is over the projected beneficiaries. On the same day just as Oladapo, it was also tracked to the payment record that Musa Yusuf Dauda was paid N73.6 million as money meant for rural women in Kaduna state which can only go for 3,680 vulnerable women which is a shortfall against the 4,000 vulnerable women announced, which is below the number announced as the total beneficiary, while Devine Sekibo the third person also received 140.8 million, an amount which can only go for 7,040 vulnerable women, as against the 8,000 vulnerable women in Kano state. The payments evidence receipt showed that other payments were made on the 26th of December 2020 to other personal accounts, on a day which is supposed to be a public holiday, the second day of Christmas. Mustapha Alkasim, an economist at Bayero University Kano (BUK), describes the term ‘non-personal advance’ as a non-existing financial term, which does not explain anything, it is either advance payment or personal advance, and there is no term as ‘non-personal advance’. Breach of law The Federal government, on December 1 2019, launched the Open treasury portal to increase transparency and accountability in governmental activities. The portal aims to provide a comprehensive space for the collation of data by all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on budget implementation and financial records. Chapter 7 section 713 of the Nigeria Financial Regulations states that under no condition should personal money be paid into the government’s bank account nor shall any public money be paid into a private account. Vahyala Kwaga, Head of Research and Analyst at BudgIT Nigeria, explained that payments into personal accounts if such is investigated and proven, should lead to dismissal according to Financial Regulations. “Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account,nor shall any public money be paid into a private bank account. An officer who pays public money into a private account is deemed to have done so with a fraudulent intention.” the section reads. Since government contracts are signed with companies, the expectation is that payments are to be made to companies and not individuals. “In the Financial Regulations (revised edition, 2009), in Chapter 7 “Bank Accounts and Cheques” (specifically, regulation 713) provides that: “Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private bank account. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/investigation-how-humanitarian-ministry-diverted-multi-million-naira-rural-women-grant-to-personal-accounts/
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| Politics / Kperogi: Does Osinbajo Pursue Agenda To Fill Buhari Govt With RCCG Pastors by Shehuyinka: 7:28am On Apr 14, 2022 |
PROFESSOR of Journalism and Emerging Media at Kennesaw State University Farooq Kperogi has again come under fire for claiming that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo uses his Office to facilitate job appointments for members of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) where he is a pastor. Kperogi wrote on Monday that the Veepee sees his position in government as “an opportunity to promote the supremacy of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG)” which he has characterized as Osinbajo’s RCCGification project. The article titled “Two Major Lies in Osinbajo’s Declaration Speech” has been the latest sensation on social media. At the last count, over 5,000 followers have liked it on Facebook and 1,400 of them have shared it. On Twitter, Kperogi’s followers have locked horns, defending or criticising the 760-word article. But is his claim about Osinbajo facilitating the appointment of RCCG members in the Buhari government true or false? Relying on public records, The ICIR profiles some of the government appointees whose recruitment Osinbajo allegedly facilitated. The first on the list was the Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment between 2015 and 2019, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah. Dr. Enelamah indeed was the pastor of RCCG Olive Tree parish at Banana Island Ikoyi Lagos. He was commissioned in May 2015, a few months before he was announced as minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He succeeded Pastor Osinbajo who then was transferred from RCCG Jesus Centre parish to Olive Tree in October 2009. But at the time of his appointment, he was also the head of African Capital Alliance (ACA), Nigeria’s biggest private equity firm. The company raised over $750 million in managed funds since its inception in 1997. A graduate of Harvard Business school, Dr. Enelemah was Investment Partner at Zephyr Management, a global investment manager headquartered in New York, after a stint at Goldman Sachs. Another prominent hire allegedly facilitated by the Veepee Osinbajo is the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande. Long before he returned to Nigeria to serve in the Office of the Vice President, the former reporter at The Guardian was also the pastor of RCCG Jesus Friends Assembly, Bayshore, New York. According to the information on the Church website, Akande started the parish on May 13, 2007, then located in Brentwood. In 2015, he was appointed as the spokesperson for the vice president. Kperogi wrote that Akande abandoned his church to take up the government job in Nigeria. “I’ve learned that Akande’s parish in New York has now closed,” he wrote. The ICIR’s finding though shows that the church is still operating. In fact, the Church’s Resurrection Celebration service is slated for Sunday, April 17 at its current address at 150 Motorparkway, Suite 304 Hauppauge, NY. The third nominee of the VP on Kperogi’s list is the former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Babatunde Fowler. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/factchecking-kperogi-does-vp-osinbajo-pursue-agenda-to-fill-buhari-govt-with-rccg-pastors/ |
| Crime / Harvest Of Death: Pains Of Living In Southern Kaduna by Shehuyinka: 4:19pm On Apr 12, 2022 |
KADUNA State in the northwestern part of Nigeria has been the hotbed of deadly Violence for more than 20 years. The ethno-religious crisis, mainly between the largely predominantly Christian farmers’ community and the Hausa-Fulani Muslim herders has seen mass civilian casualties and has also displaced thousands. Kaduna, second to Zamfara is the least insecure State in Nigeria, according to Data sourced from the Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=przfVOUlZnA A 2017 report by Chatham House estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 people have died in incidents across Kaduna State since 1980. Also, a report by Amnesty International in 2020, stated that violence has been on and off in southern Kaduna since the aftermath of the 2011 elections and authorities have failed to end the violence or bring the perpetrators to justice. 2020 annual security report by the State government shows that 937 people died in violent attacks and mass atrocities in Kaduna State. As the casualties being recorded shows no end in sight and people being forced to live in Internally Displaced Person Camps due to the destruction of properties caused by the endless crisis, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting visited Southern Kaduna to capture the experiences of those affected by the ongoing crisis. Forced to flee Sitting in an armless chair, the village head of Tele Community, Tanko Zango, hands clasped together in preparation for an interview in a room that has become his home. Zango and his people are currently based in Maraban Riddo community in Chikun Local Government Area. Maraban Riddo presently plays host to the Internally Displaced people of Telele and pam Madaki communities. Telele and Pam Madaki’s people fled their villages in Kujama Local Government Area, on January 18 2022, due to an attack by gunmen. The attack led to the death of over 20 persons, with property and farmlands reduced to rubble. “We were sleeping when we were surrounded by the assailants who came in huge numbers and on bikes. They were armed with guns and other weapons. They came shooting sporadically and were targeting the men in my community. Anyone they saw was killed instantly.” Narrating further, “they were going around on their bikes going after people and domestic animals; nobody was spared; whether you are old or young, so long as you are a man, you would be shot.” The January 18, 2022 attack, according to Elisha Dbyari, a resident of a village close to Telele, Pam Madaki said to have been carried out by bandits. He said over ten persons were killed in Telele, four in Angwan Kure, while he and other villagers were lucky to escape the gunmen. Ungwan Telele, is a community of Gwari people. The now deserted community was said to have accommodated the Fulani’s and other tribes in their community. The Septuagenarian acknowledged the help received from government but lamented the pitiable condition of their village and other adjourning communities. Saying, it is the desire of his people who are predominantly farmers, to go back home, as they have little or no food to eat, because of the destruction of their farmlands and farm produce. “To be alive today is a miracle”, said Shuaibu Adamu Babangida, a blacksmith in Kachechere community. His younger brother, who was the first to be killed in his community five years ago in a fight he said his community was not part of. He blamed the Kataf people for taking issues with the entire communities in Zango Kataf, instead of engaging with those he said they had issues with. “The Kataf people and the Fulani people had a misunderstanding that led to the death of someone in Gidan Karu, a Kataf village. The killing led to an attack carried out by the Kataf people against the Fulani people. We initially left the community for Kafanchan, but returned during the planting season as we thought everything had died down, not knowing that both communities were still fighting each others. We had nothing to do with the killings or the fighting between the Kataf and the Fulani people, but we suffered greatly for it. It affected my community and also other surrounding communities. READ MORE HERE:
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| Crime / Lekki Gardens Linked To N9.9m Fraud Allegation In Estate Deal by Shehuyinka: 10:16am On Apr 11, 2022 |
ON September 17, 2018, Zakari Uthman and his wife Aishat walked up to the corporate office of Paradise Estate, Abuja, with the dream of owning a house. Prior to the visit, the couple had visited one of the firm’s project sites at Idu Sabo, a suburb in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Being a homeowner in the nation’s capital is mostly considered a rare feat and a lifetime dream for many residents. The couple had spent over a decade paying high rents in a highbrow area of Abuja. So, it is only reasonable to want to seek an end to rent payment. They resolved to buy the property using the wife’s name, Aishat Olajumoke Balogun. The couple eventually made a N5 million part payment for a three-bedroom Maisonette Duplex at the Paradise Estate in September 17, 2018. The entire project cost was N9.9 million. And they were subsequently issued an offer letter to that effect. Four months after, precisely January 3, 2019, the couple made the second tranche payment of N4.9 million. These payments completed the total project cost. The project’s initial delivery date was scheduled for December 31, 2019, but it was later shifted. Now, the due date has been shifted more than five times in three years. And as of the time of filing this report, the couple was yet to get their property. “…We have not only lost money that could have accrued on the mutual funds we liquidated at 12 per cent to quickly pay off the initial money but also took a facility at 27 per cent to complete the payment with the hope that by the end of 2019, we will no longer have to pay rent,” Balogun said. Other subscribers for the property in Paradise Estate have been confronted with this shocking reality. On Friday, March 11, The ICIR obtained footage of aggrieved clients who stormed the firm’s office to protest over issues regarding their land titles. “Give us our money…we will make sure the world hears our cries. We don’t have money but we will continue to make noise for the world to know…they are 419ers.” Also, four years earlier, in August 2018, the Association of House Owners and Residents (AHOAR), led by Samson Oche, held a similar protest against the same property firm owned by Lekki Homes. This time, the house owners protested over poor job delivery and non-issuance of house titles, among other concerns. Some inscriptions read: “where is our title document Richard, we are tired of your deceits,” “Our roofs are giving way with the slightest rainstorm.” “We have been promised for three weeks from the date of handover of our units to receive our title documents but three years down the lane, it’s been stories upon stories,” Oche said. Ogbugo Ukoha was among the protesters. As of the date of demonstration, he had lived on the estate for more than a year but was more concerned about the land title. He told the News Agency of Nigeria the property kept selling despite having litigations hanging on the property. He said the Federal High Court, Abuja had earlier issued a judgment against the Paradise Estate in favour of a third party, yet continued to sell to ignorant members of the public. “The developer sold the property to everyone off-plan…surprisingly, after having paid, we discovered that they have been in court for the last, probably, five years during which he was selling and still assuring the owner of the place. “By February, the FCT High Court gave a judgment against paradise having gotten this land through a third party, which means those of us who bought have been deceived into buying an asset we don’t own.” The ICIR‘s check shows that Ukoha is an Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). But, he could not be reached as of the time of filing this report to further find out if some of the concerns have been resolved as of date. On Friday, April 8, this reporter visited his office at the NMDPRA but was denied entry access. Staggering figure of Nigeria’s housing deficits Nigeria is crippled by housing deficits. A considerable larger part of its population lived in slums due to a deficit put at about 17 million in 2018, and the figure has continued to rise. The Speaker of the House of Representative Femi Gbajabiamila, in October 2021, said the nation would require N6 trillion to bridge the housing shortage nationwide. Besides, the home deficit is expected to surge to 22 million by 2030, according to Tambaya Suleiman, a property expert. Still, the situation has continued to linger despite several housing policies churned out by successive governments. Meanwhile, full payment made by the aggrieved couple should have resulted in quick project delivery, rather Paradise Estate has repeatedly failed on its promised delivery date. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/lekki-gardens-linked-to-n9-9m-fraud-allegation-in-estate-deal/
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| Health / 72% Of Nigeria’s Health Budget Spent On Salaries, Running Offices In 11 Years by Shehuyinka: 8:51pm On Apr 07, 2022 |
NIGERIA has spent 72 per cent of its health sector budgets to pay salaries and run offices in the past 11 years. Data from the Budget Office of the Federation show that the Federal Government allocated N3.5 trillion (N3,545,594,778,327) to the sector within the period. Of the fund, the Federal Ministry of Health got N2.9 trillion for recurrent (N2,905,050,442,117) and N640 billion (N640,544,336,209) for capital expenditures. Recurrent expenditures refer to funds used to pay salaries, train employees and run offices. Four doctors to 10,000 population, Nigeria’s highest in two decades – Data In two years, Nigeria lost nearly 9,000 doctors to UK, others Capital expenditures are spent on physical projects, namely building new offices, equipping them, and making other procurements. The ministry’s capital budget for the period stood at nearly 19 per cent of its total budget (18.06). Despite earmarking nearly 19 per cent of the budget to capital projects (N640,544,336,209), the government released less than 80 per cent (76.9) of the capital funds. The government data show that only about N493 billion (N492,798,032,599) got to the ministry within the period. In October 2021, The ICIR reported how salaries and costs of running offices gulped 73 per cent of the country’s 2022 proposed health budget. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/72-of-nigerias-health-budget-spent-on-salaries-running-offices-in-11-years/
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| Crime / Flash Points: How Driving In Abuja Can Be Dangerous by Shehuyinka: 8:37pm On Apr 07, 2022 |
This report spotlights danger zones for drivers and residents in Abuja after speaking to motorists and leaders of the National Union of Road Transport Works (NURTW) at Berger, Wuse, Jabi, Maitama, Lugbe, Wuye, Airport Junction, Bannex, Abuja Airport and other motor parks as well as private car owners and rideshare drivers. BAMAS Victoria reports. FELIX Abrahams was driving from Wuse II on the Sani Abacha Way – Shehu Yar’adua Way, better known as Wuse – Mabushi express As he approached the Wuse market ramp, his car started decelerating. He edged onto the shoulder of the road, turned off the ignition, and then tried to restart the car. Unsuccessful, he flicked a switch to open the bonnet. At this point, “I was closer to Mabushi bridge”, Abrahams says. When he unlocked his car, two men flanked the car – one at the driver’s side, the other at the passenger door. “The one at my side brought out a dagger, pulled the door open, pushed me back into the car and hit me with the knife. It landed on my neck,” Abrahams recalls. The second man had opened the passenger door and was ransacking the car for valuables. He took the phone that was in the cupholder. “All this happened in less than 2 minutes,” he recounts. In that short time, he was stabbed seven times. After the first stab, which made contact with his neck, he raised his arm as a shield. The subsequent stabs landed on his biceps and shoulder, which are now scarred. The one ransacking the car told his partner, “Let’s go.” And they fled into the night. Abrahams would have handed over his valuables without a fuss had they demanded, but they had not. “I was confused, and my mind was on the car,” he says, “I did not expect an attack”. It was 10 p.m., and there were still motorists on the road. He was bleeding. His training as a public health specialist told him he needed medical attention fast. He got out, walked up the kerb and began flagging down cars. None stopped. “People will just swerve and zoom off.” A young man walking by nearly a half-hour later helped him stop a vehicle. Fear of hassle with police makes people not to help When the first car that stopped later zoomed off, Abrahams thought it was because he was drenched in blood. Many people in Nigeria avoid aiding stabbing or gunshot victims as this may require dealing with the police. This is partly due to a misconception about the law. Eventually, an old rickety taxi stopped. Felix was relieved. Now he could get help, he thought. Not so simple. He needed to go to the hospital, but his young helper and the taxi driver insisted on getting a police report first. Many health workers refuse to attend to stabbing or gunshot patients without a police report. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/flash-points-how-driving-in-abuja-can-be-dangerous/
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| Crime / Insecurity: Families Give Their Daughters To Bandits As Brides For Protection by Shehuyinka: 7:22pm On Apr 02, 2022 |
Rise in banditry has led to a dramatic increase in sexual and gender-based violence, which was already high due to prevailing cultural norms, in the Northwest says a report by the Centre for Democracy Development (CDD).https://www.icirnigeria.org/insecurity-families-give-their-daughters-to-bandits-as-brides-for-protection-cdd/ 2 Likes
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| Health / MEDICAL Consultants Resignations Hit Ebonyi State Teaching Hospital by Shehuyinka: 12:19pm On Mar 31, 2022 |
MEDICAL Consultants at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakliki (FETHA), Ebonyi State have joined the wave of mass resignations of health experts, discarding the federal teaching hospitals and medical centres across the country for oversea jobs, The ICIR can confidently report. This is coming when the country battles with the COVID-19 pandemic and other viral diseases amidst voluntary donations to support Nigeria’s health system. Unofficial sources in FETHA, also known as the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital (AEFUTHA), said between September 2021 to February this year, 30 consultants from different specialisations have left the hospital for countries like Saudi Arabia. This implied about 30 resignations within the past seven months. Among them were two Paediatric surgeons, three from the Ear, Nose and Throat Doctors, and seven others from Obstetrics and Gynaecologists. “It is a terrible situation in Nigeria, but the government really pretends not to know what is happening, but they do,” a top source in the hospital told The ICIR during the visit. “Do you know what it takes to be a consultant?” One of the sources asked rhetorically. “You must have spent several years in your area of specialisation.” So are you also planning to leave? The ICIR asked swiftly. Smiled…looking sideways, ‘that is a tough question,’ he said followed by a long silence. ‘I’m not sure yet.’ ‘That is why I don’t want to activate the process.’ ‘Once I do, it will be difficult to stop, and that means I must go.’ This is the reality in many government hospitals. Besides, the implication of losing the nation’s medical experts to juicy offers abroad is enormous. It simply means, less capable hands to treat complex medical cases. And this might contribute to high mortality in the nation’s hospitals. It is worthy to note that some of the health experts would often render consultancy services to private hospitals at an agreed fee. But losing them at a high rate might spell doom for the country, except urgent action is taken to address the lingering crises in the health sector. “If that number left here, you can imagine the number of people that would have left Lagos, Ibadan, Ife and other big old-time hospitals for Saudi Arabia,” the source added. Even though FETHA Chief Medical Director Emeka Ogah would later debunk the figure, he confirmed to The ICIR that at least five of these consultants have resigned between January and the time of filing this report. He spoke through the Media Consultant to the hospital Okechukwu Emmanuel. The ICIR can confirm that a brain surgeon was among those who tendered his resignation from the hospital. There were two in the hospital until the most experienced left leaving the entire FETHA with one brain surgeon in the entire hospital. Latest resignation in the wave of resignations On February 10, a Principal Physiotherapist from the Department of Physiotherapy wrote through the Chairman Medical Advisory Committee tendering his resignation letter. This was after eight years of service at the hospital. The medical officer would leave the hospital effective from Friday, March 25, 2022. The letter was received at the CMD’s office the following day. “I want to thank you for the opportunity you gave me to work in AEFUTHA for the past eight years, having moved through the rank of a physiotherapist to a senior physiotherapist and principal physiotherapist,” the resignation letter read in part. “I appreciate all the valuable experiences I have gained. It has been a sincere pleasure working in this esteemed hospital.” “In the next weeks counting down to the effective date (March 25th, 2022), as stated above, I will diligently be on my duty post and carry out my clinical duties as a principal physiotherapist as usual.” This is not the first time issues of consultants resigning from federal government hospitals would come to the front burner. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/ebonyi-consultants-resignations-hit-teaching-hospital-amidst-multimillion-naira-intervention-projects/
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| Health / How N91m Intervention Project To FMC Owerri Is Easing Viral Diseases Burden by Shehuyinka: 11:19am On Mar 31, 2022 |
THE Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, is one of the beneficiaries of the awarded emergency projects during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. The project for the construction of the Infectious Disease Treatment and Isolation Centre was awarded at N91.62 million. This was done through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), an agency of the Federal Ministry of Health. It is to cater for Covid-19 cases and other viral diseases in the state. The funding came from the COVID-19 intervention fund. But, prior to the project award, Nigeria recorded its first case of the virus infection on February 27, 2020. To curtail the disease spread, it launched a series of lockdowns while the country continued to record more cases and casualties. The disease crippled the government’s revenue generation, such that authorities were forced to review the nation’s annual budget for the year. It could neither seek a loan nor get immediate monetary interventions from abroad because the disease was a global pandemic. Hence, the private sector and the Nigerian citizens launched an initiative to voluntarily support the Federal Government’s effort to address the health situation through a monetary donation. Some had argued the bulk of FG’s expenditure on the pandemic came from the group recognised as the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID). As of December 2020, Nigeria had spent N38.59 billion (N38,594,085,824.97) from the donations targeted to N120 billion. The N22.21 billion from the N38.59 billion representing 57.56 per cent was spent on welfare, N8.56 billion, accounting for 22.2 per cent, went for COVID-19 case management, N2.56 billion (6.66 per cent) was for laboratories, among others. COVID-19 Expenditure from CACOVID donated funds as of 2020. Source: CACOVID. And because the infectious disease treatment centre, FMC, Owerri, was an emergency project initiated to reduce the disease spread and manage COVID-19 cases, the delivery date was pegged at 84 days. This implied the project should have been completed within 3 months of award. According to data from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) portal, the construction job described as completed was awarded to GT Terracom Limited. It is one of several projects awarded during the pandemic and warehoused by the BPP on its open contracting portal known as Nocopo. What we know of the contractor GT Terracom Limited was registered as a private limited liability company on March 26, 2013. It is owned by two directors: Engr. Moyekwu Onyiuke and Chioma Onyiuke and it is based in Enugu State. Based on public findings, the company has been inactive in the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) database. Being inactive, this reporter would later find out to mean the firm failed to file its annual returns or other obligations to the CAC. Chioma Onyiuke, one of the two directors, also has an interest in another firm Bubble Plaza Limited, registered on June 30, 2000. It is, however, uncertain if the usual open competitive bidding was adopted for the contract award due to the pandemic but The ICIR can confirm that the federal government had earlier approved the emergency procurement method through the BPP. That is, the Selective Bidding method, as against the regular Open Competitive Bidding process of public procurement. This method only requires relevant ministries, departments and agencies of government to disclose their procurement plans through the BPP portal. It is more of a formal notification to the Bureau; after which the information provided is used to ascertain compliance with the stipulated guidelines designed for emergency procurements. Field visit shows project execution, utilisation On Thursday, February 17, The ICIR visited the FMC, Owerri to verify the supposed executed project. GT Terracom Limited was registered as a private limited liability company on March 26, 2013. It is owned by two directors: Engr. Moyekwu Onyiuke and Chioma Onyiuke and it is based in Enugu State. Based on public findings, the company has been inactive in the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) database. Being inactive, this reporter would later find out to mean the firm failed to file its annual returns or other obligations to the CAC. Chioma Onyiuke, one of the two directors, also has an interest in another firm Bubble Plaza Limited, registered on June 30, 2000. It is, however, uncertain if the usual open competitive bidding was adopted for the contract award due to the pandemic but The ICIR can confirm that the federal government had earlier approved the emergency procurement method through the BPP. That is, the Selective Bidding method, as against the regular Open Competitive Bidding process of public procurement. This method only requires relevant ministries, departments and agencies of government to disclose their procurement plans through the BPP portal. It is more of a formal notification to the Bureau; after which the information provided is used to ascertain compliance with the stipulated guidelines designed for emergency procurements. Field visit shows project execution, utilisation On Thursday, February 17, The ICIR visited the FMC, Owerri to verify the supposed executed project. There were also multiple communications with the relevant officials through emails and phone conversations. But it was a different scenario reaching the hospital’s Public Relations Department. Officials at the department unruly directed this reporter to step out of the office and to continue reaching the Head of Public Relations Unit, a doctor, Jacy Achonu, until she was available. Check at the Medical Director’s Office, Kingsley Achigbu showed the MD had travelled out of the state. Yet, repeated calls to Achonu failed. After so much drama, Achonu eventually reached out and The ICIR inspected the awarded projects. The Administrative and Logistic Officer, a doctor, Maurice Nwaodu led the inspection on behalf of the hospital. “Here is the testing centre,” he pointed at the facility. He also showed another building with a red roof where the hospital was managing the cases before the intervention. “When it (awarded project) came in, we quickly did more renovation on the old structure, separated the testing centre from the main isolation infectious disease ward.” He explained that suspected cases might not really be infected until after an initial test, hence, the decision not to merge all the reported cases in one ward. There was different medical equipment at the testing centre to collect samples and test the patients. There were also Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for health officials. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/how-n91m-intervention-project-to-fmc-owerri-is-easing-viral-diseases-burden/
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| Politics / Amnesty Int. Turns Blind Eye To Human Rights Abuses In Nigeria, Bullies Staff by Shehuyinka: 2:36pm On Mar 23, 2022 |
Following allegations of a secret alliance between Amnesty International Nigeria (AIN) and the Department of State Services (DSS), The ICIR digs deeper, reaching out to the current and old staff of the AIN, board of directors, activists, security agents, lawyers and victims of human rights violations in Nigeria. Report by Ajibola AMZAT, Managing Editor; Gbenga ADANIKIN Head of Investigation and Lukman ABOLADE, Investigative Reporter. —————————————————————————————————— A CIVIL servant, Desmond Nunugwo, 50, was arrested by EFCC operatives on June 9, 2016, over a fraudulent business transaction allegation. The following day, the man died. The deceased’s wife, Susan Nunugwo, said her husband was neither ill nor diagnosed with sickness before the EFCC took him away. She then visited Amnesty International Nigeria, AIN, seeking help to get justice for her late husband. The AIN interim Country Director, Makmid Kamara, a Sierra Leonean, instructed the staff to design a campaign plan since the Nigerian authorities had ignored calls to investigate Nunugwo’s death. A renowned pathologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital was contacted, and he agreed to carry out an autopsy on the body. Nunugwo’s family was happy with AIN’s plan and looking forward to getting justice. Then a change of guard at Amnesty Nigeria brought Osai Ojigho as the new Country Director. And that was when things began to fall apart. “Osai started playing games with the family, giving them excuses and stopped them from seeing her on several occasions. One day, she calmly advised Desmond’s widow to go home and bury her husband,” a former staff of AIN who knew about the case told The ICIR. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in its decision dated November 10, 2019, also confirmed Amnesty’s curious withdrawal from the case. Six years down the line, the family is yet to find closure to the mystery of Desmond’s death. In May 2018, a human rights lawyer and activist, Frank Tietie, wrote a dispiriting letter to Kamara, who had returned to work at Amnesty International Secretariat in London as Deputy Director Global Issues and Head of ESCR Team. In the letter, Tietie, Executive Director, Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights, expressed disappointment at the state of human rights observation and enforcement in Nigeria and blamed Ojigho’s management style at AIN. “It is more worrisome to me that the Director of Amnesty International, Nigeria, Osai Ojigho is more eager to find justifications for neither responding nor interfering in the grave but trending human rights issues of serious national concern, in Nigeria, on the grounds that such issues are outside the set thematic areas of Amnesty International for 2018,” he wrote. One of such cases Tietie complained about was that of married women sacked by GLOBACOM, a Nigerian telecom company. The women were fired because they were married and no longer looked “sexy” to be effective marketers. Globacom refuted the claim though. Etitie believed such a decision by a corporate organisation is a gender-based human rights violation against the provision of Article 11 of CEDAW. The law forbids discrimination against women in the field of employment. He wanted AIN to make a strong statement against such discrimination, but Ojigho was uninterested. “She literally snapped at me saying Amnesty International had its set issues already for the year and did not include issues of such,” Tietie wrote in the mail. An attempt for a meeting to explain why Amnesty should be interested in the case was rebuffed. Tietie said the incident rocked his relationship with Amnesty Nigeria. Another human rights lawyer who severed a relationship with Amnesty Nigeria is Justus Ijeoma. The lawyer reported to the AIN the case of Gift Oyinyechi, the widow of Collins Ezenwa. The latter was killed on the kidnapping allegation by the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, led by the disgraced police officer, Abba Kyari. After Ezenwa’s death, Kyari and his team allegedly seized the deceased’s properties and began to deplete them after warning the wife to stay away. The lawyer, Ijeoma, reported the case to National Human Right Commission and Amnesty, Nigeria. “For two weeks, the widow was detained in Lagos, despite losing her husband. We reached out to Amnesty, and they promised to help. They asked the widow to come to their office in Abuja, and after the engagement, they promised to get back to us, they never did. We presented our case at the panel raised by Vice President Osinbajo, but Amnesty backed out without explanation.,” he told The ICIR during a phone conversation. In a similar pattern, Ojigho allegedly turned a blind eye several times to the gross violation of human rights in northeast Nigeria. In his letter of resignation, Malik Samuel, an AIN conflict researcher, noted that Amnesty International, despite all available information, kept silent as the Nigerian military forcibly displaced an entire Borno town of about 10,000 civilians on suspicion of aiding and abetting Boko Haram. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/how-amnesty-international-turns-blind-eye-to-human-rights-abuses-in-nigeria-bullies-staff/
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| Politics / NURTW: Mc Oluomo Dares LASG T, National Body As ICIR Report Stirs Reawakening (2 by Shehuyinka: 2:00pm On Mar 21, 2022 |
Confused drivers worried about the situation. COMMERCIAL vehicle drivers are grumbling that they are the suffering victims in the midst of the current crisis. They complained they have been subjected to double taxation by paying the recently introduced state-controlled N800 consolidated levy and the numerous NURTW dues enforced by Oluomo’s boys at bus stops and parks. Besides the dues that the enforcers collect at virtually every bus stop, Oluomo’s enforcers at the parks and garages, The ICIR learnt, also collect what a driver termed “emergency taxations.” These could be anything from money to host Oluomo’s visitors whenever he said he had them, to money to massage his fancies whenever he felt like it. His word was law. A driver, Olaoluwa Famogbiyele, plying the Berger-Iyana-Ipaja route, told The ICIR that he was not interested in the union’s activities, as he operated his business independently. Famogbiyele said, “You look at the way I was apologising to my commuters today, telling them sorry because this is where I get my daily bread from. This moto (vehicle) is where I get my daily bread from. What I fight for on a daily basis is to get what I eat and drink and, because of that, I am not a part of any union.” To his understanding, the N800 ticket should not be given to drivers but should be replaced by the N200 ticket gotten from the local government councils. “According to what I heard, they said we should not be giving drivers N800 tickets, but we should be paying N200 for council,” he said. Another driver operating a mini-van at the Berger park, Lawan Hassan, noted that most drivers were confused on the way forward. “We don’t really know what is going on for now. We still collected tickets this morning. What we received today was the N800 consolidated levy introduced by the government last month instead of the NURTW ticket,” Hassan said yesterday, showing our reporter a picture of the ticket and lamenting how fuel scarcity had been making the double taxation a bigger burden on drivers. He said, “How much do I make daily? This extra fuel spending is in addition to the N2,500 we spend on taxes, inclusive of loading and ticketing. If all these tickets go down, it would be easy for drivers. “We don’t know what action the union will take because nobody has called us to any meeting. There is no next step, we are still observing if something would change or if there is anything they are going to tell us.” Government responds to The ICIR investigation The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Toyin Fayinka, in an exclusive interview with The ICIR, declared that contrary to some public comments, only the state government’s N800 tickets were being sold. He also stressed that the NURTW has been suspended in the state, warning drivers to stop giving hoodlums or thugs money. He said, “We have suspended national union activities but we have not suspended the tickets of the government. That one is still in force. “The drivers are members of the union. They are mature enough to know they ought not to pay another person on the street asides from the government agents. We have printed our tickets numbered and well-covered with security code. Agents sign for the ticket, and the money is remitted to the coffers of the Lagos State government and reconciliation made. We will come out with a monitoring team to picket and stop random buses. Once you are not with the ticket, you will be sanctioned accordingly.” Fayinka explained that the government has the telephone numbers, photographs and signatures of the designated agents given the wholesale tickets to sell to the drivers to enable government to track revenue leakages. He noted that these plans were made even before the suspension of the union activities. Despite Fayinka’s assertions, a statement purportedly emerged on Monday, March 14, 2022 from the office of the suspended Lagos NURTW chairman, Oluomo, directing the union enforcers to continue operations. “This is to formally inform all NURTW Chairmen and entire members to operate your day-to-day union activities at the various motor parks & garages. Disregard any patrol policemen parading themselves to disrupt your union operations,” the statement read. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/nurtw-mc-oluomo-dares-lagos-govt-national-body-as-icir-report-stirs-reawakening-part-2/
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| Politics / NURTW: Mc Oluomo Dares LASG, National Body As ICIR Report Stirs Reawakening (1) by Shehuyinka: 12:37pm On Mar 19, 2022 |
THEY are all over the place, enforcers of the Lagos State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), collecting dues from commercial bus drivers, tricycle and motorcycle riders, and even from traders in bustling commercial centres like Idumota, Yaba and Oshodi markets, as has been their wont for many years. The only difference, The ICIR observed, was that the enforcers, operating in a ruthless toll-collecting chain that winds to the top under the command of the suspended Lagos NURTW chairman, Musiliu Akinsanya, widely known as MC Oluomo, were operating in mufti, rather than in the green-and-white uniform that they had become synonymous with. Some drivers our reporters spoke with on Monday who lamented they had suffered greatly from the jackboot manner the enforcers had been prising dues from them, regarded the continued dues collection by the Lagos NURTW as an affront to the Lagos State government. The union’s headquarters said it issued Oluomo two queries on February 22, 2022, and March 3, 2022, to explain “the circumstances surrounding his untoward actions”, and to also show cause why disciplinary actions should not be taken against him for alleged acts of insubordination. Oluomo was said to have replied to the first query, which explanation the union considered “unsatisfactory”, while he “bluntly neglected/refused to respond to the second query.” MC Oluomo had immediately reacted on the same day he was suspended with a statement announcing the break-away of the Lagos State chapter from the national body, citing section 40 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, which entitles every person to freely assemble and associate with other persons. He then called on the Lagos State government to take over the management of any garage or motor park where there is a crisis until the crisis is resolved by a consultative committee. He also urged the Lagos State government to take over the running of the affairs of the union with the constitution of a Park Management Committee for motor garages and parks in the state. As if hearkening to Oluomo’s charge, the Lagos State government, the same evening, announced it was suspending the activities of the NURTW in parks and garages in the state. A statement from the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, on behalf of Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu ordered the NURTW to stop operating in all parks and garages in the state. “The Government will set up a Committee to immediately take control of the parks and garages. Members of the Committee will be key stakeholders in the sector,” Omotoso stated. A week after the state government said it would “immediately” be constituting a committee to take control of the parks and garages, it is yet to do so. What is, therefore, happening at the bus stops, parks, garages and even the markets, as seen by The ICIR reporters, is a discombobulation in activities as Lagos NURTW enforcers compete with officials of the state government saddled with the issuance of an N800 daily ticket to commercial bus drivers in the gathering of the humongous revenue that is generated from dues collections from commercial vehicle operators. The ICIR eye-opening report An official of the Lagos State government admitted that a well-researched report The ICIR published last year detailing the billions of naira that Oluomo and his Lagos NURTW were earning every day from their hoodlum-like operation of the parks, garages and bus stops awakened the government to how much the state government had been losing from what could have been revenue it rightly deserved. Findings by this newspaper through oral testimonies and estimates obtained from more than 50 commercial bus drivers in 21 out of the 57 local governments and local council development authorities (LCDAs) in Lagos showed that each commercial vehicle driver pays, at least, N3,000 daily to the enforcers, widely known in the local parlance as agbero. The ICIR’s estimates showed that the drivers pay an average of N225 million each day, N6.75 billion each month, and N82.125bn each year to the Lagos NURTW. There are, at least, 50,000 commercial tricycles (keke Marwa) in Lagos, according to a 2020 report by Techcabal. With every commercial tricycle rider found to be paying, at least, N1,800 each to the agbero each day, the enforcers walk off with, at least, N90m from dues collected from the riders. Every month, the earnings could reach as high as N2.7bn, rising further to N32.85bn every year. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/nurtw-mc-oluomo-dares-lagos-govt-national-body-as-icir-report-stirs-reawakening-part-1/
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