THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the United Nations security council to treat students’ abductions, most especially in the northern parts of Nigeria, as a breach of the United Nations’ charter Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
It also urged the council to urgently hold a special session on Nigeria and visit the country to press the Nigerian authorities to end continuing abductions of students and the increasing level of insecurity across the country.”
Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP deputy director, in a letter dated 26 February 2021 to react to the recent kidnap of school children from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Talata-Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, on Friday night, the organization said: “Attacks on schools and abductions of students are a violation of children’s rights. Nigeria has legal obligations to ensure the immediate release of the abducted students, teachers and family members, provide the necessary counselling following the traumatic experience, and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
According to SERAP, “These abductions and attacks also undermine the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. If not urgently prevented and combatted, such attacks may rise to the level of threat to international peace and security. The first ‘purpose’ listed for the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace.”
The letter, read in part: “SERAP is concerned that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is failing to uphold its responsibility to protect Nigerian students from increasing abductions, and attacks on other people by armed men, and if not urgently addressed these abductions and attacks may constitute a threat to regional peace and security, and by extension, international peace and security.
“Ensuring the release of the students and holding perpetrators accountable will contribute to ending impunity. A UN Security Council resolution would help put pressure on the Nigerian authorities to take urgent and concrete measures to end the abductions of students, secure their safety, and promote all Nigerians’ security and safety.
“The Security Council must act now to protect Nigerian students and other citizens if the Council is not to be accused of failing the people of Nigeria.
“SERAP urges the Security Council and its members to publicly condemn these terrorist attacks, express concern about the protection of Nigerian students and other people and communities affected by the violations of international law and press the authorities to put in place mechanisms for bringing those suspected to be responsible to justice, and victims to receive redress, including adequate compensation and guarantee of non-repetition.
“According to our information, some armed men today abducted over 300 schoolgirls at Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in the Talata-Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State. The armed men arrived at the school around 1 am with Hilux vehicles and motorcycles and abducted them.
“This abduction occurred some eight days after armed men abducted dozens of students and workers of Government Science College in Kagara, Niger State. Last year, armed men abducted over 300 schoolboys from Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State. Aside from Kankara and Kagara, hundreds of secondary school girls have also been abducted from Chibok in Borno State; and Dapchi in Yobe State.
“There are continuing reports of attacks against innocent citizens, including unlawful killings, destruction and pillage of property by terrorists across the country. The attacks have been fuelled by the impunity that has plagued the authorities’ response to the problem.”
SERAP, therefore, urged the security council and its members to adopt a resolution to: Urge Nigerian authorities to urgently take steps to ensure the safe release of the students and workers, and to hold to account those responsible for the attacks on Nigerian students;
Characterise the abductions of students and attacks on other people as terrorist acts and mobilize international support for Nigeria to combat these attacks, including for the authorities to adopt and implement measures to tackle the causes and consequences of these attacks and end the abductions and attacks in the country;
Call on the UN Secretary-General to carry out a joint visit to Nigeria with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the African Union Peace and Security Council to investigate allegations of abductions of students and attacks on other people and to better understand their root causes and put pressure on the Nigerian authorities to end them;
Express concern that unabated abductions of students and attacks on other people by terrorists may ultimately contribute to undermining the ability of the Nigerian authorities to provide security, governance, social and economic development in the country;
Affirm the international community’s solidarity and full support for the victims;
Recognize that security, development and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing and are vital to an effective and comprehensive approach to countering all forms of terrorism in Nigeria, and to;
Support collaboration with the African Union Peace and Security Council to combat the threats posed by terrorists and enable both institutions to support stability and development in Nigeria
A REPORT by the High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for achieving the 2030 agenda (FACTI Panel) has proposed a Global Pact for Financial Integrity for Sustainable Development based on countries’ priorities.
In the 85-page report titled “Financial Integrity for Sustainable Development”, which was released on Thursday, the panel reasoned that given the magnitude of resources that could be unlocked with financial integrity, the Global Pact could have a substantial impact on the well-being of people and planet in developing and developed countries, as well as constitute a major contribution to improving multilateral and national governance.
While noting that countries have varying standards of financial transparency, with some States’ policies allowing secrecy to flourish, the FACTI Panel maintained that the global financial system must be reformed, redesigned and revitalized so that it conforms to the four core values of accountability, legitimacy, transparency, and fairness.
It said these values could lay the foundations for States, businesses, and others’ concrete actions towards financial integrity for sustainable development and undo the harmful effects of Illicit financial flows (IFFs) from tax abuse, cross-border corruption, and transnational financial crime.
“Aside from values, policies are needed to promote financial integrity. Those financial institutions, lawyers and accountants that enable illicit financial flows to course through the international financial system must be held accountable on an equivalent basis as those that commit the abuses. Civil society and the media play a critical role in building the support for financial integrity,” the panel noted.
“To address the lack of cooperation presently hampering efforts against cross-border corruption and tax abuse, governments must adopt unified approaches at the national level built on shared information. States must also facilitate the global exchange of financial information to strengthen enforcement,” it added.
It also urged the international community to develop minimum protection standards for human rights defenders, anti-corruption advocates, investigative journalists, and whistleblowers.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development envisioned extensive global transformation to end poverty and shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development provided the framework for aligning all financing to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets. However, six years after these agreements in 2015, the world has fallen short in achieving transformative change.
The FACTI Panel was convened by the 74th President of the United Nations General Assembly and the 75th President of the Economic and Social Council on 2 March 2020. Its mandate was to assess the limitations of current systems, their impact on financing the SDGs, and recommend ways to address the challenges. Given the magnitude of illicit outflows, these resources have immense transformative potential if recovered or retained.
The Panel is co-chaired by H.E. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, former prime minister of Niger, and H.E. Dalia Grybauskaitė, former president of Lithuania. The members include Annet Wanyana Oguttu, Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer, Bolaji Owasanoye, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Irene Ovonji-Odida, José Antonio Ocampo, Karim Daher, Magdalena Sepúlveda, Manorma Soeknandan, Shahid Hafiz Kardar, Susan Rose-Ackerman, Tarisa Watanagase, Thomas Stelzer, Yu Yongding and Yury Fedotov.
The Panel is supported by an independent secretariat, hosted by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Financing for Sustainable Development Office led by its Director, Navid Hanif. At the same time, the Government of Norway has provided funding to support the FACTI Panel’s work.
THE Kwara State government has approved the use of Muslim headgear, also known as Hijab, for female students in public schools.
This is contained in a statement titled ‘Position of Kwara State Government on the Hijaab Question in Public Schools’ signed by Mamma Jibril, secretary to the state government, on Thursday.
According to Jibril, the government position was that Muslim students should be allowed to wear Hijab in all grant-aided public schools in the state.
“Consequently, the government hereby acknowledges and approves the right of the Muslim schoolgirl to wear the hijab, and directs the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development to come up with a uniform hijab for all public/ grant-aided schools, which will be the accepted mode of head covering in schools.
“Any willing schoolgirl with the approved (uniform) hijab shall have the right to wear same in public/grant-aided schools. Also, the government affirms the right of every child in public schools to freedom of worship,” the statement read in part
Jibril also noted that the affected schools should reopen to commence classes on Monday, 8th of March 2021.
The state government further urged the two faith communities (Muslim and Christian), especially the leaders, opinion moulders, and media personalities, to act with restraint and great responsibility in their public utterances and actions and continue to live in peace and harmony with one another.
The ICIR had reported that the Kwara State government had ordered the closure of 10 schools in the ongoing crisis over the use of Hijab in some Christian-founded schools.
Some principals of schools in Kwara State had banned the use of Hijab in their schools, resulting in clashes between the Muslim and Christian communities in the state.
The schools affected in the ongoing crisis include: Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) College, Sabo Oke; St. Anthony College, Offa Road; ECWA School, Oja Iya; Surulere Baptist Secondary School, and Bishop Smith Secondary School, Agba Dam.
Others are: Christ Apostolic Church Secondary School, Asa Dam; St. Barnabas Secondary School, Sabo Oke; St. John School, Maraba; St. William Secondary School, Taiwo Isale; and St. James Secondary School, Maraba.
FRANK Onyeka Nwaru, a Nigerian, has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in South Africa for drug trafficking.
51-year-old Nwaru was convicted for dealing in drugs on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, at the Stilfontein Regional Court, following his arrest on 21 May 2018 by the Hawks’ South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau (SANEB).
The investigative team had followed up on alleged drug dealing activities near Klerksdorp primary school. After searching for his apartment, the investigative team discovered neatly packed packets containing Crystal meth and CAT drugs worth about R1.5 million.
He made a brief appearance before the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court shortly after his arrest. The state successfully opposed bail, and the accused remained in custody until ultimately being convicted of dealing in drugs.
The Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Patrick Mbotho, a Major General, welcomed the sentence and thanked the investigative team and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for their outstanding work.
WILLIAM Fowler, a former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is listed among prominent and politically exposed Nigerians owning properties in Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE).
Fowler’s name popped-up alongside that of Tukur Buratai, the immediate past Chief of Army Staff (COAS); Mbu Joseph Mbu, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), and Ahmed Ibrahim Dasuki, the late Sultan of Sokoto who died in 2016.
A document exclusively made available to The ICIR by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, (C4ADS), a United State-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) shows that not less than 800 Nigerians were identified as owners of Dubai properties worth N146 billion.
The ICIR had earlier reported that Tafa Balogun, a former inspector general of police (IGP), who was disgraced out of office over corruption is one of the Dubai property owners. The list includes jailed Olisah Metu, former National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and his spouse, Kanayo Olisa Metu. Other influential Nigerians who own property in the city identified as “one of the enablers of global corruption, crime, and illicit financial flows” are former aviation minister, Osita Chidoka and his spouse, Chidinma Chidoka. They both own two flats at the Azizi Feirouz Apartments.
William Fowler
William Babatunde Fowler is a successful tax administrator and a strong ally of Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State and chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). Prior to his emergence as the executive chairman of the FIRS, during the first tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari, fowler led the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue for about seven years.
He managed the board from 2006 – 2013, where he was applauded for transforming the state’s revenue.
In August 2015, he was appointed as the FIRS chairman. Four years after, by December 2019, he was sacked by President Buhari and replaced with Muhammed Nami. This however is unconnected to various corruption allegations leveled against him.
The late Abba Kyari, former chief of staff to the president in a letter dated August 8, 2019, queried Fowler over a shortfall in expected tax collection. He was asked to explain the rationale for alleged noticeable discrepancies in budgeted tax collections by the agency and actual collected tax between 2015 and 2018.
A copy of the query served to Mr. Fowler
For instance, the letter stated that in 2015, real tax collected was N3.7trillion, while the proposed target was N4.5trillion. It targeted N4.027trillion in 2016 but collected N3.307trillion as total taxes. In 2017, the projected tax collected by the agency was N4.89trillion but it raked N4,027trillion and in 2018, the actual collection was N5.32trillion while the budgeted sum was N6.7trillion.
Though, the presidency exonerated Fowler, he was later arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for his involvement over an alleged N100 billion tax evasion as it relates to Alpha Beta, a tax consulting firm supposedly linked to Tinubu.
Based on the C4ADS data, Fowler owns three apartments at Ocean Heights. The 83-storey building was completed in 2010, and a 2-bedroom in the apartment is sold at an approximate sum of $409, 000. This implies the three flats could have gone for about $1.22 million.
Fowler did not respond to calls and text messages sent to him by The ICIR.
Tukur Buratai
From July 2015 to January 2021, Tukur Buratai, a retired Army lieutenant was the chief of army staff in Nigeria. Under his leadership, the Nigerian Army strived to restore peace in the North-East region, but not much success was recorded, due to several allegations ranging from non-payment of appropriate allowances, benefits, and supposed profiting from the decade-long crisis.
Buratai has always exonerated himself from personally owning a property in Dubai. He described the properties as family investments, made before he became the military chief.
“Substantial property is just an investment; my family does their own private business they should afford to have such property in Dubai.” Pushed further, he emphasized that, “the property I invested was far back as 2013 before I became the chief of army staff,” he told the BBC Hardtalk.
Nevertheless, available records from The ICIR show he owns two apartments at the Wyndham Hotel. This differs from the ones owned by his wife, Aishat Tukur Buratai who possesses two flats at the First Central Hotel.
A 2019 report authored by Mattew Page and published on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace examined how the political elites have made Dubai a haven to stash away their ill-gotten wealth. Despite public concerns about the leadership of Buratai, President Buhari still submitted his name and that of past service chiefs for an ambassadorial appointment. On Wednesday, February 23, his appointment with others has been confirmed by the National Assembly.
Aliyu Dikko Abdulrahman
In 2017, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo while acting as president appointed Aliyu Dikko Abdulrahman as Chairman, Governing Board of the Bank of Industry (BOI). He was appointed with Olukayode Pitan who was to serve as the Managing Director of the bank.
Dikko was earlier presented to the National Assembly for confirmation to lead the National Pension Commission (NPC). However, his selection for confirmation by the Senate was rejected by the lawmakers. The Senate argued that the appointment contravened the National Pension Commission Act. He was to replace Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, former Director-General of the Commission who was sacked by the president in 2017. Anohu-Amazu is currently with the African Development Bank (AfDB).
As of July 2020, Abdulrahman was still the BOI chairman, but The ICIR could not ascertain his present status. He could not be found on LinkedIn, a professional social media group. The ICIR reached out to Hadiza Olaosebikan, Head of Corporate Communications at BOI but she did not respond to calls. Text message to her line was also not returned.
Abdulrahman owns three flats at DAMAC Suburbia apartments located close to Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai. It will cost nearly $254, 000 to secure one apartment in the twin-towers luxurious building. But, Abdulrahman remains one of the politically exposed Nigerians who owned apartments in Dubai.
Mbu Joseph Mbu
Mbu Joseph Mbu is known as Nigeria’s most controversial police officer. In 2015, he gave a shoot-out order to the police as a way of preventing electoral violence in the wake of the 2015 general election. As former Commissioner in Rivers State, he is believed to have eschewed professionalism to satisfy political demands of the former president Goodluck Jonathan in Rivers. This occurred at a time Rotimi Amaechi, the state governor left the PDP for the ruling party while in office.
His strong closeness to Jonathan’s family, especially the first lady who was accused of over N9.2 billion fraud also became an issue of public concern.
After much public outcry, he was later removed from Rivers and posted as Police Commissioner in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He was eventually retired after spending 31 years in service. Findings from the property record showed that he owns two apartments at the First Central Hotel, where Buratai’s wife bought her two apartments.
Efforts to reach out to Mbu were also unsuccessful. His mobile number was unreachable and text message sent to his line has not been returned.
THE Amnesty International Nigeria has said that education is under attack in northern Nigeria.
It said this while reacting to the recent kidnap of school children from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Talata-Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, on Friday night.
“Education is under attack in northern Nigeria. Schools should be places of safety, and no child should have to choose between their education and their life. Other children have had to abandon their education after being displaced by frequent violent attacks on their communities,” it said.
While calling for the safe return of the girls and others still in the custody of armed men, Amnesty Nigeria noted that “attacks on schools and abductions of girls are war crimes.”
“The girls abducted are in serious risk of being harmed. Nigerian authorities must take all measures to return them to safety, along with all children currently under the custody of armed groups.”
Mohammed Yerima, spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, had earlier toldThe ICIR on the phone that the Army were unaware of the kidnap several hours after the incident.
Nigeria has experienced many kidnappings in schools, especially in the northern part of the country. The first of such ugly incident took place in 2014 with the kidnap of 276 girls from Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.
Boko Haram, an Islamist extremist terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the kidnap.
Although some of them have regained their freedom, the whereabouts of 113 of them are still unknown till date.
Dapchi Kidnap
Four years after, another 110 students were kidnapped from Government Girls’ Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yunusari Local Government area of Yobe State.
Boko Haram also claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
Five schoolgirls died on the same day of the kidnap, while the others were released in March 2018 except the lone Christian girl, Leah Sharibu. Till date, Sharibu’s whereabouts are still shrouded in mystery.
Kaduna
In November 2020, seven school children were kidnapped by unknown gunmen at a private school in Kaduna State.
Premium Times reported that seven students and a teacher were kidnapped at Prince Academy, a school located at Damba-Kasaya village in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Kankara, Kastina
In December 2020, about 300 students, all boys of Government Science Secondary School, were kidnapped in Kankara Kastina State.
A criminal gang, who wanted to take revenge against others, claimed responsibility for the abduction.
On 17 December, the kidnapped students were freed in neighbouring Zamfara State.
Kagara, Niger State
Again, only on Tuesday night, gunmen suspected to be kidnappers, invaded a school in Niger State, whisking away an undisclosed number of students.
The latest incident, ThisNigeria gathered, took place at Government Science College (GSC) Kagara.
The bandits were said to have subdued the security guards and abducted the students.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered security operatives to ensure that all those kidnapped are rescued.
According to his media aide, Bashir Ahmad, the president has asked security chiefs to coordinate the rescue operation of the kidnapped students and teachers
Also, the Niger State Government has said that it has taken concrete security measures to ensure safety in the state and safe return of the abducted students of the Government Science College, Kagara.
The Nigerian Army has said it is unaware that gunmen kidnapped 300 female students in Zamfara State Friday midnight.
Mohammed Yerima, the Nigerian Army spokesperson, said this in a telephone interview with The ICIR when asked for an update.
“I am not aware; you are just informing me of it,” Yerima told The ICIR. There are reports that unknown gunmen from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in Talata-Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, were kidnapped on Friday night.
According to the BBC, the female students were kidnapped at the boarding school by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.
The Punch also reported that a staff member of the school confirmed that the gunmen arrived in the school around 1 am on Friday with Hilux vehicles and motorcycles and forcefully evacuated the students.
According to the staff, the gunmen besieged the school, pretending to be security personnel.
“When they came into the school, we thought they were security personnel, but to our utmost fear and dismay, they started putting the girls into Hilux vehicles and motorcycles and then drove out of the school,” the newspaper quoted its source.
This is coming a few days after ‘bandits’ kidnapped about 100 Nigerian schoolboys from the all-boys Government Science College (GSC) in Kagara Town, Niger State.
The ICIR also reported how Nigerian schools in the northern part of the country were targeted in terrorist and bandit attacks.
About 1,000 school children have been kidnapped in Northern Nigeria from 2014 to 2021 across five states; Niger, Yobe, Borno, Zamfara and Niger.
Less than 10 days ago, Adamu Mohammed, inspector-general of police, had announced the deployment of 275 ‘special police officers’ on Operation Puff Adder 2.
According to Adamu, the special security forces aimed to reinforce the fight against banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, and other violent crimes being perpetrated across the country.
Welcoming the 275 special police officers to Zamfara, Abutu Yaro, the state commissioner of police, had said inadequate personnel had ended with deploying the officers in the state.
A cross-section of journalists and other Nigerians have expressed divergent views over the proposed amendment to the National Press Council Act by Francis Agbo, the lawmaker representing Ado/Ogbadigbo/Okpokwu in the federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Benue state.
The Act, which repealed the Nigerian Media Council Act 1988, was enacted in 1992 to promote high professional standards for the Nigerian press, attend to complaints from the public over journalists conducts and complaints from the practitioners over public attitude towards them, and related matters.
Agbo, a journalist-turned-politician, had proposed some amendments to the bill, at a plenary in November 2019. The changes being sought by him include making a degree in journalism training or related disciplines the minimum qualification for practising the profession; increase in punishment for offenders and including a provision in the law that will compel media owners to pay their workers regularly, failure of which their outfits will be shut by the government.
Agbo argued that raising academic qualification for practising journalism in the country would check quackery and further dignify the profession.
He also wants the punishments prescribed by the subsisting law to be reviewed upward to reflect the socio-economic dynamics of nearly the past three decades that the law was enacted.
Agbo was a former political editor of the Sunday Sun and group political editor of the Leadership newspaper. He was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Media Relations by Seriake Dickson, a former Governor of Bayelsa state and now Senator, representing Bayelsa West in the current 9th National Assembly. Agbo also worked with late Dora Akunyili, a former minister of information, as a Senior Special Assistant.
The new bill seeks amendment to sections 19 (1) (a), 19 (1) (b), 21 (5) (a), 21 (5) (b) and 35 National Press Council Act Cap N128 LFN 2004.
Francis Ottah Agbo. Source: Dateline Nigeria
Section 19 (1) (a) and (b) of the Act says “subject to rules made under this Act, a person shall be entitled to be fully registered under this Act if…(a) he has attended a course of training recognised by the Council so acquired, with the cognate experience recognised by the Council; or (b) the course was conducted at an institution so approved, or partly at one such institution and partly at another or others…”
But the new amendment wants those paragraphs changed. For example, Section 19 (1) (a) now should read: “…He holds a first degree, Higher National Diploma Certificate or its equivalence in Journalism, media Art, or communication from any Higher Institution in Nigeria or elsewhere,” and 19 (1) (b) “in the case of a person who has a first degree in any other course, he shall within 5 years obtain a postgraduate certificate in Journalism, media Art, Communication, or related field from any higher institution in Nigeria or elsewhere.”
Similarly, section 21 (5) (a) and 21 (5) (b) which specify the measure of punishment for offenders of the Act is listed for amended in the bill.
The subsisting Act, section 21 (5) (a) reads that “In a high court, he (offender) shall be liable to a fine not exceeding N5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment and to an additional fine of N200 for each day during which the offence continues,” and; (b) “In a Magistrate Court, he shall be liable to fine of N3000 and to an additional fine of N100 for each day during which the offence continues.”
Agbo is requesting that section 21 (5) (a) be amended as ( a) “In a High Court, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding N200, 000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment and an additional fine of N500 for each day during which the offence continues;” and Section 21 (5) (b) will be amended as; “In a Magistrate court, he (offenders) shall be liable to a fine of N 300,000 and to an additional fine of N500 for each day during which the offence continues.”
The bill, scheduled for second reading soon, also demands that Section 35 of the Act which stipulates that proprietors of newspapers, magazines or journals should submit an annual report on the performance of their outfits to the council should include mandatory payment of monthly salaries to their employees. It notes that proprietors that owe their workers for more than three months should have their outfits shut.
Some of the journalists who spoke with The ICIR over the matter supported the move while other opined that addressing the challenges facing journalism in the country was beyond legislation. The same goes for other Nigerians who shared their thoughts with this newspaper over the development.
Akindele Orimolade
In his opinion, Akindele Orimolade, a lawyer and veteran journalist said the move was in the best interest of the profession.
Orimolade, who is the Head, Investigative Unit of National Star newspaper decried unprofessional conducts among journalists in the country.
“I think it’s the right thing by the House of Reps to put journalism in the right place. If you did not go to university to study Law and attend Law school, you cannot practice Law. If we are going to have a critical and sensitive profession as journalism, we should have people who are trained, who are skilled in that field to handle it. If you are skilled as a journalist, you’ll be told so many things about patriotism, about ethics of the profession, about what you should publish, about what you should post.
“There are some information you have at your disposal which you don’t use immediately because of national interest and all that. But, if you are not a trained journalist, you’ll not able to do this. I think it’s good for the profession,” he stated.
He said if editors share their experiences on “poor” copies they receive from their reporters, people would feel sorry for them.
He explained that though some of the journalists who didn’t have a background in journalism training could be doing well, sanitizing the profession should not be jettisoned because of those persons.
He said the likes of former governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba who did not study journalism in school but rose to the pinnacle of the profession later went through journalism schools locally and abroad, where they acquired needed training for the job.
Besides, he said other veterans grew from being office assistants to being Editors of their organizations where they worked because they exposed themselves to training.
Orimolade also strongly frowned at many of the undercover reports done by some persons in the country “against the ethics of the profession.” He argued that if the people who specialize in conducting and reporting undercover “such as bribing policemen on the highways from one part of the country to the other” had journalism training in school, they would know that they were not doing real journalism.
He said undercover for any trained journalist should always be the last resort.
Rafat Salami. Source: Women in Media
Rafat Salam, immediate past secretary of FCT NUJ council said the NUJ constitution is very clear on who a journalist is.
“The NUJ constitution already provides for that and says that before 1993, you should have practised for five years, otherwise, whatever your discipline is, you should have at least a diploma in journalism. That was the idea behind the setting up of the International Institute of Journalism; that person who has an interest in journalism should go there and do a post-graduate diploma, as the case may be,” she said.
According to her, going to the school and other journalism institutions would help people who want to practise journalism to understand the ethics of the profession and possess the academic requirement.
Rafat, a senior journalist with the Voice of Nigeria, noted that journalism is about flair, passion and ability to communicate, but practising the profession in the country requires academic qualification.
She said she didn’t see the amendment as any attempt to shut anyone out of the profession by reviewing the Act.
She explained that the decision to raise the entry requirement should be a wakeup call to everyone who wants to practice journalism to go to school and do journalism, adding that those who are already graduates should apply for a post-graduate diploma in journalism to enable them practice.
“You can’t be an accountant, no matter how good you are, you need qualifying professional examination and certification for you to do it. I think we should all embrace it. Those who don’t have a diploma in journalism can go and have a diploma to enable them to practice.”
She also said there is no system that couldn’t get rid of quacks or minimize it if it is so determined. She pointed out that no professional group could make its profession an all-comers affair, as she emphasized that if journalists in the country agree that degree is the minimum requirement that should be used for employment in the media, employers would have no option to agree with the decision.
Kemi Yesufu, Editor-in-Chief of Frontline newspaper said though the decision to increase the academic qualification is good, there are yet very talented practising journalists who were not trained in school to report.
“I think it’s ok, but the challenge is that there are some talented people that have special education, very hardworking journalists. Some of the good reporters we have now actually come into the media with their secondary education. With time, they went to university (didn’t study journalism or related courses) and are still doing very well in the media.”
She expressed hope that the amendment would not be discriminatory at last, if it eventually scales through.
She however agreed with the argument that people in other fields are ensuring that only those who have a degree or relevant qualification could practice them. She expressed caution that journalism is a profession and a career that could accommodate people from other fields, especially when those people are very skilled.
“I’m just saying that if you have a young person that likes to write, and for certain reasons, he’s not been able to attend tertiary institution, I understand what people are saying with Law and Medicine, but when it comes to writing and informing people, you see that people go to social media, post recorded videos of newsworthy events. So, journalism is about informing people,” she explained.
Franklin Adebayo
For Franklin Adebayo, a real estate consultant and a trained journalist based in Lagos state, the amendment to the bill is just a step towards sanitizing the profession.
He said a significant percentage of brilliant journalists in the country were not Mass Communication graduates, but graduates of History, Political Science and other courses.
Adebayo said legislation of this kind could only attempt to minimize quackery “and other infiltrators” in the profession but would never eliminate it.
He attributed his position to many dimensions to the practice of journalism in the 21st century, including the use of social media.
“The issue of quacks in the profession still rests on many of those factors that we have known for ages as students and practitioners. The only twist to it is the dimension it is taking, given the powerful emergence of social media. The multifaceted matters that are needed to be dealt with in this fourth estate or fourth pillar of democracy have little connection with qualifications but much of proper training and adherence to professional ethics. This is because they are correlative and none of them can be addressed in isolation. An attempt to do that will definitely be an effort in futility.”
He cited poor remuneration for journalists as one of the factors that the new law might find difficult to cover, as according to him, the law is only proposing monthly salary, but it did not specify the minimum amount that should be paid by media owners.
“Many practising journalists in Nigeria are poorly paid. This subjects them to a lot of untold abuses and tacitly explains why they are always at the mercy of their news sources. In such instances, the attribute of objectivity and fairness has almost totally vacated the corridor of consideration once brown envelopes were passed and received.
“Do you think journalists in Nigeria fall from heaven? Are they not a reflection of the same society where we are and where many professionals adopted career shift to greener pastures because the profession is not paying off? Even as it stands, the porosity in the profession is not because of qualifications. It’s because of survival of the fittest,” he reasoned.
He cited religion, ethnicity, political sentiment, ownership influence, weak professional body, corrupt regulatory agencies, social media invention and proliferation, activities of bloggers among others as major challenges responsible for ballooning quackery, misinformation and distortions of news in the country.
While noting that politicians directly or indirectly own about 90 percent of media outfits in the country, he suggested that the use of social media should be regulated by the government.
“This, therefore, implies that the bill cannot be impactful without taking into consideration the absolute need to regulate social media,” he said.
Ada Egbu Ezenwa
Ada Egbu Ezenwa, an entrepreneur based in Abia and Lagos states gave a similar perspective to the debate.
She said though journalism in Nigeria seems like an all comers affair, the infiltration of people from other spheres of endeavour isn’t peculiar to journalism alone.
She listed other disciplines such as banking, aviation as some of the fields that accommodate people from diverse fields.
Ezenwa said in newspapers, for instance, there are health columns, history, crime, religion among others, and that it won’t be wrong for any sound professional in these areas to write about issues that should go into those columns. But, she advised that a well-trained journalist in the position of an editor must look into such copies.
She opined that in the course of recruiting journalists by media owners, the Nigeria Union of Journalists and guild of editors must be part of the screening and employment process, so they could recruit the best heads.
According to her, the National Assembly cannot do the work of serious training by higher institutions, media house and editors through a bill.
She explained that corruption remained one of the ills facing the profession, as according to her, members of the political class could bribe editors to push their sponsored or unfounded stories and achievement through compromising journalists.
“The problem here is more of the loopholes/shortcomings in practice than law,” she said, adding that “quackery in the true sense, is not only when a person is not properly trained, practice is key. Some owners of media houses did not receive any relevant training. They are capitalists and entrepreneurs who sometimes dictate what should be reported in their mediums.
“The house should rather look at the issues on how to give journalism adequate protection and to ensure that the ethics of this noble profession are strictly adhered to. Let’s not forget that the world is evolving and many who have a flair or passion for writing have become a part of the system somehow,” Ezenwa added.
Meanwhile, Patience Edamivoh, a former employee of Edo State Liaison Office, Abuja, threw her weight behind the bill.
She said passing the bill to peg a minimum qualification of a degree or HND on journalism in the country would be a welcome development.
Edamivoh noted that there were too many practitioners who lacked needed skills to do the job.
She said if passed into law, the bill would stop people who claimed to be journalists but lack the skills and would consequently add more dignity to the profession.
With the law, she said practitioners would be able to demand better pay and would be motivated to be more productive.
The National Universities Commission (NUC), had in January 2020 unbundled Mass Communication into several separate degree programmes in the nation’s universities.
The commission disclosed that the step was taken to reposition and revitalise university education in the country.
The NUC said unbundling the programme was to meet contemporary demands in university education, in line with global development and best practices.
The programme was split into Journalism and Media Studies; Public Relations; Advertising; Broadcasting; Film and Multi-media studies; Development Communication Studies; and Information and Media Studies.
Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), may not allow Abdulrasheed Bawa to succeed as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), according to Itse Sagay, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).
In an interview with The PUNCH, Sagay described Malami as a politician, stressing that the power of the AGF must be checked so as not to control the activities of the anti-graft agency.
He faulted the fact that Malami and Bawa came from the same state, adding that both might even be related.
“This issue is a very big question because I noticed that they both come from the same state of Kebbi and they may even be related,” Sagay said.
“For me, that is not a very healthy thing because the chairman of the EFCC and the EFCC are supposed to be independent.
“They are not politicians, but are trained security officers. The attorney-general is a politician who has all the weaknesses and loads of a politician.
“He has people he is obliged to. He has people who are close to him. Some of them may be criminals who might have committed crimes. In fact, some of them may deliberately do things because they think they know the attorney-general.
“So, in such a situation, if Bawa is related to the attorney-general, then there will be a problem because he will not be able to do his job freely because the attorney-general will certainly interfere.
“He has already indicated his tendency to interfere in both the EFCC and the ICPC with the regulations he purported to make months ago. So, I am not comfortable at all that the possibility that they might be related.”
The PACAC chairman said the AGF wielded too much power which had increased over the years.
“Malami has never been inclined to allow the anti-corruption agencies to operate freely. He is always sitting on their neck one way or the other,” Sagay said.
“I have complained about that several times and nothing has happened. In fact, he has become more powerful. So, I will not be comfortable if they are related. I don’t want any outside influence on the EFCC or the ICPC.”
Although admitting that he did not know the newly-appointed chairman of the EFCC on a personal level, Sagay said he was impressed by his curriculum vitae and background.
He said since Ibrahim Magu, former acting chairman of the commission, had been removed, it was time for all parties to move on and work together to ensure Bawa’s success.
“I don’t really know him. I have just read what has been said about him and he seems to have impressive credentials and a fairly good record from what I read apart from this issue of trucks which the EFCC has denied on his behalf,” Sagay said.
“So, inasmuch as the removal of Magu to me looks unsatisfactory, we have to move on and if he is as good as his credentials indicate, then I think the future looks promising for the EFCC.”
The Senate had, on Tuesday, confirmed Bawa following his nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari earlier this month.
Sagay and Malami are both serving in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
THE Federal High Court, Abuja, has denied Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the defunct Pension Reformed Taskforce Team (PRTT), a second bail application.
Okon Abang, presiding judge, ruled on Thursday that his bail application lacked merit before the court.
According to Abang, Maina had jumped bail when his application was initially granted by the court.
He added that the medical report brought from the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital showed that Maina was not under any medical emergency.
The judge said Maina was not only a flight risk but a proving risk, having fled to the Republic of Niger and Chad in violation of the court order. The judge said Maina had “disappointed the court.”
Abang also refused to grant the defendant’s application for an order directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to release his confiscated property, including a BMW car, dismissing his request to set aside an order of trial in absentia made by the court late last year.
Maina had earlier applied through his lawyer, Anayo Adibe, seeking the court to grant him another bail.
Adibe argued before the court that his client only travelled to the Niger Republic for knee surgery and did not jump bail against the widely held belief.
In the motion, the ex-pension boss told the court that he had reasonable and responsible people who would act as sureties if granted bail.
The ICIR had reported how Maina’s former surety, Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno South, was ordered to be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre over the former’s refusal to appear before the court after bail.
Maina refused to appear before the court from the time it granted him bail on the grounds of failing health condition.
He was eventually extradited to Nigeria by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force earlier on 30th November 2020 through a collaborative effort with INTERPOL NCB, Abuja and their Nigerien counterpart.
Maina is standing trial over charges brought against him by the EFCC for ‘mindlessly’ looting billions of naira in the pension coffers and other money laundering-related issues during his tenure as the chair of the PRTT.
