Ghana Electoral Commission (EC) says it has shifted its ‘timeline’ for the declaration of the winner of 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary election in the country.
This, according to the commission, is to enable proper collation of results at the constituency and regional collation centres across the country.
“…the EC will extend its intended timeline for declaring the 2020 presidential election results. The new timeline will be communicated shortly,” the commission disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Major candidates in the presidential poll are the incumbent President, Nana Akufo-Addo and John Mahama. While Akufo-Addo contested for re-election under the NPP, Mahama, a former president remains the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The process of declaring a winner starts from the polling units where votes are counted and sent to their respective constituency collation centres. The constituency collation centre collates all presidential results from its polling stations and shares with the regional collation centres.
From the regional collation centres, all presidential results from the constituencies are collated and faxed to the national collation centre.
The presidential results are then collated, certified and publicly announced by the chairperson, who also serves as the returning officer.
Moreover, a presidential winner in Ghana must obtain not less than 50 per cent plus one of the total valid votes cast.
However, the commission emphasised the decision was to ensure the polling process is transparent and credible.
“…to ensure that the declared presidential results are 100 per cent accurate and reflective of the will of the people, the commission entreats the public and all stakeholders to exercise patience as the collation process continues in the presence of political party agents and election observers,” it added.
Beyond the explanation, the public was reminded of the constitutional mandate of the electoral commission as the only body empowered to declare results of the presidential and parliamentary election.
But reports have shown that at least 28 incumbent legislators under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost their seats to the opposition candidates.
LAI Mohammed, the minister of information and culture has faulted the inclusion of Nigeria in the United States religious freedom blacklist.
Mohammed in a statement on Tuesday in reaction to the blacklist argued that Nigeria does not have a policy of religious persecution.
“Nigeria does not engage in religious freedom violation, neither does it have a policy of religious persecution. Victims of insecurity and terrorism in the country are adherents of Christianity, Islam and other religions,’’ said Mohammed.
According to Mohammed, Nigeria jealously protects religious freedom as enshrined in the country’s constitution and takes seriously any infringements in such regard.
The ICIR had reported that the US, again, named Nigeria as one of the Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) under its International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 guilty of tolerating religious persecution.
Nigeria was named among other countries including, Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, among others.
“No country or entity should be allowed to persecute people with impunity because of their beliefs. These annual designations show that when religious freedom is attacked, we will act,” said Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State.
Notwithstanding, in some parts of Nigeria, there have been several cases of religious intolerance most especially between Christians and Muslims resulting in killings, burning of churches and mosques.
THE Nigerian Embassy in Berlin, Germany, has sacked Martins Adedeji Oni, a security officer, who was caught in a viral video demanding sex in return for the renewal of visa.
In November, Oni was seen in video footage on social half-naked in a hotel room arguing with a lady who accused him of demanding sex from females who applied for passport renewals.
Following the allegation, Oni was suspended while Yusuf Tuggar, Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, ordered an investigation into the incident.
However, in a statement on Tuesday, the embassy said it found Oni guilty of the allegation.
“Mr. Oni was suspended from duty on 17 November after reports emerged that he had curried sexual favours in return for help with the renewal of a passport,” parts of the statement read.
“The Embassy immediately established an Investigation Committee to examine the allegations and any related issues, and to make recommendations for action.”
The statement added that the embassy found Oni culpable of violating extant codes after the committee took testimonies from the accused and other witnesses involved in the incident.
“The Investigation Committee interviewed Mr. Oni and other witnesses as part of a thorough examination of these very serious charges.
“It concluded that Mr. Oni was culpable and in violation of all the relevant codes.
“As a result, Mr. Martins Adedeji Oni’s contract with the embassy as a Local Staff has been terminated.”
While thanking the public for exposing the unethical former employee, the embassy stressed its zero-tolerance policy towards all abuses of office, and especially of sexual misconduct.
“The Embassy is grateful for the help of the public in tackling such abuses. As public servants, we pledge to follow all due processes as part of our continuing commitment to deliver the highest ethical & professional standards in all our operations, also at Consular & Immigration.”
ON Tuesday, the Federal Government announced a reduction in the pump price of petrol from N168 to N162.44 per litre which is set to take effect from December 14.
Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment disclosed this at the end of a meeting with labour union leaders.
Following the decision of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company, PPMC to increase the ex-depot price of petrol from N147.67 per litre to N155.17 per litre in November which is currently being sold at N168 at fuel stations.
The ex-depot price is the price at which the product is sold by the PPMC to marketers at the depots.
Ngige said a technical committee has been set up to ensure price stability in the industry which will send in their report on January 25, after appraising the market forces and other things that would ensure stability in the industry.
“Our discussion was fruitful and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC which is the major importer and marketers of petroleum products and customers have agreed that there will be a slide down of the pump price of PMS and that the price cut will get us about N5 per litre and that the price cut will take effect from next Monday, a week today,” he said.
Ngige explained that the price reduction was not meant to suspend deregulation because it did not affect the price of crude oil but on areas where the NNPC as the main importer had agreed that it could cut costs like freight and demurrage costs.
He said the new price slash was a product of a meeting by joint committee of the NNPC and labour representatives, which looked into ways of cutting costs.
On electricity tariff, both parties agree to stand down until January 25, to enable the special committee dealing with complaints conclude their deliberations.
NII Lante Vanderpuye, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Odododiodio Constituency Ghana election who was arrested last night has been released.
He was accused of gun shooting around the Modark hotel where the incumbent lawmaker was involved in an incident that resulted into a clash between supporters of the NDC and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He was arrested alongside other suspects who lodged with him at the hotel.
According to his lawyers, no charges have been levelled against him but other suspected individuals are still in police custody.
Odododiodio constituency is one of the flashpoints identified during this election by the security agencies.
Prior to the collation process, some NDC party loyalists were seen celebrating victory even though the electoral commission was yet to announce the final result.
The jubilations stretched all through the night that it caught the attention of security operatives including the immigration officers.
The election has been described as a contest majorly between NDC and the NPP candidates. While the incumbent president is contesting under the NPP platform, his major rival, John Mahama is a candidate of the NDC.
As of the time of filing this report, the electoral body is yet to declare winner of the elections.
THE Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), one of the two Boko Haram factions operating in Nigeria, has abducted an aid worker and a policeman in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, The ICIR has learnt.
One of the kidnapped persons was said to be on the staff of the Nigerian Red Cross but Chima Nwankwo, Head of Communications at the humanitarian organisation denied it , saying no worker in the agency was abducted. He disclosed, however, that staff of a “side organisation” was kidnapped but he did not mention its name.
The two separate incidents happened on December 2 at Kareto, a village about 80 kilometres from Damasak, headquarters of Mobbar Local Government Area. They were taken away when the vehicles they were traveling in were stopped a checkpoint mounted by the insurgents.
According to eyewitnesses, ISWAP fighters had mounted a checkpoint the previous day and stood there observing vehicles and passengers passing by before returning the following day with some pictures. They compared the pictures with passengers in all the vehicles they stopped, an indication that they were looking for specific individuals.
“They finally found one passenger who matched one of the pictures. When they told him that he was a staff of Red Cross, he denied, so they brought another picture of him in a Nigerian Red Cross uniform. At that point, he did not say a word. So, they went away with him,” an eyewitness told The ICIR.
Later that day, they stopped another vehicle and identified a passenger they said was a Nigerian Police Force personnel. The man denied being a policeman but they told him they recognised him at the Damasak police division and went away with him.
Drivers in Maiduguri confirmed the incident to The ICIR and said all their members refused to ply the Maiduguri-Damasak road the next day out of fear. While some drivers have since resumed, others have refused to ply the road.
According to The ICIR’s findings, ISWAP was very active around Kareto for three days before the abductions. Due to the rife insecurity in the area, which has made it difficult for civilians to live there, the Nigerian military on 29 November sent soldiers from its base in Damasak to clear and prepare the village for military deployment.
However, the following day, 30 November, ISWAP fighters attacked the town and burnt down the entire village, including the newly built houses meant for civilian occupation.
As of the time of filing this report, drivers continued to report that the checkpoint is still present at Kareto.
The ICIR has documented several cases of kidnappings for ransom by both factions of Boko Haram in addition to dozens of armed robberies against civilians at checkpoints and villages. Villagers and passengers are forced to part with their food, money, mobile phones, livestock and even the clothes on their backs.
While the Abubakar Shekau-led Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād (JAS) faction targets everybody for abduction, ISWAP only goes after non-Muslims.
However, both groups do not spare security forces personnel, government officials and humanitarian workers irrespective of their religion.
The ICIR also gathered that on 4 and 5 December, ISWAP stopped all trucks transporting relief materials to Damasak at Kareto and set them ablaze. This has resulted in the refusal of truck drivers to risk the journey in the last two days.
“They asked me today (7 December), ‘where are the trucks carrying NGO goods and why have they stopped coming?’ Anyone that passes through here will be stopped and burnt down,” a commercial taxi driver, who returned from Damasak, told The ICIR in Maiduguri.
In 2018, two Red Cross staff members were kidnapped and killed in Rann, Borno State by Boko Haram along other humanitarian workers and soldiers. In June, 2020, five aid workers were abducted and later killed in the North east.
THE Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has debunked claims of alleged stuffing of ballots in Asawase Constituency of Ashanti Region of the country.
Mubarak Muntaka, Member of Parliament from the Asawase Constituency, had alleged a parliamentary ballot box in one of the polling stations was stuffed with marked ballots.
But the electoral body on Tuesday said it was single case where a voter attempted to put in fake ballots into the parliamentary ballot box.
This, the commission emphasised was established while working closely with the security operatives to identify the discrepancies.
According to the commission, the serial numbers in the fake ballots did not tally with the counter foils in the original ballot booklet.
It stated that the fake ballots were much lighter in texture than the commission’s original ballot papers.
Also, the colours on the fake ballots were said to be much fainter than that of the electoral commission.
Moreover, the commission discovered the colours behind the fake ballots were oval contrary to the commission’s validating stamps.
“The electoral commission, working closely with the security services thoroughly investigated the incident and identified that a voter unscrupulously and unsuccessfully attempted to put in fake ballots into a parliamentary ballot box,” the EC stated.
The commission encourages the public to report suspected instances of electoral malpractices.
In a statement, it urged the public to desist from issuing unverified proclamations that might lead to unnecessary tension and cause confusion.
Meanwhile, from the 275 Constituency Collation Centres, only 38 results have been announced with the incumbent President in an early lead.
Though no official figure has been released by the electoral body, reports from the local media says, Nana Akufo-Addo, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate has so far polled 574, 018 votes from the 38 results collated while the major contender, John Mahama, who is contesting under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) 495,171 as of the time of filing this report.
NPP General Secretary, John Boadu also claimed the party’s candidate was leading the opposition with 6,085,708 valid votes, a figure he stated represents about 52.72 per cent.
THE United States has again named Nigeria as one of the Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) under its International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 guilty of tolerating religious persecution.
Michael Pompeo, the US Secretary of States announced this in a statement on Monday.
Other countries named are Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan
“Today the U.S. designates Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, the DPRK, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as countries of concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for engaging systematic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violations,” he said.
The statement added that the US is unwavering in its commitment to religious freedom and will always act when religious freedom is attacked.
“No country or entity should be allowed to persecute people with impunity because of their beliefs. These annual designations show that when religious freedom is attacked, we will act.”
In December 2019, Nigeria was added alongside Comoros, Russia, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Nicaragua and Sudan on a Special Watch List (SWL) for governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom,” by the US following a report by the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
According to the report, religious freedom conditions in Nigeria trended negatively in 2018. It accused the Nigerian government at the national and state levels of
continuing to tolerate violence and discrimination on the basis
of religion or belief, and suppressed the freedom to manifest religion or belief.
It noted that religious sectarian violence increased during the year, with Muslims and Christians attacked based on their religious and ethnic identity accusing the Nigerian federal government of failing to implement effective strategies to prevent or stop such violence or to hold perpetrators accountable.
The report USCIRF that Boko-Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-West Africa (ISIS-WA) continued to perpetrate attacks against civilians and the military throughout the year, despite Nigerian government’s claims of progress in defeating them.
In addition, members of the military and the civilian joint task force in Borno were accused of human rights violations against civilians displaced by conflict.
It also cited how the Nigerian military and government continued to violate the religious freedom and human rights of the Shi’a members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) with IMN leader Sheikh Ibrahim ElZakzaky remaining in detention, along with his wife against court judgement granting them bail.
MINISTER of information and culture, Lai Mohammed who recently disclosed that some world powers have refused to sell weapons needed to fight insecurity in Nigeria, may have been telling the truth after all, but he overstated the fact.
Powerful countries such as the United States, Russia, France, and China indeed continue to sell weapons to Nigeria, but the sales have been on a steady decline since the beginning of the Buhari administration in 2015.
The information minister while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja disclosed that some world powers had refused to sell to Nigeria vital weapons needed to fight against insurgency.
“For more than two to three years now, we have paid for certain vital weapons that they have not released to us and they even refused to give us spare parts, ” he told NAN.
The ICIR also reported the statement made by the minister.
While the claim by the information minister is not incorrect, it is exaggerated.
Records published by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI show that Nigeria has ordered a total of 1, 318 from the United States, China, Germany, France, and Russia, and other countries in the last five years, but taken delivery of only 355 arms.
The list includes 178 aircraft, 92 ships, 65 armoured vehicles, 10 artilleries, 6 engines, and 3 missiles.
The number excludes the delivery taken at the twilight of the Jonathan administration.
SIPRI, established in 1966, is an independent international institute that collects data about conflict and armaments.
According to the Institute, Nigeria has indeed taken delivery of 19 assorted weapons from the United States between 2014 and 2019.
The list includes Alpha Jet-A- Version (4), Caiman APC (16), MaxxPro APC (10), Power Stroke (10) for 90 Spartan APC, VT-400 Diesel engine (25) for 87 Typhoon APC, and ISL Diesel engine for Ara-2 APC.
In fact, six of 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft ordered from the USA in 2018 is due for delivery in 2021, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) disclosed on 30 November.
“The A-29 Super Tucano aircraft project is on track to be delivered on schedule and in accordance with the Terms of the Contract. Currently, six of the expected 12 aircraft have been produced and are presently being employed for conversion training of six NAF pilots who are in the USA, along with 26 NAF engineers, technicians, and logisticians, who are also undergoing various training on the aircraft as part of the provisions of the Contract,” the NAF said.
But the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) for SuperTucano aircraft is yet to be delivered.
Indeed, the manufacturing of some military hardware takes years to complete, the reason for pre-order.
Russia, for instance, has delivered 150 anti-tank missiles (9M114 Shturm/AT-6) to Nigeria between 2017 and 2019 out of the 300 ordered for, as well as six combat helicopters within the same period.
Other military weapons delivered to Nigeria during the Buhari administration include six Combat helicopters (Mi-35) and six Mi-171Sh transport helicopters (armed version) from Russia.
Just last week, NAF took delivery of a second Mi-171E helicopter from Russia.
The new aircraft, according to Air Officer Commanding Tactical Air Command (AOC TAC), Air Vice Marshal Olusegun Philip, who received the aircraft on behalf of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, is the second of two Mi-171E helicopters procured by Buhari administration.
“The new delivery brings to 23 the total number of brand new aircraft acquired since 2015,” the NAF said.
The 23 aircraft include Mi-35M, AW109M, Bell 412 and Super Mushshak types.
The NAF is still to receive three JF-17 Thunder jet fighters and 12 EMB 314/A-29 Super Tucano light attack turboprops along with eight Wing Loong II, CH-3 and CH-4 unmanned aerial vehicles.
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has also ordered nine patrol craft, FPB series, from France between 2016 and 2019, and six of them have been delivered already, according to SIPRI database.
China has donated a patrol craft to Nigeria in 2015 after selling two P18N OPV at the cost of $42 million between 2014 and 2016.
Also, 120 APCs ordered by Nigeria in 2013 have all been delivered between 2014 and 2015.
Other countries that have sold arms and ammunition to Nigeria during the Buhari administration include Germany and Canada.
While Canada sold 20 APCs in 2015 to Nigeria, Germany sold four MTU-4000 Diesel engines for 2 P18N OPV the same year.
Apart from the superpowers, countries such as Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Ukraine, UAE, Italy, Czech, Serbia, Pakistan and South Africa have also sold arms and ammunition to Buhari government.
Though Nigeria is restrained free access to weapons because of its human rights records, the country only experienced a major arm embargo in 1995 during the Abacha regime. But the ban was lifted in 1999 at the return of civil rule.
The ICIR contacted the information minister on Sunday through SMS and Whatsapp for further clarification but he has not responded as of the time publishing.
THE slow pace of work on the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road has contributed to the high rates of accidents along the corridor, investigation by PRNigeria has shown. About 4,954 road traffic accidents have been recorded in the Kano-Kaduna zone of the road between 2017, when the contract for reconstruction of the road was approved, and 2,020, six months to its delivery date.
Exclusive medical records of road traffic accident victims indicate that men between the ages of 21 and 62 years account for about 81 percent of accident victims on the road during this period. Except for 2020, analysis showed that there has been a steady rise in the rate of road accidents since 2017 when the contractor for the road moved to site.
No fewer than 1,035 people were victims of road accidents between January to December 2017, with 989 males and 316 females. In 2018, about 1,300 persons were road accident victims, with 1,031 males and 269 females, documents made available to PRNigeria show.
Also in 2019, about 1, 770 victims were recorded. No fewer than 1,443 males and 238 females crashed along the route while 783 males and 76 females were road accident victims between January and September 2020. A total of 783 deaths recorded. The Kaduna zone recorded the highest number of accidents in 2018 and 2019, according to the annual report by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
FRSC officials confirmed that the state of the road is largely responsible for the record of high casualties along the Kaduna zone. Despite the spate of fatal accidents recorded, most hospitals along the route, including Kura General Hospital, are poorly equipped to attend to emergencies.
“Males are the highest casualties and victims are mostly brought in dead on arrival. This may not be unrelated to the bad road which makes the ride to this place bumpy and slow,” said a medical officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job.
State of the Road
Abuja-Kano Road Project: How it all started
In 2017, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the award of N155.48 billion to Julius Berger Plc, for the construction of a hybrid two-lane-six-lane road network that starts from Abuja through Kaduna-Zaria to Kano. On February 12, 2020, FEC again approved another N867 million for the engineering design to adding an extra lane on both sides of the 375 kilometer road.
Beset with no less than eight major diversions, dangerous potholes, loss of lives and disruption of economic activities, the road has aggravated the sufferings of commuters and residents along the Abuja-Kano corridor. And it also aided bandits who take advantage of the poor condition of the road to carry out their criminal and nefarious activities, including kidnapping people for ransom.
Recently, about nine students from the Department of French, Faculty of Arts, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria were kidnapped along the route while on their way to Lagos for a language immersion program. The students were released about a week later after reportedly paying N1million each as ransom.
Recalled that three final year students of the faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria were kidnapped on the same expressway earlier in August 2019.
On November 15th, at least 15 people were killed on Sunday and many others abducted when kidnappers blocked the Kaduna-Abuja expressway around 5 pm, witnesses said.
It was gathered that nearly 20 vehicles were forced to stop at the bushy and sloppy location when the gunmen laid siege.
“At its height, the road had 10 kidnappings per day with 20 different groups operating on the route,” says police commander Abba Kyari, who heads a special unit fighting kidnappers.
The true figures are likely to be higher, as some families, choose not to report to officials, deciding to negotiate with the kidnappers directly.
This has resulted to the road being deserted by travelers thereby crippling economic activities.
Kantin Kwari Market in Kano is the biggest textile market in Africa with many traders in coming from all parts of the country to purchase goods in bulk with recent development, many would rather not risk their lives again while some have taken to the rail option for their travels but even at that, tickets and space are scarce with about 5,000 commuters packing on to them daily.
State of the Road
Many passengers miss scheduled trips because of the huge demand. This is more so because many of the civil servants who work in Abuja live in Kaduna.
Those who have tickets but cannot find seats have the option of standing for the two-hour journey for the same fee.
Mannir Awal Addo, a trader in Abuja who has family that he visits every weekend in Kaduna, was kidnapped on the Abuja-Kaduna highway earlier this year and held for five days.
He told the BBC in an interview monitored by PRNigeria that he paid his abductors N500,000 for his freedom: “It was a traumatic experience.”
He was affected by polio as a child and said he could not run away when kidnappers attacked the vehicle he was travelling in.
“Since then, honestly I don’t use car transport because I am afraid of the road. It’s better for me to take the train because of its safety.”
Kura Hospital Entrance
A Travelers’ Nightmare
Work was ongoing when this reporter visited in October with 27km of the nearly 400 – kilometres road completed. The breakdown shows that 11km of the 160km stretch of the road between Zaria to Kano had been completed while 6km of the 75km Kaduna to Zaria axis had been executed and 10km of 165km journey from Zuba to Kaduna has been done.
“The road is too dangerous and deadly for us, but we have no option than to ply it that way. Look around, you will see that most of our vehicles either have no side mirrors or have been panel beaten on the side as a result of constant collisions and breakdowns. The diversions and deep potholes causes collisions, summersaults, and in some cases, car explosions,” Ibrahim a motorist who constantly ply the route lamented.
The general state of the road remains a nightmare for motorists and travelers. With its decrepit state and constant degeneration over the years, a journey of less than four hours on average speed of 100km/hr, now take about seven to eight hours.
[Insert photos of fallen truck in the middle of the road and that of road closed for two years]
Findings by PRNigeria showed that Kura to Chiromawa (in Kano), Zaria to Lamban Sambo (in Zaria), Jaji to Kaduna (in Kaduna), Rijana to Gadan Mallam Mamman (in Kaduna) and Audu Jamgwam-Katari-Gidan Busa (along Kaduna-Abuja) are the most accident – prone zones with deep potholes sometimes up to the knee level.
It is estimated that about six people die daily at the Chiromawa hotspot of the road in Garun Mallam Local Government Area of Kano state, residents told this newspaper.
The rate places an immense burden on hospitals and health systems generally, particularly Kura General Hospital, which is a cottage affair and has no capacity to accommodate the daily numbers of casualties.
Fallen truck in the middle of the road
“We register accident cases every day. Don’t be surprised that before you leave here, a case will come in. Because of the nature of the accidents on the road and the pressure on our facility, this place needs to be upgraded to a trauma center,” said a top medical personnel of the hospital.
Further inspection of the route reveals that a portion of the expressway in Gangarida town, Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State was shut down about six months to the 2019 elections. For over a year, that side of the road has not been put to use and that has worsened the suffering of communities on that stretch of the road.
Ibrahim Jar-marmara, a resident of the town, said his business and farming activities has been affected due to vehicular pressure on one side of the road.
“This closure is a nightmare for us as two-way traffic is now concentrated on one side of the road. Accident are horrific and this experience has affected our business, farming activity, and made commuting very uneasy,” he said.
Kura Hospital entrance
Kura Hospital Ambulance
Kura Hospital
He explained that most of their farms close to the roadside have been abandoned because it is not unusual for colliding or skidding vehicles to derail and instantly crush many on the spot.
Mallam Imrana Kabir, a petty trader and resident of Chiromawa, lamented that the ongoing construction has brought about a disruption in his mode of doing business. He said since transporters can no longer stop to patronize him due to the road closure, he has to risk his personal safety by bringing his wares close to the road.
“We used to conduct our business from a safe distance but now because the drivers can no longer stop and patronize us, we have to bring to them on the road. We witness between five to 10 accidents here daily and sometimes we are victims,” Kabir said.
“A lot of our children have been knocked down here but we still have to continue hustling because we must feed our family.”
Corroborating Mallam Kabir, Ibrahim Mai Kwan Zabi, another resident, blamed the surge in the number of road accidents on the slow pace of work by the contractor, adding that he has witnessed two accidents on the road.
“There was this devastating one that occurred between Bebeiji and Garun Mallam involving a Julius Berger truck and a Hummer bus. I have never witnessed such a devastating accident in my life before, peoples’ bodies dismembered in different parts and so on,” he said.
Chronology of Mortal Accidents
Recently, among many deaths and crashes recorded during the period of this investigation is that of October 6, where nine persons were feared dead and three injured in a ghastly motor accident on Kano-Zaria Road. According to Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kano State Commander, Mr Zubairu Mato, the accidents happened when two vehicles collided at Imawa village in Kura Local Government Area of the state.
On October 27, no fewer than 13 persons were confirmed dead in a motor accident at Jar-marmara village in Ikara Local Government Area along Kaduna-Kano expressway. Many passengers also sustained various degrees of injury in the fatal crash involving a Kano-bound Marcopolo luxury bus and four other vehicles.
On the same day, about 20 people lost their lives in another ghastly accident involving a Land Star vehicle and three smaller saloon vehicles between Kwanar Dangora and Kunkumi communities along the highway.
Fallen truck in the middle of the road
Even the rich and influential persons are not spared. In June 2019, a veteran broadcast journalist and Deputy President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE), Umar Sai’d Tudun Wada, died in a ghastly auto crash in Kura, one of the hotspots along the route, while returning from an engagement in Abuja.
In September 2019, the Department of State Service (DSS) lost two of its personnel at Gidan Busa along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway. The DSS said that the team was heading to one of the seven states in the North-West zone for an undisclosed operation when the Hilux vehicle conveying them somersaulted.
A Road Project Serving Kidnappers
Various motorists plying the routes have testified that the state of the road in itself has contributed to the worsening insecurity in the region, giving kidnappers and bandits a perfect spot to mount their block.
“In some instances, we just have to abandon the car and run for our lives because if you want to escape with your car, where is the road to do so? Not even when the kidnappers sometimes pose as security operatives,” said Farouk, a driver at the Ramin Alkhairi Park, Kano
What is more worrisome for them is not even the pace of construction, but the level of dilapidation along the road.
“We wish they would fill up the potholes for us pending when the job is completed. Take for instance from Tashan Yari to Zaria and from Zaria to Kaduna, if you are not careful in this two places, you either ruin your car or you lose your life,” he said.
Farouk, a driver at the Ramin Alkhairi Park, Kano
Farouk recounted how he narrowly escaped the kidnappers recently.
“ I just summoned the guts, revved my car and zoomed despite the threat posed by the potholes. We have already given up on security they should just come and fill up the roads for us and we will take care of the rest on our own. As I am talking to you my car is with the mechanic for repairs.”
Another driver, Yushau Sale, has a similar experience.
“I have been shot at by the kidnappers while escaping. I have been laid on the ground and trampled on. This my friend (pointing at his colleague) if he will show you his back, you will see where he was hit. If his car was here, you will see where they pummeled it.” Yusuf recounted.
“A Cry for Help” – District Head, Others…
Speaking on the situation, Alhaji Lawan Abubakar Madaki, the district head of Garun Mallam decried the slow pace of construction, noting that it has placed a burden on his community of people.
“From the beginning of this road rehabilitation, no day goes by without us witnessing an episode in this community. Right from Chiromawa down to Duruwan Salau, Yadakwari, Dakasoye and so on, it has always been a gory experience for us, a week hardly goes by without us losing a child of this community to the road,” said Madaki.
All the incidents are on record. “One that occurred in Yadakwari sometimes in May this year rattled me so much. A car skidded and ran into people frying yam and egg, and none of them survived.”
[District Head Photo]
Madaki urged the government to identify challenges responsible for the slow pace of work on the road, and promptly resolve them.
Other residents of the affected communities also called for urgent intervention from necessary quarters adding that the work is excruciatingly slow.
On his part, Muazu Lawal, popularly known as TaBala, a resident of Kura, said the community is in dire need of help as he has lost countless friends on the road, noting that Fridays are the worst.
Long Way to Go…
With barely 30% of the road project completed in more than two years, meeting up with the May 2021 deadline is highly unlikely.
Several attempts to get an official explanation for this proved abortive.
A Freedom of Information, (FOI) request sent to the Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning for details of budgetary allocations and releases on the road project was not responded to after the stipulated seven days. A similar request sent to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (FMWH) for details of the project completion and projected time of completion got no response.
When contacted, Boade Akinola, Director Press and Public Relations, FMWH, said she was ill and had not resumed work.
She, however, said that the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the rainy season may be responsible for the slow pace of work.
She then requested questions be sent on WhatsApp for her to forward to the necessary quarters for action. This was done and followed up with a call the next day and she acknowledged that her office is working on the document. However, as at the time of filing this report, there has been no tangible feedback received from her.
However, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, probably provided a hint as to why the construction of the road is dragging when he said in late November that the delay was caused by the need to add extra lanes to the road being constructed.
Speaking at a townhall meeting organized by the ministry in Kaduna, Fashola said that members of the National Assembly requested that an extra lane should be added to the road contract.
“Shortly after we flagged off the road, we received a letter from the senators in the National Assembly asking the federal government to expand the road from two lanes to three lanes, that was not from us, it was from the National Assembly, the senators and they wrote to the president and copied my ministry, the minister explained.
He said further that the government had to redesign the road contract to “accommodate about 40 different bridges on this road to align with the lanes”.
“So, if they are going to expand from two to three lanes, a new design needed to be created. The process for doing that required us to hire a design consultant. We had to follow the procurement process established by the National Assembly,” Fashola explained further.
But the minister corroborated fears that the suffering Nigerians who use the road might continue for a little longer as he said that the process of adding the new components of the contract will take a while.
“So, if they are going to expand from two to three lanes, a new design needed to be created. The process for doing that required us to hire a design consultant. We had to follow the procurement process established by the National Assembly,” the stated.
Mamman Dahiru, an experienced civil engineer, says many factors may be responsible for the delay in the project, including possible corruption.
“A lot of contractors are already aware of how corrupt Nigerian officials can be, so they connive with these officials while deliberately delaying the project,” he said.
State of the Road
Pothole
According to him, when cases of force majeure come into play during the period of a deliberate delay, like in this Abuja-Kano road project, the blame could be easily shifted to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So the project is re-evaluated along with possible inflations, and the revaluation cost sometimes may end up being more than the initial amount approved for the work. This has happened on many Nigerian road projects,” he said, citing the Lokoja-Ajaokuta Road, which he noted was re-evaluated about five times before it was eventually completed.
Meanwhile, Julius Berger, the contractor handling the project, has not been forthcoming on the status of the project. This reporter was denied entry into its headquarters in Jabi, Abuja to see the Public Relations Officer. Instead, he was told to direct enquiries via phone number. Calls placed to the number did not connect after several attempts were made.
When contacted, the Director, Information, Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Henshaw Ogubike, said that the OAGF office does not concern itself with monies allocated for projects.
“It’s the ministry that issues the certificates that they release money. It is their own budget and they are accountable for their budget. They are accountable to EFCC and ICPC. They have their own directors of finance and accounts. It’s what they have spent that the voucher will now come here finally and we look at it. We don’t withhold payments,” he said.
Speaking on the deplorable state of the road, Kabiru Dakata, Executive Director, Centre for Awareness on Justice and Accountability (CAJA), said under the circumstance, it has become expedient for the Federal Government to direct the Federal Roads and Maintenance Agency, FERMA, to patch up potholes along the deadly zones pending when reconstruction work will reach that point.
“First, the Kura General Hospital should be upgraded to a Trauma Centre with some functional ambulances. Then, in order to check the rising spate of kidnapping, police and military patrol vehicles should be conspicuous at each check points in order to enable motorists differentiate between security and kidnapers.”
Dakata believes this will reduce the series of road traffic accidents and put a check on wanton kidnappings, which the road is notorious for.
* This investigation is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting.
