AT LEAST 40 people are reportedly trapped under the rubbles of a collapsed building in the Sabon Lugbe area of Abuja Saturday evening.
The ICIR reports that the incident occurred four days after the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, ordered demolition of illegal buildings in the community.
Viral videos of the collapsed building show sympathisers attempting to see if they could rescue anyone from the debris.
The incident was said to have happened before 6 pm.
The incident occurred a few months after a portion of a two-storey residential building in the Kubwa neighbourhood of Abuja collapsed.
The building, situated next to a popular hotel in Phase 2, Site 2, Sultan Dasuki Way in the satellite town, was originally a hotel before being converted into a hospital.
After the hospital owners vacated the premises, it was, again, converted into a residential apartment.
The ICIR gathered that two people were rushed it’s rubbles to a nearby hospital, while a few others managed to escape.
The ICIR reported that Wike ordered the demolition of all illegal buildings in the Sabon-Lugbe community on Tuesday, October 22.
Wike, accompanied by heads of security agencies in the FCT, paid an unannounced visit to the community, according to a statement signed by the assistant director, press, in the minister’s office, Rabi Musa Umar, and mailed to The ICIR after the visit.
The minister said buildings without proper documents from the FCT Administration should be pulled down.
Describing the building owners as land grabbers, Wike noted that the structures were built without the approval of the Development Control Department and in contravention of the land use provision of the FCT.
He further directed the director of, theDepartment of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, to work with security agencies and bring the structures down.
He ordered the security institutions to arrest anyone who obstructed the demolition.
It is however not certain if the collapsed building has anything to do with the demolition order.
Some of the videos shared online from the tragedy show sympathisers blaming the minister for the collapse.
A recent report by The ICIR highlighted major lapses in the FCT since Wike’s assumption in office as minister.
A POPULAR Ogene musician, Okezie Mba, has been shot dead by a police inspector in Enugu State.
The state police command confirmed the incident in a statement on Saturday, October 26.
Mba, otherwise known as Igbo-Jah, was reported to have attended an event on Friday, October 25, at the anti-cult unit of the Enugu State Police Command when some police officers started shooting indiscriminately.
The singer was then hit by a bullet and died on the way while being rushed to a nearby hospital.
In the statement, the police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, said the inspector had been arrested and detained for the murder.
Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, however, did not disclose the officer’s name.
He only hinted the officer was a male inspector serving in the anti-cultism tactical squad of the police command in the state.
“The musician was reportedly leaving the squad’s headquarters after a friendly visit when, for reasons yet to be ascertained, the police officer fired his rifle, hitting the victim.
“He (Mba) was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead by the attending doctor. His body has been deposited in the mortuary for preservation and autopsy,” Ndukwe said.
According to Ndukwe, the state’s commissioner of police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, has ordered his deputy in charge of the state criminal investigation department to probe the incident.
He also directed his deputy to ensure “appropriate disciplinary actions” are taken against the inspector.
THE Presidency has reacted to an article by the Guardian newspaper, describing it as an attempt to incite unrest against President Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement released on Saturday, titled, “Re: “Misery, Harsh Policies Driving Nigerians to Desperate Choices” – Open Letter To The Guardian,” the presidency criticised the newspaper’s lead story of Friday, October 25, 2024, titled, “Calls for military intervention: misery, harsh policies driving Nigerians to desperate choices.”
The presidency claimed in the statement signed by the special adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, that the article openly incited unrest and advocated for regime change under the guise of journalism.
“The inflammatory headline, cartoon, and content deviate from responsible reporting. The Guardian’s agenda is unmistakable from the cover illustration to the article. In attempting to create a balanced veneer, the author condemns military rule while fanning the flames of military intervention,” Onannuga stated.
He also quoted and faulted the part of the article which reads, “Deep despondency permeates every facet of the polity consequent upon the soaring cost of living. And while the political elite splurge on fine wines and exotic automobiles amid poor service delivery, calls for regime change could become more strident in the days ahead even though military insurrection holds no solution to the country’s woes.”
According to Onanuga, the Guardian presents an argument for military intervention while superficially denouncing it.
The article by Guardian explores the growing calls for military intervention in Nigeria due to widespread dissatisfaction with the government and soaring cost of living. The report puts forward that since the return to democracy in 1999, Nigerian politics have been marred by corruption, lack of accountability, and inadequate service delivery.
It added that these failures have resulted in high poverty rates, inflation, unemployment, and security concerns, while noting that many Nigerians feel that their leaders prioritise personal gain over public service, contributing to an increasingly frustrated populace.
In addition the Guardian article noted that some citizens view military rule as a potential solution, despite the historical abuses associated with military governance. However, the article argues military intervention is not a genuine solution.
“Juxtaposed [civilian rule] with military rule, the difference between both is something akin to six and half a dozen. This is indeed the dilemma that most hapless citizens have found themselves in, which has now forced some of them to tinker with extreme choices, including calling for returning the military to governance.
By whatever nomenclature or appellation that it goes by, military rule is an aberration in modern society, given the repressive, rapacious, and gluttonous tendencies”, the article reads in part.
Onanuga in his statement argued that the report lacked data and failed to exhibit the journalistic rigour that the situation demanded.
He urged media organisations to propagate responsible reporting that contributes to an informed citizenry.
While journalism ethics and standards require responsible journalism as claimed by the presidency, The ICIR reports that attacks and harassment of journalists and the media by security operatives, especially the police, under Tinubu’s watch, have been concerning.
In August, The ICIR published a report asking Tinubu’s administration if it could guarantee press free in Nigeria.
The report followed a gale of attacks, including wilful arrests and incarceration of journalists by public officials, using state security agents.
THE Confederation of African Football (CAF) has awarded all three points to Nigeria Super Eagles in the abandoned Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against Libya.
The CAF Disciplinary Board also awarded three goals to Nigeria from the botched match.
The decision to award the points and goals followed CAF’s investigation into what transpired in the October 15 Africa Cup of Nations second leg abandoned match in Benghazi, Libya.
Nigerian Super Eagles abandoned the match following mistreatment by the host country.
The Libyan authorities left the Super Eagles, supporters and staff stranded at its airport for almost a day.
In its decision, released in a statementon its website on Saturday, October, 26, CAF declared that the Libya Football Federation violated Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code, in addition to Article 31 of the African Cup of Nations Regulations.
It therefore ordered the Libya Football Federation to pay a fine of USD 50,000.
According to the body, the fine is to be paid within 60 days of the decision.
The CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, had declaredthat the continental body would not tolerate unjust treatment or lack of sportsmanship in African football.
Nigeria now has ten points after four games following the verdict.
The ICIR reported that the Super Eagles boycotted the reverse match.
The team had defeated the Libyan Mediterranean Knights 1:0 at the Uyo Stadium on Friday, October 11, and hoped to be victorious again in the oil-rich North African nation the following Tuesday.
However, the team’s ordeal began on Sunday, October 13, when its flight was unexpectedly diverted to a different airport, away from Benghazi, where it was supposed to play a reverse match, causing the Super Eagles to be stranded for hours.
Images of the team circulated by the team’s captain Williams Troos-Ekong, showed players lying on airport benches, visibly fatigued, as they waited for the crisis to be resolved.
Moving from the Al Abraq Airport would make the team travel by road for three hours before reaching Benghazi.
The team eventually returned home after abandoning the match.
The ICIRreported 20 key issues the team, its officials, supporters, and top government functionaries that accompanied the team on the flight faced while the impasse lasted.
AN image purportedly showing the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, posing inside a train alongside Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his aide, has surfaced online.
An X user, @Adabanpegede posted the image with a caption suggesting that the presidential candidate visited Lagos to inspect the Lagos rail project and learn from the Lagos State governor.
“Breaking News!!!! Defeated LP Presidential Candidate came to learn good governance in Lagos.”
The claim has generated over 100 reposts and more than 900 likes as of October 23, 2024.
CLAIM
Image shows Peter Obi and Sanwo-Olu inside a Lagos train.
Photo purportedly showing Obi and Sanwo-Olu inside a train
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is misleading.
Our fact-checker subjected the image to a Google reverse search, and the results show that it has been manipulated and Peter Obi was added to the original image.
An earlier version of the image, published on the governor’s Facebook page, revealed that the photo was taken during the flag-off commercial operations of the Redline Rail on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
Photo purportedly showing Obi and Sanwo-Olu inside train.Original image
Sanwo-Olu, who boarded the train at 5:20 PM and stopped at Ikeja at 5:55 PM, mentioned that the Red Line, designed to carry 500,000 passengers daily at full capacity, would significantly improve commuting in the state.
Some officials in the image were seen holding their Cowry Cards, which are used for boarding. However, Peter Obi was not in the photo.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the image shows Peter Obi and Sanwo-Olu inside a train in Lagos is misleading, as findings revealed that the image has been manipulated. Peter Obi was not in the original photo.
PATRICK Olusanmi Adebola, is the executive director/CEO of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria. He was the Project Lead of AfricaYam IITA Abuja, where he coordinated the project activities in four target countries. With over two decades of experience in plant breeding research and community engagement in West and Southern Africa, he worked for the Africa Rice Centre as the deputy director-general for the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), Liberia in 2016.
In this interview, he speaks on the deadline by the EU to implement its deforestation regulation, as well as other issues affecting the cocoa industry in Nigeria. Excerpts:
The ICIR: The European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR), had given a deadline for farmers producing seven agricultural products, including cocoa, to address the issue of deforestation or stop marketing the product in European countries. Even though the deadline has been shifted, what are your worries over this?
Patrick Olusanmi Adebola :The EUDR was put in place to combat what is called climate change as a result of green grass emission and deforestation. This regulation, I will not say caught us unaware; we heard about and we know about it at least a year ago. Be that as it may, I will say personally, I don’t think I am really happy with that regulation. What I am saying now is my own opinion because how much are we contributing in terms of green grass emission and climate change, talking about West Africa?
For someone to come around to say okay, because you are deforesting, you are cutting down trees, causing and reducing the intake or output of oxygen and carbon dioxide, are we contributing too much to climate change?
I think we are not the real culprit in terms of this climate change issue. But that aside, the regulation has come and there is nothing we can do about it because he who pays the piper, dictates the tune. We sell our cocoa bean to the international markets, and they are our largest buyers, they determine how much they are going to buy it, and they also give us conditions which you must fulfil in order for them to buy our products.
Executive director and CEO, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Patrick Olusanmi Adebola.
This is a big problem to cocoa producing companies, especially in West Africa, where almost three million farmers in Nigeria alone are now dependent. Their livelihood is being threatened by this EUDR that is hanging on our neck and therefore we must save our farmers, save their means of livelihood and try to comply.
We have a lot of players in Nigeria. The cocoa value chain in Nigeria is deregulated as compared to what we have in Ivory Coast and Ghana where we have a little bit of regulation. Now, why I am talking about this is that the EU are also ready to assist us in fulfilling this obligation of making sure that we comply with this EUDR. But we don’t have a body in which the EUDR can talk to until now, when the government is saying okay let us organise ourselves and now what we call the National Cocoa Management Committee has been inaugurated.
Before now, the individuals who are people of high calibre, some of who own big companies and exporting cocoa beans, were already doing some sort of compliance here and there.
The ICIR: What happened to Nigeria Cocoa Board?
Patrick Olusanmi Adebola: The compliance there is not the federal government or the country compliance to the EUDR; it is just individuals here and there. The reason is that as at that time, we didn’t have a single body regulating the cocoa sector in terms of value chain.
In the 70s when the IMF and all these World Bank advised Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast to do away with their cocoa board, Ghana and Ivory Coast did not completely do away with theirs. But cocoa board in Nigeria was dissolved completely and the sector was liberalised.
It has its own good and bad aspects. Good aspect is that the farmers were able to sell their cocoa to anybody they want at whatever price they negotiate, which is not the case in Ghana and Ivory Coast. So, it brings a little bit more money to the pockets of the farmers. The disadvantage is that because we don’t have a board, there is no body to regulate, people can do all sorts of unscrupulous practices to the extent of selling ungraded or substandard cocoa beans to international market, and thereby tarnishing our image to the extent that some of our cocoa beans were even rejected in the international markets.
Now the government is saying, let us have a body that would do the regulation. But because one of the major reasons why cocoa board was dissolved was because, they said, they were short-changing the farmers by manipulating prices and doing all sorts of things. This management board has been put in place to come in and regulate the sector but they would not be involved in buying and selling of cocoa beans, and I think that will be perfect.
Executive director and CEO, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Patrick Olusanmi Adebola.
This body has now been saddled with the responsibility to organise the country on how to comply to the EUDR. Nigeria is the first country that would now have a task-force on EUDR. We have proposed the task-force that would deal with the compliance issue on EUDR. It has been set up in such a way that it cuts across all the value chain, from the exporters to the farmers, including all other people who are involved in the value chain, so we now have a concerted effort to have a kind of a national response to this EUDR. We are doing something; the government is doing something.
The ICIR: Aside from the deforestation issue, the regulation also includes getting the right statistics of farmers and mapping out the area. Would this not also have been good for the government to improve its relationship with farmers, particularly in the area of distribution of farm inputs and even planning?
The National Cocoa Management Committee has been saddled with the responsibilities to implement the Nigerian National Cocoa Development Plan, which was put together and approved by the Federal Executive Committee, all these things are there and once the implementation starts, it includes a holistic approach to addressing all the problems across all the cocoa value chain.
That one will be taken care of, data, inputs to farmers, more funding to research, and all other problems relating to the cocoa value chain will be taken care of, once the National Cocoa Plan is in place and approved by the FEC..
The ICIR: From research that has been done by your institute, do you think cocoa can be so developed in such a way that it could become a major foreign exchange earner, as it was in the First Republic?
Patrick Olusanmi Adebola: Nigeria currently produces an average of 340,000 metric tonnes per annum and bringing in a lot of foreign exchange into the country. Initially, Nigeria ranked number one in terms of production but when we discovered, oil emphasis shifted to crude oil and the sector was neglected. But if you see what happened in the last ten months, as at January, the price of cocoa in the international market was about $1,800 per tonne.
This has sky-rocketed to $13,000 per tonne before it came back again to stabilise around $9,000 per tonne. When you look at the sharp increase, this has aroused people’s interest. For example, as a research institute, we have a lot of requests coming in from people who want to come into the sector and produce more.
Nigeria can do more than that, we have the capability of producing one million tonnes per annum which means we can increase from 340,000 metric tonnes per annum to one million tons per annum if all the inputs, and the requirements are in place. We can do that without necessarily increasing the area of production.
It is estimated that we have about 300,000 hectares of cocoa farm; what then is the productivity of those 300,000 hectares? If we can do the necessary things like rehabilitation, give the necessary inputs, support the farmers, the same 300,000 hectares can still increase production to make sure that we reach our target of one million tonnes per annum. You know what will happen if we produce one million tonnes per annum, you know how much it will translate into money to the pockets of the farmers, foreign exchange inflow that will be coming into the country. We have the potential, we have capability, we just need the necessary input and to boost our morale to be able to do that.
The ICIR: There is a contention on which state produces the highest cocoa. Being an authority in this area, you can tell us which of the m is it, and how do they stand?
Patrick Olusanmi Adebola:There has been debate about which state is the highest producer and is between Cross River and Ondo states. The rivalry is always there and luckily for us both states are in Nigeria. So, for us as a research institute, we are not really bothered about which state produces more but we know that these two states are the ones at the forefront of cocoa production in the country, so it doesn’t really matter.
The ICIR: In the West African sub-region, Nigeria is occupying the sixth position; what are the other countries doing that we are not doing right?
Olusegun Ademola: They are organised; the cocoa sector there is regularised. Whereas in Nigeria we are liberalised. In Ghana and Ivory Coast there is a lot of support for farmers with inputs like agrochemicals, fertilisers, to make sure their production increases, so all those supports are bringing in benefits. What we just need to do is to get ourselves properly organised, in the sector. Let it be a little bit regulated, give the farmers necessary inputs they need planting materials, fertilisers, agrochemicals, support research sector for the value and see our production will be more.
Ther ICIR: What are the greatest challenges cocoa farmers are facing in Nigeria today?
Patrick Olusanmi Adebola:The greatest challenge of cocoa farmers is input, the cost of input is almost 50 per cent, when I’m talking of input, I am talking of planting materials, cocoa seedlings, I’m talking of fertilisers, agrochemicals, pesticides, insecticides etc. You can imagine how much this would cost with the recent economic situation of the country. Those are areas where cocoa farmers need a lot of support. Over and above that we have training; farmers need to be trained to be able to meet up with the current way of doing things in terms of cocoa production right from planting to harvesting.
The ICIR: There has been development where new species of agricultural products are introduced and mature faster than the old ones. In cocoa, how was this received by farmers and how far has this affected production in Nigeria?
Patrick Olusanmi Adebola: Some few years back, we developed a very good cocoa planting material, cocoa varieties called TC series and these are high yielding. They are early bearing, they are disease tolerant, we called them prime cocoa varieties. We have these materials because we are the ones that developed the materials here in our institute and we have obligation from government to produce planting materials in large quantity and give to farmers.
The demand has been very high for this planting materials but in terms of the capacity to produce enough planting materials for farmers it is one of the challenges because it requires money. The support we are getting from government is there, thanks to the federal government, and the federal ministry of agriculture and food security.
We are getting support but it still not enough to be able to cater for the demand of farmers. So, the materials are being rolled out, and farmers are collecting. But we still need to do more to be able to reach out to farmers demanding these planting materials. Once the farmers get this to replace the old ones and to rehabilitate their farms, we would see that production will definitely be positively affected.
The ICIR: What can the government do to entice Nigerians, particularly among the youth population, to embrace cocoa farming?
Patrick Olusanmi Adebola:Plantation has difficulties especially tree crops, and it’s very profitable. I have told you that a tonne of cocoa beans in the international market is about $9,000. If you have one hectare of cocoa which is 1,111 trees and plant 3 metres by 3 metres, if it is well managed, it will give you 1.5 tonnes per annum. So, this is an area where we have to encourage our youths to come into plantation in agriculture.
Imagine if you have well managed 10 hectares with all the input, all the agricultural practices, and everything, how much do you think that will give you? That one alone is enough for you.
There is a lot of advantage in plantation agriculture and this your plantation will even outlive you because it can go on producing for the next 80 years and you can even transfer it to your children and grandchildren. So why are the youths shying away from plantation agriculture?
My advice to youths is that there is money in plantation agriculture especially cocoa and let me tell you we are a country of about 200 million people. Now that there is a lot of encouragement from local consumption of cocoa, if we can encourage local consumption, we will not even depend so much on international markets. The market will always be there whether local or international on cocoa. My advise to the youths is that go back to the farm, establish your cocoa plantation, you will make cool money!
The ICIR: From your vantage position as a research outfit, what are the things that you see lacking in Nigeria that may help in pushing the cocoa industry to become the gold mine?
Patrick Olusanmi Adebola:Like I told you, most of it depends on government encouragement, we are talking about youths going into agriculture now. There are lots of things the government needs to put in place to encourage the youths to go back to agriculture.
The issue of land is one of the major obstacles that is preventing the youths from going into plantation agriculture, government must acquire lands, organise youths into cooperatives and help them to acquire this land that is one
The issue of land is one of the major obstacles that is preventing the youths from going into plantation agriculture, government must acquire lands, organise youths into cooperatives and help them to acquire this land that is one.
Number two, in terms of agricultural input government can come in because you can hardly produce cocoa without agricultural inputs so it’s a major area where government can also coming in, procure this thing en masse and use it to assist the farmers whichever way the government want to do it.
The government should be able to encourage the training and retraining of farmers in modern farming practices through Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria. There is no country that can develop without research, the only institute saddled with the responsibility of making sure we have new materials, new varieties of cocoa is CRIN and if you don’t have funding, how do you carry out research? The government should also come in in that area to encourage to be able to do more for our major stakeholders which are the Nigerian cocoa farmers.
The ICIR: We understand that the price of cocoa has gone up; in what way has this affected the input to the GDP?
Patrick Olusanmi Adebola:Yes, the price of cocoa has gone up of course. Cocoa still remains number one among agricultural crops bringing foreign exchange for the country. It has increased in several folds and this is advantageous to the country in terms of foreign exchange scarcity that we are experiencing in Nigeria.
It is a good thing for the country, a very good thing for government to keep on encouraging our farmers, encourage us as research institute to be able to do more so that our production as a country can increase and when it increases it brings more money into the pockets of our farmers, it also brings more foreign exchange to the country.
The ICIR: In a nutshell, what are the things that government has done to help boost cocoa production in Nigeria?
Patrick Olusanmi Adebola: The government has done a lot, but as Oliver Twist, we keep on asking for more. The federal government is the sole financial of CRIN, the government is funding the research though it is not enough, but we will continue to appeal to government to give us more funding.
Number two, the government must also encourage production and distribution of planting materials. We get subvention from government every year to produce elite varieties in terms of planting materials and distribute to farmers, government also do give fund for the training of farmers on yearly basis and there is a budget for training of our farmers.
Government is also encouraging various associations as far as I know, the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, the Cocoa Plantation Association of Nigeria, are among the farmers’ organisations that the government is encouraging every year.
The institute is also saddled with the responsibility of screening agrochemicals that are being used for cocoa; we have a list of recommended agrochemicals that can be used on cocoa and this we do in collaboration with the federal ministry of agriculture. The government is doing a lot, look at Cocoa Management Committee put in place by government to come in and regulate the sector.
THE Anambra State Governor, Charles Chukwuma Soludo, has approved for immediate payment of an N70,000 minimum wage for the state’s workers.
The approval was announced after a meeting between labour leaders and the state government late on Friday, October 25.
Soludo said the least-paid worker would go home with not less than N70,000 or more, hinting that workers could receive between N78,000 to N84,000, depending on the outcome of the tabulation by the government team.
The governor also approved a monthly cash award of N10,000 for all pensioners in the state, until a time the pension salary shall be reviewed.
“This interim cash award was necessitated on my goodwill and empathy for the situation of the pensioners who nobody remembers in all the noise about the new minimum wage.
“We urge workers to think positively about contributory pension schemes to save themselves from pension agonies. The earlier the state workers return to the contributory pension scheme, the better for them,” Soludo said.
He assured of the state government’s commitment to better security in Anambra, hinting that in the coming days, it would take delivery of hundreds of security vehicles for the vigilante groups to tighten security.
President Bola Tinubu on Monday, July 29 signed the National Minimum Wage Act 2024 Amendment Bill into law, approving a minimum wage for civil servants from N30,000 to N70,000.
The ICIR can report that Anambra State has joined the growing list of Nigerian states ready to implement the new minimum wage for workers.
On October 23, Kebbi state governor, Nasir Idris, approved a new minimum wage of N75,000 for civil servants in the state. Akwa Ibom state governor Umo Eno had approved N80,000 for public servants in his state.
Other states, including Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, and Kogi have already approved similar wage adjustments, with some going as high as N85,000.
According to a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, the Nigerian Constitution compels all governors to accept the national minimum wage passed into law.
The renowned lawyer and senior advocate submitted that the National Minimum Wage Act 2024 would be binding on all employers, except those explicitly excluded by the law, The ICIRreported.
RESIDENTS of Kano State have complied with the state government’s movement restriction order issued ahead of the Saturday, October 26, local government election in the state.
The state government, which issued the “no movement” order through the commissioner for information and Internal affairs, Baba Halilu Dantiyi, said it was to ensure the smooth conduct of the state’s local government election.
According to an eyewitness, Ali Garba, potential voters were seen walking to their respective polling locations due to the lack of vehicles, indicating a high level of compliance with the directive.
Representatives of the Kano State Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) were also seen transporting voting materials to different polling places within the state.
The local government election in Kano has been enmeshed in controversy in the week leading to the election.
The ICIR reported that the state independent electoral commission (KANSIEC), on Friday, October 25, affirmed its readiness to conduct local government elections across all the 44 local government areas.
This followed a Kano State High Court ruling affirming its power to conduct the polls.
The ICIR reported that a Federal High Court stopped the election from holding when it sacked the KANSIEC chairman and its members a few days before the poll.
The court, in its ruling, delivered by Simon Amobede, stated that the KANSIEC chairman and other members of the commission were card-carrying members of the ruling NNPP.
The court gave the ruling on Tuesday, October 22, while delivering judgment in a suit filed by Aminu Aliyu Tiga of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against KANSIEC, the state attorney general and commissioner for justice, Haruna Isa Dederi, and 14 others.
The judge added that KANSIEC could not validly and competently conduct local government elections in respect of 44 local governments in the state until and unless qualified persons are duly and legally appointed as chairman and members of the commission, in line with relevant extant law.
However, announcing its readiness for the election and also reacting to the state high court ruling on Friday, the commission’s chairman, Malunfashi, asserted that only the state high court held jurisdiction over state and local government affairs.
He noted that the ruling dismissed any further legal challenges, encouraging all parties to respect the judgment.
With the election just some hours away, the KANSIEC chairman stated that only six political parties—the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), African Action Congress (AAC), National Rescue Movement (NRM) Accord, and Action Alliance—would participate in the poll.
Meanwhile, the Kano State Police command has declared that it would comply with the Federal High Court order restricting it from participating in the election.
The command, in a statement by its spokesperson, Abdullahi Kiyawa, stated this on Thursday.
SAUDI Arabia has condemned Israel’s recent military attack on Iran, stressing the growing threat to regional stability from the unending conflict in the region.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the incident and said it was against international law and Iranian sovereignty.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its condemnation of the military targeting of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which constitutes a violation of its sovereignty and a contravention of international laws and norms,” the ministry stated on its X handle.
The nation also warned of the security ramifications for the countries and people in the region and urged moderation to prevent the dispute from getting worse.
Israel attacked Iranian military installations early on Saturday, claiming it was retaliating for Tehran’s missile strike on Israel earlier this month. This was the most recent conflict in the fiercely armed rivals’ growing war.
The Israeli military warned Iran not to retaliate after declaring hours later that it had finished the strikes and met its goals.
The Israel strikes, which were seen as a reprisal for Iran’s attacks earlier in the month, were directed against several Iranian areas, including military installations in Tehran and neighbouring bases.
Iranian media reported prolonged booms that began shortly after two in the morning as Israel purportedly targeted Iran’s air defences, missile installations, and drone facilities.
Iranian sources claim that there were no reported injuries and that Israel’s actions caused very little damage.
Iran launched almost 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, killing one person in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and the Middle East has been on edge waiting for Israel to retaliate.
Since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, the Iran-backed Palestinian militant organisation based in Gaza, tensions between Israel and Iran, longtime adversaries, have increased. Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, who are also backed by Iran, have provided support to Hamas.
With Israel’s escalating campaign against Hezbollah since last month, which has included airstrikes on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and a ground operation, as well as its one-year-old war in Gaza, concerns have grown that Iran and the United States would be dragged into a regional conflict.
ON Wednesday, October 23, President Bola Tinubu dismissed five ministers from his cabinet.
Topping the list was the minister of women’s affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye.
Kennedy-Ohanenye, a lawyer and politician, was among the 45 ministers Tinubu swore into office in August 2023.
Notably, she was the only All Progressive Congress (APC) female presidential candidate during the party’s primaries in the last general elections. She later stepped down for Tinubu.
In this report, The ICIR outlines some major backlashes she faced in office.
Advocacy for child labour, reduction in school hours
In September 2023, while addressing participants at the 2023 Anambra Investment Summit, Kennedy Ohanenye said that Fridays should be free for schoolchildren to engage in production sctivities and support urban development.
She said they could use such days to work in factories producing items like matches and sanitary pads.
According to her, Fridays should be excluded to enable children to get involved in production activities to boost urban development
“I am pleading for us to look into more production of some of these things in our society. Especially the necessities like the matchbox, the toothpick, the cotton buds, the sanitary pads and stuff like that. Let us introduce urban development in the schools.
“If we can think about using Fridays as free, for our children to start producing things just like they do in China … In China, even young kids get involved in production,” she said.
However, her suggestion wa widely condemned by Nigerians on various social media platforms. They described it as advocacy for child labour.
Accused the United Nations of mismanaging funds meant for Nigeria
Kennedy-Ohanenye accused the United Nations of collecting money on Nigeria’s behalf and failing to account for it.
Threatening to take legal action against the UN, she asked the global body to furnish her ministry with the necessary records on or before November 15, 2023.
“I stand here as the minister of women’s affairs to demand from the UN, the account of all the monies they sourced from donors in Nigeria’s name. We want to see the account of what they did,” she said.
“If you don’t give us this account, at least Nigerians see what is going on. Then you (UN) apologise to them. From the 16th of October to November 15, if we don’t get those reports for Nigerians to see, we are heading to court. [They have] from 16th October to November 8.
“They will get our pre-action letter. That is to prepare that by the 15th, we are heading to court, and I am promising Nigerians that by the 15th you will hear the lawsuit number,” she vowed.
Threatened lawsuit over Niger mass wedding
The former minister controversially reversed her decision on a mass wedding involving 100 ‘orphans’ in Niger State, despite initially filing a lawsuit to halt the marriage.
The Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, had pledged to pay the bride price for all the persons involved and had put requisite logistics in place for the wedding.
Initially, Kennedy-Ohanenye took a firm stance against the plan, describing the marriage as a violation of the Child Rights Act. She said the would-be brides were children whose future must be protected by the government.
“These children must be considered, their future must be considered, the future of the children to come out of their marriage must be considered. So I have gone to court. I have written him a letter and written a petition to the IG Inspector-General) of Police,” she said.
In a turn of events, she announced her partnership and support the girls.
“I did not intend to stop the marriage but to ensure the girls are of marriageable age and were not being forced into it,” she said.
Threatened UNICAL sexual harassment witnesses
In a leaked telephone conversation that went viral, Kennedy-Ohanenye threatened some female students who had testified about alleged sexual harassment by a suspended a professor at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Cyril Ndifon.
She eventually apologised for threatening the female students.
The university suspended Ndifon after female law students protested, alleging that he had subjected them to sexual harassment and assault.
Accused World Bank Staff of taking 40% of Nigeria’s loans
Kennedy-Ohanenye accused the World Bank staff in Nigeria of pocketing 40 per cent of the loans given to Nigeria as consultation fees, while government officials who signed those loans allegedly got five per cent of the funds.
Reacting, the World Bank denied the allegation while responding to The ICIR’s queries on the issue.
The Bank emphasised that all projects it funded were implemented by recipient governments and were governed by strict policies designed to prevent the misuse of funds.
The Bank also noted that it worked closely with borrowers to manage procurement processes, ensuring that funds are used transparently and efficiently.
Disrupted events in Abuja
On August 8, 2024, Kennedy-Ohanenye disrupted an event tagged, “Unveiling the Power of Women and Food Security” in Abuja.
According to her, the event was held without her ministry’s approval.
She noted that the organiser had been taken into custody by the operatives of the State Security Services (DSS) for impersonating the ministry.
“There is an impersonation going on here. The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs did not plan this. The lady, I have arrested her. Right now, she is with the Department of State Service (DSS).
“After we wrote that we were cancelling, the President approved that we should cancel until further notice. She still went ahead to print this thing,” she said.
Weeks later, she disrupted another event in Abuja, claiming that it was organised without her consent and lacked a people-centred purpose.
