SOCIO-ECONOMIC Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has said it would sue the Federal Government and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the N5 million fine imposed on a media organisation, Channels Television.
SERAP disclosed this via its official Twitter handle on Saturday, April 1.
“We’re suing the Buhari administration and NBC over the arbitrary and unlawful fine of N5 million imposed on Channels TV for a recent interview with Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP),” the statement read.
In a letter addressed to Channels TV and dated March 27, the NBC stated that there had been a breach of the broadcasting code during an interview the television station had with Baba-Ahmed on Wednesday, March 22.
The Director-General of the Commission, Balarabe Ilelah, who signed the letter, said the interview was capable of inciting public disorder.
Nigeria’s president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu had petitioned the Commission to sanction Channels TV over the controversial interview with Baba-Ahmed.
During the interview, Baba-Ahmed had described the emergence of the president-elect as “unconstitutional”, adding that swearing him in would amount to a violation of the constitution.
ON Thursday, March 30, a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (The ICIR), Sinafi Omanga, was a victim of a mob attack, causing him bodily harm and broken spectacles.
The horror, according to the victim, lasted for about two hours.
The attack was led by a man and a woman who identified themselves as soldiers in the Nigerian Army. The man was in uniform.
It occurred at Mombasa Street, Wuse Zone 5, in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) District of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Narrating his ordeal, Omanga, a co-host of The ICIR’s Eye On The Street, a weekly vox-pop programme, said two men who dressed as military personnel were part of the mob that attacked him.
The journalist had noticed a case of jungle justice against two men accused of stealing a mobile phone, and had picked up his device to record the incident when they pounced on him.
“One of those who identified themselves as soldiers wore an Army uniform though I couldn’t get his name.
“They tortured me mercilessly, which caused parts of my head to swell up after threatening severally to kill me,” he said, adding that a member of the mob, the tallest and most brutal of them that others called Dogo, was bent on hitting him with a big rod that could have ended his life.
“He told me I was lucky there was no broken bottle nearby,” he said.
Omanga, who sounded disturbed even when narrating his account, said he was carrying out his constitutional duty as a journalist when the incident occurred.
Beyond the physical assaults, he disclosed he was forced to pay the sum of N4,000 into a third party’s account.
He contacted a colleague, Sadiq Aliyu, who paid on his behalf via the O’pay mobile money platform.
The name on the recipient’s account, based on the generated payment receipt, is Emmanuel Lkechukwu Duru.
“They stole my wristwatch, N5,000 cash in my bag, tore my shirt and destroyed my medicated eyeglasses.
“Upon destroying my eyeglasses, my eyes became the primary target for their punches.
“They also forced me to pay a sum of N4,000 to an Opay account: 709326376, bearing the name Emmanuel Duru before releasing my phone back to me,” Omanga added.
The receipt from the transaction.
They further deleted important files from his phone, including footage and pictures of the jungle justice.
Opay accounts are usually created through customers’ mobile phone numbers. Thus, The ICIR repeatedly contacted the account user, but the phone line was unreachable. Another attempt was made on Saturday, April 1, but the phone was reportedly switched off.
This is not the first time journalists have been attacked while discharging their duties.
For instance, in the last general elections, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) disclosed that at least 14 journalists were attacked or detained during the election coverage.
The ICIR’s Executive Director, Dayo Aiyetan, was among the assaulted journalists.
“Nigerian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Haruna Mohammed Salisu, and bring to account all those responsible for intimidating and attacking, at least, 13 other journalists and media workers.
“Press freedom is an integral component of Nigerian democracy, and the media should be able to cover national polls without fear of reprisals,” CPJ’s Africa programme director, Angela Quintal stated, reacting to the trend.
In 2022, 67 journalists were killed globally. This is according to the CPJ.
Omanga’s incident has since been reported to the police authority in the Wuse district of the FCT.
THE Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has asked the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest and prosecute those involved in the plot to install an interim government.
The Forum described the alleged plot to install an interim government as “the height of unpatriotism in the country.”
The chairman of the Kwara State chapter of ACF, Dr Mohammed Ghali-Alaaya, said this to journalists at the Annual Weekend Ramadan Lecture of the Kwara State Television Authority in Ilorin on Saturday.
ICIR had reported that the DSS said it was in possession of intelligence that a group of people were planning to install an interim government to truncate the just concluded presidential election results.
Addressing this, Ghali-Alaaya said those canvassing an interim government were yet to come to terms with the reality of that choice.
He noted that the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, pulling majority votes from the North reflected the region’s commitment to power rotation.
“The Northern governors, when they spoke, they did so, bearing in mind that the trouble and expectation of this country is so clear, that governance must shift from the North to the South. That is not far-fetched. There have been insinuations that Nigeria will break up and everybody is afraid in the country.
“That decision (power shift) was made purely on a very good platform. They (governors) had a very good intention and everybody fell in love with that decision. We have seen that since 2019, and you can see the preparation of the people, including those in the diaspora. Every stakeholder in this country wanted the governance to shift from the North to the South, so that this country will remain.
“It is very fortunate that in the beginning of the elections, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu won in the primary. It is marvellous and a clean slate, which was unexpected. I think everybody should be convinced that when the real election came, this man (Tinubu) won convincingly, and most of the votes he garnered were even from the North.
“It is shocking that anybody will contest elections and win in regions other than his own – to that extent – so comfortably,” the ACF leader said.
THE Zamfara State Police Command has apprehended 57 suspects for post-election violence.
The police swung to action after violence erupted in the state following the announcement of gubernatorial and House of Assembly election results.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Command’s spokesperson, Mohammed Shehu, on Saturday, April 1.
The statement noted that the police had recovered looted and vandalised property in connection with the case.
“It could be recalled that police detectives personally led by the Commissioner of Police, Kolo Yusuf, earlier arrested 40 suspects and recovered some of the looted and vandalised property worth millions of naira, which were showcased to the press and later charged to court and remanded in prison (sic).”
The statement said that further investigation by the police led to the arrest of more suspects and recovery of exhibits.
The police mentioned that 17 suspects had confessed to looting the properties of senator Kabiru Marafa.
The statement also said that a suspect, Sulaiman Balarabe, confessed to kidnapping in different communities in the state.
The statement read, “On 29th March, 2023 at about 0330am, police operatives while on patrol acted on intelligence information and arrested the above- named suspect, who was already in the wanted list of the police for banditry, kidnapping and other heinous crimes against the good people of Zamfara state.”
It added that three suspects were arrested for cattle rustling, and 18 cows were recovered.
“On Friday 31st March, 2023, police while on patrol acted on intelligence information, intercepted and arrested three Toyota buses loaded with suspected stolen cows, sheep and goats from Dansadau to Gusau. On sighting the police, suspects attempted to abandon the vehicles and exhibits to escape, but they were rounded up and arrested by the police operatives,” Shehu said.
The police added that they apprehended one member of Sara, a notorious gang terrorising Gusau and its environs.
According to the statement, investigation was ongoing to arrest other suspects and charge them to court for prosecution.
The Commissioner of Police for the state, Yusuf, reiterated the need for officers to sustain the synergy with other security agencies for effective service delivery.
THE United States chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is set to embark on a solidarity march in Washington D.C. to counter a protest by supporters of the Labour Party (LP).
The chairman of the group, Tai Balofin, said the march would take place on April 3 at the Lafayette Park, opposite the White House.
This follows a report that some Nigerians resident in the US had reportedly gotten a permit to protest against the election victory of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, on April 3.
Balofin urged Nigerians not to be worried by the actions of supporters of the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the United States.
“We also wish to state that this protest was sponsored by Peter Obi, who lost the election in Nigeria,” the statement read.
It added, “We believe that the Nigerian presidential election was free and fair, and Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu won the election. The majority of Nigerian voters gave him their mandate, and no propaganda, manipulation or tissue of lies can stop his inauguration.
“We have mobilized true Nigerians to come out in support of their mandate, and we believe that the protesters will not succeed in their mission to disrupt the peace and stability of Nigeria.”
CASH flow in the monetary system has been improving during the week as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) injects funds into commercial banks for over-the-counter transactions, and for loading into their automated teller machines (ATMs).
CBN had last October announced it would be redesigning the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes. The new notes were introduced into the system on December 15, 2022, with the CBN initially setting January 31, 2023 as deadline as legal tender for the old notes being rested.
One of the reasons the CBN gave for its naira redesign decision was its resolve to strengthen Nigeria’s cashless economy.
But the policy has brought so much agony to individuals, families and businesses as the new notes have remained scarce.
The CBN has not helped matters with its decision somersaults on the swap of the old with the new.
On the heels of this concern, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) threatened on March 22 that it would be picketing the CBN offices nationwide because of the apex bank’s failure to comply with the Supreme Court’s order that the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes remain legal tender till December 31, 2023.
The NLC directed all the affiliate unions to begin mobilisation to ensure total compliance with the proposed shutdown.
To avert the picketing, the minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, met with the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, and the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, to discuss the issue.
Emefiele promised after the meeting that the CBN would henceforth make cash available to commercial banks to dispense to the public. The CBN then directed the banks to open their halls to customers at weekends for cash withdrawals.
The NLC consequently suspended its strike threat, but with a proviso it would still picket the CBN offices if after 14 days the situation did not change.
Checks by The ICIR at strategic markets and banks across the country revealed a gradual easing of the cash crisis as many banks have been dispensing cash, both over the counter and through their ATMs.
Crowds of customers at the gates of commercial banks shoving and pulling to access cash, and long queues at the ATMs have been reducing, though they have not disappeared.
The CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isah Abdumuminin, confirmed on March 26 that the regulator had disbursed substantial amounts of money to the commercial banks for onward distribution to the public.
Bank sources told The ICIR that banks had, indeed, been receiving both the old and new notes from the CBN.
“We have been monitoring the situation and it is improving. Banks are also disbursing what they get. I can authoritatively tell you that the situation will improve more than what it is currently .We have got that assurance from the CBN that it can only get better,” the president of the Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB), Rasheed Bolarinwa, told The ICIR.
In Madalla market, Niger State, our correspondent watched transactions going on smoothly, with no complaints about cash scarcity. The market, notable for wholesale foodstuffs sales, was brimming with activities.
Customers gradually making entrance into GTB bank in Kubwa, FCT
At the Kubwa central market, traders were seen going about their normal business, also without complaints of cash crunch.
“There is no problem with cash. Customers patronise us with ease. We deposit and withdraw money from the banks with ease. For now, our business is moving on swiftly,” a dealer in phone accessories and laptops at the market, Afam Ugwu, told our correspondent.
At the height of the cash crisis, point-of-sale (PoS) operators, an alternative source of payment, exploited the situation to fleece people in need of cash by increasing their charges astronomically.
They jacked their normal charge of N200 on every N10,000 to as high as N300 on every N1,000 or N3,000 on every N10,000. People were, as it were, buying the naira through their noses.
But there has been a marginal drop in charges at PoS centres since the beginning of the week as banks intensify the disbursement of cash.
“For now, we charge N100 per N1,000. We used to charge N300 per N1,000, but now the charges have dropped,” a PoS merchant, Ikenna Ogbu, told our correspondent.
It was observed that some PoS operators were, however, still charging N200 on every N,1000, as they complained they were still finding it difficult to easily access cash.
One such operator in Somolu, Lagos, Fatai Oluwole, told our correspondent he was still buying naira from some sources he would not mention.
“I’ll be losing if I do this business at any charge lower. I still buy naira notes from somewhere,” Oluwole said.
Another operator at the Redemption Camp, well known there as Esther, said she was able to withdraw only N40,000 at the Access Bank branch inside the camp. Esther was, by Thursday, charging N500 on every N5,000 she gave out.
Cash-strapped customers continue to besiege banks
In Lagos and Ogun states, it is not yet uhuru, as customers still besiege banks from the early hours seeking to get cash.
Customers at Access Bank, Ojodu Berger in Lagos
The ICIR observed the situation when it visited First Bank, Access Bank, Union Bank, Ecobank, United Bank for Africa, Zenith Bank and others in the Ojodu-Berger and Ikeja axes in Lagos state, and also Mowe and Ibafo in Ogun state.
Our correspondent reports that crowds were seen at banks’ gates in the early days of the week struggling to gain entrance to make withdrawals.
Many of the banks were still dispensing as low as N5,000 to N10,000. But the situation had increased by Friday in some banks, which gave out up to N30,000 to N40,000.
“I think Nigerians are going to experience this situation for the next one month,” a customer seen at the First Bank branch at Ojudu, who gave his name simply as Ayo, told The ICIR, adding, “The situation is not encouraging at all.”
Zenith Bank’s premises at Ogba, Lagos, were virtually empty on Tuesday by about 2pm. A security officer said the bank had exhausted cash brought to the branch from its headquarters and directed customers to come back the next day.
At Mowe and Ibafo on Wednesday and Thursday, The ICIR observed that the situation was similar, but more intense as the areas have fewer banks.
The ICIR was at FirstBank in Mowe on Wednesday to observe the situation, and discovered that as early as 6.30am, over 150 customers were already waiting for the branch to open.
Customers queuing up at First Bank Mowe, Ogun State
‘I fixed my car in order to get cash’
The naira redesign crisis has worsened the situation for residents of Mowe and other adjoining communities who pay higher fares to get to Lagos because of the lingering reconstruction on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Samson Echenim told The ICIR that when the cash crunch wahala started, his wife helped him with cash, as she is a trader. But as it persisted and got more severe, he had to fix his car and put it on the road for movement to work.
“When I’m going to work, I carry people. And I also bring people back home, too. I collect cash from them as fare, while I fuel my car with PoS. So it’s like converting my fuel money to cash using the filing stations,” Echenim, who resides in Mowe, Ogun state and works in Lagos State, narrated.
He hoped for an improvement in the situation, from what he called an insignificant margin.
“There is a Stanbic IBTC Bank in our building where a customer could withdraw only N5,000 across the counter before the old notes were released. But now, the pay is N17,000 per customer per day after release of old notes.
“Then there’s another bank near my office; it is Gtbank. All through this period, the bank is not paying cash. It didn’t pay before old notes were released and even after old notes were released, it is still not giving customers cash.
“As for PoS, I have a friend who is an operator. Before old notes were released, people paid N2,000 to get N5,000. That’s a whopping 40 per cent charge. After old notes were released the charge remained the same!
“Banks might be giving more cash across the counter but the ATMs are still empty. And PoS operators haven’t reduced charges, ” Echenim said.
THE management of Ibom Airlines has apologised to its passengers for the delay they experienced caused by ‘unruly’ behaviour of a passenger
The unnamed passenger was removed from the aircraft after publicly opposing President-elect Bola Tinubu’s inauguration.
The incident occurred on Friday, March 31.
The apology came in a statement signed by the airline’s Group Manager, Marketing and Communication, Aniekan Essienette, on the airline’s Twitter page on Saturday.
PRESS RELEASE April 1, 2023
We wish to inform the public about an incident on our 6 pm flight from Abuja to Lagos on Friday, 31 March 2023. pic.twitter.com/mcEiSJFtQJ
The statement read, “We wish to inform the public about an incident on our 6pm flight from Abuja to Lagos on Friday, March 31, 2023.
“A passenger stood up and began addressing other passengers in a manner considered inappropriate and unruly, as he was making other passengers nervous.
“Our crew deemed his continuous unruly behaviour unsafe and called on airport security to help with the situation. Upon his refusal to stop or disembark peacefully, the security operatives were left with no choice but to forcefully disembark the passenger as a last option.
“We are aware that several videos and reports of this incident are circulating on social media and wish to provide the right perspective.”
The airline apologised to the affected passengers for the time it took to disembark the passenger, which caused an otherwise on-time departure to be delayed by an hour.
Reports had emerged on Friday, March 31, that security operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, arrested a man shouting ‘Tinubu can’t be sworn in’ and ‘Obidients’ and disrupted the take-off flight of Ibom airline from Abuja to Lagos.
The Department of State Services (DSS) had on Wednesday, March 29, said it had uncovered a plot to install an interim government in the country.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson Peter Afunanya, the DSS said the plot was being championed by “misguided persons” with “entrenched interests.”
The DSS described the alleged plot as an aberration aimed at undermining the country’s Constitution.
The agency alleged that part of the plot was to sponsor endless violent mass protests in major cities to warrant a declaration of a state of emergency in the country.
A civil society organisation, TechHerNG, has launched a website to monitor and curb online gender-based violence (OGBV) against women in Nigeria.
This was contained in a statement obtained by The ICIR on Friday, signed by the Executive Director of the organisation, Chioma Agwuegbo, after the launch of the website.
Agwuegbo said the website – launched with the support of Hivos and the Digital Defenders Partnerships – named, Kuram, which translates to ‘keep me safe’ in Tiv, aims at tackling violence perpetrated in digital spaces.
She said the OGBV response platform was designed to provide an avenue for women and other vulnerable groups to report cases of digital violence perpetrated against them.
Agwuegbo said the unnoticed and silent victims of OGBV lost to poor data and the non-availability of avenues to report violations, and the platform’s ability to collect and store data on digital violence, while advancing advocacy efforts and evidence for the remediation of cases.
She indicated the need for actionable answers like Kuram to provide safe spaces for women and other vulnerable groups engaging with internet technologies.
“TechHer has invested a lot of resources to demystify technology for young women and girls through our school tour projects. It is a shame that while we encourage women to access and wield technology more, they are discouraged by the violence perpetrated against them in digital spaces.
“Online violence goes beyond revenge porn; it is bullying, doxing, deep fakes, amongst other forms of violence perpetrated against women and other vulnerable groups on the internet,” she said.
The statement read that during the launch of the website, the Country Director of Plan International, Charles Usei, restated the essence of safeguarding women’s safety in the digital space, adding the need for survivors’ justice stories to be shared to encourage others to speak up.
During the launch, the Executive Director of DIGICIVIC Initiative, Mojirayo Ogunlana, lamented that many Nigerians, especially victims of online gender-based violence, were unaware of their digital rights due to the ambiguity of Nigerian laws. She, however, listed the simple solution of simplifying relevant laws to boost awareness of internet user rights.
“Simplifying these laws provides a pathway for better understanding and, in turn, helps people to be aware that they can seek legal recourse when their rights have been violated online. Several cases have been taken to the courts simply by enabling awareness of personal rights,” Ogunlana said.
Stakeholders were encouraged to share the website’s interventions within their communities as active players in the fight to end violence against women in all forms.
Further calls were made to security agencies and policymakers to recognise and act on the nascent threat of OGBV.
SCORES of people have been feared killed and many others injured as suspected armed herders stormed some Benue local government areas.
The chairman of the Apa Traditional Council in Apa Local Government Area, John Antenyi, reported the incident.
Antenyi said many of his subjects were attacked by the herdsmen, whom he said looted some of the communities.
According to reports, the assailants also broke into nearby Agatu, Guma, and Kwande LGAs, where they launched relentless attacks over a three-week period that resulted in the deaths of several people and injured numerous more.
Antenyi, who spoke with Vanguard newspaper, said communities in his domain, like Akpanta, Ologba, Oyiji, Ikpobi, and Odugbo had been taken over by the invaders in a ceaseless attack on his subjects.
He said, “Fulanis are invading our local governments, and some communities like Ikpobi, Odugbo, Akpanta, Ologba and Oyiji have come under severe attacks. There have been killings and destruction of farm crops in those communities.
“Following the attacks, some of our villages have been deserted. They include Imana, Ologba, Akpanta and Ikobi. The inhabitants have relocated to Ugbokpo, the local government headquarters, and some other communities that have not recorded any attacks.”
In a chat with The ICIR on Saturday, April 1, the Benue Police Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, confirmed the attacks, saying it was not new.
“That’s not new. We have always had herders in those places. It is not as if those things just happened. It is no news,” Anene said.
THE Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested Fredrick Nwajagu, the Igbo leader who threatened to invite members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to Lagos to protect the Igbos.
Nwajagu, the Eze Igbo of Ajao Estate, Lagos, was arrested on Saturday in a joint operation by the DSS and the police.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Superintendent Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this.
The operatives traced Nwajagu to his palace, but he fled. He was later tracked to a hotel in Ejigbo and apprehended.
Nwajagu had, in a 49-second video shared on Twitter on Friday by @DeeOneAyekooto, vowed to invite members of IPOB to Lagos to secure the properties of the Igbo people in the state.
But Benjamin Hundeyin replied him, saying, “To start with, the ever-ready @LagosPoliceNG will never fold its arms and allow such within the state.”
