📝 Police is nobody’s friend
Hi
Warning, if we can call it that: people in Abuja believe Azman Oil and Gas Ltd in Wuse 2 is dispensing water rather than fuel into their petrol tanks.
In this week’s edition:
The FG’s major financer has gone silent
HOR want Buhari to ask them before he uses Nigeria’s savings
Women in IDP camps are getting abused
Where’s all that oil money going?
New taxes
Finance
One of the Nigerian Government’s major ‘sponsors’, China, has backed out of a loan deal.
Leadership reports that China Export-Import Bank is supposed to loan Nigeria $8.3 billion for the FG’s rail projects. So far, the bank has provided about 15% of the loan, which the Government used to fund a segment of the (still incomplete) Lagos-Kano railway.
Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi says they’ve been waiting on the rest of the loan, but the Chinese Government has been ignoring them.
So, naturally, they have turned to other lenders. The most forthcoming is London-based multinational Standard Chartered financial services.
In July 2021, Amaechi disclosed that Standard Chartered promised to fund $3.02 billion for the ongoing Port Harcourt-to-Maiduguri railway project. The FG is also looking to borrow from other European lenders—like Switzerland’s Credit Suisse.
In the meantime, they intend to keep billing Nigerians.
In January, the FG announced that—to support the National budget— they will be imposing a ‘sugar tax’ of N10 on all non-alcoholic, carbonated, and sweetened beverages in the country.
Leadership ran the numbers and estimated that this would generate a revenue of N141.250 billion.
The new tax is probably why the price of Schweppes went from N150 to N300.
But while the Government is scrapping the insides of our wallets for money, what are they using it for? I don’t know, and the House of Representatives seem to be in the dark, too
The HOR are upset at Buhari’s people for constantly using Nigeria’s reserves without their knowledge for things they are unaware of and haven’t approved.
The House expressed worry that the Federal Government spent over N1.8 trillion on debt servicing in the first five months of 2021, representing approximately 98% of the total revenue generated in the same period.
They also want Buhari to do something about overpopulation (hmm, idk maybe stop the stigma against family planning? 🤔 just a thought).
Fuel money
A Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) report found that the Federal Government spent over 400% more on fuel subsidy in 2021 than they have since 2015 (N307 billion to N1.77 trillion within 7 years)
2022: The FG has approved N3 trillion for subsidy payment between July and December 2022.
Recall: the FG considered cancelling subsidy this year, but protests from the Labor Congress and others compelled them to push the plan by 18 months.
Police is nobody’s friend
If you needed evidence that the Nigerian Security system is in shambles, here you go: This week, a police officer in Borno killed Donatus Vonkong, a soldier who served as the head of security to Abubakar El-Kanemi, Shehu of Borno, at his palace.
Recounts indicate that the police officer strolled into the palace drunk on Tuesday morning. Vonkong demanded that the drunk man with a gun drop his weapon, but his colleagues BEGGED for him and promised that “he would be fine”.
Vonkong left it, taking their word for it (sigh), and in a few minutes, the drunk security officer started shooting sporadically. Vonkong tried to stop the rogue officer when one of the bullets hit him.
A direct quote: “The matter was going to escalate, and this could lead to soldiers, in retaliation, opening fire on police officers. [Several] policemen immediately left their duty post [fearing] a retaliatory attack”.
Customs killing
The House of Reps has ordered the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)— those responsible for collecting customs revenue and anti-smuggling activities— to compensate the families of 10 people they killed in Jibia, Katsina State and 8 people in Oyo.
Jibia: In August 2021, a van of the NCS rammed into people by a roadside in Jibia.
According to the NCS, the accident happened while they were chasing rice smugglers. However, the NCS admitted that it had nothing to do with smugglers during the investigative hearing.
In May 2021, NCS killed 5 bystanders in Iseyin, Oyo State, during a shootout between officers and rice smugglers. They also killed 4 alleged smugglers.
The HOR agreed that the accident could have been avoided had the customs officers been adequately trained on gun safety.
The police are still extorting us.
A student recounted an attack on his Twitter account where the Nigerian police in Benin, Edo State, held him at gunpoint and extorted N1 million from him. However, premium times reports that his tweet caught the attention of the Edo State Police department and, with his help, they apprehended the officers and retrieved his money.
Insecurity
IDP camps
State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) reports that at least 80% of children in Benue are now out of school due to terrorist and herder attacks.
The agency disclosed this whilst providing materials to Internally Displaced people in the city.
The Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr Emmanuel Shior, expressed concern about how disconnected the FG seems to be from the food, supply and hygiene needs of people in the affected communities in Benue.
IDP camp officials are taking advantage of women and children (TW: rape)
4 weeks ago, we reported the death of Aisha Umar, a woman living at an IDP camp who killed herself after an official, Huzaifa Adam—a known serial rapist—lured her into his apartment and raped her.
Around the same time, Leadership reported that this wasn’t the only case. Across the country, IDP officials (read: male) force women living in these camps to trade sex for food. As a result, “The women no longer feared the terrorists but the men charged with the responsibility of their protection”.
“International and regional human rights bodies have urged Nigeria to investigate, prosecute, and punish perpetrators of alleged sexual exploitation, including transactional sex in IDPs”. But the FG is primarily unconcerned about this endemic.
Everyday terrorism
Terrorists invaded Tegina in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State and kidnapped Rabi Usman, a popular entrepreneur in the area.
Residents told Premium Times that a “large band” of armed terrorists attacked the town on Saturday and went straight to Usman’s home. They also “vowed to return” to kidnap more people from the community.
Tegina is the same town where 136 pupils of Islamiyya Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School were abducted on May 30 last year. 90 of the students were released three months after their parents reportedly paid N60 million and five new motorcycles as ransom.
Meanwhile, Nigeria says it has identified 96 sponsors of terrorism but still refuses to name them
In 2020, they identified 400. We still don’t know them, and they still have not prosecuted anybody.
In 2021, UAE identified 6 Nigerian terrorist sponsors.
Terrorism in the Middle East:
The United States reports that the leader of ISIS blew up himself and his family members as U.S. forces raided his Syria hideout Thursday—this is the second time in three years the United States has taken out an ISIS leader.
Oil
Spilling
An oil production vessel has exploded off the Nigerian coast months after an oil spillage wreaked havoc in the Niger Delta.
The vessel – called Trinity Spirit – blew up on Wednesday, Shebah Exploration & Production Co. (SEPCOL), which has the ship on a lease, said.
The minister of state for environment says the ministry is taking measures to control the after-effects of the explosion.
Last year, a wellhead belonging to Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company blew up in Nembe, Bayelsa State. The leakage did not stop until a month later.
Oil crimes
Nigeria Navy says that it has deactivated 175 illegal refineries, arrested 27 vessels under 11 months (Vanguard)
But who is getting the seized goods? EFCC smells lies, so they are investigating the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (the agency tasked with re-vitalising and reallocating recovered funds) to find out what happed to 144 properties recovered from oil thieves (Premium Times)
Other news
Looking to renew your U.S. visa? U.S. Mission in Nigeria’s new pilot program is working to make it easier
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) are on an indefinite strike to protest the refusal of the institution’s management to pay their earned academic allowance (Premium Times)
The EFCC has charged Nigerian senator and former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, with allegations that he conspired with others, including an APC politician and five companies, to steal N2.9 billion from public coffers (Premium Times)
Court orders AGF to pay Nnamdi Kanu’s co-dependents N200,000 or the inconveniences they suffered as a result of the absence of the lead counsel to the Federal Government, Mr Shuaib Magaji Labaran (All Africa)
FG inaugurates committee for repatriation of IDPs in neighbouring countries (The Cable)
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