☕️ The President is as shocked as you
If you didn't have electricity over the week, its because the nation's electricity grid collapsed again
In this week’s issue
SARS victims compensation
On insurgency: the President says you should be patient with the Military; they’ll get to it
This week in fraud, ft Dangote, Buhari’s son-in-law who he doesn’t know
Oil
Let's start today on a positive* note
positive is relative*
The World Health Organization announced that they’re removing Nigeria from the Polio Fund list by 2022 because Nigeria has officially been declared Polio Free. Shoutout to vaccinates.
This week, The Lagos State Judicial Panel gave a total of N13.5 million to 3 SARS victims.
One of the victims, Ndukwe Ekekwe, a Alaba International Market trader, told the court that in 2018, SARS harassed and threw him down a two-story building.
He claims to have sustained injuries that have cost him over $30million in medical bills. He was pissed when the court-ordered Lagos to give him N7.5m
The verdict came this week, though Mr Ekekwe‘s case started in October. The others got N3 million each.
Remember: over 40 protesters were arrested (some still in detention) and had to pay bail to be released.
The protesters were ordered to pay N100,000 as bail but "remain under investigation" for "breach of the peace" and "violating Covid-19 guidelines".
President says, ‘Be patient with the military’.
"Bandits" broke into Aso Rock. No identified culprits yet. Perhaps, they too, are waiting for weapons?
President Buhari on Thursday said the insecurity plaguing Nigeria comes as a "huge surprise" to his camp, and they are striving hard to resolve it. It is "different from what he assumed in 2015".
He says ordering weapons to fight bandits is "a long process", so you people should calm down.
“…attempt to understand the military. If we order for weapons, it takes time for the manufacturers. It takes time to ship them, and when brought here eventually [...]. This is a very long process”.
Another ‘long process’: The Attorney general of the Federation Abubakar Malami says "very soon" the FG will "resuscitate" the existing terrorism prosecution courts set up to execute insurgents.
The president also said the FG will "do everything in their power" to deal with bandits to ensure insurgents don’t mess with farmers and food production come growing season. (when the weapons get here, probably).
Meanwhile: The Kaduna State Government says they have "neutralised" many bandits and their camps using Air Strikes. PUNCH reports that 7 Boko Haram terrorists were killed in a crossfire between the Military and the terrorist group. The article says that 3 Soldiers died in the process.
While we wait, open grazing is cancelled
Governors of 17 states in Southern Nigeria have decided to ban open grazing in their states.
They said that since cattle grazers migrated to their states, conflicts have arisen, and crime rates (kidnapping, murder, armed robbery) have increased exponentially.
The house of reps unanimously support the call to ban open grazing in Southern Nigeria (including some members from 19 Northern states) and have asked President Buhari to initiate a bill to kickstart the process.
Also, the acting Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, disclosed that the President approved new security measures for the South of Nigeria in response to the recent attacks targeting security officials.
This week in fraud
President Buhari's son-in-law, Gimba Yau Kumo, has been declared wanted by the Independent Corrupt Practices (ICPC) for fraud worth N31BN
The ICPC put out a PSA asking anyone who knows where he is to contact them
Kumo, who was the MD of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria until 2014, is wanted (along with pals Tarry Rufus and Bola Ogunsola) for misappropriating funds allocated for a national property development project during his tenure.
In April, The senate committee on public accounts summoned Kumo regarding other fraud-related issues.
In response, Presidency said Buhari has no relationship with that man. They said Buhari does not talk to Kumo, so his activities aren't any of the President’s business.
But do they know where he is?
Kumo married Fatima Buhari in 2015, a year after his time at the bank ended.
Aliko Dangote & The committee
The panel created to probe suspended Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms. Hadiza Usman- Bala, claims they found evidence that she illicitly used her authority in favour of Aliko Dangote.
The committee, set up by the Ministry of Transportation under Minister Rotimi Amaechi, claims that Ms. Bala-Usman waived import charges for Dangote that she wasn't supposed to and blocked other importers' goods in his favour.
More on money ICYMI: Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have dropped in value moments after a tweet from CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment.
The tweet said they’re stopping because they’re worried about the environmental implications of the crypto.
Backtrack: Cryptocurrency is produced (‘mined’) with specialised computers that require a lot of energy.
A 2021 estimate from the University of Cambridge suggests bitcoin would be in the top 30 energy consumers if it were a country. That’s more energy than Argentina (current 30th)
While the climate crisis is getting worse, cryptocurrencies are seeing higher adoption globally. More adoption = more crypto mining = more bad climate implications
In February, the value of Bitcoin skyrocketed after Tesla announced plans to accept payment in Bitcoin, so this was a sudden hit in a Tweet.
Musk was also on SNL last week, and some of his jokes messed with the value of Dogecoin.
Takeaway: crypto trading is a high-risk investment. Invest wisely
Y'all got $10 billion you're not using? (COVID updates)
The World Bank says they'll need around $10 billion to vaccinate up to 60% of the world and eradicate COVID-19
India's COVID-19 Strain detected in Osun and Edo. The African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) says it's not as deadly. Still, be careful and wear your mask.
Nigeria reinstates COVID rules: Not more than 50 people in a gathering, wear your mask in public, 12 AM curfew.
Lagos places 13 countries on the CO-19 watchlist to prevent 3rd wave, including United States, Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana
Energy... not the good kind
The 14-inch crude trunk line operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in the Niger Delta region spilled 276 barrels of crude oil in three incidents in April (Premium Times).
The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has shut down its Idu oil fields at Egbebiri settlement within Biseni in Yenagoa local government area in Bayelsa over oil leakage from equipment failure (Leadership).
Things we didn't get into
Lagos state government replaces banned Kekes and motorcycles with "Last mile vehicles".
Academic Staff Union of Universities are planning another strike. They say they still haven't been paid their salaries in over 15 months.
17 Africans drowned in a shipwreck off Tunis while two Nigerian women were rescued. The overcapacity ship was attempting to smuggle travellers to Italy from Libya. Over 40 people died along the same route last month.
Recommended: What is happening in Palestine?
The Israel-Palestine war dates back to colonisation years (those British), so we'll focus on what's happening now.
What we've gathered: Over the years, Israelis have moved into Palestinian homes and forced them out. Israelis are said to be guarded by the Israeli Military, so if Palestinians attempt to fight, they get attacked with weapons.
In the last few weeks, Palestinians have resorted to peaceful protests to try and stop Israeli civilians from taking over their homes.
Just yesterday, airstrikes from Israel attacked a refugee camp in Gaza, killing 10 Palestinians, including 8 children. In the last week, over 40 Palestinians have been killed.
Also attacked were buildings that housed Al Jazeera's Gaza office as well as other media offices.
Palestine has also fired airstrikes into Israel, but Israel is inarguably more powerful: more technology, weapons and money.
It's a human rights crisis. Palestinians are dying in dozens every day
It's such a mess that even Buhari is urging Israel and Palestine to respect human rights
If you want to know more, here’s a good place to start.
You can also donate to support victims and their families.