🤿 Expectations vs reality
Hi,
How are you? Tell me by replying to this email 🥺. I'll go first: I'm straight up not having a good time
In today's issue:
EndSARS memorial: one year after
Buhari says journalists should start reporting a decline in terrorism
The government wants to introduce more taxes
Everything is now more expensive (but you already knew that 😭)
EndSARS memorial: one year after
This week marks a year since the Nigerian police and military killed citizens in Mushin, Lekki Toll Gate and other parts of the country for exercising their democratic right to protest. Till today, the Nigerian government still insists that this wasn't the case (despite numerous videos, forensic confirmations and victim recounts)
Like clockwork, when citizens again went out to commemorate the memorial at the Lekki Toll (which seems to be gearing to start operating again soon), they were met with police brutality, unjust arrests and teargas (in Oyo, Ibadan where the police escorted the protesters)
EndSARS denier, Twitter block champion The Minister of Information and Culture said that DJ Switch (the person who made the viral video to alert people of what happened at the Lekki Toll in 2020), Amnesty International and others who reported the murders should "tender an unreserved apology for portraying the Nigerian military, police and other security agencies in a bad light"
But they do seem to encourage the military to assault citizens sometimes: For instance, the president has 'encouraged' the military to use "overwhelming force if necessary" to control Anambra elections
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry, which gathered to discuss matters of police brutality has come to an end. They recommend that 23 victims of police brutality who sued the government receive a total of N148.2 million as compensation.
Delta's government also announced that they will pay victims of police brutality 102million (With the way the country is set up there's no guarantee that they will be paid)
But people in Oyo and Katsina are demanding N4.5 billion compensation from Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for family members who were killed in May during shoot out between Customs officials and rice smugglers.
Terrorism "decline": expectations vs reality
Speaking of security. Buhari thinks journalists are doing too much by telling the news. During his Eid speech, the President urged journalists to begin reporting that insurgency in Nigeria is "declining". But in the last week:
Terrorists bombed an Abuja-Kaduna track train and now the route has been shut down to avoid any more attacks. While there were no reported deaths, the closure threatens Nigeria's transport loan repayment plans, the majority of it was coming from revenue from the trains
In Sokoto, terrorists killed over 40 people in a market last week Sunday. Before Sunday’s attack, Sokoto had been subjected to frequent attacks. This time, the president declared "war on Bandits" (they still refuse to name the sponsors or label them terrorists)
The banking sector in Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto are beginning to suffer from the telecom shut down in the states— the states shut off mobile services and telcos to stifle the terrorists’ communication channels.
Nigeria is a terrorist hub? Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) who once staged a coup to remove him from office are operating illegally in Nigeria. Turkey has been fighting terrorists, so they ran away to Nigeria
In Imo, traditional rulers were attacked and shot. Imo residents have become worried about the increase in attacks in the area, but don't worry, the Imo State Police assures that "only three" died
Nnamdi Kanu's trial
Reports indicate that Nigerian security agents at the scene of pro-Biafra political activist Nnamdi Kanu on Thursday forcefully obstructed lawyers and journalists from getting into the Federal High court for the trial.
At the hearing, the court announced that Kanu, who is facing treasonable felony and terrorism charges, will now be re-arraigned on a seven-count charge as against the five counts he was previously answering to.
Basically, the country is in thick red so the Nigerian government and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is suggesting more billing for the informal sector
The FIRS proposed the 'road infrastructure tax', to help fix the roads across the country and ensure that tailors, mechanics and others outside the government's business registration radar are brought into the tax net.
This new billing has been in conversation for a few years though so we'll see.
What we do know: The price of cooking gas has risen by over 50% and people are going back to using firewood.
Health Updates:
The Director-General of the Nigeria Blood Services Commission, Omale Joseph, has alleged that many Nigerian hospitals are giving expired blood to their patients, while others are selling blood donated to them by individuals to keep in their bank (Punch)
UNICEF partners with FG on covid vaccination (GuardianNG)
Parliamentarians in the Benin Republic have voted to legalise abortion. Under the new law, people in Benin can terminate a pregnancy within the first three months if it is likely to “aggravate or cause material, educational, professional or moral distress, incompatible with the woman or the unborn child’s interest”. (Punch)
Other news this week
A house of representatives committee has threatened to ask the CBN to take over the operations of Heritage Bank over alleged debt to the federal government (The Cable)
SERAP sues Buhari over N4.8 billion budget to monitor WhatsApp (The Cable)
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria fears an imminent fuel crisis as some private depot owners unilaterally raise the prices of petrol (Punch)
After 126 days in captivity, 30 abducted students of the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri have been released by their captors. No report on if a ransom was paid (Punch)
The sit-at-home declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra on Thursday in the South-East to protest against the incarceration and trial of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was observed by residents in the region (Vanguard)