Independence(?)🤦🏾♀️
Hi! Happy public holiday!
In this edition:
Two collapsed bridges
Government caught negotiating with terrorists
Unlawful detention (3+)
This episode edition is 1,970 words (approx. 6 mins read)
The stupidest thing that happened last week
A woman named Chioma Egodi was arrested because she wrote a review about a product from a company called Erisco Foods Limited. The review said there was too much sugar in the product.
Days after her review, the Nigerian police, under the instructions of the owner of Erisco, arrested her. Her husband explained that three policemen arrested (abducted, really) her in a church in Lagos and took her to Abuja.
The company said that her personal opinion of the product was “untrue” and it was a ploy to defame them. In the same breadth, they said similar posts have been made in the past by other people who want to harm their reputation.
They made her write an apology letter, but that wasn’t enough according to the company’s owner
Reader, the owner of the company, Eric Umeofia, went on national television (Arise News), admitted to having this woman unlawfully arrested and threatened to sue her “because the apology was not enough”
The CEO of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera, confirmed about 24 hours after her arrest that Chioma Egodi had been released on bail, and Eriscofoods had been “summoned” by the commission for questioning.
Tribunal Update
A US court has said that a university must give Atiku Abubakar the academic records of Bola Tinubu.
Backstory: Atiku filed a petition in the United States District Court in Illinois asking them to allow him access to Tinubu's academic records from Chicago State University. This is because he does not believe that Tinubu went to the university as he claimed.
Tinubu’s team countered Atiku’s request so the court asked both teams to submit arguments defending their case. Now, the court has ruled in Atiku’s favour.
The court says Atiku's interest in getting the records is more important than Tinubu's privacy.
The court has set a fast schedule to complete this, and it must be done by October 3.
Insecurity
Military finds gun-making ring
Troops on Operation Hakorin Damisa found a gun-making factory in Kafanchan, Kaduna State.
They discovered it after a week-long intelligence operation that led to the capture of a wanted criminal, Napoleon John.
John confessed to the crime and showed the troops a hidden factory where guns of different types were made and sold by a man named Monday Dunia. 😭
Dunia admitted to being in the illegal gun business for over five years, contributing to conflicts in Kaduna and Plateau States. 💀
The troops seized 22 weapons, including pistols and rifles, along with ammunition, tools, and other items.
They also raided another hideout in Kafanchan, recovering more guns, ammunition, uniforms, and various items.
The military commander praised the troops and vowed to arrest all criminals involved. He also thanked the public for their support and promised to keep their information confidential.
Cultists arrested in Ogun
In the last newsletter, we reported on concerns of violence due to a fight between two cults. On September 25th, the police in Ogun State arrested 19 people suspected of being members of these cult groups - Punch
Benue Commissioner kidnapped
Kidnappers in Benue State abducted the Commissioner of Information, Culture, and Tourism, Matthew Abo, from his home on the 24th of September. The abductors contacted Abo’s family to demand N60 million. The police reps say investigations are “ongoing” - Punch
Concerning Reports on Leah Sharibu
Leah Sharibu is one among the 110 girls who were abducted by Boko Haram from Government Girls' Science and Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi, Yobe, in 2018. At that time, Leah was just 14 years old.
A month after Boko Haram attacked and kidnapped the schoolgirls in 2018, they released 106 of them. However, even after five years, all the girls have returned to their families—except for Leah.
Boko Haram claimed that they didn't release Leah because she steadfastly refused to denounce her Christian faith.
In the five years since her abduction, there have been varying reports regarding Leah's well-being.
Some suggest she may have been forced into marriage with some of the terrorists and may have even had children while in captivity, but no concrete proof exists.
Leah's parents are deeply troubled by the fact that local sources seem to have more information about her situation than the security agents who should be actively working to rescue her.
They are also disappointed by the government's unfulfilled promises to bring Leah back.
Leah's parents are urgently calling on the government to do everything in its power to rescue their daughter and all the other people who remain in captivity due to terrorist activities in Nigeria.
In a tragic reminder, out of the over 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram from another school in Chibok in 2014, 98 girls are still missing, emphasising the need for decisive action to ensure their safe return.
Meanwhile, negotiating with terrorists
Premium Times reports that several leaders of terrorist groups recently secretly met with individuals believed to represent the Nigerian government.
The main meeting occurred in Fankama, Katsina State. Terrorist leaders attended.
Premium Times says they first got wind of the meeting when Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State accused the federal government of negotiating with these terrorists without his knowledge.
The publication reports that during the meeting, the government said the terrorists and the government needed to discuss negotiations on issues like kidnapping, highway attacks, and killings. (I thought negotiating with terrorists was a crime in Nigeria 🤔 )
The Defence Headquarters spokesperson, Tukur Gusau, told Premium Times that The Defense Headquarters is investigating the involvement of soldiers in the negotiations.
The Nigerian Army spokesperson referred to the Defense Headquarters' statement, stating that the decision to negotiate with non-state actors is made at the national strategic level, not the army level. (aka they told the Defence Headquarters to mind their business)
Unsurprisingly, Nigeria ranked 6th in the world for organised crime
The case of Chike Ibezim:
Despite two orders for Chike Ibezim's release issued by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, the police have illegally detained him for two months.
The police arrested Chike at his office in Maitama, Abuja, on 10 August over an alleged malicious publication of an article about Babatunde Fashola, the former Minister of Works and Housing.
The court had previously issued an order for his release, but the police did not comply— they claimed that they found evidence of cyberbullying and other defamatory intent on his phone
Chike says his brother wrote the article, but the police are convinced it was him because they allegedly traced it to his phone number
56 days later, they still have not let him go.
The court has now reissued the order for his release or for the police to charge him, warning that if they do not comply, legal action may be taken.
Economy
National Talent Export Programme (NATEP)
The Federal Government of Nigeria has started a program called the NATEP with the goal of creating one million jobs in the next five years. The Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, announced this at an event in New York attended by World Economic Forum and Microsoft Group officials.
Uzoka-Anite said the program is part of Tinubu's plan to make Nigeria's economy more diverse and generate 50 million jobs for young people.
NATEP aims to “make Nigeria a global hub for exporting services and talent”.
Oil prices coming for more businesses
The energy crisis, along with high diesel prices and other problems, might cause many companies to close down, leading to job loss in an already rubbish economic situation
The cost of diesel used for generators and transportation has gone up to over N1000/litre (from N815 less than a month ago)
This challenge is compounded by high credit costs and lack of loanable funds, multiple taxes, charges, levies, consistent tax policies for local producers and importers, raw material unavailability and delays in receiving imported raw materials, high raw material costs, forex scarcity, high exchange rates, and poor forex allocation.
Lagos bans hawking
The Lagos State government has banned people from selling items on the street, such as hawking and creating makeshift shops/kiosks on the side of the road. They’ve also demolished shops and structures that were built over the Lagos Blue Rail line from Orile to Iyana Iba.
The government said they’re doing this to make the city cleaner and safer for the people who live in the city.
They said they’re especially trying to reduce the risk of theft (do hawkers rob people?)
The government has asked KAI, the environmental law enforcement group, to make sure everyone follows these rules.
They’ve also closed down a market called Ladipo Market because it was not following the rules about keeping the environment clean.
This is part of their plan to make sure markets follow the environmental rules in the state
The news did not discuss any provision for alternative sources of livelihood for those people who rely on income generated from street hawking and roadside kiosks.
Structures
Enugu
The Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, a 50-year-old bridge over a busy road close to a market in Enugu, collapsed on Tuesday. Thankfully, no one got hurt in this accident.
People in the area said they had been worried about the bridge for a while because it made a lot of noise when trucks passed over it.
They had complained to the government, but in true Nigerian government fashion, nothing was done.
On the day it collapsed, a truck had broken down on the bridge in the morning and was stuck there. The driver had gone to get a mechanic, but when he returned, his truck was buried in the rubble.
The governor of Enugu, Peter Mba, said that they need a better way to take care of the roads because the current system isn't working well. He suggested that the federal government should let the state governments and private companies take care of the roads to keep them in good condition.
The road is now closed for repairs.
Lagos
Some parts of the Ikotun Market bridge collapsed during heavy rains in September and it’s a DITCH.
People are worried it might completely collapse. The government has temporarily closed the broken side of the bridge and is trying to figure out how to repair it. So essentially, all the weight is now on the “good” side.
Meanwhile, the rainy weather in Lagos has been causing problems for road maintenance work.
The Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) is having a hard time fixing the roads because the rain keeps coming, and it's not good for the road materials. They have still managed to do some maintenance on various roads despite the challenges.
Other news
PSA: the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has dismissed fake job postings that have been circulating online in recent weeks. - The Cable
A human rights advocate based in Delta State, Israel Joe, has petitioned the acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, over alleged extortion of the sum of N80 million and a gold necklace worth N4 million from one Mr Atubi Davison by an Assistant Commissioner of Police - Guardian ng
Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Muhammad Haruna Manta, has disclosed that some 500,000 Nigerians are classified as undocumented citizens in the country, while 8,900 are professionals and students.- Guardian ng
The Nigerian Navy has disowned the purported list of successful candidates for its Basic Training School (NNBTS) Batch 35 Recruitment, saying it is fake- Guardian ng
The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, dismissed a suit seeking the disqualification of a former Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, from contesting the 11 November Bayelsa State governorship election - Premium Times
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Olayemi Cardoso as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). - Premium Times
Authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, have made a downward readjustment of sundry charges payable by students of the institution - Naira Metrics.
Heavy news 💔 what a country. Thank you !
Where did she write this review, I feel like writing one too!