What happened in Kaduna?
INEC says PVC registration deadline is June. if you’re not there yet, I hope this newsletter helps you reach the point where you feel compelled to get yours.
Here’s a list of people trying to be President— we still don’t know who is going to end up on the ballot boxes as the primaries (where political party members vote for their front-person) haven’t held yet.
In this edition
Nobody wants the toll gate
What happened in Kaduna
Government governing (hint: not very well)
No one wants the Toll Gate
Before our week off, we reported that the Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC) announced plans to re-open Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge Toll Gate — where the army killed unarmed protesters— by April 1. They’re on schedule but residents are not having it.
A day before the scheduled relaunch, Lekki Phase one residents wrote an open letter to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu asking him to cancel the reopening.
In the letter, they also called out the Governor’s office for lying that the residents were on board with the toll relaunch.
They also reminded the governor that this is not the best economic climate for a toll gate. Read the statement here.
What happened on the Abuja-Kaduna route
Last week Saturday, Terrorists with guns attacked the Kaduna airport. They killed a security guard and injured many others.
Uriah Opuene, brigadier-general and garrison commander of the Kaduna division 1 said the terrorists were just “passing through”— they made a terrorist stop while on their way to Riyawa village, where they killed over 15 people hours later.
Forty-eight hours after the airport attack, terrorists escalated their attacks by bombing an Abuja-Kaduna train, with about 970 passengers onboard.
Some passengers told reporters that the bomb destroyed the train’s engine, forcing it to stop, and then the terrorists came onboard— they killed, injured, and kidnapped passengers.
Authorities have confirmed that eight people were killed and 41 were injured in the attack.
Initially, many people on social media submerged news and live tweets from the attack in responses that dismissed their outcry. Chinelo Megafu, a dental surgeon who was on the train tweeted that she had been stabbed and deniers dismissed her. Her death was confirmed shortly after and may other victims have since been identified.
Those injured were taken to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna for treatment.
Again, deniers claimed that no one was kidnapped, but VOA confirmed that the terrorists contacted the families and friends of the victims they kidnapped to demand ransom.
Aftermath of Kaduna-Abuja attack
Minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi’s comments:
On why there were no security provisions: the tech needed to efficiently monitor trains is stuck between approval processes.
Minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi, said his ministry has been working on getting sensory equipment and drones to monitor trains, but that the N3 billion high capacity rail track cameras and sensors he requested has not been approved.
Amaechi says while they wait for the government to provide digital surveillance systems, the Nigerian Airforce will provide surveillance services on the Abuja- Kaduna railway when operations—which are presently suspended—resume.
Amaechi also says injured victims are being treated for ✨ free ✨ at the army hospital “they have not charged them one kobo”. But that there are some meds needed that are not available in the country, so Nigerians should donate money to help out.
Commentary: If this is not a blatant indication of how insensitive and deluded the government is, I don’t know what is.
With no access to the trains, Kaduna-Abuja travellers were forced to go by road. A former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani claimed, days after the rail attack, that travellers terrorists blocked the highway so no cars could go by. The Kaduna State Government however says this is false.
The government claims that the terrorists only attempted to block the highway but security forces stopped them.
On the same day, the Nigerian Air Force claims they killed at least 34 terrorists in a forest between Kaduna and Niger state. Military sources said the terrorists they “eliminated” were behind the attack.
Governors are angry?
Expressing his frustrations, Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai, revealed that the military is aware of the hideouts and phone numbers of the terrorists and publicly ordered the army to bomb them once and for all.
Last year, and again earlier this year, el-Rufai also claimed that the military knows where terrorists are hiding— at the time, he claimed that they weren’t doing anything yet because they needed to be “fully equipped”.
Note: Nigeria’s current military budget is N25 trillion.
In addition, “former” governor of Lagos State and presidential aspirant, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu cancelled this “70th” birthday colloquium (a conference he holds every year on his birthday) due to the Kaduna attack.
More insurgency
The Police anti-bomb squad in Kaduna diffused a bomb hidden in a plastic bucket and placed near a gully. The Kaduna State Police Command said the residents discovered the bomb early in the morning and reported it to the police instantly - Premium Times
The Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Bello, confirmed that several residents drowned in the Guni-Zumba River while travelling in a boat to escape a rumoured terrorist attack. The governor has directed the state emergency agency to immediately commence search and rescue operations. The government did not give the number of those who died but local divers say they've recovered 16 bodies so far. - Daily Trust
And many more— as reported by Daily trust, Channels and every other news outlet.
But the rest of Africa is... worse?
Because if it wasn’t, I’m not sure why the African Development Bank would give President Buhari the Africa Road Builders award for his “dedication to safety and the health of the population in the context of transport”.
Best in governance
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has just gotten approval from the Federal Government to buy lie detectors and digital night vision goggles for around N1 billion.
According to the Minister of Justice and AGF, these pieces of equipment will be more precise in finding out the truth during investigations.
There are no details on exactly how many of each item they intend to buy, but no doubt it will be used to catch more drug rings
President Muhammadu Buhari finally has something to say about tax administration in Nigeria.
The President said the 2021 Finance Act employs the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as the sole authority to administer tax for the Federal Government.
The President said he is clarifying to avoid taxpayers being burdened with multiple tax compliance obligations towards different agencies of the same government.
Recall that the FIRS and Rivers State government have been fighting over who has power to collect state taxes.
Rivers (and other state governors) argue that they should have sole authority since its income from their people. The governors won a case against FIRS at the supreme court last year but were told to continue with the regular way until further notice.
COVID update
Nigeria records 74 infections of COVID infections across eight states, meaning we now have 255,415 confirmed cases— be careful out there.
Other news
Joseph Kabungo, a doctor on duty at the Nigeria-Ghana World Cup qualifier died shortly after the match ended. There are varying reports about what caused his death— some people say he died during the stampede when fans raided the stadium, others say he fell. CAF/FIFA say they’re waiting on a full autopsy before making any official confirmations - Evening Standard
As is usual during election season, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has donated N1billion to the Lagos State University (LASU) - Independent
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday warned traders occupying Apongbon underbridge that they must leave after the seven-day ultimatum issued to them expires- Guardian NG
The Nigerian Police has said it received at least 10,122 fake alerts in four days on its newly developed citizens app, ‘Rescue Me’, meant for citizens to call on the police when they or anyone around them are in danger - Premium Times
The federal government has extended the deadline for the ongoing national identification number (NIN) and subscriber identity module (SIM) integration exercise by “a few days”. Following the last extension, the exercise was meant to end on March 31 -The Cable
The FG has refused to pay educators: Federal universities in Nigeria, Senior Staff Union of Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) have all commenced a two-week warning strike— ASUU is still on strike - Arise