President Tinubu says ‘massive education’ of youth will help end kidnappings threatening the capital

Nigeria’s leader said Tuesday that his government will embark on “massive education” of youth as one way to tackle the increasing kidnappings for ransom now threatening the capital city along with the rest of the country’s conflict-hit north.

President Bola Tinubu won last year’s election after promising to rid the West African nation of its security crisis. However, deadly attacks particularly in the north have persisted, with the capital of Abuja recording a spike in abductions along major roads and in homes in recent weeks.

Tinubu condemned the abductions as “disturbing, ungodly and sinister” and touted education as “the antidote to the troubles agitating the nation,” according to a statement from presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale.

“There is no weapon against poverty that is as potent as learning,” the statement said. “Security agencies are acting with dispatch to immediately address the current challenge (while) all required resources, policies and plans will be rolled out soon for the massive education of Nigerian youths.”

Nigeria’s security forces already are battling jihadi rebels in the northeast in addition to armed groups that often carry out mass killings and abductions in remote communities across the northwest and central regions.

Now residents on the outskirts of the capital are beginning to relocate amid a surge in abductions for ransom suspected of being carried out by gunmen from volatile neighboring states.

Analysts said Tinubu has not done much to address the security crisis.

“Nigeria is drifting towards a failing state (with) non-state armed groups challenging the state authority,” said Oluwole Ojewale, a West and Central Africa researcher with the Africa-focused Institute for Security Studies.

Although Tinubu had promised that his government will “mobilize the totality” of Nigeria’s assets to protect citizens, there has been “no tangible improvement in (the) security situation yet,” Ojewale said.

By Chinedu Asadu, AP

Related stories: First lady of Nigeria 'devastated' by death of kidnapped student

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First lady of Nigeria 'devastated' by death of kidnapped student

Nigeria's first lady has joined the chorus of voices condemning the killing of a student abducted along with her five sisters, calling it a "devastating loss".

Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, 21, was "super-bright, smart and kind", her cousin Asiya Adamu told the BBC on Monday.

Nabeeha also loved to write poetry and read books by the American author Jodi Picoult - and she was days away from graduating with a science degree from Ahmadu Bello University.

"On the day the kidnapping happened, I asked Nabeeha if we were going to the [graduation ceremony] together, and she said yes," recalls Ms Adamu. It was the last time she saw her alive.

That evening, on 2 January, Nabeeha was abducted along with her father and sisters from their home in the outskirts of the capital, Abuja.

Nigerian police have not confirmed what happened next. Witnesses say Nabeeha's uncle ran to find help but was ambushed and killed, as were three police officers. It is not known why the family was targeted.

The kidnappers demanded to be paid a huge sum of cash by 12 January, and when they did not get it they killed Nabeeha as a warning, according to a member of the family who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity.

Nabeeha's kidnappers handed over her body and, in accordance with Islamic rites, she was swiftly buried by her family on Saturday.
A national reckoning

News of Nabeeha's plight began to circulate over the weekend, prompting widespread grief and indignation that Nigeria's kidnapping crisis rages on despite government promises to bring it to an end.

This moment of reckoning has moved the president's wife to speak out and confirm Nabeeha's death, even though police had not yet officially done so.

Security agencies must "intensify their efforts" to end Nigeria's kidnapping and security crisis, said First Lady Remi Tinubu on Monday, demanding a "swift return of the Al-Kadriyar sisters".

Their father Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, who was freed days ago in order to fetch the ransom money, now faces an agonising wait for their return. His daughters' captors are demanding a higher sum of 65m naira ($68,000; £53,000), to be paid by Wednesday.

Hundreds of Nigerians have been kidnapped for ransom in recent years, largely by criminal gangs who see it as an easy way to make money. Close to 20 people were abducted in in the first week of 2024 alone.

No matter how desperate the circumstances, Nigerian law prohibits the payment of ransom money. However, many victims pay up because they do not trust authorities or their track record.

Even a former minister appears to share this scepticism of the Nigerian state's ability to bring the abducted back.

"I am personally not in support of paying ransom to criminals. However... I spoke with a friend who offered to pay the remaining 50 million naira," says ex-Digital Economy Minister Isa Ali Pantami, who is now a professor in cybersecurity, and a Muslim cleric.

He was one of the architects of the policy of registering all mobile phone Sim cards, in order to make life harder for kidnappers and extortionists, but says he is "frustrated" that it has not been better implemented despite allegedly enduring "threats to my life".

Nabeeha's cousin, Asiya Adamu, has also crowdfunded money from well-wishers online to help pay the ransom. She did not respond to the BBC's request to disclose the total raised, saying security officers had advised her not to so.

While she prays for the safe return of the rest of her cousins, Ms Adamu is haunted by the thought that she narrowly avoided the same fate. She tells the BBC she was due to spend time at their house that day but later changed her mind.

"My favourite memories of Nabeeha was mostly when we were in the kitchen together," Ms Adamu recalls.

"Losing her has left a void one cannot explain with words. She was a source of comfort and understanding and I've lost that," she adds.

"She had plans of going to Morocco for her Masters because she liked the place.

"I guess we make plans and Allah has the last word."

By Chris Ewokor & Natasha Booty, BBC

Related stories: Judge kidnapped in Nigeria and guard killed

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Judge kidnapped in Nigeria and guard killed

Justice Joy Uwanna, a distinguished high court judge in Nigeria, was kidnapped while returning from a court session on Monday night in southern Akwa Ibom state.

The incident occurred along Uyo-Okoboin in Oron town, where unidentified gunmen ambushed the judge's vehicle.

Tragically, the assailants not only kidnapped Justice Uwanna but also fatally shot her police guard during the abduction. The incident unfolded as the gunmen opened fire, targeting the judge's security detail before swiftly taking Justice Uwanna and her driver away.

The police spokesperson in Akwa Ibom state, Odiko Macdon, termed the incident as "unfortunate" and confirmed that security forces are actively investigating the matter.

As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction. However, it's noteworthy that criminal gangs frequently engage in abductions for ransom in certain regions of Nigeria.

The abduction of Justice Joy Uwanna highlights the ongoing security challenges in the country, prompting intensified efforts by law enforcement agencies to address and prevent such incidents.

Africa News

Related stories: Mikel John Obi recalls his dad’s harrowing kidnappings

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Mikel John Obi recalls his dad’s harrowing kidnappings

Mikel John Obi vividly remembers the moment he was told his father, Pa Michael Obi, had been kidnapped for a second time.

Kidnappings for ransom targeting wealthy family members has become common in Africa’s most populous country and is seen by some criminal gangs as a lucrative endeavour.

The Nigeria and Chelsea soccer player told CNN Sport that he heard the news just two hours before he was set to play a World Cup game against Lionel Messi and Argentina at Russia 2018.

“Just like everybody else, I was excited going into one of the biggest games of my life, playing against [Lionel] Messi and Argentina,” Obi told CNN Senior Sports Analyst Darren Lewis in a recent interview.

“I was in my room getting ready, and all of a sudden, my phone started ringing and it was my brother calling … to say that dad has been kidnapped. I was like, ‘What, again?’”

Obi said it was “heart-breaking” to hear his father was undergoing such an ordeal for a second time in his life.

As Obi tried to process the news, he said he began “shivering” even though it was hot summer’s day in St Petersburg.

“I was sitting there thinking, ‘What am I going to do? Shall I tell the team? Shall I tell the players, tell the manager, tell the [Nigerian] FA?’” said Obi.

“‘What shall I do?’ Because this is the biggest game of our lives. So, I thought to myself, ‘You know what? I’m going to go out there and perform. I don’t want to let these guys [the kidnappers] win.’

“I am the captain. I’m the leader of this team and I have to go out there and be strong for the team and for the country. I decided not to tell anyone,” added Obi.

Despite pushing the Albiceleste to the limit, with a Marcos Rojo 86th-minute goal making the difference, Nigeria went on to lose 2-1 and Obi said that he felt like he “was going to fall down and probably collapse” during the game.

“I went out and performed. I remember in the game, a few times, I thought I was going to throw up. Emotions were running here and there.

“I didn’t know what I was thinking … about the game … about my dad … about my mom who was in tears … my family, my brothers, my sisters. Everybody was in tears.”

After the game, Obi says he told his teammates, the Nigerian Football Federation and the world’s media about the kidnapping, before negotiations began to get his father returned safely.

“I remember my dad saying to me, ‘They’ve got the gun on my head, son,’” said Obi.

“‘I’m an old man. I’m your dad, but you have to decide what you have to do.
It’s the second time it’s happened. I know you could pay a huge amount of money to get me out and to make sure that I come home safely.’

“Of course, I want my dad back. It doesn’t matter what. I want my dad to be home,” added Obi, who in 2018 said the kidnappers had demanded 10 million naira (around $30,000) to release his father.

Through the help of the Nigeria Police Force, Obi’s father was eventually rescued. The Nigeria Police Force did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for more details about the 2018 kidnapping.

The first time Obi’s father had been abducted was in 2011 in Jos, the main city in Plateau State in central Nigeria, when he was on his way back home after work.

“It was a massive shock for me, for the family,” recalled Obi of that first kidnapping.

“I think he was taken for about 10 days. And that’s when we tried to start making phone calls and they got in touch with us.

“Obviously, they wanted to speak with me, so I spoke with them. They made their demands. I spoke to the club [Chelsea]. I spoke to Roman [Abramovich],” added Obi, referring to the Russian oligarch and former Chelsea FC owner.

According to Obi, Abramovich told the Nigerian international he was willing to support him and said: “’If you need me to do anything, if you need me to send my people over to Nigeria to find your dad, I’d be willing to do that.

“You know, you have that option. But if you think you pay the money, then you do it. So I finally had to pay the money. And then my dad got released.”

As in 2018, Obi opted to continue playing despite receiving devastating news. He was scheduled to play in a Premier League match for Chelsea against Stoke City.

“I remember Andre Villas-Boas was the [Chelsea] manager back then,” recalled Obi.

“He [Villas-Boas] spoke to me and said, ‘Listen, you are a very important player for me. I would like you to play the game if you feel like you want to.
If not, I can understand if you don’t want to travel with the team if you don’t want to play.’

“I said: ‘I don’t want these people to win. I don’t want to show them that I’m weak. I have to go out and perform,’ which is what I did. I travel with the team. I went out and I played the game and then, yeah, so that was really, really tough.”

Obi made 372 appearances for Chelsea, winning the Premier League (twice), the FA Cup (four times), the League Cup (twice), and the Champions League and Europa League during his time at the club.

After the first kidnapping, Obi remembers being reunited with his dad who had been beaten up by the kidnappers and dumped in the street like “trash.”

Describing the moment they met, Obi said his father was “bruised, beaten up” and had his “lips broken, head swollen, he can’t walk, can’t move. It was a very heart-breaking moment for me and my family. We suffered a lot.”

CNN has also asked the Nigeria Police Force for more details about the 2011 kidnapping.

When Obi saw from afar what happened to the father of Liverpool star Luis Díaz’s father, who was abducted in October and eventually released by Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group in November, the former Chelsea star reached out to the Colombian international on social media to offer his support.

“I have to commend him and Liverpool. I always say, when you’re in these situations, you need people around you. You need people who care about you. And Liverpool showed that support,” said Obi.

“Liverpool did show him that support, the fans, the players showed him that he is not alone.

“And I’m happy to see that that’s what he got with Liverpool. And eventually his father finally got released.”

By Zayn Nabbi and Darren Lewis, CNN

Armed men abduct 8 in Nigeria

Gunmen kidnapped at least eight people in an attack on the Dan Honu community in Nigeria's northern Kaduna state, residents said on Thursday.

Kidnapping for ransom is rife in northwest Nigeria where armed gangs, often referred to locally as bandits, have targeted schools, villages and travellers, making it unsafe to travel by road or to farm in some areas.

Kaduna police spokesperson Mansur Hassan said the police are investigating the incident, which occurred late Tuesday in Chikum local government area of the state.

Mohammed Danjuma, a resident who was spared, told Reuters about 16 people were taken but eight managed to get away.

"As they were busy trying to break into my apartment, one of the vigilantes in the community fired a shot into the air, which made the bandits uncomfortable and left," he said.

Malam Suleiman, another resident who was kidnapped, managed to escape while being led into the bushes. His teenage sons were taken by the bandits.

Attacks in northern Nigeria are part of widespread insecurity in the country that include a 14-year Islamist insurgency in the northeast and deadly clashes between farmers and herders in the central region. 

By Garba Muhammad, Reuters

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Video - Over 100 kidnapped from four villages in Nigeria

Media in Nigeria reported that nearly 100 people were abducted in Zamfara state, in the northwestern part of the country. Bandits are said to have raided four villages, where they kidnapped residents for allegedly failing to pay protection levies imposed on the communities.

CGTN

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Dozens kidnapped by motorcycle 'bandits' in Nigeria

 

 

Dozens kidnapped by motorcycle 'bandits' in Nigeria

At least 100 people have been abducted by gunmen in Nigeria's northwest, residents have said.

Locals told the BBC that armed men on motorcycles stormed villages in Zamfara state.

The residents were kidnapped after the villages failed to pay a "tax" imposed on them by the gunmen, witnesses said.

In recent years, kidnapping for ransom has become rife in north-western Nigeria.

Armed gangs, referred to locally as bandits, target villages, schools, and travellers, demanding millions of naira in ransom.

According to the Reuters news agency, a local village head said one resident was killed in Friday's attack.

The BBC heard from a resident from the village of Mutunji, who said he was abducted by the gunmen but managed to escape.

"We are trying to collect the money... but suddenly the bandits came in and robbed people. They took more than 100 people - most of them were women and young people," the resident said.

Locals told the BBC the gunmen's leader is named "Damana".

They said Damana controls most of the region in the absence of state security forces.

"The terrorists are in control of the area - they send us to the forest to work as agricultural labourers, and when we come back they come into the town to eat meat, tea and bottled goods without paying," one villager complained.

Nigeria faces multiple security challenges: the jihadist insurgency in the north, deadly clashes between animal herders and farmers, a separatist insurgency in the southeast as well as militants in the Niger Delta demanding a greater share of oil profits.

President Bola Tinubu, who took office in May, has yet to detail how he will tackle the insecurity. During his election campaign, Mr Tinubu's office acknowledged the challenge, touting his experience as governor of north-eastern Borno state, home to many Islamist militant groups and the Boko Haram insurgency.

BBC

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Video - 7 killed, others kidnapped in Nigeria

At least seven people are reported to have been killed and several others kidnapped by suspected armed bandits in Zamfara state.

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Dozens of children kidnapped by Gunmen in Nigeria

Gunmen in Nigeria have killed dozens of people and kidnapped a number of children in separate attacks in two northern states, police and residents said on Sunday, the latest incidents in a region dogged by armed violence.

Armed gangs on motorbikes frequently take advantage of thinly stretched security forces in the region to kidnap villagers, motorists and students for ransom.

Residents said armed men had attacked Janbako and Sakkida villages in northwestern Zamfara state on Saturday, killing 24 people. The gunmen also abducted several children who were collecting firewood in a forest in neighbouring Gora village.

Hussaini Ahmadu and Abubakar Maradun, local residents in Janbako and Sakkida, told Reuters by phone that the gangs had earlier in the week demanded villagers pay a fee to enable them to farm their fields, but villagers did not do so.

Zamfara police spokesman Yazid Abubakar confirmed the attacks but said only 13 people had been reported killed and nine young boys and girls kidnapped.

In north central Benue state, gunmen killed 25 people and set their houses on fire during an attack on Saturday on the Imande Mbakange community, two residents said. The motive of the attack was not known.

Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

By Ardo Hazzad, Reuters

Related story: Gunmen kidnap dozens in Nigeria, at least 11 killed

 

Four killed in attack on US convoy in Nigeria

Gunmen in south-eastern Nigeria have attacked a US convoy, killing four people, local police say.

They say two of the victims of Tuesday's attack in the Anambra state were US consulate employees, while the other two were police officers.

The attackers kidnapped three other people, and set their vehicle on fire.

Washington says no US citizens were in the convoy, which was travelling in the state plagued by violence and a separatist insurgency.

Nigerian police say the attack happened on the Atani-Osamale road in Ogbaru region.

Police spokesperson DSP Ikenga Tochukwu says security forces were currently carrying out a rescue and recovery operation.

In a statement to the BBC, the US confirmed that "there was an incident on 16 May in Anambra state", adding that Washington was working with Nigerian security services to investigate the attack.

"The security of our personnel is always paramount, and we take extensive precautions when organising trips to the field," the US state department said.

The Nigerian authorities often blame violent attacks in the region on the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) movement, which is fighting for a breakaway state in the south-east of the country.

Anambra and other parts of the south-east have seen a sharp rise in attacks on security forces since Ipob launched an armed wing in December 2020.

The group has so far made no public comments on the issue.

By Chris Ewokor, BBC 

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Gunmen free 25 people from Baptist church kidnapping

Heavily armed gangs known locally as bandits frequently carry out mass abductions for ransom in northwest and central Nigeria, holding their captives in camps hidden in forests that stretch across the region.

Armed attackers on Sunday stormed into the Bege Baptist Church in Kaduna State during morning mass and abducted 40 people.

Fifteen managed to escape, while the gunmen left with 25, Reverend Joseph Hayab, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State said.

Eleven more hostages were released by their captors, bringing the number still detained to 14, Hayab told AFP on Wednesday.

"The number of those kidnapped from the church has reduced 14 after the gunmen set free 11 out of the 25 they took away," said Hayab, who is also a Baptist priest.

"They abandoned or released those they found difficult to manage due to health challenges, fatigue or age," he said.

The latest was a woman who was so exhausted that the abductors mistook her for dead and abandoned her in the bush along with her baby.

The woman regained consciousness, found her baby and returned home, Hayab said.

"To them, it is not the number of the hostages they take that matters because they know even if they take one person they will receive ransom in exchange."

He said they were waiting for the abductors to make their demands.

Kaduna police have confirmed the incident but are yet to provide details.

Abductions for ransom and intercommunal attacks have been on the rise again in the last few weeks after a brief calm period during February and March elections for the presidency and governorship posts.

Nine people, including a local chief, were also kidnapped late on Wednesday in Idon Gida community in nearby Kajuru district of Kaduna State, according to Hayab and a local official.

Bandits burst into the Christian village around 2000 GMT, taking away seven women and two men, they said.

Mass kidnappings and bandit gangs in the northwest are just one of several security challenges facing president-elect Bola Tinubu when he takes the helm of Africa's most populous nation later this month.

Nigeria's military is also battling a grinding jihadist conflict in the northeast that has killed 40,000 since 2009 as well as simmering separatist tensions in the southeast of the country, where gunmen often target police.

AFP

Two Chibok girls rescuded by Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army on Thursday said it had rescued two additional girls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, nine years after their abduction by Boko Haram in 2014.

The Theatre Commander, North-East Joint Operation, Hadin Kai, Ibrahim Ali, a major general, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri.

Mr Ali said that Hauwa Maltha and Esther Marcus, both serial numbers two and 103 in the list of the missing victims, were rescued on 21 April by troops of 114 Taskforce Battalion Bitta at Lagara, under the 21 armoured Brigade Bama during Operations.

He said that Hauwa Maltha, 26, and Kibaku by tribe from Jila in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, and her three-year-old baby were rescued.

He explained that while in captivity, Hauwa got married at Gulukos, a village in Sambisa forest, to one Salman, a cameraman to Abubakar Shekau.

“Salman later died in Lake Chad. Thereafter, Hauwa Maltha got married to one Mallam Muhammad in Gobara and had 2 children for him who later died due to sickness. Muhammad, her second husband, was killed in Ukuba terrorist enclaves in Sambisa forest during clashes between Boko Haram/ISWAP,” he said.

“Hauwa who was about eight months and two weeks pregnant during the time of her rescue delivered a bouncing baby boy on 28 April 2023 while undergoing thorough medical examination along with her baby Fatima at 7 Div Medical Hospital and Services,” he said.

Mr Ali explained that while in captivity, 26-year-old Esther was forcefully married to one Garba, also known as Garus, a Boko Haram fighter who was killed during troops’ offensive operations on terrorists’ enclaves.

“She was later married off to another insurgent, Abba, in Ukuba terrorist enclaves in Sambisa forest until her rescue by troops of Operation Hadin Kai.

“Since their rescue, they have undergone thorough medical examination along with their babies and are adequately resuscitated and will be handed over to the Borno State Government for further administration.

“These results are evident as troops have rescued about 14 Chibok girls recently.

“The girls rescued so far include; Aisha Grema, serial number 11 on the abducted Chibok girls’ list, Hannatu Musa, number 7 on the list, and Sera Luka, number 38 on the list.

Others are Ruth Bitrus, number 41, Mary Dauda, number 46, Hauwa Joseph, number 18, Falmata Lawan, number 3, Asabe Ali, number 12, Jankai Yamal, number 20, Yana Pogu, number 19, Rejoice Sanki, number 70 and Hassana Adamu, number 35,” he said.

He assured the people of the North-east in particular that Operation Hadin Kai remains resolute and determined in neutralising all vestiges of terrorist elements as well as criminals marauding the North-east and returning total and long lasting peace to the region.

“Our immense appreciation goes to the President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, the Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor, and service chiefs for their strategic guidance and provision of requisite logistics and operational platforms which have spurred the continuous successes,” he said.

Premium Times

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Eight students kidnapped in Nigeria

Gunmen in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state kidnapped eight secondary school students coming from school along with an unknown number of others, authorities said on Tuesday, the latest in a wave of such abductions.

Armed gangs operating mostly in remote parts of northwest Nigeria have carried out violent attacks against villagers, schools and motorists, abducting hundreds for ransom.

Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner for internal security in Kaduna, said gunmen on Monday abducted the eight students from Awon Government Secondary School in the Kachia local government area.

It was not immediately clear where the students were taken to, but the kidnappers often keep victims in the forests and only release them when a ransom is paid.

“The management of the school has submitted the names and classes of the kidnapped students,” said Aruwan.

Insecurity is one of the issues that will confront Nigeria’s president-elect, Bola Tinubu, who is due to be sworn in, in May.


Nigeria’s military has been fighting armed groups like Boko Haram in the northeast, which has left it thinly stretched to tackle the kidnapping gangs known locally as bandits.

Many of the bandits are believed to comprise mostly ethnic Fulanis, including pastoralists and mercenaries from the region as well as neighbouring Chad and the Niger Republic.

On several occasions, they have kidnapped schoolchildren in various parts of Nigeria’s Niger, Kebbi and Yobe states. Other victims of their kidnapping-for-ransom scheme range across all social classes, from politicians and relatives to clerics, security guards and farmers.

Al Jazeera

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32 people kidnapped from train station in Nigeria

Gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles have abducted more than 30 people from a train station in Nigeria's southern Edo state, the governor's office said on Sunday.

The attack is the latest example of the growing insecurity that has spread to nearly every corner of Africa's most populous country, posing a challenge to the government in advance of a February presidential election.

Police said in a statement that armed herdsmen had attacked Tom Ikimi station at 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) as passengers awaited a train to Warri, an oil hub in nearby Delta state. The station is some 111 km northeast of state capital Benin City and close to the border with Anambra state.

Some people at the station were shot in the attack, police said.

Edo state information commissioner Chris Osa Nehikhare said the kidnappers had taken 32 people, though one had already escaped.

"At the moment, security personnel made up of the military and the police as well as men of the vigilante network and hunters are intensifying search and rescue operations in a reasonable radius to rescue the kidnap victims," he said. "We are confident that the other victims will be rescued in the coming hours."

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) had closed the station until further notice and the federal transportation ministry called the kidnappings "utterly barbaric".

The NRC last month reopened a rail service linking the capital Abuja with northern Kaduna state, months after gunmen blew up the tracks, kidnapped dozens of passengers and killed six people.

The last hostage taken in that March attack was not freed until October.

Insecurity is rampant across Nigeria, with Islamist insurgencies in the northeast, banditry in the northwest, separatists in the southeast and farmer-herdsmen clashes in the central states. 

By Tife Owolabi, Reuters

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Citizens of Nigeria Uneasy about Cash Withdrawal Restrictions

Nigeria's Central Bank this week announced a new policy that restricts large amounts of cash from being withdrawn from bank accounts. The announcement comes two weeks after authorities unveiled redesigned currency in an attempt to curb cash hoarding and check corruption and crimes. But some critics say the decision will have a negative effect on small businesses.

The Central Bank’s directive this week restricting cash withdrawals from individual and corporate accounts will take effect on Jan. 9, 2023.

According to the new policy, personal account holders will be able to withdraw only 100,000 naira, or around $200, per week while companies will be restricted to about $1,000 in the same period.

The policy comes ahead of Nigeria's election slated for February 2023, with authorities vowing to tackle vote-trading and corruption.

The CBN says the initiative seeks to address excessive hoarding of cash, help fight crime, give authorities control of the legal tender, and encourage more people to use electronic means for their transactions.

But economist and director at the Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, said it will have an adverse effect on small and medium scale enterprises, or SMEs.

"That is not the way to curb vote-buying,” he said. “Yes, it could restrict the amount people have in their hands but these amounts of money are too small considering the value of the naira, and in terms of small businesses particularly people in the informal sector who may not have gone fully cashless who have not gone completely cashless, it's going to cause them a lot of inconvenience, challenges and also may increase the cost of doing business."

The initiative allows for a monthly withdrawal above specified limits but that carries a 5% processing fee for individuals and 10% for corporate entities.

The CBN said it will sanction banks and other financial institutions that fail to comply with the measure.

In late November, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the redesigned 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes initially scheduled for launch in mid-December.

Public finance expert Isaac Botti supports the move, saying it is the only way to ensure the new currencies are not stashed away.

"For me, it's a commendable policy because it's a way to also curb corruption and looting of public treasuries,” he said. “I don't have concerns over it affecting SMEs because they're not expected to carry out solely cash transmissions. The only concern I have is about making the system more effective to be able to accommodate cashless policy."

Onyekpere also cites the lack of internet banking services as a major hindrance. More than 40% of Nigerians, mostly in rural areas, do not have bank accounts and rely on mobile money agents for their daily transactions.

Abuja bakery owner Eseoghene Eghove said the tightening of accounts will affect her business.

"As a business owner I go to buy flour, sugar, butter and many other things. How do you pay? It is not reasonable, they'll just make things more difficult for people," she said.

The old naira bills will cease to be legal tender by the end of January. The CBN has promised to monitor the rollout of the new bills and make sure not too much money is withdrawn.

By Timothy Obiezu, VOA 

Related story: Cash withdrawals in Nigeria limited to $225 a week to curb ransom payments

Cash withdrawals in Nigeria limited to $225 a week to curb ransom payments

Nigeria’s central bank has imposed restrictions on weekly cash withdrawals to limit the use of cash in an apparent bid to curb counterfeiting and discourage ransom payments to kidnappers.

Under a new policy announced late on Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that weekly cash withdrawals for individuals had been slashed to 100,000 Nigerian naira ($225) from 2.5 million naira ($5,638).

A majority of Nigerians have no bank accounts and use informal markets where cash is preferred. This move aims to bring more people into the banking system, and will take effect on January 9, the CBN said.

“The maximum cash withdrawal per week via automated teller machine shall be 100,000 naira subject to a maximum of 20,000 naira ($45) cash withdrawal per day,” it said.

Only denominations of 200 naira and less will be loaded into ATMs, it said.

For businesses, the weekly limit has been cut to 500,000 naira ($1,128) from the current daily limit of three million naira ($6,766).

“Withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of five percent and 10 percent, respectively,” the CBN said.

But in compelling circumstances individuals and businesses could withdraw a maximum of five million naira ($11,277) and 10 million naira ($22,553) respectively once a month, it added.

The central bank warned commercial lenders against violating the new cash limits, which it said were in line with its policy to promote cashless transactions.

The bank has expressed concerns in the past over currency counterfeiting, the volume of money outside the banking system and huge ransom payments to kidnappers and bandits.

Last month, Nigeria launched newly designed currency notes, another move the central bank said would help curb inflation and money laundering.

More than 80 percent of the 3.2 trillion naira ($7.2bn) in circulation in Nigeria are outside the vaults of commercial banks and in private hands, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said when he unveiled the new notes.

“The currency redesign will also assist in the fight against corruption as the exercise will rein in the higher denomination used for corruption and the movement of such funds from the banking system could be tracked easily,” he explained at the time.

The new notes – denominations of 200, 500 and 1,000 naira – come into use on December 15, but Nigerians have until January 31 to turn in old notes when they will cease to be legal tender.

Al Jazeera

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Faces of 108 missing Chibok girls sculpted in Clay in Nigeria Art Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

The faces of 108 Nigerian girls who are still missing eight years after they were kidnapped by Islamist insurgents have been sculpted in clay in a collaboration between an artist, a group of potters and university students.

The artwork, titled "Statues Also Breathe" and conceived by French artist Prune Nourry, consists of 108 life-size clay heads, made by 108 students from all over Nigeria, and now on display at an art gallery in Lagos.

Boko Haram militants abducted around 270 teenage girls from a school in the northeastern town of Chibok in 2014.

The mass kidnapping initially prompted worldwide outrage, with the slogan #BringBackOurGirls trending on social media and prominent figures including then U.S. first lady Michelle Obama pressing for their return.

Since then, about 160 of the girls have been released, some after years of captivity, but the story has faded from the headlines.

Nourry collected photos of the missing girls from their families and passed the images on to the students who created the sculptures at a one-day outdoor workshop on the campus of Obafemi Awolowo University in Ife, southwest Nigeria.

A small group of women who were among the abducted girls and were later released took part, as did some parents of the missing women.

Nourry said it was a cathartic experience for all involved.

"For the students, for all of us who felt so useless when something so incredible happened and you cannot do anything about it, the fact of being able to at least give a little thing through sculpture, through what we know how to do, was healing," she said.

The young artists took inspiration from photos of Ife heads - terracotta sculptures made in the region centuries ago and considered to be among Nigeria's most significant cultural artefacts.

They used clay from the Ife area - the substance that, according to the Yoruba ethnic group's creation myth, was used to form humans - sourced by a community of local female potters, who also contributed to the creative process.

"These girls have been in distress for eight years," said Habiba Balogun, coordinator of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign in Lagos.

"I am really happy that a project like this has come up that is really going to elevate the level of discourse and understanding, and have a permanent record in the history of this our country about something tragic like this."

Reuters, by Estelle Shirbon

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Service resumed for Abuja-Kaduna train service attacked by gunmen

Nigeria's state railway company on Monday resumed a popular train service between the capital Abuja and the northern state of Kaduna, suspended since in March after gunmen killed passengers and kidnapped several dozen.

Africa's most populous nation is battling insecurity in the north from armed gangs who attack villages and highways and kidnap people for ransom, and a long running insurgency that has killed thousands and displaced millions more.

The Nigerian military in October secured the release of the remaining 23 hostages from the train attack. President Muhammadu Buhari's government had said the train service would only start once all hostages were freed.

"We are starting afresh and I pray we will not have a re-occurrence of that ugly incidence by God's grace," said Ganiyat Adesina-Uthman, a lecturer who was travelling to Kaduna for the first time since March.

Passengers were required to provide national identification numbers, while armed security were on board the train. 

Reuters, by Abraham Archiga

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How I survived the Kaduna train attack hijacking and captivity

 

 

 

 

Nigeria's reopening of a vital high-speed train link nine months after an audacious hijacking is bringing back traumatic memories for some of the survivors, who are struggling to recover from their ordeal.

Gunmen mined the track between the capital, Abuja, and the northern city of Kaduna on the evening of 28 March, forcing the train carrying 362 passengers to stop.

Shots then came from all directions as the attackers surrounded the train, which had armed policemen on board, and managed to abduct 62 of the passengers. At least nine people died in the chaos and confusion.

Among those kidnapped was Hassan Usman, a barrister based in Kaduna, and his wife.

He told the BBC that the bedraggled group of abductees - made up of 39 men, 18 women and five children - were forced to trek for four days to the remote area where they were to be held captive, walking in the heat without food and only being given occasional water to drink.

The 47-year-old became the de facto spokesperson for the captives, some of whom were held for five months, and has since set up a WhatsApp group for the survivors so they can give each other comfort and support.

Seeing the smartly dressed lawyer today, it is hard to comprehend that he was the shaggy haired man in grey overclothes who pleaded for the government to heed to the demands of the abductors as other hostages beside him were flogged in a video released in July by the militants.

He says it was a harrowing experience for all the captives but particularly the women who had to deal with unhygienic conditions.

They had no sanitary pads and were forced to use rags. They all drank water from the small nearby lake where they were also allowed to bath.

"During the first few months, we were sleeping openly on bare ground which was sometimes wet, but when the rains started they made makeshift camps and allowed us inside only until the showers stopped," said Mr Usman.

The captives ate once a day at 11:00 - usually a soup made from corn flour and baobab leaves.

"We realised that the food items were being smuggled in and that getting supplies was a problem. They occasionally brought rice which we cooked with just palm oil and sometimes with beans," he said.

There were days when they were allowed a second meal at 18:00, but this was rare.

"The women did the cooking and the men did most of the chores like fetching water, firewood and washing the utensils."

'Boko Haram tried to recruit us'

For weeks, the identity of the kidnappers was unknown - with speculation that they were members of bandit groups notorious for kidnapping for ransoms in the north-west.

But Mr Usman confirmed growing suspicions that the gunmen were members of the Islamist Boko Haram militant group that usually operates in the north-east where it started its insurgency in 2009.

There have long been suggestions that the group, which says it wants to overthrow the government and establish an Islamic state, is expanding southwards.

"They told us that they were Boko Haram and they captured us to drive some of their demands from the government.

"Sometimes they gave us their phones to listen to most of what they preach," he said, explaining these included sermons from Boko Haram's first two leaders Mohammed Yusuf and Abubakar Shekau - who are both now dead.

"They even tried to persuade us to join their group and propagate their cause."

When any of the captives fell sick or needed medication, the militants would seek advice.

"They would always ask the professionals among us, the drugs needed to treat people and they mostly bought [them]," the lawyer said.

"Their charlatan doctors also administered injections to the sick especially for malaria and typhoid treatments."

At one point, the leader of the kidnappers suggested he take the younger captives to his house for better care, but the parents resisted, Mr Usman said.

'Destitute after ransoms paid'

While most of the victims of the train attack were released after their families and associates paid huge ransoms, the kidnappers held on to others to make demands of the government.

Some analysts suggest this may have included the release of militants held in prison - though this has never been confirmed.

Mr Usman said his family negotiated his release with the militants - though they have never shared the details of the agreement with him.

All he knows is that it was not a straightforward process and on the day he was to be freed it all went wrong.

"The soldiers patrolling along one axis refused to allow my people access to the meeting point to pick me."

This prompted the militants to make the torture video and he was only released the next day.

The ransoms some families paid have left them destitute - he said the sum for several of the captives was as much as 100m naira ($225,000; £184,000) each.

On the WhatsApp group, where the survivors now regard each other as one big united family, people recount their dire situations.

"Many cannot afford three meals a day, some were given a notice to leave by their landlords," said Mr Usman.

The lawyer bemoaned the lack of help given to the survivors, many of whom need trauma therapy.

"We have a Ministry of Humanitarian Services whose responsibility is to help such people - I think there is need for its intervention at the moment."

One of the women who was abducted sobbed as she spoke to me about her months in captivity.

The woman, who did not want to be named, vowed never to travel between Abuja and Kaduna again - by rail or road - as she was so traumatised by her experience.

Many thousands of people frequently commute between the two cities as government workers often cannot afford to rent in Abuja.

They chose to leave their families in Kaduna or states further north and travel home at weekends to see them.

The train, which opened in 2016, had been considered a safer alternative to the highway - the most notorious road in the country for kidnapping ambushes.

Other survivors admitted they would feel apprehensive about boarding the train again, but Mr Usman has welcomed the reopening of the 174km (108-mile) train link - due to happen on Monday morning.

His advice for the government is to ensure adequate security measures and 24-hour surveillance of the rail track.

Nigeria's defence chief Gen Lucky Irabor has sought to reassure them, saying that CCTV had now been installed and even he and the president would be able to "see everything happening on the line from their offices".

BBC, by Halima Umar Saleh

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A dozen people killed in Mosque by Gunmen in Nigeria, others abducted

Gunmen in Nigeria killed a dozen worshippers, including an imam, and kidnapped several others from a mosque on Saturday night, local residents said on Sunday, in the latest attack by armed gangs in the north of the country.

Armed gangs, known as bandits, attack communities where security is stretched, killing people or kidnapping them for ransom. The gangs also demand villagers pay protection fees to be allowed to farm and harvest their crops.

Lawal Haruna, a resident of Funtua, in President Muhammadu Buhari's home state of Katsina, told Reuters by phone that the gunmen arrived at Maigamji mosque on motorbikes and started shooting sporadically, which forced worshippers to flee.

About 12, who were attending night prayers, were caught in the gunfire and killed, including the chief imam, said Haruna.

"They then gathered many people and took them to the bush. I'm praying that the bandits release the innocent people they abducted," said Abdullahi Mohammed, another resident of Funtua.

Katsina state police spokesman Gambo Isah confirmed the attack and said state-backed vigilantes, with the support of some residents, had managed to rescue some worshippers.

Katsina is among several states in the northwest of Nigeria which share a border with neighbouring Niger, allowing the gangs to move freely between the two countries.

Nigeria's military has been bombing bush camps used by the bandits, but the attacks continue, raising fears about the safety of voters who will go to the polls to choose Buhari's successor in February.

Reuters

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