Friday, May 22, 2015
Video - Fuel shortage in Nigeria
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, but fuel shortages have paralyzed the country that just a year ago was declared Africa's largest economy.
At one gas station in Lagos, crowds push at the gates waving empty jerry cans. Cars queue for a kilometre down the road creating gridlock.
Similar scenes are being repeated at almost every petrol station across Nigeria.
"I've been here since 4 a.m. It's not good," says local resident Abdulsalam Mohammed as he finally drives his car to the petrol pump. "Now it's almost 3 p.m. Nobody can work today."
"We are an oil producing country, very rich, a giant in Africa," says Seun Olewale, another driver who is carrying empty fuel cans. "But the experience we are getting now is so hard."
The shortages have been going on since March despite the fact that, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigeria produces about 2.5 million barrels of crude oil per day.
The problem is Nigeria does not have the capacity to refine enough of its own oil into fuel to meet the needs of its population of 150,177 million people.
Fuel in Nigeria is used not just to run cars and transport for goods and services, but also to power generators for homes and businesses; most Nigerians get only a few hours of electricity a day.
The companies that import fuel claim they have not been paid by the Nigerian government -- and so they cut off the supply. As a result, Africa's largest economy has ground to a halt.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's finance minister, told CNN's John Defterios the situation was complex.
"You have to verify the claims of the marketers before they are paid, and because the government is coming to an end, they are getting quite nervous," she said.
"They are pushing very hard and they are using this shortage as an instrument to try to get the existing government to pay them quickly, without going through the thorough verification, and we are not going to do that."
Nigerians are no strangers to fuel shortages -- the country was subject to similar shortfalls in 2012.
The obvious solution would be to simply pay the fuel importers, but the Nigerian government subsidizes the country's fuel prices, and with oil prices falling, it needs to save money.
And that, says Seun with his two jerry cans, is the real problem. He says the government's policies are hurting Nigeria's economy, and hurting ordinary Nigerians even more.
"This is a war on the poor," he insists.
CNN
Related stories: Video - Black market worsens Nigeira's fuel crisis
Aliko Dangote to invest $2 billion in oil refinery
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Nigeria drops charges against 15 year old bride accused of killing 35 year old husband to be
Nigerian prosecutors on Wednesday withdrew murder charges against a 15-year-old girl who was accused of using rat poison to kill the 35-year-old man she had married.
Prosecutor Lamido Abba Soron-Dinki asked the High Court in Gezawa, Kano state, to "terminate the case of culpable homicide against Wasila Tasi'u", who was 14 when she married Umar Sani.
"With a heavy heart, I apply that the accused be discharged," he added.
Judge Mohammed Yahaya told the court he required either a written or oral presentation from the office of Kano's attorney general before formally dropping the charges and agreeing to Tasi'u's release.
He ordered that presentation to be made on June 9.
The defendant, who has grown emotional during past hearings, stood silently in court on Wednesday.
As much of the discussion occurred between the judge and lawyers in English with no translator, it was not clear if she understood the events as they were unfolding.
Legal sources in Kano told AFP separately that Nigeria had faced pressure to drop the case which has angered rights activists.
Soron-Dinki told AFP that the Emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi II, who is Nigeria's second most powerful Islamic cleric, had offered to "shelter" Tasi'u following her release.
The emir is also known as Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, a Western-educated former central bank governor whom many people saw as a progressive leader when he served as the country's top banker.
It was not clear if the emir had any role in the prosecution decision to apply to drop the charges.
- Divisive case -
The murder charge dates back to April 5, 2014, when Sani hosted a small wedding celebration at his home in the small Kano village of Unguwar Yansoro.
Prosecutors claimed that Tasi'u prepared the food and laced it with rat poison before serving it to her guests. Four people, including Sani, died within hours of eating the meal.
Judicial sources said the Kano state government intended to offer financial compensation to the victims' families.
The case highlighted starkly contrasting attitudes towards underage marriage, especially in the north, where the practice is widespread.
Locals in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, Tasi'u's home region, had rejected claims that she was a victim forced to marry a man more than twice her age, noting that 14 was a standard marrying age in the deeply conservative area.
Sani's family and even Tasi'u's parents said she chose her husband from a range of suitors and told close friends that she wanted to marry.
Some in Unguwar Yansoro called for Tasi'u to face stiff punishment to discourage other girls from taking similar action if they become unhappy in their marriage
But rights activists maintained that Tasi'u was a minor in need of rehabilitation and could not be charged as an adult with murder.
The judge had previously rejected calls for the case to be transferred to juvenile court.
The case was further complicated by the co-existence of both secular and Islamic law in northern Nigeria.
While both are technically in force, the precise relationship is poorly defined, leaving law enforcement officials to seek their own balance.
The southern half of the Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is mostly Christian.
AFP
Prosecutor Lamido Abba Soron-Dinki asked the High Court in Gezawa, Kano state, to "terminate the case of culpable homicide against Wasila Tasi'u", who was 14 when she married Umar Sani.
"With a heavy heart, I apply that the accused be discharged," he added.
Judge Mohammed Yahaya told the court he required either a written or oral presentation from the office of Kano's attorney general before formally dropping the charges and agreeing to Tasi'u's release.
He ordered that presentation to be made on June 9.
The defendant, who has grown emotional during past hearings, stood silently in court on Wednesday.
As much of the discussion occurred between the judge and lawyers in English with no translator, it was not clear if she understood the events as they were unfolding.
Legal sources in Kano told AFP separately that Nigeria had faced pressure to drop the case which has angered rights activists.
Soron-Dinki told AFP that the Emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi II, who is Nigeria's second most powerful Islamic cleric, had offered to "shelter" Tasi'u following her release.
The emir is also known as Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, a Western-educated former central bank governor whom many people saw as a progressive leader when he served as the country's top banker.
It was not clear if the emir had any role in the prosecution decision to apply to drop the charges.
- Divisive case -
The murder charge dates back to April 5, 2014, when Sani hosted a small wedding celebration at his home in the small Kano village of Unguwar Yansoro.
Prosecutors claimed that Tasi'u prepared the food and laced it with rat poison before serving it to her guests. Four people, including Sani, died within hours of eating the meal.
Judicial sources said the Kano state government intended to offer financial compensation to the victims' families.
The case highlighted starkly contrasting attitudes towards underage marriage, especially in the north, where the practice is widespread.
Locals in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, Tasi'u's home region, had rejected claims that she was a victim forced to marry a man more than twice her age, noting that 14 was a standard marrying age in the deeply conservative area.
Sani's family and even Tasi'u's parents said she chose her husband from a range of suitors and told close friends that she wanted to marry.
Some in Unguwar Yansoro called for Tasi'u to face stiff punishment to discourage other girls from taking similar action if they become unhappy in their marriage
But rights activists maintained that Tasi'u was a minor in need of rehabilitation and could not be charged as an adult with murder.
The judge had previously rejected calls for the case to be transferred to juvenile court.
The case was further complicated by the co-existence of both secular and Islamic law in northern Nigeria.
While both are technically in force, the precise relationship is poorly defined, leaving law enforcement officials to seek their own balance.
The southern half of the Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is mostly Christian.
AFP
BBC apologises for false Nigeria cannibal restaurant story
The British Broadcasting Cooperation has apologised for wrongly publishing a story about a restaurant in Anambra State, Nigeria, where human flesh is served as meat.
In the report, BBC had said suspicious residents in Anambra told police about rumours that the restaurant was cooking human meat for customers.
It also said when police raided the restaurant, fresh human heads, still bleeding were discovered.
The BBC said the blood found in the restaurant by the police were in the process of being drained into a plastic bag.
The BBC has, however, published an apology, saying the story was false and inappropriate.
BBC said it had already begun investigations to confirm what led to such publication and will take necessary steps to ensure the mistake does not occur again.
“The story about the Nigerian restaurant which we published here frame a mistake and we apologise. It was incorrect and BBC published without the proper checks. We have removed the story and have launched an urgent investigation into how this happened,” BBC said.
It added that the BBC Burmese service’s reputation for accuracy and balance remains important.
Premium Times
In the report, BBC had said suspicious residents in Anambra told police about rumours that the restaurant was cooking human meat for customers.
It also said when police raided the restaurant, fresh human heads, still bleeding were discovered.
The BBC said the blood found in the restaurant by the police were in the process of being drained into a plastic bag.
The BBC has, however, published an apology, saying the story was false and inappropriate.
BBC said it had already begun investigations to confirm what led to such publication and will take necessary steps to ensure the mistake does not occur again.
“The story about the Nigerian restaurant which we published here frame a mistake and we apologise. It was incorrect and BBC published without the proper checks. We have removed the story and have launched an urgent investigation into how this happened,” BBC said.
It added that the BBC Burmese service’s reputation for accuracy and balance remains important.
Premium Times
579 Nigerian soldiers facing court martial
Nigeria's military said Wednesday that 579 officers and soldiers were facing two separate trials over indiscipline, after 66 troops were sentenced to death last year for mutiny.
"We have about 473 officers and soldiers being tried at the Army Headquarters Garrison and 106 in 81 Division," said army spokesman Sani Usman.
He did not specify the charges against those currently facing court martial but Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer working on the case, said some had been accused of mutiny.
Many Nigerian troops based in the northeast have defied orders to battle Boko Haram Islamists, citing a lack of adequate weapons and other essential equipment.
"The essence of all these trials is just to emphasise on discipline, professionalism and some other things," Usman told reporters in Abuja, without giving further details.
Falana, who defended the 54 soldiers sentenced to death last year and was familiar with the fresh cases, told AFP the charges included "cowardice, mutiny and disobedience to authorities".
The military and independent sources have said conditions for soldiers in the northeast have improved over the last six to eight months, with Nigeria securing additional weaponry needed to tackle the rebels.
Experts say the new hardware has helped troops liberate a series of Boko Haram strongholds in an operation launched in February with backing from neighbouring armies.
Despite the reported improvements, complaints of soldiers being underpaid or poorly equipped persist.
Last year, soldiers based in the northeastern city of Maiduguri set up a protest camp after being ordered to deploy to a remote part of the region to fight Boko Haram.
Wives of soldiers launched a separate protest outside a barracks, claiming their husbands were being used as cannon fodder and were being sent to battle insurgents who had vastly superior weapons.
A military court last December sentenced 54 soldiers to death for refusing to deploy and take on Boko Haram in the northeast.
Twelve received the same sentence in September last year for mutiny after shots were fired at their commanding officer.
Falana said the death sentences had not yet been approved by military top brass and there was still hope of a reprieve.
AFP
"We have about 473 officers and soldiers being tried at the Army Headquarters Garrison and 106 in 81 Division," said army spokesman Sani Usman.
He did not specify the charges against those currently facing court martial but Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer working on the case, said some had been accused of mutiny.
Many Nigerian troops based in the northeast have defied orders to battle Boko Haram Islamists, citing a lack of adequate weapons and other essential equipment.
"The essence of all these trials is just to emphasise on discipline, professionalism and some other things," Usman told reporters in Abuja, without giving further details.
Falana, who defended the 54 soldiers sentenced to death last year and was familiar with the fresh cases, told AFP the charges included "cowardice, mutiny and disobedience to authorities".
The military and independent sources have said conditions for soldiers in the northeast have improved over the last six to eight months, with Nigeria securing additional weaponry needed to tackle the rebels.
Experts say the new hardware has helped troops liberate a series of Boko Haram strongholds in an operation launched in February with backing from neighbouring armies.
Despite the reported improvements, complaints of soldiers being underpaid or poorly equipped persist.
Last year, soldiers based in the northeastern city of Maiduguri set up a protest camp after being ordered to deploy to a remote part of the region to fight Boko Haram.
Wives of soldiers launched a separate protest outside a barracks, claiming their husbands were being used as cannon fodder and were being sent to battle insurgents who had vastly superior weapons.
A military court last December sentenced 54 soldiers to death for refusing to deploy and take on Boko Haram in the northeast.
Twelve received the same sentence in September last year for mutiny after shots were fired at their commanding officer.
Falana said the death sentences had not yet been approved by military top brass and there was still hope of a reprieve.
AFP
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Video - Black market worsens Nigeria's fuel crisis
With motorists still wasting hours in queues waiting for fuel, Nigeria's fuel shortage is far from over. This latest supply crunch was brought about by a stalemate over the government's failure to pay fuel subsidy claims to fuel retailers.
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