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Combining competitive sports with active business is no mean feat at all and can be mentally challenging. But Nigeria's top female squash player, Yemisi Ola-tunji, is managing to do just that. Here is CGTN's Deji Bademosi with her story.

Phone and internet shutdown in Nigerian state enters sixth day as security forces target kidnappers

Most residents in Nigeria's north western Zamfara State have welcomed a government directive ordering a shutdown of internet and phone communications now in its sixth day designed to combat a spate of banditry and ransom-seeking kidnappings plaguing the region.

Last Friday, mobile network providers were directed by Nigeria's telecom regulator to shut down communications in Zamfara for two weeks "to enable relevant security agencies to carry out required activities towards addressing the security challenge in the state," the Nigeria Communications Commission said in a letter to a telecom firm.

The directive came two days after at least 73 students were abducted from a state-run high school in Zamfara's Maradun district. Military authorities are undertaking targeted raids on the hideouts of kidnappers and other criminal gangs in the state, who are known locally as 'bandits.'

Zailani Bappa, a media adviser to the Zamfara State governor told CNN Wednesday from neighbouring Kaduna State that the suspension of phone services "gives security forces the upper hand against the bandits."

Some Zamfara residents told CNN they endorsed the government's decision to shut down communications in the state even though it came at a cost.

"I left Zamfara for Kaduna yesterday (Tuesday) because of the ban on mobile networks," a resident, Hamdan Shinkafi, told CNN. "I sell phones online. Since there is no network, there is no way I can sell my gadgets, but I'm not bothered about that because it's for the best," he added.

Shinkafi said many locals were in support of the phone blackout which runs simultaneously with the ongoing military operations in Zamfara.

"I'm in full support of the ban. Many people in Zamfara also support it," Shinkafi said. "Before I left, soldiers were combing through forests in search of bandits... Before now, everyone has been living in fear because of the bandits."

Another resident, Ahmad Maishanu, told CNN many locals were "trooping into neighbouring states where they can make phone calls."

"I'm in Abuja. I won't return to Zamfara until the phone blackout is lifted," he stated, adding "some residents were not initially happy with the network disruption, but they are now jubilating following the military operations going on in the state."

Zamfara and other neighboring north western states have been hit with several mass kidnappings by ransom-seeking gangs this year.

Prominent among the string of kidnappings in Zamfara was the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in the town of Jangebe in February.

The students have since been freed, with authorities insisting no ransom was paid to secure their release.

The phone blackout is one of many measures enforced by authorities in Zamfara to curb banditry and recurring abductions in the state. Last week, Zamfara's Information Commissioner, Ibrahim Dosara, told CNN schools in the state had been closed down to avoid further attacks by gunmen. Dosara added that vehicular movements had also been restricted across the state.

The Zamfara government had earlier suspended the transportation of livestock beyond the state's borders while ordering the closure of weekly markets. 

By Nimi Princewill

CNN

Related story: Video - Is Nigeria's kidnapping crisis out of control?

The Duchess of Cornwall has become patron of Nigeria's first sexual assault referral center

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has been named patron of Nigeria's first sexual assault referral center in Lagos, the country's largest city.

The Duchess, 74, has long campaigned against domestic abuse and sexual violence and said she is "delighted to become Patron of the Mirabel Center in Lagos," which was founded in 2013 to support survivors of sexual assault.

"It is a truly trailblazing organization, supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault as they seek healing and justice," she added. "Their vital work means that women need no longer suffer in silence and I am deeply grateful to all Mirabel's wonderful staff and volunteers."

The Duchess will be working with Nigerian and British Nigerian women to find ways to help the Mirabel Centre over the coming months, Clarence House said.

The center's founder, Itoro Eze-Anaba, told CNN Tuesday the Mirabel Center provides free medical and psychosocial support services to survivors of sexual violence and has assisted over 6,000 people since it started eight years ago.

She said the youngest survivor they have helped was a 3-month-old baby and the oldest, an 80-year-old woman.

Eze-Anaba added that having the duchess as patron will, among other things, enable the organization to boost the work it does for survivors of sexual violence, who are often too afraid to speak out.

"It will raise awareness about the center, and the issue of rape in Nigeria. When we started in 2013, we were seeing between 20 to 30 clients in a month. Now we see at least 70, sometimes more than 100 clients in a month. This means that more people are having the confidence to speak out," she said.

The Duchess of Cornwall became patron of the UK domestic abuse charity SafeLives last year.
"Sexual violence in Nigeria is rampant but shrouded in secrecy because of the stigma that is associated with it," Eze-Anaba said.

A report by UN Women found that 30 percent of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have experienced sexual abuse in Nigeria.

The report also found that gender-based violence had worsened during the Covid crisis.
Last month, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) said at least 1,617 cases of sexual assault were recorded in the state between January and June this year.

The DSVRT further stated that more than 10,000 cases involving men, women, and children had been handled by the agency in the last two years.

"The current COVID-19 pandemic has further revealed the endemic nature of sexual violence. We have seen a huge number of children and women coming forward to report cases of sexual assault and rape," Eze-Anaba said. 

CNN

Video - Is Nigeria's kidnapping crisis out of control?

Nigeria’s government is struggling to tackle criminal gangs who have stepped up concerted attacks against village communities, schools, and colleges in northern states over the last eight months. Gang members popularly characterised as ‘bandits’ have kidnapped more than 1,000 students alone since they began abducting civilians for ransom payments in greater numbers in December. 

While some children and young adults have been freed through mediation, in many cases families and school administrators have paid the attackers to secure their release. With the central government of President Muhammadu Buhari and some state governors refusing to pay the gangs and many families unable to meet the ransom demands themselves, hundreds of people remain hostage. 

The gangs have launched increasingly bold attacks as central and state authorities try to tackle them. In an unexpected raid on an elite military academy in Kaduna on August 24, suspected gang members killed two officers and kidnapped another. In this episode of The Stream, we will look at how people in northern Nigeria are coping amid the advance of the gangs and what can be done to improve security and safety.