NAIJAFEED

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Gunmen abduct at least 10 hospital workers in Nigeria's Niger state

Gunmen have abducted at least 10 healthcare workers in Nigeria's Niger state and killed an unspecified number after bandits invaded a general hospital early on Tuesday, a hospital and military source said.

Armed bandits operating for cash have kidnapped or killed hundreds across northwest Nigeria. Niger state officials have said that Islamist militant group Boko Haram had taken over multiple communities in the state, offering villagers money and incorporating them in their ranks to fight the government.

The hospital source said more than 20 staff were kidnapped, including patient relatives, while the security source said two people had been killed after the gunmen invaded the general hospital in Lapai local government in large numbers.

Niger state governor, Sani Bello said a number of people were killed during Tuesday's attack at Gulu General Hospital and unspecified number abducted including medical workers. He did not specify how many had been killed.

Separately, Dr Dare Godiya Ishaya, president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), told Reuters that 20 NARD members have been kidnapped this year, causing some of them to leave the country partly due to a lack of safety.

By Chijioke Ohuocha

Reuters

Video - Freed schoolboys arrive in Nigeria’s Katsina week after abduction

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Nigerian Authorities Defend Decision to Burn Vessel Carrying Allegedly Stolen Oil

Nigeria's defense chief defended the destruction of a seized ship that was smuggling stolen oil, saying no investigation was needed. Critics say the military's burning of the ship last week destroyed vital evidence and accused the military of a cover-up.

Nigeria's chief of defense staff, General Lucky Irabor, spoke after last Friday's national security meeting with the president.

Irabor said the swift response of security operatives followed the rules of engagement and that they didn't need to carry out any investigation because the ship was caught in the act.

Security operatives last week seized and burned an 87-meter-long vessel allegedly carrying 650,000 liters of crude oil in southern Delta state. The vessel had seven crew members aboard.

The bust was one of the biggest in recent weeks led by a former Delta state militant, Government Ekpemupolo, widely known as Tompolo. Nigerian authorities in August awarded him a multi-billion-dollar surveillance contract in a desperate bid to address rampant oil theft.

On Sunday, popular human rights lawyer Femi Falana called for the removal of the defense chief. Human rights lawyer Marshall Abubakar said he agrees and said the burning of the ship is highly suspicious.

"Why the hurry in destroying this vessel?” Abubakar said. “There have been allegations that the menace of oil theft is being perpetrated by persons in authority. The hurried destruction lays credence to that particular allegation."

Experts say Nigeria has been losing thousands of barrels and millions of dollars every day to crude oil theft.

The ex-militant's company has so far uncovered 58 instances of oil being siphoned from pipelines, including one connected to Nigeria's major export line where oil was tapped unnoticed for nine years.

Tompolo has also alleged that security operatives, oil companies and local residents usually collude to steal oil. Last week, lawmakers promised to investigate the matter and make public their findings.

Abuja-based lawyer and economist Eze Onyekpere said the burning of the ship will make any investigation more difficult.

"When you apprehend an offender, you'll need evidence to be able to prove before a court of law that such a person committed the offense in question,” Onyekpere said. “The vessel on which the crude oil is being carried is one of those pieces of evidence that you'll need to bring before a court of law."

Abubakar also worries about environmental damage.

"The destruction of this vessel in open space without appropriate paraphernalia to protect the ozone layer is an injustice the struggles and environmental rights of the Niger Delta people,” Abubakar said.

Critics are waiting for answers and monitoring what authorities do next.

By Timothy Obiezu

Nigerian Authorities Launch App to Monitor Crude Oil Theft

Nigeria LNG declares force majeure as flooding disrupts gas supply

Nigeria LNG has declared force majeure because of widespread flooding that has disrupted supply, a spokesman for the company said on Monday.

The declaration could worsen Nigeria's cash crunch and will curtail global gas supply as Europe and others struggle to replace Russian exports due to the invasion of Ukraine in February.

NLNG said all of its upstream gas suppliers had declared force majeure, forcing it to make the declaration as well.

"The notice by the gas suppliers was a result of high floodwater levels in their operational areas, leading to a shut-in of gas production which has caused significant disruption of gas supply to NLNG," spokesperson Andy Odeh said.

Odeh said NLNG was determining the extent of the disruption and would try to mitigate the impact of the force majeure.

Flooding in Nigeria has killed more than 600 people, displaced 1.4 million and destroyed roads and farmland. Officials have warned that the flooding, caused by unusually heavy rains and the release of water from a dam in Cameroon, could continue into November.

NLNG's supply had already been limited due to prolific oil theft that has slashed output from what is typically Africa's largest exporter. NLNG had exported roughly 18 cargoes in September, according to Refinitiv data.

Nigeria relies on fossil fuel exports for 90% of its foreign exchange and roughly half its budget. Crude oil exports fell below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) on average in August, the lowest level since the 1980s, due to theft that has exceeded 80% on certain pipelines.

Crushing fuel subsidy costs have also kept Africa's most populous nation from benefiting from this year's surge in oil prices.

By Libby George

Reuters

Video - Nigeria floods: Thousands of displaced people in need of help

Monday, October 17, 2022

Video - Aid workers struggling to reach victims of floods in Nigeria

Aid workers in Nigeria are struggling to reach hundreds of thousands of people displaced by floods. Floodwaters have hit the country’s oil-producing region in the south, after devastating northern, central and eastern parts of the country. Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris reports from Atani, one of the worst-hit areas in southern Nigeria.

Al Jazeera

Video - Nigeria floods displace at least 600,000 people

Nigerian Authorities Say Separatist Not Free Yet

Nigerian prosecutors say they will appeal a court's decision to drop terrorism charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu. An appeals court dismissed the charges Thursday, saying a lower court had no authority in the case and that Kanu was illegally extradited from Kenya. Kanu leads the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group that wants to break away from Nigeria the government has labeled a terrorist organization.

Nigeria’s attorney general, Abubakar Malami, responded to Thursday's ruling in a statement saying the separatist is discharged but not acquitted.

Malami said authorities will explore legal steps to revisit the court's decision. He said the court failed to take into account issues that took place before Nnamdi Kanu was extradited to Nigeria from Kenya last year.

A three-judge panel of an appeals court Thursday ruled that Kanu’s trial was unlawful, and said authorities flouted international treaties to "abduct" the separatist.

The court said the circumstances surrounding his arrest did not give the government the jurisdiction to continue to keep him on trial.

The court also ruled that the government did not provide clear evidence of when and where Kanu committed the many allegations against him.

The attorney general's office did not immediately respond to calls for further comment. But Kanu's lawyer, Ifanyi Ejiofor, spoke to VOA via phone.

"The right of appeal is a constitutional right but the fact is that order of court must be obeyed, it's sacrosanct. Saying that Nnamdi Kanu was discharged not acquitted I believe is an impudence on the judgement of the court of appeals. The court used the word abduction, that is to tell you the level of the atrocity they committed," he said.

It's not clear when he will be freed.

"We expect them to comply immediately with the court order because detention became illegal as of yesterday. Yesterday, the court directed he should be released immediately. They should release him to us without any further ado," Ejiofor said.

Kanu is leading a movement to break off southeastern Nigeria from the rest of the country to form a republic called Biafra.

A previous Biafra independence movement led to a civil war between 1967 and 1970 that killed an estimated one million people.

On Friday, as news of Kanu's court discharge spread, so did excitement in Nigeria's Southwest region.

Christian Paul hails from Imo state, one of the strong bases for the separatist movement. He believes that with Kanu’s release, the court may have been sending a message.

"They violated his human rights and kept making fresh allegations against him. At this point in time, it becomes really strategic if his release is granted by a court. It might have some political undertone,” he said.

Nigerian voters head to the polls in February of next year to elect a new leader.

By Timothy Obiezu

VOA

UK government faces court challenge in Nigerian rendition case