Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered security forces in Benue State to increase their surveillance of violence-prone areas following the killing of at least 74 people in the region. The latest clashes occurred in an area where violence between pastoralists and farmers is common. Investigations are underway to establish a motive.
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Video - 74 people killed in two separate attacks in Nigeria
Nigeria placed on UK's red list due to health workers' recruitment
The United Kingdom has put Nigeria on the red list of countries that should not be actively considered for recruitment by health and social care employers.
This review came after the World Health Organisation (WHO) listed 55 countries, including Nigeria facing the most pressing health workforce challenges related to Universal Health Coverage.
In a report by UK Home Office, the UK Government disclosed that Nigeria and other countries on the red list should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers except if there was a government-to-government arrangement.
It was contained from the website of the UK government titled, ‘Code of Practice for the international recruitment of Health and social care personnel in England.’
The information said country identification follows the methodology contained in the 10-year review of the relevance and effectiveness of the WHO global code of practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.
It read, “Consistent with the WHO Global Code of Practice principles and articles, and as explicitly called for by the WHO Global Code of Practice 10-year review, the listed countries should be prioritised for health personnel development and health system-related support, provided with safeguards that discourage active international recruitment of health personnel.
“Countries on the list should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers, recruitment organisations, agencies, collaborations, or contracting bodies unless there is a government-to-government agreement in place to allow managed recruitment undertaken strictly in compliance with the terms of that agreement.
“Countries on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards list are graded red in the code. If a government-to-government agreement is put in place between a partner country, which restricts recruiting organisations to the terms of the agreement, the country is added to the amber list.”
It specified if a country was not on the red or amber list, then it is green.
The amber countries where international recruitment is only allowed in compliance with the terms of the government-to-government agreement are Kenya and Nepal.
It added that active recruitment is permitted from green-graded countries where there is a government-to-government agreement with the UK in place for international health and care workforce recruitment.
“Green-graded countries without a government-to-government agreement with the UK are not published in the code of practice for England.
“The government-to-government agreement may set parameters, implemented by the country of origin, for how UK employers, contracting bodies, recruitment organisations, agencies, and collaborations recruit. These organisations are encouraged to recruit on the terms of the government-to-government agreement.
“The green country list will be updated as new government-to-government agreements are signed with the UK. It is recommended employers, contracting bodies, recruitment organisations, agencies, and collaborations regularly check the list for updates prior to embarking on any recruitment campaign.
“Green-graded countries with a government-to-government agreement for managing international health and care workforce recruitment are India, Malaysia, Philippines, and Sri Lanka,” it added.
Related stories: Doctors are leaving Nigeria in droves
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Video - Oil giant accused of pollution in Nigeria
Oil giant Shell is due in the high court in London next week. It is facing charges over claims it polluted water and soil in the Niger Delta. More than 13,000 villagers are bringing the landmark case. They accuse the company's subsidiaries of destroying their land -- and their way of life. Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris reports from Ogale, Nigeria.
Related stories: The Criminals Undercutting Nigeria’s Oil Industry
Video - Shell due in court over damages the oil company has caused in Nigeria
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.
Related stories: Nigeria pays $11 million as ransom to kidnappers in four years
Attempt to abduct hundreds of schoolboys foiled by security forces in Nigeria
Monday, April 3, 2023
Video - Cash crunch spurs digital payment system in Nigeria
The Central Bank of Nigeria's demonetization exercise has been criticized for many things – but it did spur an aggressive surge in the use of digital payment channels in the first two months of the year. Data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System indicates that in the first two months of 2023, the volume of transactions being made on mobile phones rose by 70 percent.
Related stories: Video - Supreme court suspends currency swap deadline in Nigeria
Critical mistakes made by central bank of Nigeria in cash swap
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