UK to deport gay Nigerian asylum seeker

A Nigerian asylum seeker who fled to Britain to avoid prosecution for being gay is facing deportation after being held for six months in an immigration detention centre.

The threat hanging over Adeniyi Raji, 43, who received death threats on social media, highlights the increasing number of claims to the Home Office by individuals from countries where homosexuality is outlawed.

In Nigeria, homosexual acts are punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Gay marriage and displays of same-sex affection are also outlawed. After Pakistan and Bangladesh, it is the country that produces the largest number of asylum claims based on sexual orientation.

Home Office figures published last year show there were 362 such applications from Nigerians in the 21 months from July 2015 to March 2017. Of those, only 63 were allowed to remain in the UK after a tribunal hearing; the rest, 81%, were refused permission to stay.

Raji fled the city of Lagos and arrived at Heathrow airport in November. He claimed asylum and was immediately detained, being held at Harmondsworth and Tinsley House detention centres. He was recently given bail and released from detention.

“I decided to come to the UK to seek refuge and humanitarian protection [because] my life was in danger in Nigeria,” he told the Guardian.

“I was attacked on several occasions. [My] ex-wife caught me and my former partner in bed. As soon as she saw us, she immediately raised the alarm. People gathered and started beating us severely. After that, she divorced me.”

His employer in Lagos sacked him for being gay. “The Nigerian police started publishing my pictures and my name in the Nigerian national dailies,” he added. “They kept saying that anyone who has useful information that could lead to my arrest should come forward [so that I can] face the wrath of the land as a result of my sexual orientations.”

Threats against him on on social media in Nigeria included comments such as: “I really wish you were killed that very day …”, “You know gay practice is an abomination in our land …”, and “You better stop your gay practice, if not you could get yourself killed in this country”.

A first-tier immigration tribunal has rejected his asylum application. He is appealing against that decision.

Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian-born British citizen who runs a UK-based campaign supporting LGBT rights in his home country, criticised the Home Office’s treatment of gay asylum seekers. “They are often treated as liars. It becomes their responsibility to prove that they are gay and that that will put their lives at risk,” he said.

“In Nigeria, people put a tyre around your neck and burn you, and no one cares; or beat you until you die, and no one cares. The Home Office doesn’t believe in the impact of threats from non-state actors.

“Most of the time it’s difficult to prove [anyone is gay] because they live their private lives in hiding. Most don’t have a life history [of being openly gay]. There’s been an increase in the number of Nigerians seeking asylum in the UK on the basis of their sexuality.”

Raji’s solicitor, Bhaveshri Patel-Chandegra, an immigration specialist at the law firm Duncan Lewis, said: “The court has looked at his case and nullified all his evidence that he is at serious risk if removed to Nigeria but there’s been no evidence that his documents aren’t genuine.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection and each claim is carefully considered on its individual merits.

“We have worked closely with organisations and charities, including Stonewall, the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group, and the UN high commissioner for refugees to improve our guidance and training for asylum caseworkers.”

Guardian

Video - Healthworkers return to work in Nigeria as negotiations with government continue

A Union of Paramedics who led a one and half month long strike to force a pay rise have agreed to resume work while negotiations continue with government. The protest had crippled health care service delivery and escalated fatalities across government hospitals in Nigeria.

Nigeria FIFA ranking drops to 48th ahead of 2018 World Cup

Nigeria have dropped to 48th in the FIFA's global rankings in June, a week away from the start of 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The west African country also dropped to the seventh place in Africa.

Nigeria were on the 47th spot and sixth position respectively in the FIFA rankings and continental football in April and May.

An official statement on FIFA's website on Thursday said the recent flurry of pre-FIFA World Cup friendlies left its mark on the latest rankings.

Nigeria's Super Eagles were beaten 1-0 by the Czech Republic on Wednesday, during a last pre-World Cup friendly played in Austria.

Last Saturday, the team also saw a defeat by the Three Lions of England. The match, played at the Wembley Stadium, ended 2-1.

Nigeria had played a 1-1 draw on home soil against DR Congo on May 28.

Nigeria's World Cup opponents Argentina, Croatia, and Iceland are on fifth, 20th and 22nd positions respectively in the FIFA rankings.

Nigeria will face Croatia on June 16 at the football's greatest showcase.

Xinhua

The story behind Nigeria's World Cup jersey craze

After the sort of long lead-up that can only accompany a once-every-four-years tourney, the World Cup will officially commence next week. Every sports angle's been dissected—which means we can turn to more important ideas, like the fact that the jerseys are, at long last, getting their official releases. And this go-round, undoubtedly the most exciting and anticipated of these jerseys belongs to Nigeria’s national team. 

The kits are a genuine fashion item: there are a couple versions but the favorite features an unripe-lime green in the body with white-and-black sleeves and jagged vertical stripes that are meant to resemble the wings of the team’s mascot, the Super Eagles (but look a little bit like Mario Kart turbo pads). The jersey looks less like a traditional soccer kit than a hyped-up sneaker—particularly the coveted Nike design seen on Acronym’s version of the Vapormax. And the response has been fitting: the jersey has been near-unanimously considered the coolest of this year’s crop ever since it was unveiled in February, and it’s turned from a piece of athletic gear to rarest-provenance streetwear.

Since that February reveal, the jersey’s picked up an alleged three million pre-orders (more on that later), sold out at Supreme box logo speeds, and is now reselling like one of those BOGO tees on the secondary market. Every day ultra-limited sneakers and items from hyped up streetwear brands trade back and forth on secondary platforms like Grailed or StockX, but it’s unusual for a soccer jersey to find its way onto the secondary market. In a World Cup cycle that’s also seen themed releases from Virgil Abloh and Kim Jones, one of the coolest pieces of tournament gear is a regular-degular jersey. How did that happen?

Great design, to start. But once everyone caught on to the jersey’s appeal—especially in comparison to something like England’s jersey, plain white with a badge on the breast, which was revealed alongside Nigeria’s kit—the shirt was sent through the hype machine. Twitter users were enamored with the jersey and started spreading images of it around, it got picked up on streetwear blogs, and was worn by grime star and stylish man Skepta months before going on sale to the general public. 

Then Nike came out and announced that three million people had already bought the jerseys before they were even released. As Quartz notes, analysts were skeptical of those figures since there wasn’t any apparent way to even buy the kits when that was announced—and three million is more than what Manchester United, the most beloved football club in the world, sold in all of 2017. Still, this didn’t stop the internet from going after these jerseys with serious hypebeast passion.

The Nigeria jersey provides a case study in how the streetwear internet works in 2018: cool-looking object gets hyped up endlessly until its coolness is a fact carved into stone. We’ve seen this happen countless times, sure—just not usually with a soccer jersey. But it does feel about time for soccer to have a moment like this. Remember that just a couple years ago Drake Instagrammed himself in a pink jersey from the Italian club Juventus, bumping sales for that particular kit. And soccer has been the inspiration for other designers in the fashion world: Gosha Rubchinskiy collaborated with Adidas on several kits and labels like Versace and Burberry have taken inspiration from the sport in recent collections. 

When Abloh released his collection of soccer gear with Nike he noted how the sport had a defined visual identity. “The great thing about the vocabulary and history of football is that aesthetically it has its own look,” he said.

The Nigeria jerseys seem to tap into what designers already knew: soccer is fashion, or at least a sport worthy of being mined for fashion inspiration and turned into luxury soccer scarfs or streetwear-adjacent jerseys. And so why shouldn’t a team have jerseys befitting that status? When the Super Eagles line up against Croatia in Russia next week, they’ll certainly be the best-dressed dudes on the field. And if and when they make their exit from the tournament, they’ll be able to cushion the blow by flipping their jerseys on eBay.

GQ

Related stories: Nigeria Super Eagles World Cup kit revealed

Nigeria 2018 World Cup kit enjoying huge demand

Nigeria ranked 16th least peaceful country in the world in Global Peace Index

Nigeria has been ranked the 16th least peaceful country in the world, according to the 2018 edition of Global Peace Index, GPI. The report, released yesterday, ranked Nigeria 148 out of the total 163 countries surveyed.

Iceland is the most peaceful country, closely followed by New Zealand and Austria while Syria is ranked least peaceful, coming after Afghanistan and South Sudan respectively.

In Sub-Sahara Africa, Nigeria is ranked 40 out of 44 countries, with Mauritius topping the list, while South Sudan is ranked least. According to the report produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, IEP, global level of peace has deteriorated by 0.27 percent in the last year, marking the fourth successive year of deterioration. 

It also said the world is “less peaceful today than at any time in the last decade.” It added that 92 countries deteriorated, while only 71 improved. Nigeria is one of such countries, up one place from its 2017 ranking of 149. In 2016, Nigeria was pegged at 149, while the figure was 151 for both 2015 and 2014. 

The report said the global economic impact of violence was $14.76 trillion PPP in 2017, equivalent to 12.4 percent of global GDP, or $1,988 per person. The report covers 99.7 percent of the world’s population and uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from “highly respected sources” to compile the index. 

These indicators are grouped into three key domains: ‘ongoing conflict’, ‘safety and security’, and ‘militarisation.’ All three domains deteriorated over the last year. “There’s been a gradual decline in peacefulness over the last decade,” said Steve Killelea, head of IEP. “The reason for this slow, gradual decline in peacefulness really comes back to the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, and the spillover effects into other areas.”

Vanguard

Video - Nigeria 0-1 Czech Republic highlights

Nigeria 0-1 Czech Republic highlights

Video - New air-conditioning directive in Nigeria is aimed at promoting tourism

All passenger service vehicles operating in Abuja have been directed to fix the air-conditioning in their cars. Authorities say the directive is aimed at promoting tourism - and will be enforced from the 1st of October.

Video - Military rescues 148 Boko Haram hostages in Nigeria

Our correspondent Kelechi Emekalam is following the Nigerian military's crackdown on Boko Haram. The army says it's rescued another 148 hostages from the militant group. They have been freed during an operation in Bama, a remote part of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria.

China to invest $300m in mass housing in Nigeria

As part of measures to bridge the rising accommodation and shelter gaps in the country, Chinese investors have said they are investing a whopping $300m in mass housing schemes for low and middle income earners across the country.

The Assistant of Director, Director of the One Belt One Road Financing Operation in China, Mr Steven Kim, made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja at the operational briefing of the ZVECAN Homes and Estate of the ZVECAN consulting and Engineering Limited.

This is as the Managing Director, Zvecan Homes and Estate, Mr Nicholas Ogbedo, said that over 5,000 civil servants, who are the initial off-takers and completing their documentaries with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board (FGSHLB), would be the first beneficiaries of the homes to be built on request in one bed-room, two bed-rooms and others bungalows in the allocated locations in the FCT.

The briefing was to update the developer’s inputs for the off-takers in the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) initiated by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF) Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, as part of measures to by the Federal Government to provide affordable housing for the Federal Civil Servants before they retire from service.

According to Kim, who spoke through an interpreter, Mr Sylvester Osagie Aigbe, most of the $300m would be spent on local raw materials and technical manpower, while some importations including some raw materials, not readily available in Nigeria, would be imported from China.

“The Chinese Government is reviewing some of its policies in some countries receiving aids and grants, some of the reviews involve direct investment in housing and other critical infrastructural needs. Like we are going to do in Nigeria, partnering indigenous organisations, we have been involved in similar mass housing schemes in Kenya and Angola, where we are building over 3000 units of different specifications of affordable housing,” Kim said.

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director, Zvecan Homes and Estate, Mr Nicholas Ogbedo, said his organisation is working with FISH and other government stakeholders to realize their mandate.

He added that his organisation was involved in the Kenyan and Angola schemes, hence his efforts to get the investors to Nigeria for the benefits of the low and medium civil servants.


Daily Trust

Germany plans to deport 30,000 Nigerians

The German government is set to deport close to 30,000 Nigerians seeking asylum in Germany.

The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, Hon. Abike Dabiri Erewa disclosed this at a programme; "Developing a mixed migration strategy for UNHCR Nigeria" in Abuja on Tuesday.

"Germany said it has about 25,000 to 30,000 Nigerians seeking asylum and they can't guarantee they will get it. So, there is every possibilities that they will be returned to Nigeria," she said.

According to her, the reasons for asylum by the Nigerians were not genuine as "some who are from the East and West are saying they are running away from Boko Haram while some others say they are gays and were having challenges expressing themselves in Nigeria."

The SSA to the President said a date has not yet been set for the deportation of the asylum seeking Nigerians.

"Germany has set up a team working with the ministry of foreign affairs to see how the whole process [of deportation] can be made easier," she added.

While noting that Germany is offering more scholarships and easier process of regular migration for Nigerians, she appealed to young Nigerians to watch out for those opportunities and take advantage of them.

"We are looking at the option of reverse migration also where you can actually stay in your country and enjoy everything you are migrating abroad to get," Hon. Dabiri Erewa added.

She noted that irregular migration was no longer working as the foreign countries were also having their own challenges now.

she said the government was already doing much to tackle the issues that are encouraging irregular migration, adding that "we are fighting corruption, insecurity and trying to revive the economy."

Earlier, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Antonio Jose Canhandula told the stakeholders to suggest better ways of tackling irregular migration, adding that European countries were already closing their doors against migrants.

On her part, the South West Zonal Director of National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) Margret Ukegbu lamented that Nigerians have started migrating to unpopular countries like Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Mali.

She noted that importance should be placed on education, stressing that the Nigerian society has been encouraging irregular migration.

Daily Trust

National Assembly threatens President Buhari with impeachment

The National Assembly on Tuesday, gave President Muhammadu Buhari 12-point condition to address urgently or face the invocation of its powers against him.

This was the outcome of closed-door joint executive session of both chambers of the assembly in Abuja.

President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, read the resolution from the session, which lasted over three hours, and declared that the lawmakers would not hesitate to move against the president if he failed to comply.

He enumerated the conditions as:

"1. The Security Agencies must be given marching orders to curtail the sustained killings of Nigerians across the country and protect lives and properties of Nigerians as this is the primary duty of any responsible government.

"2. The systematic harassment and humiliation by the Executive of perceived political opponents, people with contrary opinions, including legislators and judiciary, by the police and other security agencies must stop.

"3. There must be strict adherence to the Rule of Law and protection for all citizens by the President and his appointees.

"4. The President must be held accountable for the actions of his appointees and must be ready to sanction those that carry out any act which will ridicule or endanger our country and democracy.

"5. The Government should show sincerity in the fight against corruption by not being selective, and also prosecute current appointees that have cases pending against them.

"6. The sanctity of the National Assembly should be protected and preserved by the Federal Government of Nigeria by not interfering in its business, but prosecute those who invaded the Senate to seize the mace.

"7a. National Assembly should liaise with International Communities through the IPU, APU, ECOWAS, CPA, Parliament, Pan African Parliament, EU, UN, US Congress and UK Parliament to secure our democracy.

"b. Democratic elections must be competitive and inclusive by removing the present reign of fear and intimidation, particularly as we approach the 2019 elections.

"8. The National Assembly will work closely with Civil Society Organisations, Trade Unions and NGOs to further deepen and protect our democracy.

"9. The President must take immediate steps to contain the growing level of unemployment and poverty in Nigeria, especially now that we have advantage of the oil price having risen to 80 dollars per barrel.

"10. Both chambers of the National Assembly hereby pass a vote-of-confidence on the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the entire leadership of the National Assembly.

"11a. We reaffirm our earlier resolution of vote-of-no-confidence on the Inspector-General of Police, who does nothing other than preside over the killing of innocent Nigerians and consistent framing up of perceived political opponents of the President.

"b.The Inspector-General of Police has outright disregard for constitutional authority, both executive and legislative.

"12. Finally, the National Assembly will not hesitate to invoke its Constitutional powers if nothing is done to address the above resolutions passed today (Tuesday)."

Guardian

Video - New excise duties on alcohol and tobacco to kick in in Nigeria

Nigeria's new excise duty for alcoholic beverages and tobacco approved by President Muhammadu Buhari is taking effect from Monday, the 4th of June. Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun says the upward review of the taxes on alcohol and cigarettes is to raise the government's fiscal revenues.

Nigerian football star Nwankwo Kanu robbed in Russia

Nigerian legend Nwankwo Kanu had $11 000 stolen from his luggage in Russia as he arrived for a World Cup curtain-raiser.

The former Arsenal star was in Moscow to play for for the FIFA Legends against their Russian counterparts, and reported the missing money upon arrival in Kaliningrad, where the Super Eagles open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 16.

Russian Interior Ministry Irina Volk confirmed that two workers at the Sheremetyevo Airport had been arrested, saying: "The stolen money has been confiscated and will be returned to its owner."

The FIFA Legends team won the match 6-4, with Niko Kranjcar, Nuno Gomes and Cafu each scoring a brace.

ESPN

Muslim group in Nigeria threaten Falz with legal action for his This is Nigeria music video

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has asked Folarin ‘Falz’ Falana to withdraw his ‘This is Nigeria’ video and apologise to Nigerians, or face legal action.

In the recently released video, some girls dressed in hijab were seen dancing the “shaku shaku” dance.

Responding to criticisms that trailed the video, Falz explained that the girls were a representation of the abducted Chibok girls still in Boko Haram captivity.

But MURIC, in a statement by Ishaq Akintola, its director, said the dancers in the video in no way depict the situation of the girls.

The group also condemned “a character that dressed like a Fulani man, who suddenly abandoned his traditional guitar and beheaded a man” featured in the video.

Describing the video as “thoughtless, insensitive and highly provocative,” MURIC said it could brew religious and ethnic crisis.

It also said the video is spiteful and intended to denigrate Islam and Muslims.

“MURIC rejects Falz’ explanation that the girls in hijab in his ‘Shaku Shaku’ dance symbolize the Chibok girls because nothing in the video indicates that the girls represent the Chibok girls,” the statement read.

“At least none of the Chibok girls have been seen dancing like a drunkard. They are always in pensive mood. Do they have any cause to be dancing? Are they happy?

“The video manifests ethnic bias against Fulanis while it ignored the criminal activities of ethnic militia of the Middle Belt who have also massacred Fulanis and rustled their cattle in their thousands.

“It is a hate video. This video has the potential of causing religious crisis of unprecedented dimension.

“It is an assault on the self-dignity of every Muslim. It is freedom of expression gone haywire.

“We therefore demand its withdrawal and an apology to Nigerian Muslims within seven days or the authors and their agents will face legal action if they fail to comply.

“Only the scenes portraying police brutality and the money-swallowing snake in the video are near the truth.”

The group called on security agencies and the National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to clamp down on the video.

“We call the attention of security agencies to this hate action,” the statement continued.

“We remind Nigerians of the outcome of similar provocative actions in the past and their unpalatable outcomes.

“The National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB), a regulatory agency set up by Act No. 85 of 1993 to regulate films and the video industry has a case to answer. ‘Shaku Shaku’ video was shot and released under its watch.

“Instead of going violent, Nigerian Muslims should take those behind the ‘Shaku Shaku’ video to court in order to serve as a deterrent to others.

“We therefore give notice of impending legal action against the artist behind the ‘Shaku Shaku’ video unless the latter is withdrawn and an apology is widely published within seven days.”

The Cable

Attacks on Shell installations continue as oil output recovers in Nigeria

Nigeria’s oil wells may be flowing again, but the country’s largest operator says attacks continue to put a brake on output.

“Security in parts of the Niger delta remains a major concern with persisting incidents of criminality, kidnapping and vandalism as well as onshore and offshore piracy,” said Igo Weli, general manager for external relations at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s local unit. The warning underlines the enduring threat of attacks even as production recovers from a major militant campaign in 2016.

Shell declared force majeure on Bonny Light crude shipments last month following pipeline leaks, while loadings of Forcados exports were also delayed. Weli didn’t specifically link those incidents to his comments on vandalism.

Militant assaults on Nigeria’s oil infrastructure in 2016 cut the country’s output to less than 1.4 million barrels a day, the lowest in 27 years. While there hasn’t been a major attack since, the security situation in the oil region remains fluid, according to Weli. Brent crude, which compares with Nigeria oil grades, has rallied almost 50 percent in the past year, trading at $74.35 a barrel as of 12.07 p.m. in London.

Crude Theft

“Facilities operated by both indigenous and international oil companies continue to be vandalized by attacks and other illegal activities such as crude-oil theft,” he said by email. “We are continuing to monitor the situation to mitigate any exposure and minimize risks faced by our personnel.”

Shell pumped an average of 631,000 barrels a day in Nigeria last year, about a third of the nation’s production. Despite the rally in output, the company still counted 60 cases of sabotage and theft, compared with 49 the year before. There were 10 such incidents recorded in the first two months of 2018, according to Weli.

Shell and its Nigerian partners are “currently evaluating opportunities to further increase production of the Bonga field,” a deep-water project which started production in 2005, Weli said, without providing further details.

Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, is scheduled to load at least 1.8 million barrels a day next month. That equals the production cap it agreed on with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which took effect in January.

Bloomberg

148 Boko Haram hostages including children freed by Nigerian Army

Nigeria's army rescued 148 hostages, most of them women and children, from Boko Haram militants, the army said Monday. 

Soldiers rescued the hostages during an operation Sunday as members of the terror group fled "troops' onslaught in the Lake Chad Islands and fringes of the northern borders of Borno state," according to a statement. 

The captives were freed in the large but remote town of Bama, about 45 miles southeast of Maiduguri. Borno state in northeast Nigeria borders Niger, Chad and Cameroon, all of which have experienced violent incidents with Boko Haram.

Seventy-five children, 58 women and 15 men comprised the rescued group, the army said. There were two pregnant teenagers among the hostages. 

The women told their rescuers they were "sexually violated and used as sex slaves," while the men were forced to carry out labor, the army statement said. 

The freed hostages will be transported to a Bama camp for internally displaced people, the army said.
Last month, the army freed 1,000 hostages after a weeklong battle with Boko Haram that left 50 militants dead, according to an army spokesman. That battle also unfolded in Borno state.

Boko Haram militants mainly inhabit areas in the northern states of Nigeria, specifically Yobe, Kano, Bauchi, Borno and Kaduna. The group has kidnapped more than 1,000 children in Nigeria since 2013, according to a recent report. 

The group sparked global outrage after militants seized 276 girls from a boarding school in Borno's Chibok town in 2014. Some of the girls were freed last year following negotiations between the government and Boko Haram. 

In April, the Nigerian government said a disagreement between members of the terror group had caused a breakdown in negotiations for the release of the remaining schoolgirls.

CNN

Senate president of Nigeria linked to heist that left 33 people dead

Nigeria's Senate President is linked to suspects involved in a notorious bank heist where 33 people died, Nigerian police has said. 

Police say the robbers attacked six banks in the remote town of Offa in Kwara State and fired at a police station, killing nine police officers and passersby including some pregnant women on April 5 this year. 

Five members of the criminal gang arrested after the robbery in central Nigeria allege the operation was financed by Bukola Saraki, Nigeria police said in a statement.

"Senate President, Bukola Saraki, is being invited to report to the police to answer allegations indicting him from confessions of five gang leaders arrested for active participation in Offa bank robbery and killings of 33 innocent persons," said Nigeria police spokesman Jimoh Moshood in a statement.

Saraki later sent a tweet saying that Nigeria police no longer required him to attend the station but had asked him to respond to the allegations in writing instead.

According to the police, the five suspects arrested in the robbery confessed they had been "sponsored with firearms, money and operational vehicles" by the lawmaker to carry out the bank robberies.
However, the leader of Nigeria's Upper Chamber released a statement Monday saying the allegations were "baseless." 

"Let it be known that there is no way I could have been associated with armed robbery against my people. I hereby state categorically that I have no link with any band of criminals. As a person who has utmost respect for the rule of law... when the invitation from the police is formally extended to me, I will be ready to honor it without any delay," Saraki said in a statement. 

A commentator online, Reno Omokri questioned why Saraki, who controls Senate's annual budget of around $300 million, would rob a bank.

"But why will politicians who can rob the treasury prefer to rob a bank? Which is easier and more profitable?" asked Omokri, a former aide to ex-Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan. 

The Offa bank robbery is one of the most audacious heists carried out in the country in recent years, police say.

 
The thieves got away with millions of naira in local currency after using dynamite to blow up a vault in one bank.

CNN

180 prisoners break out of Nigerian prison, 30 recaptured

Following combined efforts of the Nigerian Prisons Service and other security agencies in Niger state, 30 inmates who escaped from the Minna Medium Security Prison on Sunday night have been recaptured.

The Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahman Danbazau disclosed this after an on-the-spot assessment of the prison.

Mr Jibrin Ndace, spokesman to Niger Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani-Bello, in a statement on Monday, added that about 180 inmates escaped during the jailbreak.

The Minister, who revealed that Federal Government is building 3000 capacity prison in each geopolitical zone and will recruit 6000 personnel, admitted that there were security lapses at Minna Prison.

“There are security gaps to be addressed in the prisons such as manpower, de-congestion,” he said.

Also speaking, the Niger state governor, Sani-Bello called for more commitment to duties, adding that Niger State Government would work with Federal Government on Prison reforms.

“I will like to appeal to public servants generally to take their jobs seriously. Niger State Government collaborate with the Federal Government to improve infrastructure of prisons across the state.”

In his comment, the Comptroller-General of Prisons, Jaafaru Ahmed said an investigative panel has been set up to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the jailbreak.

Daily Post

Video - Anti-tobacco campaigners look to tighten anti-smoking regulations in Nigeria

A new tariff hike to limit tobacco consumption takes effect from today amidst calls for stricter anti smoking laws. Nigeria has already banned smoking in public places but enforcement of the ban has hardly taken effect and its health ministry says tobacco consumption remains as high as 20 billion cigarettes per year.

Video - Bokom Haram ambush kills 5 soldiers in Nigeria

Five soldiers have been killed by improvised explosive devices planted by Boko Haram. A statement from the army said the soldiers ran into the explosives while fighting their way through a Boko Haram ambush.

13 killed by herdsmen in Nigeria

At least 13 people have been killed by gunmen in two separate attacks in central Nigeria’s Benue state, an area that has recently seen a wave of deadly clashes, officials said.

In one attack, attackers, who officials said were armed herdsmen, stormed the Tseadough village in the Kwande area shortly after midnight while people were asleep.

They killed seven people, including women and children, Terdoo Nyor Kenti, a local government leader, told AFP news agency.

"From what I gathered, they opened fire and shot sporadically in all directions which rattled everyone," Kenti said.

"Seven people were killed at the end, six others were injured while the herdsmen also went away with a woman after burning several houses and farmland in the area," he added.

In a separate attack on Sunday, six people were killed in what was described by local residents as cult violence in the twon of Otukpo on Sunday, according to officials.

"I am still expecting a clearer picture about this because the police have deployed their personnel," George Alli, a local official, said.

Disputes over territory in central Nigeria have killed more than 300 people in the past two years. Hundreds of thousands of people have also been displaced.

Al Jazeera

England players also in on the Nigerian 2018 World Cup Kit craze

It seems Nigeria's 2018 World Cup kit is not only a hit among fans - opposition players are also lining up to get their hands on the jersey.

The Super Eagles wore the new Nike kit in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to England at Wembley Stadium, and a Nigeria team official told KweséESPN that several Three Lions players requested and exchanged shirts with the visitors after the game.

Defender William Troost-Ekong was one of those who gave up his shirt, exchanging it with former Tottenham Hotspur academy mate Harry Kane, while Ahmed Musa swapped shirts with Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy.

The Nigeria kit has been in huge demand since it was launched in February. When retail sales opened on June 1, the shirts quickly sold out as fans queued for over two hours in London to purchase them.

In Nigeria, despite a flood of counterfeit shirts having been in the market for at least a month, and the originals being priced at over N30 000 (almost double the country's minimum wage), the shirts have flown off the shelves and demand continues unabated.

Midfielder Ogenyi Onazi tells KweséESPN that he tried to order some for friends and family, but he hit a roadblock: "I wanted to buy for my family and friends that morning, but they said it was out of stock.

Arsenal star Alex Iwobi was just as surprised: "I heard from some of my friends that they tried to buy some but couldn't find it. I don't know if that's good or bad for us."

An email to a NIKE communications representative remains unanswered.

ESPN

Video - England 2-1 Nigeria - Highlights

England's Lions took their preparations for the 2018 World Cup in Russia up a level with an assured performance and win against the Super Eagles of Nigeria. A driven finish from Harry Kane & a powerful header from Gary Cahill cancelled out Alex Iwobi's smart finish.

Tramadol fueling death, despair, and Boko Haram in Nigeria

After a BBC investigation in April showed the extent of codeine addiction in Nigeria, the production of codeine-based cough syrup was banned in Nigeria.

But codeine is not the only opioid scourge spreading across West Africa. Another painkiller, Tramadol, is fuelling widespread addiction - and as the BBC's Stephanie Hegarty found out, it may even be fuelling insurgency in the north-east.

When Mustafa Kolo, 23, takes the bright red pills he feels like he can push a tree. It's like his body isn't his. They obliterate the negative thoughts.

"When I take it, I forget everything," he says.

It's 10:00, Mr Kolo and his friend Modu Mohamed are with their boss, the commander of a vigilante unit set up to protect the city of Maiduguri from Boko Haram.

The young recruits are clearly uncomfortable.

'People have lost everything'

"How many did you take today?" I asked them.

"Today? None," came the reply.

Mr Kolo's eyes are dark and bloody red, he slurs slightly as he talks. Mr Mohamed is listless and distracted. His head is hanging between his bony shoulders.

It's obvious they're lying. The commander steps in and urges them to tell the truth.

"I used to take three to four when I first began taking it. But now I have reduced it to one or half," Mr Kolo says, unwilling to go further.

In this troubled town, thousands of people are addicted to Tramadol - the vigilante fighters, those displaced by the war and even the militants themselves.

The cheap opioid painkiller is meant to be used to treat moderate to acute pain. But, like most opioids, it is addictive - although just how addictive is a matter for debate.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says Tramadol is generally thought to have a "low potential for dependence relative to morphine".

But the epidemic of addiction erupting across West Africa could yet disprove that.

"The problem is really huge," says Marcus Ayuba, head of Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Borno state, bowing his head sadly.

"It's really huge."

Mr Ayuba runs a drug treatment centre in Maiduguri, the state capital where, by his own estimate, one in three young people are addicted to the drug - an epidemic which, he believes, can be traced back to a decade of war.

"People have lost everything," he says. "They are young people who were basically farmers, they've lost their farms, their homes."

"Parents have seen children killed in their presence," he adds.

Mr Ayuba says during counselling, people have told him, "What else can we do? We just want to get out of the world."

But the crisis didn't bring Tramadol to Nigeria. Mr Kolo started taking Tramadol in 2007, two years before the insurgency began.

At first, he says he took it to help him to work. It dulled the pain of physical labour while helping to keep him awake.

But now because of his addiction, he can't get work. Instead he volunteers with the civilian vigilante force.

"It really helps me in fighting Boko Haram," he says. "When I go into the bush, even the way I run, the way I walk, it's different. It gives me strength."

But the enemy too seems to have caught on to this trick.

An army of addicts

A former militant fighter is sitting in a soft, lilac coloured Hawaiian shirt.

The 21-year-old is in the custody of the Nigerian army after running away from Boko Haram in January.

For four years, he lived in a forest camp where there wasn't enough food or water - but there was Tramadol.

"When you are going for a military operation you will be given it to take, otherwise if you take it you will be killed," he says.

"They told us when you take it you will be less afraid - you will be strong and courageous."

The drug was once plentiful, but in the past few months, as the Nigerian army closed in on their camps, supplies became scarce.

Tramadol was reserved only for leaders and those going into battle. The former fighter believes they were all addicted.

The idea of an army of Islamist militants tanked up on opioids and sent out to kill is terrifying, and Mr Ayuba says believes it has contributed to the brutality of this conflict.

"Nobody has the natural will to take someone's life. Drugs are always there to give you the push," he says.

Then there are the women who have escaped from Boko Haram and now find themselves addicted to drugs.

One 16-year-old told him the militants would drug girls when they started crying.

"When she escaped she was looking for something to knock her out," he says.

Smuggled by gangs

At the choked port of Lagos, an officer from the NDLEA orders men to break open a container with a crow bar. Stacked from top to bottom are boxes of an over-the-counter painkiller, but hidden behind them are thousands of packets of Tramadol.

The brand is Super RolmeX. On the packet it says "Made in India, for export only". That is because the dosage - at 225mg - is more than twice what is legal in most countries.

It says it's manufactured for Sintex Technologies Ltd in London, England, but a quick search on the UK companies register online shows that company was dissolved in 2012.

There are six containers and millions of tablets in this shipment alone.

The UN say Tramadol is being smuggled into Africa from South Asia by international criminal gangs, with yearly seizures in sub-Saharan Africa rising from 300kg (661lb)per year to more than three tonnes since 2013, according to a report in December.

So with abuse clearly happening in places like Nigeria, it's hard to understand why Tramadol is scheduled two ranks below oxycontin, morphine or high dosages of codeine by the US.

"It could be that it's a weak opioid," says Dr Eric Stein, an expert in drug abuse.

"At the end of the day the ready availability of stronger opioids make it unnecessary [for those trying to get high]" he says.

"If you're looking to get drunk, do you drink a beer or do shots?"

Religion plays a role

So why is it so prevalent in Nigeria? Firstly it is cheap - in Nigeria it's about $0.05 for 200mg as opposed to about $2.50 in the US, and secondly its ability to help people work. Across Africa, many people rely still on manual labour to get paid.

Mr Ayuba believes religion may have a part to play as well. Alcohol is forbidden in the majority Muslim communities of north-east Nigeria, but there is less of a taboo around prescription drugs.

Despite anecdotal evidence, the WHO has so far resisted putting international controls on its trade.

There are fears limiting access to the drug would cut people off who really need it: it is one of the few painkillers widely available to treat pain for cancer patients.

It can also be brought in pretty easily to crisis and emergency situations, says Gilles Forte, secretary of the group responsible for reviewing Tramadol at the WHO.

"If it's scheduled it becomes difficult to move it from one country to another," he explains.

But as long as it is so freely available the addiction crisis will continue. As it is, Mr Ayuba can only manage a fraction of the cases he is presented with every day.

Though they would like to, the parents of Mustafa Kolo - the young vigilante - cannot afford to send him to the drug treatment centre.

"I used to dream about grandchildren from him. Now, I see that I have lost," says his father.

"All my country has lost, because of what he is doing."

BBC

Video - President Buhari urges Super Eagles to make Nigeria proud at 2018 World Cup

Nigeria's team have met President Muhammadu Buhari. He's wished the Super Eagles good luck, urging them to make Nigerians proud in Russia. The three-time African champions are taking part in the global football showpiece for the sixth time.

Video - Nigerian activists question state's capacity to protect communities

Nigerians have been converging in major cities across the country to mourn thousands of people killed over the past few years. The clashes -- linked to grazing rights and dwindling fertile land -- have raised questions about the government's capacity to protect communities and their property.

Poland to extradite Nigerian to U.S. for $7m online fraud

A yet-to-be identified 27 year-old Nigerian is awaiting extradition by Poland to the United States over an estimated $7m cybercrime.

The Nigerian was arrested by Poland’s police in the southwestern city of Wroclaw in connection with alleged cyberfraud and extortion done over the internet.

The Police Central Bureau of Investigation said in a communique Wednesday that the Nigerian was nabbed as a result of cooperation with the FBI and Interpol, which had circulated a warrant for him. The police raid took him by surprise, the communique said. The man is suspected of banking fraud, extortion and theft of online banking access data.

Vanguard

Human traffickers plan to sell Nigerian women for sex at World Cup in Russia

Human traffickers are planning to exploit relaxed Russian visa controls for next month’s World Cup to sell Nigerian women into sex work, state officials and anti-slavery activists said.

Officials in Nigeria said they had intelligence showing plans were well underway to traffic local women into Russia for the football tournament, exploiting a move by Moscow to let spectators enter the country with just a ticket and a fan pass.

“This is a real present for traffickers,” said Julia Siluyanova of Russian anti-slavery group Alternativa.

She said Russia’s strict visa process had typically made trafficking people into the nation time-consuming and costly and the eased visa rules had now left the system open to abuse.

Many women and girls have been lured from Nigeria in recent years with promises of work and good wages only to end up trapped in debt bondage, and the World Cup could see the number of victims arriving in Russia soar, according to Alternativa.

“We discovered that about 30 victims (Nigerian women) were brought to the Confederations Cup in Moscow last year ... we expect to face the same problem during the World Cup this year,” Siluyanova told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email.

Visa-free entry was trailed at the Confederations Cup and will apply to the entire World Cup, which runs in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15, and the ten days either side.

PLANS AFOOT

Nigeria’s anti-trafficking agency NAPTIP said it had received intelligence that human traffickers were planning to take advantage of the tournament, and that it was working with the Russian embassy in the capital of Abuja to tackle the issue.

“If we alert Nigerians, we disrupt them (traffickers) ... and let them know that these plans are in the works,” said Arinze Orakwu, head of public enlightenment at NAPTIP.

NAPTIP was unable to say how many women were trafficked into Russia, but an official in Nigeria’s Edo state said it was sizeable.

“Women are being trafficked to Russia, and we get returnees back from Russia,” said Yinka Omorogbe, head of Edo’s anti-trafficking task force. “It is not a frequent destination in the same way as Italy is, but we do get a pretty large number.”

Thousands of Nigerian women and girls are lured to Europe each year, making the treacherous sea crossing from Libya to Italy, and trafficked into sex work, the United Nations says.

The number of female Nigerians arriving in Italy by boat surged to more than 11,000 in 2016 from 1,500 in 2014, with at least four in five of them forced into prostitution, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

A spokesman for football’s governing body FIFA said it was committed to ensuring human rights were respected, but that crimes such as human trafficking were the responsibility of local and international authorities.

The Russian government could not be reached for comment.

From the Olympics to the Super Bowl, big sporting events regularly trigger warnings over an influx of sex workers, many of whom are victims of modern slavery, yet experts are split on whether such spectacles actively fuel trafficking.

Reuters

Related story: Video - Nigerian women trafficked to Europe for prostitution at 'crisis level'

President Buhari to reduce minimum age to seek political office in Nigeria to 35

The campaign to reduce the age limit to seek political office in Nigeria is finally about to bear fruit.

On Tuesday (May 29), during a national address to mark “Democracy Day,” president Muhammadu Buhari, 75, confirmed he will assent a bill to reduce the age limits across political offices, including the presidency. Passed by Nigerian lawmakers in July 2017, the “Not Too Young To Run” bill will reduce the presidential age limit from 40 to 35 and, for governorship positions, from 35 to 30. The move is timely too: polls show that Nigerians will prefer to vote for a younger president during next year’s elections.

While lowering the age limit is one thing, getting into political office is quite another and will likely be an arduous journey for young Nigerians. Some of the major hurdles they will have to overcome include the high cost of political campaigns and maneuvering “old boy” establishment networks. But there are numerous advantages to having young people in decision-making positions, chief among them being the formulation and implementation of policies that reflect their generation’s aspirations.

Beyond Nigeria, age limits are a common barrier to young people seeking political office in Africa as only six countries—Guinea, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, eSwatini and South Africa—have the same minimum age limit for voting and seeking office, according to the International Parliamentary Union (IPU). While only 2% of lawmakers(pdf p.7) globally are under the age of 30 even though 51% of the world’s population is under 30, in Africa, the mean stands at 1.2% (pdf p.9). Indeed, high age limits are one reason to explain the reality of old presidents on a continent that is home to the world’s ten youngest countries and with a median age of 19.5.

The success of the “Not Too Young To Run” campaign in Nigeria caps a wave of youth-led advocacy across the continent alongside campaigns such as #FeesMustFall in South Africa and #DumsorMustStop in Ghana. And it’s not just a thing in Africa: last year, Oxford Dictionaries picked “Youthquake”—defined as “a significant cultural, political or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people”—as the word of the year.

Quartz

Video - Nigerians risk lives to reach Europe

Despite the inherent dangers and high death toll, African migrants are still trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean. Looking at Nigeria alone, more than 7,000 of its citizens have been deported from Libya in recent months. CGTN's Deji Badmus has been speaking to one of the migrants who was detained in Libya for some insight into why people are are still braving the odds.

Video - Nigeria held to 1-1 draw with Congo in international friendly

World Cup-bound Nigeria conceded a late penalty and were held to a 1-1 draw by the Democratic Republic of Congo in a friendly in Port Harcourt planned to give them a fitting send-off to next month's tournament in Russia.

Nigeria, who head to Europe to continue their preparations with a game against England on Saturday, took a 15th-minute lead through Dutch-born defender William Troost Ekong.

But they gave away a spot-kick in the 78th minute which striker Ben Malomgo converted for the equaliser.

Nigeria will also play a friendly against the Czech Republic before they head to Russia, where they face Croatia, Iceland and Argentina in Group D.

Times Live

'This is Nigeria' music video goes viral

One of Nigeria's biggest music stars, Falz, released a video this weekend as a cover version of Childish Gambino's viral video, 'This is America.'

The new version is titled 'This is Nigeria,' and it has generated a storm online, including a reaction from hip-hop musician and entrepreneur Diddy, who shared it on his Instagram page, propelling the video to worldwide recognition.

Falz, (real name Folarin Falana) has gained plaudits for tackling social ills in a country where pop stars rarely get political. Musicians tend to avoid political commentary, partly due to an ingrained fear of persecution from the powerful political class.

Revolutionary spirit
Falz's 'This is Nigeria,' embodies the revolutionary and rebel spirit of Fela Anikulapo Kuti before him. Fela Kuti, the pioneer of the Afrobeat genre, was famous for his political activism during the country's era of military dictatorships.

From his records 'International Thief Thief' (ITT) to 'Zombie,' Kuti exhibited a bold defiance against the Nigerian government and other corrupt officials of his time. Fela was a raging supporter of human rights, and his records, - often filled with verbal attacks - were against Nigeria's military government in the 70's. 

It came at a great personal cost to him; he was frequently imprisoned and his mother was thrown off a balcony by an unknown Nigerian soldier during a raid.

After the passing of Fela, his sons Femi and Seun Kuti have carried on some of his activism in their individual music careers, but Afrobeat, as a genre of music has largely become niche. 

Falz is known globally for his comedy-flavored hip hop hits but could he take on the political music mantle and fill the gap left by Fela?

The singer has a law degree and is the son of prominent Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana, so this suggestion is not as far-fetched as it sounds.

 
It is also not the first time that the rapper has included social commentary in his music with previous hits 'Confirm' and 'Child of the World,' so it would appear that the apple does not fall far from the tree, as the saying goes.

Complacent slumber
While the concept for the 'This is Nigeria,' video isn't original, what Falz did was internalize the message, pass it through his own artistic filter and bring it home to Nigeria to highlight the country's numerous social ills. 

Almost as if to awaken Nigerians from their complacent slumber of acceptance. 

"The primary motivation was to trigger an awakening among the Nigerian people about the numerous political and social ills that we constantly face as a country. And more importantly to spark a reaction in the positive direction," says Falz via email.

With the help of stuntmen and extras, Falz walks us step by step through Nigeria's major problems, central to this is what many perceive to be inefficient leadership by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Many believe he has failed to deliver on its promises of improving Nigerian lives and fixing the economy. which slid into a recession two years ago and is slowly starting to emerge out of it.
Nigeria is awash with petrodollars but much of this money does not trickle down to the average man and woman on the street. According to the World Poverty Clock, 82 million of the 180 million population (42.4 percent), live in extreme poverty. 

Other problems include the country's opioid crisis, normalization of insecurity such as frequent Boko Haram bombings and kidnapping of schoolgirls such as the Chibok girls. 

Added to this incendiary mix is the country's strained ethnic and tribal relations, a lack of dependable power supply, poor infrastructure, a trigger-happy police force, the popularity of advance fee fraud, (locally known as Yahoo boys) and exploitation of the citizenry by some clergymen.

A national mirror
The first thing you notice when you watch Falz's 'This is Nigeria,' video is the strongest message contained in the video; Nigeria is a lawless country, guided by a constitution that is treated like an honorary document. 

That's why the first man, dressed in traditional Fulani attire would switch from being a happy musician minding his business, to a murderer in an instant. He abandons his Goje (popularly known as the 'Hausa Guitar) for a machete, and instantly moves towards another helpless citizen who he kills without mercy.

It is this type of imagery that makes the video so powerful. 

This is the first time in the recent history of the local pop scene that an artist with the influence and credibility of Falz has released such material. 

While many commentators in the local space have been quick to dismiss it on the basis of it being a cover version, it doesn't take away from the core message; Nigeria is a flawed country, with multi-faceted problems. 

Falz captures this using cinematic techniques and concludes, just like the source material, by failing to proffer a solution.

Perhaps that is the point he's trying to make. It is a national mirror, created to make Nigeria stare at itself and its problems, one more time.

Falz's 'This is Nigeria' video and its impact has generated conversations around the world, and acts as a reminder of the power behind music, and how it can be used more effectively to inspire change.
It shows that contrary to popular opinion among local talents, there is a demand for conscious music.

Capturing their pain
Many musicians should follow his lead, and create art to reflect the times and the pulse of the people. While there are valid opinions against chasing activism as the sole focus of African music, the ability to balance it out, and create conscious music, while also feeding the people's desire to escape is a crucial skill.

Falz's video suggests that, as Nigeria moves forward, its musicians have a huge responsibility on their shoulders to create art that amplifies the state of the nation, and ultimately improves the society that nurtured them. 

Their music is created for communities that are massively affected by these problems.
Ultimately, it shouldn't only provide leisurely relief. It should capture their pain too.

CNN

Video - Nigeria to play DR Congo as part of World Cup preparations

The Nigerian Super Eagles will be taking on the Democratic Republic of Congo in a friendly match on Monday in the southern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt. The match will help Nigeria prepare for the 2018 World Cup, being held in Russia in a few weeks time. It will also afford Coach, Gernort Rhor, the opportunity to prune down his provisional squad for the global tournament.

Nigeria plans to get serious on income tax collection

Paying income tax used to be a joke in Nigeria which, no wonder, has the worst tax to GDP ratio in sub-Saharan Africa.

As one banking executive put it: “In Nigeria, the government pretends to tax people and people pretend to pay. That’s the Nigerian social contract.” But these days it’s no laughing matter, as an ambitious government scheme designed to make the executive class pay up draws to a close.

Millions of people for the first time are now coughing up taxes as President Muhammadu Buhari’s government conducts one of the country’s most vigorous collection drives in years. The money is desperately needed. Widening Nigeria’s tax base will help boost non-oil revenue in Africa’s largest economy, which is limping out of its worst recession in 25 years. And Nigeria has a long way to go. Its current tax-to-gross domestic product ratio is just 5.9%, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In Lagos alone, there are 6,800 millionaires and 360 multi-millionaires, according to a 2017 report by AfrAsia Bank. But top earners hardly lead by example.

In 2016, just 241 people paid more than 20 million naira ($55,600, 47,400 euros) in personal income taxes, the Nigerian finance ministry reported.

It’s not hard to see why Nigerians would be reluctant to pay tax to fund public services, when there has been no visible return.

Infrastructure in most cities is disintegrating. Roads between states are crumbling. People pay for their own electricity and water.

Endemic corruption is partly to blame, said the Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II, one of Nigeria’s leading Islamic figures who served as central bank governor in the previous administration.

“Improving transparency and public financial management is critical to improving revenues,” he said this week at a meeting of the African Development Bank Group in South Korea. “Make sure the taxes actually get into the government’s pockets and you don’t have all these leakages.”

Though difficult, tax reform isn’t impossible in Nigeria.

Lagos state, home to the country’s commercial capital, has successfully mobilised a tax base whose contributions represent over a third of internally generated revenue collected in all Nigeria’s 36 states, said transparency organisation BudgIT. That has allowed it to finance a growing number of projects, including a cable-stayed bridge linking the upmarket neighbourhoods of Ikoyi and Lekki that is now a city landmark.
Buhari, who is seeking re-election at polls next February, wants to double the tax-to-GDP ratio by 2020.

To do that, his finance minister Kemi Adeosun has followed in the footsteps of Turkey and Indonesia and launched a tax amnesty programme.

The Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) has a two-part strategy.

First, it offers Nigerians a period of grace to regularise their tax affairs or else face a prison term of up to five years, financial penalties and possible forfeiture of assets.
Second, it uses data to link land registry records and tax receipts to root out defaulters.

The government enlisted the help of international asset recovery firm Kroll to troll bureau de change networks, WikiLeaks and even the Panama Papers to identify negligent high net worth individuals.

The programme was launched in June last year, with the government declaring every Thursday “tax awareness day“.

Tax officers were stationed at airports and a massive digital billboard advertising of the scheme flashed over the Lekki bridge toll gate in Lagos — a not-so-subtle threat to the denizens of the affluent suburb. In May, Adeosun — a former chartered accountant and auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London — said Nigeria’s tax base had risen from 14-million people in 2016 to 19 million in 2018.

But Adeosun’s promise to “name, shame and prosecute” defaulters lost some bite after the government pushed back the closing date by three months, from March 31 to June 30.

Still, those familiar with the programme say that it is well on track to deliver on its target of more than one billion dollars.

That amount may be modest but it’s a step in the right direction, said Yomi Olugbenro, West Africa tax specialist at Deloitte in Lagos. There’s something to be said for launching the scheme, which “definitely has more people talking about taxation“, he said. The key is to make sure the amnesty programme is built upon in the future and isn’t just a once-off windfall. Otherwise Nigerians will revert to old habits.

“It’s a chicken and egg thing,” Olugbenro said. “The government will tell you, ‘We need the money to provide all things that aren’t there’. “Taxpayers are saying, ‘I need to be convinced’.”

Times Live

Video - Bata's entry to the shoe market in Nigeria

It may be Africa's most populous country, and home to its one of its largest economies, but the global shoemaker Bata is not keen on investing in local manufacturing plant in Nigeria. That's according to the company's Chief Marketing Officer, Thomas Bata. The company had production hubs in Kenya and South Africa, which can produce at least 30 million pairs of shoes, each year. Here he is explaining the firm's approach to the West African economy.

Video - Conflict in northern Nigeria partly linked to climate change

The African Union's Peace and Security Council is due to discuss the link between climate change and conflict in Africa. The problem's particularly acute in Nigeria, and has been blamed for the growing deadly conflict between herders and farmers, in recent months.

Survivors of Boko Haram starved and raped by Nigerian military

Shortly after Halima* arrived at a displacement camp in northeast Nigeria, a soldier approached her offering chicken and yams. Halima recognised him as one of the men who had beaten her husband and taken him into detention. For days, she had barely eaten so she accepted the food out of desperation. When the soldier returned demanding sex in exchange for the food, Halima was too scared to say "no".

"The soldiers are kings. When you see them, everybody is afraid", said Halima, who arrived at the Bama Hospital camp in late 2015. "They decide, they say nobody should complain. So, I did what he wanted."

Halima is one of thousands of women who, after surviving the brutal rule of the armed group Boko Haram, found themselves trapped in a nightmarish system of sexual violence and exploitation at the hands of the Nigerian military.

A new report by Amnesty International, "They Betrayed Us", documents the plight of women who were forced from their homes, separated from their husbands and confined to remote "satellite camps" in the northeast of Nigeria.

With hunger rife in the camps, military personnel and the militia members working with them used their authority and access to food and other basic necessities to coerce women into sex, which amounts to rape under international law. The soldiers sometimes used force if the women resisted.

Hauwa* told us she was raped on several occasions by a militia member after arriving at Bama Hospital Camp. She described being hemmed in by sexual violence and starvation.

"I arrived with 130 other women and children [in early 2016]. Hunger and thirst [killed] 58 from our group in the first four months," Hauwa said.

"You'll see a military man with food in the hand and he'd say, 'If you like me, take this food'. If you accept the food, later, he'd come back to you to have intercourse. If you refuse, he'd rape you [using physical force]."

Amnesty International has collected evidence that thousands of people have starved to death in these camps, mostly in late 2015 and in 2016. Almost half of the women we spoke to in one camp, Bama Hospital camp, said that one or more of their children had died.

While the daily deaths have now abated as humanitarian assistance has scaled up, many women are still restricted from leaving the camps and sometimes go days without food. In these conditions, sexual exploitation has thrived.

Since 2012, when Boko Haram started attacking civilians in northeast Nigeria, Amnesty International has repeatedly denounced abuses carried out by the armed group, which has committed massacres, launched car bomb and gun attacks in cities and abducted thousands of people.

But the crimes committed by Boko Haram must not blind the outside world to the widespread abuses carried out by the Nigerian military, which is responsible for arbitrary detention, torture and thousands of unlawful killings.

Rape and sexual violence are just one of the numerous injustices women have faced at the hands of the military. They described their villages being burned down in military operations and being ordered to leave, and being starved and beaten in the camps while their husbands and sons were detained.

Treated with suspicion by soldiers simply because they lived under Boko Haram's control, hundreds of women and girls were also detained and transferred to military detention facilities such as the Giwa barracks, where Amnesty International has documented the deaths of at least 37 women and children since 2015 due to the appalling conditions.

"They asked us women where our husbands were, then they flogged us with sticks. They beat my children and said they are Boko Haram children ... I was pregnant at the time," said 25-year-old Zara, who spent two years in Giwa barracks with her children, and gave birth unassisted in an overcrowded cell.

Some women detained for being so-called "Boko Haram wives" told us that they had been abducted by the armed group and forcibly married to a member. During subsequent military interrogations, they were beaten into silence as they tried to explain this to the soldiers.

For too long, Nigeria's allies - including the United States and the UK - have been content to condemn the terrible crimes committed by Boko Haram while giving the Nigerian military a free pass. Even UN humanitarian agencies working on the ground, where abuses are often committed in plain sight, have done little to challenge the confinement of women to militarised camps and the outrageous levels of sexual violence perpetrated by security forces within them.

Last year, the acting president of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, established a Presidential Investigation Panel to review the army's compliance with human rights obligations, but so far there has been no action and the situation for women in the camps remains bleak.

Yet, against all odds, these women bravely continue their fight for justice including the return of their husbands and sons. In September 2017, hundreds of displaced women lined the streets waiting to tell their stories to the president's investigation panel. They had drawn up lists of their loved ones in detention, or of those who died in the camps.

As one of these women told us, "This has happened to us. It cannot be undone now. But the government should recognise it. They should know how we suffered and how we died. They should make sure it does not happen again."

* Names were changed to protect the women' identities.

Al Jazeera

Video - Nigeria awards rail construction contract to Chinese company

The Nigerian government has awarded a six-point-seven billion dollar contract to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. This is for work on a major segment of a railway linking the country's commercial hub Lagos and Kano in the north. When completed, the line is expected to effectively link the country's south to the north via rail and boost commercial activities.

Nigerian army accused of raping women rescued from Boko Haram

Women and girls who have fled terrorist group Boko Haram are being raped by Nigerian soldiers, starved and forced to exchange food for sex, according to claims in a new report by human rights group Amnesty International. 

Thousands of these women have died because of lack of food in camps for internally displaced people in Nigeria's northeast after they were rescued from Boko Haram, Amnesty says.
In the report titled "They betrayed us," it is alleged that five women said they were raped by soldiers in late 2015 and early 2016 in a displacement camp in Bama, Borno state.

'Boko Haram wives'
Women interviewed by Amnesty said they were beaten and called "Boko Haram wives" by security officials whenever they complained about their treatment. 

The report says that members of the Nigerian military and a local vigilante group Civilian Joint Task Force (Civilian JTF) "separated women from their husbands and confined them in remote 'satellite camps' where they were raped, sometimes in exchange for food."

Ten women in the Bama camp told Amnesty they were forced to date security officials to get food. One woman said a member of the JTF vigilante group raped her after he brought her food, telling her: "I gave you these things, if you want them, we have to be husband and wife." 

"Sex in these highly coercive circumstances is always rape, even when physical force is not used, and Nigerian soldiers and civilian JTF members have been getting away it," Osai Ojigho, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria said. 

"They act like they don't risk sanction, but the perpetrators and their superiors who have allowed this to go unchallenged have committed crimes under international law and must be held to account."

Deadly terror group
Boko Haram, described as the third deadliest terror group by the Global Terrorism Index, has unleashed waves of brutal attacks across parts of northern Nigeria, bombing schools, churches and mosques and kidnapping women and children in a conflict that spans nearly a decade. 

The conflict has killed thousands of people and also internally displaced two million people, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

However, the Nigerian army claims it has technically defeated Boko Haram and retaken territories seized by the militant group in the northeast.

Members of its troops recently rescued 1,000 hostages, mostly women and children, from the militant's camps in Borno State, it said.

Hundreds of women along with their children have been held in overcrowded centers in northern Nigeria since 2015.

Amnesty said it had collected evidence that thousands of people have starved to death in displacement camps since 2015.

In the report, the women alleged that 15 to 30 people died each day between 2015 and 2016 due to lack of food in these camps.

The human rights group said satellite images of an expanding graveyard in one of the camps during the time confirmed their testimonies. 

In a 2016 report, another rights group, Human Rights Watch, said it had documented 43 cases of sexual violence against women by soldiers in displacement camps in northern Nigeria, forcing the Nigeria government to investigate.

Propaganda
Nigerian army spokesman John Agim denied the allegations in the Amnesty report, branding them "propaganda." 

He said the army hasn't been deployed to displacement camps, which he said are run by the police, local vigilante groups and NGOs. "I wonder where Amnesty interviewed women who said they saw soldiers in these camps hoarding food and raping women?" Agim asked.

Agim accused the human rights group of republishing claims that had been investigated by the Nigerian government and had been found to be false. 

"Amnesty wrote the same allegations in a report in 2015 and it was investigated then and found not to be true. Why are they presenting them in 2018 after investigations? It is all propaganda and when they continue to propagate these reports, it assumes the property of truth when its not refuted," Agim told CNN.

"Amnesty does not want our war against terrorism to finish; the Nigerian military maintains this position," he said. "Their reports on human right violations is to stop the selling of weapons to the Nigerian military by the American government and others and that approach is not working."
"The Nigerian army just rescued 1,000 Boko Haram captives, that is a good development, why is it not reflected in the report if they are being fair?" Agim added.

Broken promises
For it's part, Amnesty said there has been "no tangible action to address the problem and no one appeared to have been brought to justice," despite promises by the Nigerian government to investigate reports of alleged abuse in these camps since 2015.

"It is absolutely shocking that people who had already suffered so much under Boko Haram have been condemned to further horrendous abuse by the Nigerian military," Amnesty's Ojigho, said. 

The organization called on the Nigerian government to make public the findings from a panel investigating the military's compliance with human rights provisions set up by Vice President Yemi Osibanjo.

Many women had testified before the panel whose report was submitted to Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari in February, the human rights group said.

"Now is the time for President Buhari to demonstrate his frequently expressed commitment to protect the human rights of displaced people in north-east Nigeria. The only way to end these horrific violations is by ending the climate of impunity in the region and ensuring that no one can get away with rape or murder," Ojigho added. 

"The Nigerian authorities must investigate or make public their previous investigations on war crimes and crimes against humanity in the northeast," she added.

'Lacking credibility'
The Nigerian government told CNN the military had found cases of abuse in these camps during the period mentioned in Amnesty's report in 2015, countering the army spokesman's claims that the allegations were investigated and found not to be true.

"Over this period of time, the Nigerian military had indeed established cases of abuse and punishments meted out from orderly room trials and court martials that included the losses of rank, dismissals, and trials and convictions by civil courts," Garba Shehu, a spokesman for the president, told CNN.

However, Shehu echoed the Army spokesman's claims and accused Amnesty of "recycling" claims from a previous report. 

Amnesty's report lacked "credibility, falling vehemently short of evidential narration," from victims by failing to address mechanisms put in place by the military and the president's panel after similar allegations were published in 2015, he said. 

The Nigerian government was committed to investigating "all documented cases of human rights abuses," Shehu added.

CNN

Nigeria's Ogoniland residence desperate for clean water

In the Ogoni region, 90 percent of the underground water is not fit for human use because of oil pollution. A big clean-up is under way in Ogoniland, but local communities say they have already become victims of water contamination.

Video - Rising debt in Nigeria

The International Monetary Fund has warned The financial body attributes the risk to heavy borrowing and gaping deficits despite overall economic growth. The assessment comes as African countries continue to tap international debt markets and issue record levels of debt in foreign currencies, spurred on by insatiable investor demand for yields. 

According to the IMF's findings, African governments issued a record 7.5 billion dollars in sovereign bonds last year - which is 10 times more than in 2016 - and they plan to issue over $11 billion dollars in additional debt in the first half of 2018 alone.

Bodo villages dispute with Shell over oil spills in Nigeria back in UK court

Lawyers for the Bodo community in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta, which was devastated by two major oil spills a decade ago, went to court in London on Tuesday to fend off what they said was an attempt by Shell to kill off their litigation.

The Bodo oil spills have been the subject of years of legal wrangling. In 2015, Shell accepted liability for the spills, agreeing to pay 55 million pounds ($83 million at the time) to Bodo villagers and to clean up their lands and waterways.

Oil spills, sometimes due to vandalism, sometimes to corrosion, are common in the Niger Delta, a vast maze of creeks and mangrove swamps criss-crossed by pipelines and blighted by poverty, pollution, oil-fuelled corruption and violence.

The spills have had a catastrophic impact on many communities where people have no other water supply than the creeks and rely on farming and fishing for survival.

At the same time, oil companies have run into problems trying to clean up spills, sometimes because of obstruction and even violence by local gangs trying to extract bigger payouts, or to obtain clean-up contracts.

After years of delays, the clean-up in Bodo is currently underway and litigation in the London High Court is stayed, or on hold.

Lawyers for SPDC, the Nigerian arm of Shell, argued on Tuesday that the litigation should be struck off in October 2018, or at the latest a year later, and that it should only be re-activated if SPDC failed to comply with its obligation to pay for the clean-up.

Lawyers for the Bodo community said that was unacceptable, because the clean-up could go wrong for any number of reasons and that under Shell’s proposal the villagers would be left without the recourse of going back to court.

“The effect of what Shell is trying to do is to kill off the case,” said Dan Leader, the Bodo community’s lead lawyer, on the sidelines of the hearing. “It’s only because of the pressure of litigation that the clean-up is getting back on track.”

But Shell’s lawyers, citing an earlier judgment, compared the stayed litigation to a “gun in the cupboard” that the Bodo community’s lawyers wanted to be able to hold to Shell’s head at their convenience, for years on end.

They said the litigation was a hindrance to the clean-up because it gave some local community members the impression that there was still the possibility of a bigger payout, incentivising them to block the clean-up rather than cooperate.

“The previous persistent delays to the clean-up process clearly demonstrate that litigating Nigerian oil spill cases in the English courts does little to resolve the complex underlying security and community issues which can frustrate attempts to clean up areas impacted by oil pollution,” an SPDC spokeswoman said.

“We hope that the community will continue to grant the access needed for clean-up to progress as planned.”

A judgment on the litigation issues is expected on Friday.

Reuters

Leaked audio - Nigerian Professor gives student ultimatum of sex or fail

When Monica Osagie got low marks in a course for her master's degree, she says the professor gave her two options: Sleep with him, or fail the class.

Faced with this stark choice, Osagie says she knew no one would believe her word against the lecturer's, so she recorded one of their conversations using a cell phone app.

 
The audio recording was leaked online and went viral on social media. Osagie says she did not leak it but had submitted it to university authorities before it surfaced online.

The student's allegations, coming amid the conversations around the global #Metoo movement, have now sparked a nationwide conversation in Nigeria about predatory sexual behavior on campuses and bolstered the notion that sexual harassment is a problem women the world over face almost every day.

In the recording, a man can be heard saying that if the student agreed to have sex with him five times, he would improve her grades.

CNN

Video- Nigerian doctors' strike cripples service delivery in public hospitals

A strike by Nigerian health workers is in its fourth week with no end in sight. It's crippled service delivery in government hospitals. The health ministry has now directed managers to start an attendance register, and staff who don't turn up for their shifts could be penalized. Employees across the healthcare sector are calling for higher salaries and improved working conditions.

Medical doctor turned hacker says hacking into Nigerian banks is very easy

A medical doctor turned international hacker, who has been on the Police wanted list, Michael Thompson Williams, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command.

Michael, who boasted of his escapades as a hacker, took a swipe at the Nigerian banking system, describing it as the easiest to hack, including government-owned account.

The 28-year-old suspect mentioned an American leading Hollywood actor, John Travolta, as one of his prey, revealing that his (Travolta) account was being monitored through a programmed device, where cash running into millions of US dollars were diverted weekly.

During preliminary investigation, it was discovered that the suspect, who has mastery of the cyber café environment, created credit cards of deceased foreigners through cyber Ghost 12. When the credit cards matures, it would be funded through a hacked Swiss account and then any transaction done by genuine accounts owner through Swiss account would be manipulated by the suspect and wired to his contrived credit card. 

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, paraded the suspect before journalists yesterday. After a successful transaction, the suspect as gathered would buy posh cars, sending fake alerts to the owners. The bubble burst in March after he bought a Porche car worth N28 million from a car dealer in Lagos and sent him a fake alert before making away with the car. 

However, on getting to the bank to collect the money, the car dealer, Abidogun Adewale, discovered to his shock that no amount was paid. Asked how that was possible, the suspect said he used HTTPtunnel.com to send such fake alert. 

He disclosed that during such payment, the amount would appear on the seller’s account at that moment, even if he visited his bank to confirm the payment, adding that it would disappear after one hour. Three of the vehicles he bought through such process were traced to Asaba, Delta State, and Owerri, Imo State. The number plates on the three vehicles read HRM OGUEZI 1, II and III, respectively.

Vanguard

Video - Nigeria Dambe Boxing

And now to something that's not your usual boxing format, at least not following the usual rules of amateur or professional boxing. And it's not for the fainthearted either.

Changing tactics of Boko Haram in Nigeria

In West Africa, the Nigerian military is warning about the changing tactics of the militant group, Boko Haram. The group now seems to be targeting elderly members of society for its suicide attack missions. Earlier this week, a senior male citizen, suspected of being a member of Boko Haram, detonated an explosive device killing himself and three other people.

Video - Nigeria chief coach Salisu confident of good show in 2018 FIFA World Cup

The Nigerian national football will play their last friendly match at home to the Democratic Republic of Congo next week. CGTN's Kelechi Emekalam sat down with the team's head coach, Salisu Yusuf, and she started by asking him about their opponents, including Argentina.

Video - Cleaning up the oil industry’s past mistakes in Nigeria

For decades multi-national companies and the Nigerian government have earned billions of dollars in oil revenues. But oil exploration often led to exploitation of local communities and damage to the environment. Now a big clean-up initiative is under way. Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris is in the Niger Delta to see if a government-backed project can make a difference.

Nigeria 2018 World Cup kit enjoying huge demand

Nigeria announced on Thursday that the national team's new 2018 kit line had hit a record three million pre-orders, far outstripping anything that preceded it.

While this was the first time such official sales figures have been announced, it's clearly a number that leaves everything else in its wake.

Such high demand for a Nigeria kit is unprecedented, but NFF Vice President Shehu Dikko explained that they the federation were informed at a meeting with Nike on Thursday that the novel, throwback design was behind the broad appeal.

"They told us Nigeria is their best selling kit due to the uniqueness," Dikko told KweséESPN, "so it appeals to everyone both from a sporting and fashion point of view."

The VP was also quick to end any scepticism about the validity of the figures.

"The three million are not actual sales but orders placed by all of their stores across the world," Dikko added. "These orders will not be delivered at once, but probably over the lifespan of the jerseys, which have a cycle of about two years.

"They cannot produce without orders, and some of these orders may not be delivered until next year," he continued, "but the stores have placed them now to ensure they have consistent supply and don't run out of stock."

It's been nearly three months since the kit reveal, and frustration has grown among Nigerians who have been unable to purchase the attire, especially with less than a month to the World Cup.

ESPN