Thursday, May 31, 2018
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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