Wednesday, September 8, 2021

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

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

CNN

Friday, September 3, 2021

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



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

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

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

Schools in Nigerian state shut after mass kidnapping of students by gunmen

Schools in Nigeria's northwestern Zamfara State have been ordered closed after scores of students were kidnapped by gunmen on Wednesday.


At least 73 students were abducted from a state-run high school in Zamfara's Maradun district, local police said in a statement, adding that the high school was targeted by "armed bandits."
"The abduction followed the invasion of the school by a large number of armed bandits," according to Zamfara State Police Command.


"A search and rescue team has been deployed to work with the military to locate and rescue the abducted children... Security has also been beefed up at Kaya Village and environ to forestall further attacks on the communities," the statement added.


Zamfara's Information Commissioner, Ibrahim Dosara, told CNN on Thursday that schools in the state have been closed down to avoid further attacks.


"We have closed primary and secondary schools in the state," Dosara said, adding "but schools currently writing examinations are asked to stay behind until they finish their examinations... Heavy security presence will be provided to protect those writing exams."


The latest kidnapping comes days after 91 schoolchildren earlier abducted in north-central Niger State were released by their captors after thousands of dollars were paid by their families as ransom.
Peter Hawkins, UNICEF's representative in Nigeria told CNN the Zamfara kidnapping "highlights the fragility of education and security" in the state.


"The bandits have reached a stage now where all schools in Zamfara state have been closed down through their actions. The impact this will have on children who want to learn will be profound — not only on those 73 children whose lives are at stake for purposes of extortion, but for all children in Zamfara who are prevented from being able to go to school and learn," said Hawkins, who added that an estimated 1.3 million Nigerian children have been affected by frequent raids on schools by gunmen.
Kidnapping for ransom has become one of the major security challenges in Nigeria, with Zamfara and other neighbouring northwestern states being hit with several mass kidnappings this year.


Prominent among the string of kidnappings in Zamfara was the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in the town of Jangebe in February. The students have since been freed, with authorities insisting no ransom was paid to secure their release.


Between June 2011 and the end of March 2020, an estimated $18.34 million was paid in ransoms, Lagos-based SBM Intelligence said in a report last year titled "The economics of the kidnap industry in Nigeria."


Amnesty International has described this latest incident in Zamfara as "disturbing," saying in a tweet that "attacks on schools and abductions of children are war crimes."


"The children abducted are in serious risk of being harmed. Nigerian authorities must take all measures to return them to safety," Amnesty added. 

By Nimi Princewill and Sarah Dean 

CNN 

Related stories: Gunmen release some students in northern Nigeria months after kidnapping

Bandits release 15 students after parents pay ransom

Kidnapped Nigeria Chibok girl free after seven years

Wednesday, September 1, 2021



The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is considering an initial public offer of its shares after declaring profit for the first time in its 44 years of operation in the 2020 financial year. This comes after President Muhammadu Buhari, signed into law the Petroleum Industry Act, which enables the state-owned oil giant to offer its shares to the public. Listing of NNPC's shares will draw on the experience of the Saudi Arabian oil giant, Aramco, which listed its shares in 2019. The news of the proposed sales of NNPC shares to the public and its subsequent listing on the Nigerian exchange limited is expected to help improve transparency and accountability at the oil firm which had been bedeviled with large scale corruption.

Nigeria and Russia Sign Military Cooperation Agreement

The Nigerian Embassy in Moscow announced last week the signing of a legal framework agreement that would provide for Russia to supply Nigeria with military equipment and training. The Agreement on Military-Technical Cooperation also provides for “after-sales services, training of personnel in respective educational establishments, and technology transfer.” Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly raised the possibility of such an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2019.

Media sees the agreement as related to U.S. congressional hesitancy to authorize the sale to Nigeria of certain military equipment because of human rights concerns. Indeed, ​Nigerian desire to buy such materiel—and American reluctance to sell, often on human rights grounds—is a perennial irritant to the bilateral relationship. Nigeria already uses military equipment from Russia and other military suppliers as well as the United States.

The just-signed agreement is a legal framework only; Nigeria has not entered into a new agreement actually to make new purchases. With respect to Nigeria, Russia is likely to be “transactional”—can its companies make money? Any accompanying increase in political influence Moscow will regard as a secondary dividend. 

By John Campbell 

CFR