Armed Men Release Dozens of Worshippers Kidnapped in Northwest Nigeria

Nigerian police said 43 people who were abducted from a mosque in northwestern Zamfara state have been released, while one died in captivity after being tortured. Police say they are still searching for armed men responsible, who disguised themselves as fellow worshippers when they invaded the mosque last week during Friday prayers.

Zamfara State Police spokesperson Mohammed Shehu confirmed to VOA in a phone call Thursday the release of the abductees.

He said police authorities have deployed officers around the state to prevent more attacks from taking place. Shehu did not comment, though, on whether a ransom was paid to secure their release of the abductees.

"They were released,” Shehu said. “We have deployed our operatives everywhere, and they're working tirelessly to ensure that we contain the activity of armed banditry and kidnapping."

The worshippers were kidnapped on September 2 as they gathered for the weekly juma'at prayer in the village of Zugu.

Gunmen disguised as fellow worshippers invaded the mosque, shot sporadically and herded them into the bush.

Relatives and local residents of the Zugu village said they jointly raised and paid the kidnappers the equivalent of $12,000, and they also gave them many gallons of petrol before the captives were released.

Saidu Umar, a relative of one of the released abductees, said that initially the abductors asked for about $82,000, or 35 million naira.

But, Umar said, residents bargained and gave the abductors 5 million naira, and the worshippers were then released. Umar said some of the captives were wounded and unable to walk, so the residents went to the mosque with motorbikes to carry them away.

Nigerian authorities have been trying to stem violence and kidnapping in the country’s northwestern and central states for years and strongly oppose making ransom payments.

Deployment of troops in the affected regions has stretched security forces thin. But the government said it is making some progress. In March, authorities said air bombardments that lasted three days killed more than 200 bandits in Niger State.

Last month, the Nigerian Air Force said another 55 bandits were killed across central and northwestern states.

However, Patrick Agbambu, founder of Security Watch Africa Initiatives, said authorities cannot rest on previous victories.

"Crime business is a dynamic business. It changes forms at any given time,” Agbambu said. “While you're recording some success, the criminals are trying to devise other means to outwit you, so as we celebrate these successes it also calls for more vigilance from the security agencies."

Agbambu also said citizens must take caution against paying ransom to kidnappers.

"Nobody wants to experience such,” he said. “I understand the desperation of the relatives of these victims in wanting to pay ransom, but the more ransoms are paid, the more kidnapping or abduction will continue because it becomes a lucrative business."

For now, the released abductees will try to recover from their experience, while the village and authorities remain more vigilant.

By Timothy Obiezu 

VOA

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Nigeria seizes donkey penises to be smuggled to Hong Kong

Nigerian officials have seized thousands of donkey penises that were about to be exported to Hong Kong, an official said on Thursday.

Sacks of the donkey male genitals were seized at the international airport in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, Sambo Dangaladima, the Nigeria Customs Service area commander, told reporters.

The consignment was “falsely declared … as cow male genitals (but) after due examination, my export officers discovered they were donkey male genitals,” said Dangaladima. A total of 16 sacks of the genitals were seized, he said.

An investigation has been launched to find out more information about the seized items, the customs service said.

Although the seizure of donkey genitals meant for export from Nigeria is rare, donkey skins are known to be frequently exported or smuggled out of the country. In July, the Nigerian customs seized $116,000 worth of donkey skins being smuggled into the country from neighboring Niger.

Nigeria is trying to curb the export of donkey skins which has drastically diminished the country’s population of the work animals, particularly in the north. Nigerian senators in 2021 proposed to ban the killing of donkeys and the export of their skins.

The lawmakers said such a ban on killing donkeys would further curb the export of donkey skins and genitals — which Nigeria prohibits — to countries like China where the skins are used in popular traditional medicines. That proposed legislation has not yet been passed into law.

“The major beneficiary in this trade is the donkey (skin) merchants in China,” Muhammad Datti, one of the federal lawmakers supporting the proposed ban, has said. “This animal is facing extinction (in Nigeria) and it is an animal you cannot breed in large numbers because of the very low rate of fertility.”

By Chinedu Asadu

AP

Related stories: Smuggling booms despite Nigeria border closure

Video - Will Nigeria's ban on foreign models help bolster local talent?

Nigeria has become the first country in the world to announce a ban on foreign models and voiceover actors in advertisements. The move, which takes effect on October 1st, is intended to bolster homegrown talent and the local economy, according to the country's advertising regulatory council. Foreign faces are a common sight in Nigerian advertisements, and voiceovers often feature British accents. But proponents of the ban say there has been a cultural shift among young Nigerians who want to see more representation on-screen and on-air. Steve Babaeko, the president of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, explained: "People will tell you, 'There are about 200 million of us. Are you telling me you could not find indigenous models for this commercial?'" Reactions remain mixed. Many Nigerians support the idea of seeing more of their countrymen and women on the air. But some worry that the ban will inspire other countries to enact similar protectionist measures. In this episode of The Stream, we'll talk to industry experts about the ban and its intentions, why a change is needed and if the strategy will work.

Al Jazeera

Poland signs with Nigeria to replace Russian gas

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has become the first leader in the Eastern European country’s history to ever visit Nigeria since the two nations established diplomatic ties some 60 years ago. It was no mere courtesy visit.

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and western sanctions that followed, the rouble went into a free fall. In a bid to save its currency, Russia, Europe’s largest gas supplier, insisted that all purchases must be made in rouble, a demand that Poland has rejected.

Poland eventually terminated its contract with Russia. With Europe now facing an energy crisis due to Moscow’s decision to slash oil and natural gas exports, energy prices have gone through the roof and sent the cost of living soaring across Europe.

Poland, consequently, has turned to Nigeria, already one of its gas suppliers, to increase its LNG shipments.

Speaking through an interpreter during a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, President Duda noted that Nigeria, being rich in gas, will ensure a steady increase of LNG supply to Poland and to the EU.

“The Russian aggression against Ukraine, which is totally unjustified, has sparked off a very serious food crisis and a very serious energy crisis,” he says.

“Nigeria is indeed very wealthy. And I want to add that the first supplies of the LNG gas to our LNG gas terminal from Nigeria had already happened, just like the import of crude oil performed by our oil company Latos.

“Those shipments did happen in recent years. And that means well for the future, because we do want to further develop this cooperation. We want to increase the supplies from Nigeria to Poland. And in this way, we also want to contribute to the development of economic relations between both our countries,” he adds.

EU lobbies Nigeria

President Duda’s overtures were not a one-off. Back in May, the Deputy Director-General of the EU’s Energy Department, Matthew Baldwin, said the 27-country bloc needed additional gas supplies from Nigeria amid cuts from Russia, which before the war provided around 40% of Europe’s gas needs.

“The EU imports 14 percent of its total LNG supplies from Nigeria and there is potential to more than double this,” Baldwin told Reuters. “If we can get up to beyond 80 percent, at that point, there might be additional LNG that could be available for spot cargoes to come to Europe.”

Can Nigeria deliver?

It remains to be seen whether Nigeria, whose economy is badly battered, would be able to meet the demand with a violence-hit energy sector, plagued with unprecedented crude oil thefts by militants in the Niger Delta.

But Nigeria’s Oil Minister Timipre Sylva has high hopes that his country could turn into one of the major gas suppliers of Europe, urging the EU to increase investments in the Nigerian oil sector.

“We are positioning ourselves to be an alternative supplier to Europe,” he says. “We are already working with Algeria to build the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline that is going to take our gas all the way to Europe.

“We are also having a partnership with Morocco to extend the West Africa Gas Pipeline to Morocco and across the Mediterranean to Europe. We believe that Europe needs this gas and it is a win-win for all of us and it is in their interest to reduce these discriminatory investments that their banks are doing.”

Investment banker and economist Adetilewa Adebajo believes that Nigeria could indeed meet some of the vast European demand if there is the political will.

Speaking to The Africa Report, the managing director of the Lagos-based Corporate Finance Group highlights that Nigeria had recorded some successes in the oil and gas sector, particularly LNG which recorded an additional $8bn investment for the expansion of the seventh train.

“Investments of this nature could be replicated across the gas sector in Nigeria, in particular to drive power generation,” he says.

By Eniola Akinkuotu

The Africa Report

Nigeria dominates as Google supports 60 African startups

Speaking at the event, the Head of Startup Ecosystem, Sub-Saharan Africa, Folarin Aiyegbusi, said “Africa is a diverse continent with massive opportunity but the continent is faced with the challenge of limited diversity in venture capital funding flow. We hope that the Black Founders Fund program will be able to bridge the gap of disproportionate funding between expat startups over local and black-led companies.”

Google has said that 60 African startups have been selected for the second cohort of the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund for Africa with $4m funding.

The global firm said this on Tuesday during the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund 2022 winner announcement in Abuja.

It was disclosed that Nigeria dominates the selection list, which features 23 Nigerian startups.

Other countries benefitting from this funding programme include Kenya with 12 grantees, Rwanda with six grantees, South Africa with five grantees, Uganda with four grantees, among others.

It was disclosed that each of the selected startups will get support in the form of a six-month training programme that includes access to a network of mentors to assist in tackling unique challenges.

In addition to being a part of tailored workshops, support networks and community building sessions, the 60 grantees will also get non-dilutive awards of $50,000 and $100,000 and up to $200,000 in Google Cloud credit.

It was disclosed that fund will be distributed through Google’s implementation partner, CcHUB.

Speaking at the event, the Head of Startup Ecosystem, Sub-Saharan Africa, Folarin Aiyegbusi, said “Africa is a diverse continent with massive opportunity but the continent is faced with the challenge of limited diversity in venture capital funding flow. We hope that the Black Founders Fund program will be able to bridge the gap of disproportionate funding between expat startups over local and black-led companies.”

Also speaking at the event was the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa, who said that the recently passed Nigeria Startup Bill by the National Assembly will help to institutionalise legal frameworks that will enhance startup growth in Nigeria.

Opinion Nigeria