Nigeria’s Senate is trying to take the initiative in curbing a relentless wave of armed militia assaults in the north. Recent violence left communities shattered, families displaced, and a cloud of fear looming large. Benue State, in Nigeria's North-Central region bore a significant brunt of the attacks.
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Nigeria considering state policing to combat growing insecurity
Nigeria’s military on Tuesday said troops have rescued 16 abductees in northwest Kaduna state after exchanging fire with insurgents who attacked a local community on Sunday night — one of two kidnap attacks in the area over the weekend.
According to a military statement posted on X, troops responded to a tip about the operation Sunday night of nonstate armed groups in the Tantatu community in Kajuru district.
The military said the attackers had taken several hostages before they arrived, exchanged fire with them and saved 16 of the abductees.
According to local media reports, 87 people, including women and children, went missing from the Sunday attack — barely 24 hours after gunmen captured 16 people from their homes in Dogon Noma, another community in Kajuru.
The army said troops are still searching the forests for missing people. The latest string of kidnappings in Nigeria in recent weeks is stoking fears of rising insecurity.
Security analyst Chidi Omeje says worsening economic problems and lack of governance in remote areas are to blame.
"These guys are becoming more audacious because they see the window of opportunity, and they're just exploiting it,” Omeje said. “It's very obvious that the response of the security government and security agencies are not effective enough to contain these infractions. But these are just the symptoms. The real issue here is the growing poverty and despondency in the people."
The deterioration of security in Africa's largest country comes amid a worsening economic crisis.
Kaduna state has been a hot spot of recent incidents. Just over a week ago, 287 school students were abducted in the state, and days later, another 61 residents were also kidnapped.
The latest incidents prompted authorities last week to order the establishment of a mobile police force base in the state.
But security analyst Kabir Adamu said what is needed the most is a change of strategy.
"There are gaps within the security architecture,” Adamu said. “The farther away you go from the city center, the bigger the gaps. It shows clearly that protection, especially in the rural areas, is almost nonexistent for the dwellers."
Kaduna is home to many military training institutions and installations.
Omeje said authorities need to revise the deployment of police officers to where they're needed the most. He said that there are many ungoverned areas while 60% of the nation’s police are devoted to VIP protection.
“Ten percent or so are in administration in the offices, then you're left with about 30% doing the real policing work,” Omeje said. “We have to be intentional about going back to the normal internal security structure."
President Bola Tinubu, who is implementing bold economic reforms, vowed last year to address insecurity if he was elected president.
On March 14, 16 soldiers, including high ranking officers, were killed and decapitated in southern Delta state. They were on a mission to quell conflict between two communities in the Bomadi region.
The Nigerian military has launched an investigation.
By Timothy Obiezu, VOA
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Nigeria's sovereign fund plans to build a 20 megawatts solar power plant in partnership with a local firm, first phase of a 300 megawatts project, the country's Vice President Kashim Shettima said on Tuesday.
Shettima did not disclose the cost of the project or when construction will start.
Nigeria, with a population of more than 200 million people, has installed power generation capacity of 12,500 megawatts (MW) but produces a fraction of that, leaving millions of households and businesses reliant on petrol and diesel generators.
The vice president said on Tuesday in Abuja at the signing of the joint venture between the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and North South Power (NSP) Company Ltd for the establishment of the Shiroro Generating Company, the country's pioneer on-grid solar-hydro hybrid project.
The Shiroro Generating Company is hybrid project is located in Shiroro, in Nigeria's northwest of Niger state.
Shettima said the 20 megawatt pilot project is embedded within a 300 megawatt solar programme, to be co-located within NSP's existing 600 megawatt Shiroro Hydroelectric Power Plant concession area in Shiroro, Niger State.
"As a nation, our resolve is to take proactive steps to diversify our energy sources, reduce our carbon footprints and ensure a more sustainable future for generations to come," the vice president said in a statement.
"This project will catalyze the realization of other hydro-solar projects and serve as a test case for deployment of solar energy on to the national grid."
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Child traffickers often abduct girls and young women, take them to isolated locations and impregnate them. When they give birth, their babies are sold to childless couples. The practice has existed for years in Nigeria.
So-called baby making factories are facilities in Nigeria to which girls and young women are lured, impregnated and held against their will until they give birth.
The "factories" are usually small, illegal facilities parading as private medical clinics that house pregnant women and subsequently offer their babies for sale.
In some cases, young women have been held against their will and raped before their babies are sold on the black market.
The practice is largely prevalent in the southeastern states of Abia, Lagos, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.
Around 200 underground baby factories have been shut over the last five years, according to Nigerian security agencies, however new facilities open to replace the closed ones.
Earlier this month, police officers stormed a hideout in Abia where they rescued 16 pregnant girls and eight young children.
Maureen Chinaka, a police spokeswoman revealed that the rescued girls were between the ages of 17 and 27 and had been told that they would be paid to leave the baby factories without their babies.
Last June, 22 pregnant young girls and two babies were rescued from a facility in the same state, where they had been held hostage.
Why do the factories exist?
There is a thriving market for babies among couples who are struggling to bear their own children. They are willing to pay between 1 million naira (€576) and 2 milion naira (€1,152) for a baby.
There is a higher demand for male babies, which tend to be sold at a higher price than baby girls.
Clare Ohunayo, a Nigerian activist and educationist, told DW that as long as there is demand for babies, the practice will prevail.
Supplying a demand
Ohunayo blames it on high levels of poverty and the stigma that comes with being a childless couple in Nigeria.
"The desperation that drives the baby factory has two sets of players. The first set is driven by the fear of poverty as a result of the socio-economic conditions of Nigeria," she said.
Those who own these facilities where the girls are kept, the men who impregnate them, and the girls themselves are all pushed into it by poverty, according to Ohunayo.
Some young female Nigerians told DW that they remain vulnerable because of their poor living conditions.
"This baby booming industry, even though it has been in existence, the reason it's coming up [is] because people are really really stressed in terms of striving for a daily living," a young resident of Abuja said.
Another Abuja resident told DW that: "We are experiencing an increase in crime rates due to hardship and poverty."
But not everyone blames it on poverty.
"Actually I think what is causing this menace has to do with moral decadence. Immoral people are desperate to make money. This is why you see this kind of thing happening, but to me I think it's very bad," said one Nigerian man.
Giving birth to children is considered signifcant in many African societies, and often couples unable to have their own children face humiliation, even from family members.
The demand for male children makes the practice especially lucrative, according to police officials.
"On the other side you have childless couple who want to avoid the stigma of [being] childless," said Ohunayo, describing a major cultural factor behind the baby factories.
Ending the baby factory business
Florence Marcus, a lawyer with the Abuja-based Disability Rights Advocate Center told DW there are laws to help tackle the menace.
"This issue of baby factories is a gross violation of the rights of the victims, especially these young ladies who are often taken to these facilities without theor consent," she said.
"The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act prohibits all forms of violence against person, particularly women and girls. The law provides maximum protection and effective remedies for the victims and also punishment for the offenders."
Several arrests have been made across the Nigerian states in which the practice is prevalent.
Zakaria Dauda, spokesman for the National Agency for the Prohibition in Trafficking in Persons, a government body, told DW that the organization will continue to make arrests and ensure that pepatrators are punished.
"We know [with] the issue of baby factory most victims are usually young girls. We warn people of the dangers of such vices," he said.
"And those who become suspects, we take them [in] for people to also know that there is a crime being perpetrated called sale of babies."
By Ben Shemang, DW
Related stories: Video - Baby trafficking syndicate arrested in Imo state
The interim order comes after an earlier report that Nigeria wanted Binance to give information regarding its top 100 users in the nation and all transaction history spanning the past six months.
A Nigerian court has ordered Binance to provide Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive information on all persons from the nation trading on its platform, according to a report by the local news outlet Peoples Gazette.
The interim order comes after an earlier report that Nigeria had asked the crypto exchange to hand over the information regarding its top 100 users in the country and all transaction history spanning the past six months. But Justice Emeka Nwite from the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court appears to have granted the motion of EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho which sought information on any Nigerian trading on Binance.
The EFCC is Nigeria’s law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes.
“The applicant’s application dated and filed February 29, 2024, is hereby granted as prayed. That an order of this honorable court is hereby made directing the operators of Binance to provide the commission with comprehensive data/information relating to all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform,” the judge ordered, the report said.
Nigeria has taken action against the crypto industry for allegedly facilitating illegal capital outflows, which purportedly led to the Nigerian naira weakening to record lows against the dollar. The nation’s authorities have taken a particular interest in Binance’s operations, demanding $10 billion in penalties for enabling some $26 billion of untraceable funds.
Nigerian authorities also detained two of Binance’s senior executives after inviting them into the country to discuss the matter. The court hearing of the two detained Binance executives is scheduled for Wednesday, Reuters reported. Nigerian authorities have also proposed a 400% increase in registration fees for crypto firms.
Binance and the EFCC did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
By Amitoj Singh, CoinDesk
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