NAIJAFEED

Monday, April 15, 2024

23 university students,staff released in Nigeria seven months after abduction

Security agents on Sunday announced the rescue of 23 students and workers kidnapped in September at the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State, North-west Nigeria.

Security sources said they were rescued by security agents near Kuncin Dutse, a village in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara. The Coordinator of the National Counter-terrorism Centre, Adamu Laka, a major general, reportedly coordinated the operation.

PREMIUM TIMES they were further gathered that the rescued persons had been handed over to the security authorities in Abuja. Mr Laka is expected to present them to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, on Monday.

The victims were evacuated to Abuja for debriefing and medical check-ups before being reunited with their families, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

Earlier last month, nine of the female students were released after 178 days in captivity.

The 23 persons released in the latest development include 15 students and eight workers of the university. A woman abducted in Funtua in Katsina State was also rescued, a source told PREMIUM TIMES, asking for confidentiality because he was not invited to address the press.

One of the parents of the abducted students also confirmed the release of her daughter to DW Hausa Service late Sunday. She said her daughter called her and informed her that she was being moved to Gusau, the state capital.

The released students spent over 200 days in the terrorists’ camp following their abduction in September at their off-campus hostel in Sabon Gida, a community adjacent to the university campus in the state capital.

Some of the victims were rescued by security officials a few hours after their abduction. It was not immediately clear whether more or how many of the students were still being held by the terrorists.

The Zamfara State government is yet to speak on the latest release of the students.

The spokesperson for the Federal University, Gusau, Umar Usman, said he was yet to be briefed about the development when our reporter asked for his comments.

By Abubakar Ahmadu Maishanu, Premium Times

Nigeria movie released to mark 10th anniversary of the kidnapped 276 Chibok girls

Gunmen in army uniform execute five in east Nigeria

Gunmen in military uniform abducted five people in eastern Nigeria, tied their hands and shot them dead, police said on Saturday.

The attack overnight took place in Dananaca village, Taraba state, which is usually peaceful but which suffered a bombing at the hands of Islamist militants last week.

"The police are still investigating to ascertain if the people are real soldiers and from which unit," police spokesman for Taraba state Ibiam Mbaseki told Reuters by telephone.

"If they were genuine military men, they would have contacted us before carrying out such an operation, but we don't know where they came from."

Islamist sect Boko Haram, blamed for dozens of shootings and bombings since it launched an uprising in 2009, has sought to extend its reach too much of the north and the capital Abuja. The group has become President Goodluck Jonathan's number one security headache.

Suspected sect members attending a wedding party on Saturday opened fire on a military surveillance team monitoring the event, killing three civilians, Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa of the joint military task force said.

Security forces combating Boko Haram complain that they hide amongst the civilian population, but the military's heavyhanded crackdowns and summary executions of suspects has angered the already alienated population of northern Nigeria.

The sect's armed struggle intensified after its spiritual leader Mohammed Yusuf died in police custody in 2009.

A bomb blast struck a police chief's convoy in eastern Nigeria's Taraba state on Monday, killing 11 people in the first such insurgent attack in the state.

A flurry of arrests of top figures in recent months had raised hopes the Boko Haram insurgency could be on the wane, but attacks in the past two weeks suggest they are very much still at large. Insecurity has spread across the north.

Suspected Boko Haram militants stormed a prison in their northeastern heartland on Friday, killing two guards and freeing the inmates, police said.

Gunmen threw bombs and opened fire on a cattle market in remote northeastern Nigeria on Wednesday, killing at least 60 people, a spokesman for the Yobe state governor said.

It was not clear if the killers were Islamists or a criminal gang.

By Ibrahim Mshelizza, Reuters

Amnesty International says Nigeria must stop Shell Niger Delta business sale

More than 40 civil society organisations call for proposed sale to be blocked as it risks worsening human rights abuses

Deal appears to fall far short of several regulatory and legal requirements

There have been hundreds of oil spills from Shell infrastructure in the Niger Delta during its decades of operation

‘There’s a substantial risk Shell will walk away with billions of dollars, leaving those already harmed facing continued abuse’ - Isa Sanusi

The proposed sale of Shell’s onshore oil business in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria risks worsening human rights abuses and should be blocked by the Government unless a series of safeguards are put in place, a group of 40 civil society organisations including Amnesty International said today.

In an open letter to the Nigerian industry regulator, the signatories said the sale of Shell Petroleum Development Company to Renaissance Africa Energy should not be allowed to proceed unless the environmental pollution it caused has been fully assessed, it provides sufficient funds to guarantee clean-up costs, and local communities have been fully consulted.

The letter highlights how the deal appears to fall far short of several regulatory and legal requirements including the apparent lack of an environmental study to assess clean-up requirements, and an evaluation to ensure sufficient funds are set aside for potential decommissioning of oil infrastructure - a sum likely to amount to several billions of US dollars.

It also notes the lack of an inventory of the physical assets being sold, which potentially indicates the state of disrepair of pipelines and infrastructure that caused leaks which have frequently had devastating consequences on local people’s health and wellbeing.

Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s Nigeria Director, said:

“There is now a substantial risk Shell will walk away with billions of dollars from the sale of this business, leaving those already harmed without remedy and facing continued abuse and harms to their health.

“Guarantees and financial safeguards must be in place to immediately remedy existing contamination and to protect people from future harms before this sale should be allowed to proceed.

“Shell must not be permitted to slip away from its responsibilities for cleaning up and remedying its widespread legacy of pollution in the area.”

Olanrewaju Suraju, chairman of Human and Environmental Development Agenda , commented:

“Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta over many decades have come at the cost of grievous human rights abuses of the people living there. Frequent oil leaks from its infrastructure and inadequate maintenance and clean-up practices have left groundwater and drinking water sources contaminated, poisoned agricultural land and fisheries, and severely damaged the health and livelihoods of inhabitants.”

Hundreds of oil spills

There have been hundreds of oil spills from Shell infrastructure during the decades it has been operating in Nigeria.

Renaissance Africa Energy is a consortium consisting of ND Western Limited, Aradel Holdings Plc, FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited, the Waltersmith Group and the Petrolin Group.

The letter with a full list of signatories is available here.

Amnesty International

Nigeria launches new 5-in-1 meningitis vaccine

Nigeria has launched the new Men5CV vaccine, which offers protection against five strains of the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria (meningococcus) responsible for meningitis.

Nigeria becomes the first country globally to launch the vaccine, which is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Men5CV vaccine rollout is a significant advance in the fight against meningitis, as it provides broader protection than the previous vaccines.

It shields against the major strains A, C, W, Y and X of meningococcal bacteria in a single shot. Existing vaccines sold in Africa are only effective against strain A.

The introduction of Men5CV is particularly crucial for Nigeria, one of the 26 hyper-endemic countries in Africa, which recently experienced an outbreak leading to 1,742 suspected cases.

In response, a vaccination campaign was conducted in March 2024 to reach more than one million individuals aged from one to 29.

The vaccine’s development, spanning 13 years, was a collaborative effort between PATH and the Serum Institute of India, with funding from the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The Men5CV vaccine utilises the same technology as the MenAfriVac vaccine that has eradicated meningococcal A epidemics in Nigeria.

In July 2023, the WHO prequalified the meningitis vaccine, branded as MenFive. It went on to issue a formal recommendation for its launch in October.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, provided funding for the vaccine and emergency vaccination activity, and allocated resources for the Men5CV rollout in December.

The vaccine is now available for outbreak response through the emergency stockpile managed by the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision.

Mass preventive campaigns involving the Men5CV vaccine rollout across sub-Saharan Africa’s ‘Meningitis Belt’ are expected to commence in 2025.

WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: “Meningitis is an old and deadly foe, but this new vaccine holds the potential to change the trajectory of the disease, preventing future outbreaks and saving many lives.

“Nigeria’s rollout brings us one step closer to our goal to eliminate meningitis by 2030.”