At least 59 people have been killed in a suspected jihadist attack in north-eastern Nigeria.
Gunmen entered a remote village in the Gubio district of Borno state on Tuesday afternoon, killing dozens.
The village was also razed, in what is believed to have been a reprisal attack, according to local reports.
No group has yet claimed the attack. The AFP news agency said that 59 bodies had been recovered, while Reuters reported that 69 people were killed.
Reuters reported that the militants suspected villagers of sharing information about their movements to security forces, while AFP said jihadist fighters had been killed by locals trying to protect livestock.
While it is unclear who carried out the attack, both the jihadist group Boko Haram and an offshoot which fights under the banner of the Islamic State group have carried out deadly attacks in the north-east of Nigeria.
Boko Haram, which sparked global outrage in 2014 when they abducted more than 270 schoolgirls in Chibok in Borno state, is also active in neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
In March, its militants ambushed and killed at least 47 Nigerian soldiers in the country's north east, before killing almost 100 soldiers in Chad the following day.
The group's decade-long insurgency has left thousands dead and displaced many more.
BBC
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Nigeria to cut healthcare spending by 40% despite coronavirus cases climbing
Plans by Nigeria’s government to cut healthcare spending risk undermining the country’s coronavirus response and severely impacting already strained services, health and transparency groups have warned.
Funding for local, primary healthcare services will be cut by more than 40% this year in a revised budget expected to be passed into law in the coming weeks.
The proposed cuts could affect immunisations, childcare, maternal healthcare and family planning services.
Nigeria currently spends less than 5% of its federal budget on health. Dwindling oil sales, the crash in global oil prices and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic are understood to be the reason for the cuts.
According to Prof Innocent Ujah, the head of the Nigerian medical association, the proposed cuts have come just as more investment in health is needed.
“Our budget for health is unacceptably low, under 5%. With the Covid-19 pandemic, it becomes even more serious,” he said. “It will have an impact on our response to the virus.”
Ujah said he was shocked at the announcement of the cuts, as it had been assumed health budgets would be ringfenced during the pandemic.
Fuelling criticisms of the healthcare cuts has been the 37bn naira (£75m) set aside for renovations to Nigeria’s National Assembly buildings.
“Whatever renovations they want to do in the National Assembly should be suspended,” Ujah said. “This is a global emergency.”
The legislative body is heavily criticised in Nigeria for the lack of transparency in government spending and for the high salaries of lawmakers.
Oluseun Onigbinde, the director of BudgIT, an organisation which tracks government spending, said that the budget cuts were not distributed fairly.
“The National Assembly budget was cut 10%, but the severe cuts were made to education and healthcare,” he said.
“It’s a bit shameful that Nigeria’s allocation for health and education has not gone above 5% of the total budget provision in the last five years. The government has really underinvested in healthcare.”
Nigerian authorities took early steps to try to contain the outbreak of Covid-19. But cases are steadily rising, doubling in the past three weeks to 12,000 infections.
A number of challenges have undermined its test and trace strategy, including too few test kits. Just 80,000 tests have been administered, far lower than the country’s health officials want.
The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control has said 75% of infections are occurring in communities without an identifiable trace.
Adding to the challenges are issues with morale among some health staff.
Fifty doctors and nurses at a key Covid-19 response centre in Lagos University teaching hospital say they have not been paid the allowances promised to workers caring for coronavirus cases since April. The allowances are paid on top of their usual salaries.
According to staff who spoke on condition of anonymity, the delay in receiving allowances was making it difficult to recruit health professionals to fight the virus.
“We were assured payments for the Covid response. We started in April, but we’re in the third month and we haven’t been compensated,” said one member of staff.
Many had not seen their families in three months to prevent spreading the virus, and were furious that their payments are not being prioritised.
“We’ve put our lives on the line here, now for us not to be paid is inhumane,” the health worker said.
Government officials said they are working to address the payment delays.
“They have assured us they are working on this but such issues are causing much disillusionment,” said Ujah. “No matter what, in a healthcare emergency, motivation is a very important component.”
The Guardian
Funding for local, primary healthcare services will be cut by more than 40% this year in a revised budget expected to be passed into law in the coming weeks.
The proposed cuts could affect immunisations, childcare, maternal healthcare and family planning services.
Nigeria currently spends less than 5% of its federal budget on health. Dwindling oil sales, the crash in global oil prices and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic are understood to be the reason for the cuts.
According to Prof Innocent Ujah, the head of the Nigerian medical association, the proposed cuts have come just as more investment in health is needed.
“Our budget for health is unacceptably low, under 5%. With the Covid-19 pandemic, it becomes even more serious,” he said. “It will have an impact on our response to the virus.”
Ujah said he was shocked at the announcement of the cuts, as it had been assumed health budgets would be ringfenced during the pandemic.
Fuelling criticisms of the healthcare cuts has been the 37bn naira (£75m) set aside for renovations to Nigeria’s National Assembly buildings.
“Whatever renovations they want to do in the National Assembly should be suspended,” Ujah said. “This is a global emergency.”
The legislative body is heavily criticised in Nigeria for the lack of transparency in government spending and for the high salaries of lawmakers.
Oluseun Onigbinde, the director of BudgIT, an organisation which tracks government spending, said that the budget cuts were not distributed fairly.
“The National Assembly budget was cut 10%, but the severe cuts were made to education and healthcare,” he said.
“It’s a bit shameful that Nigeria’s allocation for health and education has not gone above 5% of the total budget provision in the last five years. The government has really underinvested in healthcare.”
Nigerian authorities took early steps to try to contain the outbreak of Covid-19. But cases are steadily rising, doubling in the past three weeks to 12,000 infections.
A number of challenges have undermined its test and trace strategy, including too few test kits. Just 80,000 tests have been administered, far lower than the country’s health officials want.
The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control has said 75% of infections are occurring in communities without an identifiable trace.
Adding to the challenges are issues with morale among some health staff.
Fifty doctors and nurses at a key Covid-19 response centre in Lagos University teaching hospital say they have not been paid the allowances promised to workers caring for coronavirus cases since April. The allowances are paid on top of their usual salaries.
According to staff who spoke on condition of anonymity, the delay in receiving allowances was making it difficult to recruit health professionals to fight the virus.
“We were assured payments for the Covid response. We started in April, but we’re in the third month and we haven’t been compensated,” said one member of staff.
Many had not seen their families in three months to prevent spreading the virus, and were furious that their payments are not being prioritised.
“We’ve put our lives on the line here, now for us not to be paid is inhumane,” the health worker said.
Government officials said they are working to address the payment delays.
“They have assured us they are working on this but such issues are causing much disillusionment,” said Ujah. “No matter what, in a healthcare emergency, motivation is a very important component.”
The Guardian
Monday, June 8, 2020
This agricultural enterprise is helping Nigerian farmers expand their business
Babban Gona which means 'Great farm' in Hausa language, spoken in West Africa, provides services such as loans, agribusiness training, and provision of storage facilities for subsistence farmers in rural communities.
Yohana, whose farm is in Kaduna state in northern Nigeria, told CNN that since he joined the enterprise as a member he has been able to grow his maize farm from two hectares of land to four.
A hectare of farmland is about the size of the average football field.
"They (Babban Gona) taught me how to farm better, they taught me the best way to store my maize and they supplied me with fertilizers and pesticides," he said.
Promoting Agriculture
Farmers like Yohana make up one of the largest sectors of the Nigerian economy as agriculture contributes 21.9% of the country's overall gross domestic product, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Founder of Babban Gona, Kola Masha says the enterprise was established in 2012 to promote agriculture and reduce the rate of unemployment in the country.
Out of a population of 202 million people, 39 million in Nigeria were unemployed, according to a 2018 report by the NBS.
Masha told CNN that Babban Gona's objective is to bring down the unemployment numbers by expanding crop production in rural communities, thereby creating room for more jobs in the country.
"We set a goal for ourselves that we will create around 10 million jobs by 2030 ... We firmly believe that agriculture is Nigeria's job-creation engine because it is massive, labor-intensive, and has tremendous growth potential," he said.
Babban Gona, which specializes in supporting maize farming is present in six Nigerian states and has so far provided its 100,000 farmer members with different farming-related services to improve their business.
One of the services offered is the provision of storage facilities for farmers during harvest season. Due to insufficient storage facilities for community-level farmers, a lot of farm produce is often wasted.
Investing in spaces to store maize ensures that farmers don't lose their produce and by extension, their income.
"We invested in over 60,000 tonnes of storage where the farmers can store their harvest," Masha said.
Farmer training
Babban Gona also trains all its farmer members on some of the best farming techniques to improve their production of maize.
The company has a large number of field agents across small communities in northern Nigeria. These agents specialize in teaching water retention, soil analysis, seed planting, and sustainable farming.
Once a farmer joins Babban Gona, he automatically becomes eligible for this training.
Masha says anybody can join as a farmer member and that some people apply to become a part of Babban Gona on their own.
"Our team is actively out there at the grassroots level engaging with tens of thousands of farmers to get them to join. So, it is really a community effort, going from village to village, sharing with people about the potential of how Babban Gona can help," he explained.
When a farmer indicates interest in joining, they are subjected to a psychometric test where they are evaluated based on their maize production skills, personality traits, job potential, and abilities.
Those who pass become member farmers.
Yohana, who has been a Babban Gona member for about five years says he has been able to increase his net income as a result of the incentives provided by the enterprise.
"You know I used to plant one maize seed per hole but during my training with Babban Gona, I was taught that I could plant more than one seed with appropriate spacing," he explained.
He said he used to harvest only 40 bags of maize during harvest season, but he now harvests up to 200 bags.
Farmer members like Yohana are offered access to credit for their business and information on the best ways to market and distribute their products, according to Babban Gona founder, Masha.
"We help them to start thinking about turning their farm into a large business, to start making the necessary investments that will make their farms profitable," he told CNN.
Funded by financial institutions
The farmers are charged a small margin for the different services provided to them.
And according to Masha, the social enterprise is funded by leading financial institutions and governments such as the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund, the German government, the Entrepreneurial Development Bank, among others.
Through the funding received, Babban Gona has been able to provide credit facilities for 55,000 farmers and aims to reach a million more by 2025.
CNN
Why Nigerians are muting their mothers on WhatsApp
Just a few years ago, local comedians had a field day with jokes about elderly Nigerian mothers and their nonchalant attitudes towards their mobile phones.
They needed their children's assistance to type and send text messages or log in to their accounts and read emails.
And their frequent excuse for missed calls was: "My phone was in my handbag."
These days, the jokes have upgraded to Nigerian mothers and their infatuation with WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in Africa.
Nigerian comedians like Maraji have been making skits about them.
"My mother spends her entire morning on WhatsApp," 39-year-old Udo, whose home is in Lagos, told me.
"Throughout while she's having her breakfast and drinking her tea, she's checking people's status updates and watching videos."
'Relevant messages'
Unlike Twitter and Instagram, WhatsApp can work even when internet connections are iffy, as is often the case in many parts of Nigeria.
And it requires no profiles or passwords, so the generation that mostly retired from active life before access to the internet became common in Nigeria finds it easy to use. In fact, it is their internet.
A common complaint among younger Nigerians is the number and nature of WhatsApp messages they receive from their mothers.
"You just wake up in the morning and you see 10 videos from your mother," 41-year-old Ihuoma, who lives in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, told me.
"And each one begins with: 'You must watch this!' 'This will help somebody!' Those are always the opening lines."
Her 76-year-old mother, Patty, told me that all the messages she forwards are "relevant".
"I don't send frivolous messages at all," she said.
"Why I send those things to my children, it is a form of education, lifting up of minds, sharing knowledge, experiences. I consider it a sort of fellowship, sharing with my children."
Ihuoma has since muted her mother's WhatsApp account and rarely opens her messages.
For many Nigerian mothers, the ability to broadcast ready-made messages via WhatsApp is like a superpower.
It enables them to transmit unsolicited prayers, advice and opinions.
One woman who complained on Twitter about her mother putting onions in the corner of every room in the house - touted on WhatsApp as a way to absorb toxins - received replies saying their mothers had also followed the erroneous advice.
"In our family group, my mother was always forwarding me and my siblings different health suggestions, concoctions to mix and drink," said Udo.
"When I pointed out to her that some of them are questionable, she replied: 'You never know, just try it and see.'"
Her mother also forwarded gory videos of kidnap victims and crime scenes, insisting that her children needed to see these to be aware and beware.
"That's when I left the family group and felt I could not do this any more," Udo said.
"My brother blocked her, which hurt her a lot. But she wouldn't listen. She keeps forwarding."
Thongs, cancer and other fanciful warnings
A number of people told me that they also had blocked their mothers on WhatsApp but did not want to let them know.
"I was once involved in an online debate about this," Ihuoma said.
"Some people were of the opinion that they wanted to block their mothers but couldn't get themselves to do that to someone who had carried them in the womb for nine months."
They were tired of the advice and cautions, mostly from conservative or religious mothers who have always had a problem with their more liberal-minded children's lifestyles.
Warnings, for example, signed by unknown medical experts, explaining how wearing thongs can cause cancer and how tight skirts can lead to heart attacks.
And of the most implausible stories:
. People told me of their mothers who are convinced that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari died long ago and had since been replaced by a body double from Sudan, known as "Jubril".
. That Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a lion into the streets of Moscow to prevent people from flouting the coronavirus lockdowns.
. That Queen Elizabeth has been pictured around the UK wearing face masks that are the same bright colours as her clothes, shoes and handbags.
All stories accompanied by videos and photos.
Affordable internet access became common in Nigeria just a few years ago, so this generation of elderly Nigerians was hardly exposed to the wonders of Photoshop and the ingenuity of idle minds that invent stories just for fun and clicks.
The Wuhan 'dragon'
And so, they tend to believe most information they come across, especially when there is visual "evidence".
"My mother sent me and my siblings a video of a dragon-like creature fleeing towards the sky," said 40-year-old Grace, who lives in Lagos.
"She said we should see, that coronavirus was finally leaving the earth."
Grace was shocked that her well-educated, 76-year-old mother could actually believe that the coronavirus was captured on camera, finally fleeing the Chinese city of Wuhan through the clouds and into the sky.
"She asked me how I knew that it wasn't true and I said: 'Mummy, the coronavirus is not a flying reptile!'
"She acknowledged that I was right and we just kind of laughed over it."
Hardly any of the ongoing efforts here to combat fake news and improve digital literacy focus on older Nigerians - and so the burden must continue to rest on younger family members like Grace to correct and enlighten their parents.
But, sometimes, even this is impossible.
"Sometimes when I correct her, my mother tells me that I'm being rude," said Udo. "She complains that I'm being insulting."
BBC
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Nigerian Reggae Star Majek Fashek Dies at 57
The singer's manager, Omenka Uzoma, told the BBC that Fashek (born Majekodunmi Fasheke), died in his sleep in New York. In an Instagram video, Uzoma reconfirmed the news, praising Fashek for all he did for Nigeria.
Singer/songwriter Fashek was born in the Edo state of Benin in 1963 and rose to prominence in 1988 when he released his solo debut, Prisoner of Conscience (his backing band was known as the Prisoners of Conscience), which included the award-winning single "Send Down the Rain."
With a high, quivering voice that drew comparisons to reggae great Bob Marley, and a conscious vibe in keeping with Marley's push to uplift, Fashek quickly gained a reputation as a voice of righteousness.
He furthered that image with the dancehall-spiked anti-apartheid song "Free Africa, Free Mandela," from his 1989 album I&I Experience. He achieved a rare cross-over success in the United States in 1991, when he signed with Interscope Records and released the Little Steven Van Zandt-produced breakthrough Spirit of Love. That effort included his biggest international hit, "So Long Too Long," an uplifting anthem that opened with the exhortation, "Arise from your sleep Africa/ Arise from your sleep America/ There's work to be done Africa."
The song, which Fashek performed on tour while opening for Tracy Chapman and on The Late Show with David Letterman, directly paid homage to Marley's legacy of activist lyricism with lines such as, "Remember, remember, Marcus Garvey/ Who had a dream for you Africa/ Remember, remember, Martin Luther King/ Who had a dream for you America/ They say you are black, they say you are brown/ They say dem white, they say you are brown/ But only the Angels of God is white now/ Only the Angels of God is white."
In 2016, Fashek wrote the song "We Are Not Afraid," which was the soundtrack to an all-star fundraiser video for victims of religious and political violence around the world directed by photographer Bob Gruen that featured more than 200 artists, including Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Bruce Springsteen, Yoko Ono, Robert DeNiro, Sting, Patti Smith, Dr. Jane Goodall, Iggy Pop, Peter Gabriel, Jackson Browne, Chuck D,Joe Walsh, Bonnie Raitt, Darlene Love, Debbie Harry, Dion, Elvis Costello, Grandmaster Flash, Jeff Tweedy and Susan Sarandon, among others.
At press time the cause of Fashek's death was not released.
Nigerian singer Burna Boy paid tribute to one of his biggest influences, writing, "The lyrics to his song 'So Long, Too Long' remain true as a wake up call to Africans still today."
By Gil Kaufman
Billboard
Nigeria’s Insurers Given Another Year to Find Fresh Capital
Nigeria’s National Insurance Commission gave underwriters an additional year to recapitalize as companies deal with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The industry recapitalization program scheduled to end in 2020 must now be completed by September 2021, the agency said in emailed statement.
“The incidences of Covid-19 pandemic have made it difficult to proceed with the Dec. 31, 2020 recapitalization deadline,” it said. Following the extension , underwriters are expected to meet at least half of the capital requirements by year-end, the regulator said.
Nigerian authorities last year asked insurers wanting to combine life and property and casualty businesses to raise their capital to 18 billion naira ($46 million) from 5 billion naira, with the minimum for property and casualty businesses increased to 10 billion naira from 3 billion naira. The requirement for life insurance is 8 billion naira, versus 2 billion naira, and that for reinsurance is 20 billion naira, compared with 10 billion naira.
By Emele Onu
Bloomberg
The industry recapitalization program scheduled to end in 2020 must now be completed by September 2021, the agency said in emailed statement.
“The incidences of Covid-19 pandemic have made it difficult to proceed with the Dec. 31, 2020 recapitalization deadline,” it said. Following the extension , underwriters are expected to meet at least half of the capital requirements by year-end, the regulator said.
Nigerian authorities last year asked insurers wanting to combine life and property and casualty businesses to raise their capital to 18 billion naira ($46 million) from 5 billion naira, with the minimum for property and casualty businesses increased to 10 billion naira from 3 billion naira. The requirement for life insurance is 8 billion naira, versus 2 billion naira, and that for reinsurance is 20 billion naira, compared with 10 billion naira.
By Emele Onu
Bloomberg
Nigeria's Nollywood gets creative in response to Covid-19
Inspired by his wife's teleconferencing calls from their isolation in Britain, he wrote and put together a short feature about a couple separated between London and Lagos.
There was just one day for rehearsals and two for filming, and relatives shot the actors on mobile phones in their homes on two continents.
"I said to myself, 'What if I shoot a film remotely? I can direct my actors and produce it from home, and the cost is zero," the well-known 53-year-old director told AFP.
"I wanted to show young people that despite the countless difficulties of our profession, despite the coronavirus, you can make a film without funding, without even a real camera."
Inventiveness has always been a hallmark of Nigeria's Nollywood -- the second most prolific film industry on the planet -- as it has risen from shaky homemade movies to slickly-produced blockbusters.
But now, in the face of the coronavirus crisis that has seen social distancing rules shut down shoots and cinemas closed, the sector has needed that spirit more than ever.
"We are an endangered species, we have to be innovative and to push the boundaries," said Emelonye, whose short "Heart 2 Heart" was released for free on YouTube last month.
"Things are very bad? You can make them better!"
'Difficult times'
The Nigerian film industry is riddled with contradictions.
On the surface are the red carpets, glitz and glamorous stars with millions of Instagram followers.
But underneath, much of the sector is poorly-funded, salaries are miserly and rampant piracy robs it of crucial revenues.
The arrival of the virus has dealt a major blow just as producers try to focus on higher-quality movies, cinema audiences grow and giants like Netflix push to tap into the country of 200 million, the most populous in Africa.
Moses Babatope watched in dismay as a government order to close saw income evaporate over the past three months at the Filmhouse, a cinema chain he co-founded in 2012.
"We've been through other difficult times, but this crisis is even worse," he told AFP.
Babatope estimated loses for the sector had reached over $9 million (eight million euros) so far due to the virus.
Dozens of film shoots have been put on hold or scrapped and the legion of workers in the industry -- from make-up artists to technicians to ushers -- are going unpaid.
Netflix has suspended the filming of its first original series made in Nigeria and French media giant Vivendi has delayed the opening of its first cinema in the capital Abuja.
Distributors reckon some 50,000 jobs are under threat since the sector juddered to a halt.
"It's going to take a while before it really starts up again," Babatope said.
'New experiences'
To navigate the current troubles the industry has begun pushing its boundaries.
Producer Charles Okpaleke teamed up with two local cinema chains Genesis and Silverbird to launch open-air "Drive-in" facilities.
A first screening in Abuja in late May saw all tickets sell out in just a few hours as viewers flocked to watched his film "Living in Bondage" from the comfort of their own cars.
"COVID forces us to rethink our habits, but it is also an opportunity to try new experiences," Okpaleke told AFP.
Producers and directors are also looking increasingly to the release their films on online streaming services like Netflix and its local competitor Iroko TV.
And even up-and-coming industry hopefuls were given the opportunity to keep on honing their skills despite the disruptions.
French start-up LAFAAC has partnered with cinema school Femis and Nigerian television channel Wazobia to offer online training to would-be scriptwriters via a mobile app.
"Nowadays there is a huge demand for series from Subsaharan Africa despite a relative lack of training," said LAFAAC co-founder Francois Catala.
"I believe that online releases are the future of Nollywood."
France 24
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Nigeria’s epileptic electricity grid collapses again
Nigeria’s national electricity grid, operated from Osogbo in Osun State, again collapsed Tuesday afternoon, leaving the entire country in darkness.
Managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, sources at the company confirmed the development to The Guardian as some distribution companies already notified consumers of total blackout.
The grid collapsed in May due to industrial unrest, after it had earlier collapse in April which heightened poor power supply.
Though TCN is yet to clarify the reason for the latest collapse, the grid recorded over eleven system collapse last year.
Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), the umbrella body of the distribution companies had last year decried the repeated system collapse, stating that TCN’s analogue system caused over 100 electricity grid collapses since the privatisation of the power sector in 2013.
The Guardian
Managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, sources at the company confirmed the development to The Guardian as some distribution companies already notified consumers of total blackout.
The grid collapsed in May due to industrial unrest, after it had earlier collapse in April which heightened poor power supply.
Though TCN is yet to clarify the reason for the latest collapse, the grid recorded over eleven system collapse last year.
Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), the umbrella body of the distribution companies had last year decried the repeated system collapse, stating that TCN’s analogue system caused over 100 electricity grid collapses since the privatisation of the power sector in 2013.
The Guardian
Nigerians go online to demand 'justice' for abuses against women
Large numbers of Nigerians are taking to social media to demand "justice" after a series of high-profile cases of violence against women sparked outrage in the country.
The rallying cries #JusticeForUwa, #JusticeForTina and #JusticeForJennifer have reverberated among internet users in the country, with celebrities also joining virtual campaigns inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests sweeping the United States.
The latest outpouring of anger has been unleashed by the cases of three women and girls who were killed or raped in incidents activists say showcase the widespread sexual violence and police brutality in Nigeria.
In April, an 18-year-old known only as Jennifer was allegedly attacked and raped by a gang of five men in Kaduna, a city in northern Nigeria.
The case only gained attention after her relatives - scared the accused would escape justice - released a video online of family comforting the traumatised teen that was shared tens of thousands of times.
Now, local police say two men have been arrested for rape and three other suspects are being sought.
Two other cases that happened last week prompted more people to express their anger.
A 16-year-old high school student called Tina Ezekwe was shot and killed after police opened fire at a bus stop in Lagos, the country's biggest city. during a nighttime coronavirus curfew.
After an outcry online, the police force said two officers had been arrested and were facing disciplinary action and possible prosecution.
Meanwhile, in southern Edo state, 22-year-old university student Vera Uwaila Omozuma, known as Uwa, was found beaten to death in a church after reportedly being raped.
A female blogger from the area drew the attention of hundreds of thousands of internet users with the hashtag #JusticeForUwa.
Under pressure, the regional governor and police pledged an investigation to track down those responsible for the killing of the microbiology student.
For many in Nigeria, the internet is a key outlet for protests in a country where taking to the streets can often draw a punishing response by security forces.
"Social media is a tool to bring light on police, or institutions," Segun Awosanya, the head of Social Intervention Advocacy Foundation that campaigns against abuses by law enforcement, told AFP news agency.
"Once the light is on them, they have to go back to the cases and dig them up. They can't keep quiet anymore."
Now, the protests rocking cities across the US in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of white officers, coupled with the power of the online campaigns there against police brutality and racial inequality, appear to be pushing more Nigerians to demand action.
"We see the crowds in America, and its an opportunity to share our pain and our displeasure," Awosanya, who has more than 500,000 followers on Twitter, said.
While the online protests were sparked by violence against women, they have quickly begun tapping into broader anger about the state of the country.
Now, some of Nigeria's biggest stars have ditched their usual reticence to get involved in politics and are speaking out.
"#WeAreTired of senseless killings, lorries falling on road and killing passengers, ACs catching fire and burning houses, young girls getting raped, young boys killed," tweeted Afropop diva Tiwa Sawage to her four million followers.
"Please add your own frustration because my list is long."
Savage has been joined by other celebrities like music producer Don Jazzy, who has 4.6 million followers, and singers Mr Eazi and Rema who railed against rape in the country and police violence.
"The police kills black Americans and the Nigerian police kill Nigerians," Wizkid, a popular singer, wrote in Pidgin to his 6.5 million followers, taking direct aim at President Muhammadu Buhari.
"Buhari/Trump are the same person - only difference is that one knows how to use Twitter."
Al Jazeera
The rallying cries #JusticeForUwa, #JusticeForTina and #JusticeForJennifer have reverberated among internet users in the country, with celebrities also joining virtual campaigns inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests sweeping the United States.
The latest outpouring of anger has been unleashed by the cases of three women and girls who were killed or raped in incidents activists say showcase the widespread sexual violence and police brutality in Nigeria.
In April, an 18-year-old known only as Jennifer was allegedly attacked and raped by a gang of five men in Kaduna, a city in northern Nigeria.
The case only gained attention after her relatives - scared the accused would escape justice - released a video online of family comforting the traumatised teen that was shared tens of thousands of times.
Now, local police say two men have been arrested for rape and three other suspects are being sought.
Two other cases that happened last week prompted more people to express their anger.
A 16-year-old high school student called Tina Ezekwe was shot and killed after police opened fire at a bus stop in Lagos, the country's biggest city. during a nighttime coronavirus curfew.
After an outcry online, the police force said two officers had been arrested and were facing disciplinary action and possible prosecution.
Meanwhile, in southern Edo state, 22-year-old university student Vera Uwaila Omozuma, known as Uwa, was found beaten to death in a church after reportedly being raped.
A female blogger from the area drew the attention of hundreds of thousands of internet users with the hashtag #JusticeForUwa.
Under pressure, the regional governor and police pledged an investigation to track down those responsible for the killing of the microbiology student.
For many in Nigeria, the internet is a key outlet for protests in a country where taking to the streets can often draw a punishing response by security forces.
"Social media is a tool to bring light on police, or institutions," Segun Awosanya, the head of Social Intervention Advocacy Foundation that campaigns against abuses by law enforcement, told AFP news agency.
"Once the light is on them, they have to go back to the cases and dig them up. They can't keep quiet anymore."
Now, the protests rocking cities across the US in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of white officers, coupled with the power of the online campaigns there against police brutality and racial inequality, appear to be pushing more Nigerians to demand action.
"We see the crowds in America, and its an opportunity to share our pain and our displeasure," Awosanya, who has more than 500,000 followers on Twitter, said.
While the online protests were sparked by violence against women, they have quickly begun tapping into broader anger about the state of the country.
Now, some of Nigeria's biggest stars have ditched their usual reticence to get involved in politics and are speaking out.
"#WeAreTired of senseless killings, lorries falling on road and killing passengers, ACs catching fire and burning houses, young girls getting raped, young boys killed," tweeted Afropop diva Tiwa Sawage to her four million followers.
"Please add your own frustration because my list is long."
Savage has been joined by other celebrities like music producer Don Jazzy, who has 4.6 million followers, and singers Mr Eazi and Rema who railed against rape in the country and police violence.
"The police kills black Americans and the Nigerian police kill Nigerians," Wizkid, a popular singer, wrote in Pidgin to his 6.5 million followers, taking direct aim at President Muhammadu Buhari.
"Buhari/Trump are the same person - only difference is that one knows how to use Twitter."
Al Jazeera
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Nigeria to relax coronavirus curbs on places of worship
Nigeria will relax coronavirus restrictions on places of worship from Tuesday, the chairman of the presidential task force for COVID-19 said.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country where Christianity and Islam are widely practised, has recorded 10,162 confirmed cases and 287 deaths.
Boss Mustapha, the country’s most senior civil servant, also said a lockdown in the northern city of Kano would be eased, one of a number of changes over four weeks from Tuesday.
“Nigeria has not reached the peak of confirmed cases,” Mustapha told reporters.
Another official said the aviation industry had been asked to prepare for the possible resumption of domestic flights from June 21. He added that a national curfew would be shortened to 10 p.m.-4 a.m. from Tuesday, from the current 8 p.m.-6 a.m. order.
Nigeria’s financial sector will also be able to resume normal working hours, said Sani Aliyu, the national coordinator of the task force.
Other curbs remain in place, such as a ban on interstate travel, with a few exceptions, such as for essential workers. And face masks must still be worn in public.
By Felix Onuah
Reuters
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country where Christianity and Islam are widely practised, has recorded 10,162 confirmed cases and 287 deaths.
Boss Mustapha, the country’s most senior civil servant, also said a lockdown in the northern city of Kano would be eased, one of a number of changes over four weeks from Tuesday.
“Nigeria has not reached the peak of confirmed cases,” Mustapha told reporters.
Another official said the aviation industry had been asked to prepare for the possible resumption of domestic flights from June 21. He added that a national curfew would be shortened to 10 p.m.-4 a.m. from Tuesday, from the current 8 p.m.-6 a.m. order.
Nigeria’s financial sector will also be able to resume normal working hours, said Sani Aliyu, the national coordinator of the task force.
Other curbs remain in place, such as a ban on interstate travel, with a few exceptions, such as for essential workers. And face masks must still be worn in public.
By Felix Onuah
Reuters
Nigeria to resume film production under coronavirus guidelines
Nigeria's movie industry is set to resume film production which has been banned during lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a producers association.
The Theater Arts and Motion Pictures Producers Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) announced relaxed restriction on movie production, saying it was in line with the Lagos state government's relaxation order which took effect from June 1.
In a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos on Tuesday, Bolaji Amusan, TAMPAN's national president, thanked members for abiding by the earlier proclamations of the association to stop shooting of films and other related productions during the pandemic.
He however urged the artists to take the necessary precautionary measures that would protect them from contacting the virus in the course of their work, as the pandemic had not been completely defeated.
He said part of the measures to put in place subsequently on movie locations was that producers must provide soap and running water for constant washing of hands by both the cast and crew members.
"Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness, coughing or sneezing repeatedly, and quickly report such cases to the production managers for necessary actions," Amusan said.
Nigeria's movie industry, also known as Nollywood, is one of the largest film industries in the world in terms of quantity of films produced every year. Nigeria's films and TV series have enjoyed popularity in Africa and even made a hit on international theaters, such as "Lionheart", "Up North", and "Chief Daddy".
Xinhua
The Theater Arts and Motion Pictures Producers Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) announced relaxed restriction on movie production, saying it was in line with the Lagos state government's relaxation order which took effect from June 1.
In a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos on Tuesday, Bolaji Amusan, TAMPAN's national president, thanked members for abiding by the earlier proclamations of the association to stop shooting of films and other related productions during the pandemic.
He however urged the artists to take the necessary precautionary measures that would protect them from contacting the virus in the course of their work, as the pandemic had not been completely defeated.
He said part of the measures to put in place subsequently on movie locations was that producers must provide soap and running water for constant washing of hands by both the cast and crew members.
"Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness, coughing or sneezing repeatedly, and quickly report such cases to the production managers for necessary actions," Amusan said.
Nigeria's movie industry, also known as Nollywood, is one of the largest film industries in the world in terms of quantity of films produced every year. Nigeria's films and TV series have enjoyed popularity in Africa and even made a hit on international theaters, such as "Lionheart", "Up North", and "Chief Daddy".
Xinhua
Monday, June 1, 2020
Video - Lagos has few bed space for COVID-19 patients
Lagos, which is the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, is facing a new challenge. It is running out of bed space for patients of the disease. The government of the city now says it would adopt a strategy of home care treatment for mild cases. But experts are warning that could be dangerous. CGTN's Deji Badmus has that report.
Video - Football action set to resume on June 1 in Nigeria
In Nigeria, the country is on course to resume its top-flight professional football league from Monday. Matches were suspended following the coronavirus pandemic and the return of action will be guided by detailed medical protocols and rules. CGTN's Kelechi Emekalam reports.
Nigerian resident doctors issue ultimatum for strike amid COVID-19 fight
Resident doctors in Nigeria have issued an ultimatum to embark on an indefinite strike if the government failed to address their demands within 14 days, as the country continues to battle the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Sunday told the media that the agreement to embark on the indefinite strike action was reached on Saturday.
Sokomba Aliyu, the association's national president, said issues affecting the Nigerian healthcare system and welfare of health workers remained their core concerns.
Part of the demands of the NARD from the government included the provision of adequate personnel protective equipment, such as N95 respirators, gloves, and others to all health workers during this pandemic, Aliyu said.
The resident doctors also demanded the prompt payment of their salaries, as well as the immediate recall of their sacked colleagues in central Nigeria. According to the association, 26 resident doctors at the Jos University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria's central Plateau State were illegally disengaged without recourse to the law governing residency training.
The doctors also called on security agencies especially in Lagos, Delta, and Abuja to stop the harassment and assault of doctors while carrying out their legitimate activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NARD president noted the shortage of medical staff, especially resident doctors in most health institutions across the country, and called on the government to quickly address the problem.
Xinhua
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Sunday told the media that the agreement to embark on the indefinite strike action was reached on Saturday.
Sokomba Aliyu, the association's national president, said issues affecting the Nigerian healthcare system and welfare of health workers remained their core concerns.
Part of the demands of the NARD from the government included the provision of adequate personnel protective equipment, such as N95 respirators, gloves, and others to all health workers during this pandemic, Aliyu said.
The resident doctors also demanded the prompt payment of their salaries, as well as the immediate recall of their sacked colleagues in central Nigeria. According to the association, 26 resident doctors at the Jos University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria's central Plateau State were illegally disengaged without recourse to the law governing residency training.
The doctors also called on security agencies especially in Lagos, Delta, and Abuja to stop the harassment and assault of doctors while carrying out their legitimate activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NARD president noted the shortage of medical staff, especially resident doctors in most health institutions across the country, and called on the government to quickly address the problem.
Xinhua
#JusticeForUwa trends in Nigeria after student murdered in church
The hashtag #JusticeForUwa is trending in Nigeria, with her family appealing for help to track down her killers.
Uwavera had been studying in a "quiet" church near her home in Benin City when she was killed, her sister, Judith, told BBC Pidgin.
The student, who had wanted to become a nurse, died in hospital on Saturday, three days after the attack.
Judith Omozuwa said her sister had also been raped.
Her family said they received a call from a woman at the Redeemed Christian Church of God on Wednesday evening.
Uwavera was taken to hospital after a security guard found her, her skirt torn and her shirt covered in blood, Judith Omozuwa said.
'Failure to curb gender-based violence'
However, a police spokesperson in southern Edo State, whose capital is Benin City, told BBC Pidgin that they were treating the incident as a murder, not a rape, case.
The student died following a fight at the church, the spokesperson added, without giving more details.
Uwavera had only just been admitted to the University of Benin to study microbiology when she was killed.
She often went to sit and "read" at the church near her house as it was quiet, her sister added.
Unconfirmed reports in local media said a group of men had entered the church, raping Uwavera and hitting her with a fire extinguisher.
On Tuesday, many Nigerians were angered after a policeman allegedly shot dead a 16-year-old girl, Tina Ezekwe, in the commercial capital, Lagos.
The officer was arrested, police said.
On Twitter, many Nigerians expressed concern about the government's failure to tackle gender-based violence, and questioned whether parents were bringing up boys properly.
BBC
Friday, May 29, 2020
Rohr: 'Nigeria are not number one in Africa'
Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr, who has signed a new contract with the Super Eagles, has said the Super Eagles are "not number one in Africa" - despite his new deal expecting him to deliver the 2021 Afcon.
The German told BBC Sport Africa he is "happy to continue" with Nigeria and that the new deal was "good for all of us."
The contract quagmire between the Nigeria Football Federation and their coach, which lasted for over two months, finally came to an end with the announcement by the President of the Federation on Wednesday.But the NFF statement also highlighted a major expectation - that Rohr is to deliver the Afcon 2021 title to Nigeria, something the manager thinks will be difficult, though not impossible.
"When you go to a tournament it is to win it," Rohr said.
"We finished third in the last one, and everybody wants to progress. But we know also that it is very difficult to win this tournament because we are not number one in Africa.
"But it is good to have these milestones and ambition."
Rohr, whose new two-and-a-half year contract runs until the 2022 World Cup, also highlighted that he understands the risks of his contract and knows he has to qualify for Qatar.
"My contract all the time is a risk because it is finished when we are eliminated from a competition - whether the Afcon or World Cup," he explained.
"I took the risk already when I arrived, and it is still the same. But I am very optimistic, because now we have a team which is playing good football and I have confidence in my players."
BBC
The German told BBC Sport Africa he is "happy to continue" with Nigeria and that the new deal was "good for all of us."
The contract quagmire between the Nigeria Football Federation and their coach, which lasted for over two months, finally came to an end with the announcement by the President of the Federation on Wednesday.But the NFF statement also highlighted a major expectation - that Rohr is to deliver the Afcon 2021 title to Nigeria, something the manager thinks will be difficult, though not impossible.
"When you go to a tournament it is to win it," Rohr said.
"We finished third in the last one, and everybody wants to progress. But we know also that it is very difficult to win this tournament because we are not number one in Africa.
"But it is good to have these milestones and ambition."
Rohr, whose new two-and-a-half year contract runs until the 2022 World Cup, also highlighted that he understands the risks of his contract and knows he has to qualify for Qatar.
"My contract all the time is a risk because it is finished when we are eliminated from a competition - whether the Afcon or World Cup," he explained.
"I took the risk already when I arrived, and it is still the same. But I am very optimistic, because now we have a team which is playing good football and I have confidence in my players."
BBC
At least 60 killed in attacks in Nigeria’s northwest
At least 60 people were killed in a string of attacks by armed gangs in the restive northwest region of Nigeria, AFP reports quoting medical and local sources.
The attacks were carried out by dozens of gunmen who stormed five villages in Sabon Birni district in Sokoto state late Wednesday.
“We received a total of 60 dead bodies and several people with gunshot injuries from the villages attacked by the bandits last night,” AFP quotes a nurse at the general hospital in Sabon Birni.
A local resident corroborated the reports, noting that the gunmen opened fire on homes as residents were gathered around.
“We lost 60 people in the attacks. The bandits killed 16 in Garki, 13 in Dan Aduwa, 22 in Kuzari, seven in Katuma and two in Masawa,” AFP quotes the local resident.
There was no official comment on the attacks by security authorities at the time of publishing, but the police are expected to hold a press conference later.
Sabon Birni district, 175 kilometres (110 miles) from the state capital Sokoto, has in recent times been repeatedly attacked by armed gangs.
On Monday 18 people were killed when gunmen raided five other villages in Sabon Birni district, local officials said.
Authorities have previously launched repeated military operations and local peace talks to try to end the violence.
CGTN
The attacks were carried out by dozens of gunmen who stormed five villages in Sabon Birni district in Sokoto state late Wednesday.
“We received a total of 60 dead bodies and several people with gunshot injuries from the villages attacked by the bandits last night,” AFP quotes a nurse at the general hospital in Sabon Birni.
A local resident corroborated the reports, noting that the gunmen opened fire on homes as residents were gathered around.
“We lost 60 people in the attacks. The bandits killed 16 in Garki, 13 in Dan Aduwa, 22 in Kuzari, seven in Katuma and two in Masawa,” AFP quotes the local resident.
There was no official comment on the attacks by security authorities at the time of publishing, but the police are expected to hold a press conference later.
Sabon Birni district, 175 kilometres (110 miles) from the state capital Sokoto, has in recent times been repeatedly attacked by armed gangs.
On Monday 18 people were killed when gunmen raided five other villages in Sabon Birni district, local officials said.
Authorities have previously launched repeated military operations and local peace talks to try to end the violence.
CGTN
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Nigeria pays $11 million as ransom to kidnappers in four years
The security architecture in Nigeria has once again come under the spotlight after a new report said the Nigerian Government and citizens have handed over N4 billion ($11 million) to kidnappers for ransom in the last four years.
“Between June 2011 and end of March 2020, What we have found shows that between June 2011 and the end of March 2020, at least $18.34 million has been paid to kidnappers as ransom,” a report by SBM Intelligence – Kidnap Problem: The Economics of the Kidnap Industry in Nigeria said.
“Even more frightening is that the larger proportion of that figure (just below $11 million), was paid out between January 2016 and March 2020, indicating that kidnapping is becoming more lucrative.”
The report which featured all 36 Nigerian states and the capital – Abuja said 18 of the states – Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba and Yobe State have fewer deaths per kidnap attempt.
Rivers State, according to the report has 120 kidnap cases between 2016 and 2020, followed by Kaduna with 117. Delta is third with 96 cases of kidnap, Bayelsa is fourth with 85 and Borno fifth with 82 cases.
Other states in the top ten are Kogi with 59 cases of kidnap, followed by Edo State with 55, Ondo 54, Katsina 52 and Taraba with 47.
The report said ongoing violence from other sources could have contributed immensely to the fatality rates from kidnapping in the states.
“Our conclusion is that where existing violence and/or historic violent norms have devalued human lives, crimes such as kidnapping tend to result in more fatalities,” the report said.
Bayelsa, a south-south state, the report said is the only state that had a decline in kidnap related incidents in comparison to 2011-2015 when it had a spike. Kaduna, Rivers, Katsina, Zamfara and Taraba, have witnessed a rise in kidnap cases according to the report.
The report explained that a significant history of violence in Kaduna State, especially along its connecting road to Abuja could have contributed to it being ranked as the state with the second-highest number of kidnapping incident in Nigeria.
Although Nigeria’s capital city – Abuja was not listed in the top ten states with cases of kidnapping in Nigeria, the report stated that “there is anecdotal evidence” which suggests “that some of the perpetrators responsible for Kaduna’s high rate of kidnap attempts have extended their operations” there.
“While kidnapping may be frequent, the selection of victims is more targeted and the kidnappers see it more as a business transaction, trying hard to extract money from their criminal activities,” the report said.
The Guardian
“Between June 2011 and end of March 2020, What we have found shows that between June 2011 and the end of March 2020, at least $18.34 million has been paid to kidnappers as ransom,” a report by SBM Intelligence – Kidnap Problem: The Economics of the Kidnap Industry in Nigeria said.
“Even more frightening is that the larger proportion of that figure (just below $11 million), was paid out between January 2016 and March 2020, indicating that kidnapping is becoming more lucrative.”
The report which featured all 36 Nigerian states and the capital – Abuja said 18 of the states – Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba and Yobe State have fewer deaths per kidnap attempt.
Rivers State, according to the report has 120 kidnap cases between 2016 and 2020, followed by Kaduna with 117. Delta is third with 96 cases of kidnap, Bayelsa is fourth with 85 and Borno fifth with 82 cases.
Other states in the top ten are Kogi with 59 cases of kidnap, followed by Edo State with 55, Ondo 54, Katsina 52 and Taraba with 47.
The report said ongoing violence from other sources could have contributed immensely to the fatality rates from kidnapping in the states.
“Our conclusion is that where existing violence and/or historic violent norms have devalued human lives, crimes such as kidnapping tend to result in more fatalities,” the report said.
Bayelsa, a south-south state, the report said is the only state that had a decline in kidnap related incidents in comparison to 2011-2015 when it had a spike. Kaduna, Rivers, Katsina, Zamfara and Taraba, have witnessed a rise in kidnap cases according to the report.
The report explained that a significant history of violence in Kaduna State, especially along its connecting road to Abuja could have contributed to it being ranked as the state with the second-highest number of kidnapping incident in Nigeria.
Although Nigeria’s capital city – Abuja was not listed in the top ten states with cases of kidnapping in Nigeria, the report stated that “there is anecdotal evidence” which suggests “that some of the perpetrators responsible for Kaduna’s high rate of kidnap attempts have extended their operations” there.
“While kidnapping may be frequent, the selection of victims is more targeted and the kidnappers see it more as a business transaction, trying hard to extract money from their criminal activities,” the report said.
The Guardian
In Nigeria, Masks Are New Glamour Accessory
Some Nigerian tailors and designers have taken their creativity to making fashionable face masks, adding glamour and style to health and safety. When authorities eased lockdowns in the country earlier this month, it made the use of face masks in public places mandatory. Timothy Obiezu examines how some Nigerians are choosing to wear face masks with flair.
VOA
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Nigeria: children brutally targeted in military-Boko Haram conflict becoming 'lost generation'
Amnesty International has documented torture, unlawful detention and sexual abuse of children escaping Boko Haram in the Northeast
At least 10,000 people, including many children, have died in military detention during the conflict
UK funding a flawed ‘rehabilitation’ centre – full investigation needed into deaths at the site
‘This must serve as an urgent warning to the UK Government currently supporting a military abusing the very people it’s meant to be protecting’ – Kate Allen
Nigeria must urgently address its failure to protect and provide education to an entire generation of children in the Northeast, a region devastated by years of Boko Haram atrocities and gross violations by the military, Amnesty International warned today in a chilling new report.
The 91-page report, ‘We dried our tears’: Addressing the toll on children of Northeast Nigeria’s conflict, examines how the military’s widespread unlawful detention and torture have compounded the suffering of children from Borno and Adamawa states who faced war crimes and crimes against humanity at the hands of Boko Haram.
It also reveals how international donors including the UK have bankrolled a flawed programme that claims to reintegrate former alleged fighters, but which overwhelmingly amounts to unlawful detention of children and adults.
Joanne Mariner, Acting Director of Crisis Response at Amnesty International, said:
“The past decade of bitter conflict between Nigeria’s military and Boko Haram has been an assault on childhood itself in Northeast Nigeria. The Nigerian authorities risk creating a lost generation unless they urgently address how the war has targeted and traumatised thousands of children.
“Boko Haram has repeatedly attacked schools and abducted large numbers of children as soldiers or ‘wives’, among other atrocities.
“The Nigerian military’s treatment of those who escape such brutality has also been appalling. From mass, unlawful detention in inhumane conditions, to meting out beatings and torture and allowing sexual abuse by adult inmates – it defies belief that children anywhere would be so grievously harmed by the very authorities charged with their protection.”
Between November 2019 and April 2020, Amnesty interviewed more than 230 people affected by the conflict, including 119 who were children when they suffered serious crimes at the hands of Boko Haram, the Nigerian military, or both. This included 48 children held in military detention for months or years, as well as 22 adults who had been detained with children.
Boko Haram’s brutality
Children have been among those most impacted by Boko Haram’s string of atrocities carried out over large swathes of Northeast Nigeria for nearly a decade. The armed group’s classic tactics have included attacks on schools, widespread abductions, recruitment and use of child soldiers, and forced marriage of girls and young women, which all constitute crimes under international law.
The scale of abductions has often been underestimated and appears to run into the thousands. Boko Haram continues to force parents to hand over boys and girls, under threat of death. It continues to forcibly “marry” girls and young women. And it continues to murder people who try to escape.
Children in areas under Boko Haram control have been subjected to torture, including floggings and other beatings, as well as forced to watch public executions and other brutal punishments.
A 17-year-old girl who escaped Boko Haram after being abducted and held in captivity for four years described life in the Sambisa forest: “[My] wicked ‘husband’ always beat me… My daily activities included praying, cooking if there was food, [and] going for Quranic lessons. No movement was allowed, and no visiting friends. It was a terrible experience, and I witnessed different punishments, from shooting to stoning to lashing.”
She, and most other former child “wives” interviewed — including some who returned with children born during captivity — had received little or no assistance in returning to school, starting livelihoods, or accessing psychosocial support.
Thousands, including children, held in military detention
Children who escape Boko Haram territory face a raft of violations by the Nigerian authorities, including crimes under international law. At best, they end up displaced, struggling for survival and with little or no access to education. At worst, they are arbitrarily detained for years in military barracks, in conditions amounting to torture or other ill-treatment.
The UN told Amnesty it has verified the release of 2,879 children from military detention since 2015, although it previously cited a higher figure of children detained between 2013 and 2019. These statistics are likely to be a vast underestimate, and the UN has said its access to military detention is restricted so it cannot provide the actual number of children detained in the context of the conflict.
Most of these detentions are unlawful; children are never charged or prosecuted for any crime and are denied the rights to access a lawyer, appear before a judge, or communicate with their families. The widespread unlawful detentions may amount to a crime against humanity.
Almost everyone fleeing Boko Haram territory, including children, is “screened” by the military and Civilian Joint Task Force – a process that, for many, involves torture until the person “confesses” to affiliation with Boko Haram. Alleged Boko Haram members and supporters are transferred and held - often for months or years - in squalid conditions in detention centres including Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri and the Kainji military base in Niger State.
Conditions so severe they amount to torture
Every former detainee interviewed offered consistent descriptions of the conditions: extreme overcrowding; a lack of ventilation amid stifling heat; parasites everywhere; and urine and faeces on the floor, because of the lack of toilets. Although there have been some improvements in recent years, many former detainees, including children, also faced grossly inadequate access to water, food, and health care.
Tens of thousands of detainees have been held in these conditions, which are so extreme that they constitute the war crime of torture. Many children continue to be held in such conditions, even after mass releases in late 2019 and early 2020. Amnesty estimates that at least 10,000 people, including many children, have died in detention during the conflict.
A 14-year-old boy whom Boko Haram abducted as a young child before he fled and was placed in detention by the Nigerian military, said: “The conditions in Giwa are horrible. They could make you die. There’s no place to lie down… It’s hot, all your clothes were wet, like they put you in a river… Up to now, nobody has told me why I was taken there, what I did, why I was in detention. I wonder, why did I run from [Boko Haram]?”
UK support to the Nigerian military and unsafe detention centres
The UK Government is supporting the Nigerian armed forces to counter the threat from Boko Haram through British military training and by providing operational guidance and advice.
As part of this support, the UK is one the international donors (including the USA and EU), providing millions of dollars to Operation Safe Corridor – a military-run detention centre set up in 2016 with the aim of ‘de-radicalising and rehabilitating’ alleged Boko Haram fighters or supporters.
Whilst conditions are better at the Safe Corridor site than elsewhere in military detention, and former detainees spoke positively about the psychosocial support and adult education there, Amnesty has documented a number of human rights violations at the site, including:
Most of the men and boys there have not been informed of any legal basis for their detention and still lack access to lawyers or courts to contest it. Their promised six-month stay has in some cases extended to 19 months, during which time they are deprived of liberty and under constant armed guard.
Former detainees there told Amnesty that medical care was sorely lacking. At least seven detainees have died, many, if not all, after receiving inadequate medical care. The Nigerian authorities did not even notify their families – they were informed by released detainees instead.
A vocational training programme that is part of Safe Corridor may amount to forced labour, since most detainees, if not all, have never been convicted of any crime and make everything from shoes to soap to furniture for no pay.
The programme also subjects some detainees to unsafe work conditions. Some detainees suffered serious injuries to their hands after being made to work with caustic soda, a highly corrosive substance, without protective equipment. “The caustic soda is dangerous. If it touches your body, it will remove the flesh,” said a 61-year old former detainee.
Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty UK, said:
“Amnesty’s investigations show the brutal and inhumane treatment of many children by the Nigerian military.
“This must serve as an urgent warning to the UK Government and the British forces currently supporting a military abusing the very people it’s meant to be protecting.
“The UK’s support of a military-run detention centre that is unlawfully imprisoning people, including children, and subjecting them to unsafe conditions is particularly worrying – continued support for the programme must be conditioned on the Nigerian authorities undertaking a full investigation into deaths in the facility and taking steps to ensure the military respects children’s rights.
“The priority must be supporting victims of Boko Haram. The UK Government must work with the Nigerian authorities to ensure that the military is protecting the population, and that absolutely no UK support is contributing to the vile abuses taking place in the context of the conflict.”
Amnesty International UK
At least 10,000 people, including many children, have died in military detention during the conflict
UK funding a flawed ‘rehabilitation’ centre – full investigation needed into deaths at the site
‘This must serve as an urgent warning to the UK Government currently supporting a military abusing the very people it’s meant to be protecting’ – Kate Allen
Nigeria must urgently address its failure to protect and provide education to an entire generation of children in the Northeast, a region devastated by years of Boko Haram atrocities and gross violations by the military, Amnesty International warned today in a chilling new report.
The 91-page report, ‘We dried our tears’: Addressing the toll on children of Northeast Nigeria’s conflict, examines how the military’s widespread unlawful detention and torture have compounded the suffering of children from Borno and Adamawa states who faced war crimes and crimes against humanity at the hands of Boko Haram.
It also reveals how international donors including the UK have bankrolled a flawed programme that claims to reintegrate former alleged fighters, but which overwhelmingly amounts to unlawful detention of children and adults.
Joanne Mariner, Acting Director of Crisis Response at Amnesty International, said:
“The past decade of bitter conflict between Nigeria’s military and Boko Haram has been an assault on childhood itself in Northeast Nigeria. The Nigerian authorities risk creating a lost generation unless they urgently address how the war has targeted and traumatised thousands of children.
“Boko Haram has repeatedly attacked schools and abducted large numbers of children as soldiers or ‘wives’, among other atrocities.
“The Nigerian military’s treatment of those who escape such brutality has also been appalling. From mass, unlawful detention in inhumane conditions, to meting out beatings and torture and allowing sexual abuse by adult inmates – it defies belief that children anywhere would be so grievously harmed by the very authorities charged with their protection.”
Between November 2019 and April 2020, Amnesty interviewed more than 230 people affected by the conflict, including 119 who were children when they suffered serious crimes at the hands of Boko Haram, the Nigerian military, or both. This included 48 children held in military detention for months or years, as well as 22 adults who had been detained with children.
Boko Haram’s brutality
Children have been among those most impacted by Boko Haram’s string of atrocities carried out over large swathes of Northeast Nigeria for nearly a decade. The armed group’s classic tactics have included attacks on schools, widespread abductions, recruitment and use of child soldiers, and forced marriage of girls and young women, which all constitute crimes under international law.
The scale of abductions has often been underestimated and appears to run into the thousands. Boko Haram continues to force parents to hand over boys and girls, under threat of death. It continues to forcibly “marry” girls and young women. And it continues to murder people who try to escape.
Children in areas under Boko Haram control have been subjected to torture, including floggings and other beatings, as well as forced to watch public executions and other brutal punishments.
A 17-year-old girl who escaped Boko Haram after being abducted and held in captivity for four years described life in the Sambisa forest: “[My] wicked ‘husband’ always beat me… My daily activities included praying, cooking if there was food, [and] going for Quranic lessons. No movement was allowed, and no visiting friends. It was a terrible experience, and I witnessed different punishments, from shooting to stoning to lashing.”
She, and most other former child “wives” interviewed — including some who returned with children born during captivity — had received little or no assistance in returning to school, starting livelihoods, or accessing psychosocial support.
Thousands, including children, held in military detention
Children who escape Boko Haram territory face a raft of violations by the Nigerian authorities, including crimes under international law. At best, they end up displaced, struggling for survival and with little or no access to education. At worst, they are arbitrarily detained for years in military barracks, in conditions amounting to torture or other ill-treatment.
The UN told Amnesty it has verified the release of 2,879 children from military detention since 2015, although it previously cited a higher figure of children detained between 2013 and 2019. These statistics are likely to be a vast underestimate, and the UN has said its access to military detention is restricted so it cannot provide the actual number of children detained in the context of the conflict.
Most of these detentions are unlawful; children are never charged or prosecuted for any crime and are denied the rights to access a lawyer, appear before a judge, or communicate with their families. The widespread unlawful detentions may amount to a crime against humanity.
Almost everyone fleeing Boko Haram territory, including children, is “screened” by the military and Civilian Joint Task Force – a process that, for many, involves torture until the person “confesses” to affiliation with Boko Haram. Alleged Boko Haram members and supporters are transferred and held - often for months or years - in squalid conditions in detention centres including Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri and the Kainji military base in Niger State.
Conditions so severe they amount to torture
Every former detainee interviewed offered consistent descriptions of the conditions: extreme overcrowding; a lack of ventilation amid stifling heat; parasites everywhere; and urine and faeces on the floor, because of the lack of toilets. Although there have been some improvements in recent years, many former detainees, including children, also faced grossly inadequate access to water, food, and health care.
Tens of thousands of detainees have been held in these conditions, which are so extreme that they constitute the war crime of torture. Many children continue to be held in such conditions, even after mass releases in late 2019 and early 2020. Amnesty estimates that at least 10,000 people, including many children, have died in detention during the conflict.
A 14-year-old boy whom Boko Haram abducted as a young child before he fled and was placed in detention by the Nigerian military, said: “The conditions in Giwa are horrible. They could make you die. There’s no place to lie down… It’s hot, all your clothes were wet, like they put you in a river… Up to now, nobody has told me why I was taken there, what I did, why I was in detention. I wonder, why did I run from [Boko Haram]?”
UK support to the Nigerian military and unsafe detention centres
The UK Government is supporting the Nigerian armed forces to counter the threat from Boko Haram through British military training and by providing operational guidance and advice.
As part of this support, the UK is one the international donors (including the USA and EU), providing millions of dollars to Operation Safe Corridor – a military-run detention centre set up in 2016 with the aim of ‘de-radicalising and rehabilitating’ alleged Boko Haram fighters or supporters.
Whilst conditions are better at the Safe Corridor site than elsewhere in military detention, and former detainees spoke positively about the psychosocial support and adult education there, Amnesty has documented a number of human rights violations at the site, including:
Most of the men and boys there have not been informed of any legal basis for their detention and still lack access to lawyers or courts to contest it. Their promised six-month stay has in some cases extended to 19 months, during which time they are deprived of liberty and under constant armed guard.
Former detainees there told Amnesty that medical care was sorely lacking. At least seven detainees have died, many, if not all, after receiving inadequate medical care. The Nigerian authorities did not even notify their families – they were informed by released detainees instead.
A vocational training programme that is part of Safe Corridor may amount to forced labour, since most detainees, if not all, have never been convicted of any crime and make everything from shoes to soap to furniture for no pay.
The programme also subjects some detainees to unsafe work conditions. Some detainees suffered serious injuries to their hands after being made to work with caustic soda, a highly corrosive substance, without protective equipment. “The caustic soda is dangerous. If it touches your body, it will remove the flesh,” said a 61-year old former detainee.
Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty UK, said:
“Amnesty’s investigations show the brutal and inhumane treatment of many children by the Nigerian military.
“This must serve as an urgent warning to the UK Government and the British forces currently supporting a military abusing the very people it’s meant to be protecting.
“The UK’s support of a military-run detention centre that is unlawfully imprisoning people, including children, and subjecting them to unsafe conditions is particularly worrying – continued support for the programme must be conditioned on the Nigerian authorities undertaking a full investigation into deaths in the facility and taking steps to ensure the military respects children’s rights.
“The priority must be supporting victims of Boko Haram. The UK Government must work with the Nigerian authorities to ensure that the military is protecting the population, and that absolutely no UK support is contributing to the vile abuses taking place in the context of the conflict.”
Amnesty International UK
Trafficked Nigerian women rescued from Lebanon
Fifty trafficked Nigerian women have been rescued from Lebanon and returned home, Nigeria's foreign minister says.
They have all been placed in quarantine following their arrival on Sunday as a precaution against coronavirus.
The country's anti-trafficking agency will interview them about their experiences after their isolation ends.
Last month, a Nigerian woman working as a maid in Lebanon was rescued after being put up for sale on Facebook for $1,000 (£807).
The UN says thousands of women and girls from Nigeria and other African countries are trafficked every year.
They are often lured away with promises of jobs in Europe or Asia, but usually end up being exploited as domestic maids or forced into prostitution.
Last year, an undercover BBC News Arabic investigation in Kuwait found that domestic workers were being illegally bought and sold online in a booming black market.
Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, tweeted his thanks to the Lebanese authorities for their financial and logistical support in making Sunday's evacuation possible.
A further 19 Nigerians, stranded in Lebanon because of Covid-19 lockdowns, were also repatriated.
Julie Okah-Donli, the head of Nigeria's National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (Naptip), said the hotel where the women were being quarantined was under guard to ensure their protection.
They would be offered ways to rebuild their lives after investigations into their cases, she said.
According to Naptip, at least 20,000 Nigerian girls were trafficked to Mali and forced into prostitution last year.
Ms Okah-Donli said the agency was working with the foreign ministry to repatriate citizens who had been trafficked.
BBC
They have all been placed in quarantine following their arrival on Sunday as a precaution against coronavirus.
The country's anti-trafficking agency will interview them about their experiences after their isolation ends.
Last month, a Nigerian woman working as a maid in Lebanon was rescued after being put up for sale on Facebook for $1,000 (£807).
The UN says thousands of women and girls from Nigeria and other African countries are trafficked every year.
They are often lured away with promises of jobs in Europe or Asia, but usually end up being exploited as domestic maids or forced into prostitution.
Last year, an undercover BBC News Arabic investigation in Kuwait found that domestic workers were being illegally bought and sold online in a booming black market.
Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, tweeted his thanks to the Lebanese authorities for their financial and logistical support in making Sunday's evacuation possible.
A further 19 Nigerians, stranded in Lebanon because of Covid-19 lockdowns, were also repatriated.
Julie Okah-Donli, the head of Nigeria's National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (Naptip), said the hotel where the women were being quarantined was under guard to ensure their protection.
They would be offered ways to rebuild their lives after investigations into their cases, she said.
According to Naptip, at least 20,000 Nigerian girls were trafficked to Mali and forced into prostitution last year.
Ms Okah-Donli said the agency was working with the foreign ministry to repatriate citizens who had been trafficked.
BBC
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Video - Eid in Nigeria: Outbreak dampens festivities
The Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan is usually a time of celebration in Nigeria. This year, however, many children will not be getting new clothes and gifts. The pandemic has devastated the economy, leaving millions struggling to get by. Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris reports from Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
Monday, May 25, 2020
Nigeria’s Economy Boosted by Higher Oil Production
Nigerian economic growth beat estimates in the first quarter as oil production rose to the highest in at least four years.
Gross domestic product expanded 1.87% in the three months through March from a year earlier, compared with growth of 2.55% in the previous quarter, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said on its website on Monday. The slowdown reflects “the earliest effects of the disruption, particularly on the non-oil economy,” the statistics office said. The median estimate of three economists in a Bloomberg survey was for 0.8% expansion. GDP contracted by 14.27% from the fourth quarter.
While crude prices started dropping in the first quarter due to the tension between some of the world’s biggest producers and the coronavirus outbreak, Nigeria ramped up production to compensate for the fall in income. Oil output rose to 2.07 million barrels a day, compared with 2 million in the fourth quarter and 1.99 million barrels in the first quarter of last year. That’s the highest level since at least the start of 2016.
The oil sector grew by 5.06% from year earlier and the non-oil growth rate dropped to 1.55%, compared with 2.47% a year earlier. Still, the plunge in crude prices will weigh on Africa’s largest economy this year and gross domestic product could contract 3.4% in 2020, the most in at least four decades, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Budget Plans
Oil contributes less than 10% to GDP, but it accounts for half of the government’s income and about 90% of Nigeria’s foreign-exchange earnings. Africa’s biggest crude producer has more than halved the benchmark price in its budget to $25 per barrel for 2020 while keeping spending targets mostly intact, a step which would mean more borrowing to finance the fiscal plans.
Nigeria’s oil revenues declined by 125.5 billion naira ($326 million) in the first quarter, an indication of the headwinds the economy is facing from the coronavirus pandemic and low crude prices, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said last week. Without stimulus, the economy could contract by 8.9%, she said.
BNN Bloomberg
Gross domestic product expanded 1.87% in the three months through March from a year earlier, compared with growth of 2.55% in the previous quarter, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said on its website on Monday. The slowdown reflects “the earliest effects of the disruption, particularly on the non-oil economy,” the statistics office said. The median estimate of three economists in a Bloomberg survey was for 0.8% expansion. GDP contracted by 14.27% from the fourth quarter.
While crude prices started dropping in the first quarter due to the tension between some of the world’s biggest producers and the coronavirus outbreak, Nigeria ramped up production to compensate for the fall in income. Oil output rose to 2.07 million barrels a day, compared with 2 million in the fourth quarter and 1.99 million barrels in the first quarter of last year. That’s the highest level since at least the start of 2016.
The oil sector grew by 5.06% from year earlier and the non-oil growth rate dropped to 1.55%, compared with 2.47% a year earlier. Still, the plunge in crude prices will weigh on Africa’s largest economy this year and gross domestic product could contract 3.4% in 2020, the most in at least four decades, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Budget Plans
Oil contributes less than 10% to GDP, but it accounts for half of the government’s income and about 90% of Nigeria’s foreign-exchange earnings. Africa’s biggest crude producer has more than halved the benchmark price in its budget to $25 per barrel for 2020 while keeping spending targets mostly intact, a step which would mean more borrowing to finance the fiscal plans.
Nigeria’s oil revenues declined by 125.5 billion naira ($326 million) in the first quarter, an indication of the headwinds the economy is facing from the coronavirus pandemic and low crude prices, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said last week. Without stimulus, the economy could contract by 8.9%, she said.
BNN Bloomberg
Friday, May 22, 2020
COVID-19 cases in Nigeria exceed 7,000
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday recorded 339 new cases of COVID-19 in the country, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 7,016.
The NCDC disclosed this on its twitter handle on Thursday night. “339 new cases of #COVID19; 139-Lagos 28-Kano 28-Oyo 25-Edo 22-Katsina 18-Kaduna 14-Jigawa 13-Yobe 13-Plateau 11-FCT 8-Gombe 5-Ogun 4-Bauchi 4-Nasarawa 3-Delta 2-Ondo 1-Rivers 1-Adamawa. “7016 total cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria “Discharged: 1907 “Deaths: 211” NCDC also announced that to limit transmission of the virus, the centre is training healthcare workers to practise standard care precautions at all times. The health agency had on Wednesday said that sometimes, COVID-19 test results take longer than 96 hours due to sample transport and other logistics.
“While we work hard to reduce time between sample collection and result notification, please take preventive measures. “Self-isolation is important,” it stated. According to NCDC, the health agency does not own quarantine or treatment centres which are the responsibility of the state governments or relevant teaching hospital. The NCDC said that it only provides guidance on set-up of standard isolation centres, national case management guidelines and training to health workers.
The agency on Wednesday said that since COVID-19 onset, it had proactively provided Nigerians with reliable information on what they know; also through its website- covid19.ncdc.gov.ng. It called on the need for credible scientists in the country to support in dispelling rumours just like the early days of HIV. Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government on Thursday, disclosed that it has spent at least N800 million in conducting 16,000 COVID-19 tests in the state. The state’s Commissioner for Health, Professor. Akin Abayomi stated this, while briefing newsmen on COVID-19 weekly situation report, held in Press Centre, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja.
Abayomi, while responding to questions from the newsmen, said each COVID-19 test cost between N40,000 to N50,000, while 16,000 tests have been conducted so far fully all expenses paid by the state government. According to him, “We have so far performed 16,000 COVID-19 tests in Lagos, which is much higher than anywhere else in Nigeria. “We are planning to test up to about 1,000 people per day very soon in the next month or two we are going to be ramping up our capacity to test.
“For now the government is providing testing free of charge and the government pays about N40,000 to N50,000 per test. “But as we ramp up our testing we are going to try and use some means of subsidy for the test, either through insurance or through some contributions from donors or from development partners to help us to subsidize the test. “For now the state government is providing COVID-19 testing free of charge and all citizens who need to be tested for COVID-19 either because they are not feeling well or had a close contact can get it done free of charge at any of our COVID-19 testing sites on the four laboratories,” the commissioner said.
Vanguard
The NCDC disclosed this on its twitter handle on Thursday night. “339 new cases of #COVID19; 139-Lagos 28-Kano 28-Oyo 25-Edo 22-Katsina 18-Kaduna 14-Jigawa 13-Yobe 13-Plateau 11-FCT 8-Gombe 5-Ogun 4-Bauchi 4-Nasarawa 3-Delta 2-Ondo 1-Rivers 1-Adamawa. “7016 total cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria “Discharged: 1907 “Deaths: 211” NCDC also announced that to limit transmission of the virus, the centre is training healthcare workers to practise standard care precautions at all times. The health agency had on Wednesday said that sometimes, COVID-19 test results take longer than 96 hours due to sample transport and other logistics.
“While we work hard to reduce time between sample collection and result notification, please take preventive measures. “Self-isolation is important,” it stated. According to NCDC, the health agency does not own quarantine or treatment centres which are the responsibility of the state governments or relevant teaching hospital. The NCDC said that it only provides guidance on set-up of standard isolation centres, national case management guidelines and training to health workers.
The agency on Wednesday said that since COVID-19 onset, it had proactively provided Nigerians with reliable information on what they know; also through its website- covid19.ncdc.gov.ng. It called on the need for credible scientists in the country to support in dispelling rumours just like the early days of HIV. Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government on Thursday, disclosed that it has spent at least N800 million in conducting 16,000 COVID-19 tests in the state. The state’s Commissioner for Health, Professor. Akin Abayomi stated this, while briefing newsmen on COVID-19 weekly situation report, held in Press Centre, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja.
Abayomi, while responding to questions from the newsmen, said each COVID-19 test cost between N40,000 to N50,000, while 16,000 tests have been conducted so far fully all expenses paid by the state government. According to him, “We have so far performed 16,000 COVID-19 tests in Lagos, which is much higher than anywhere else in Nigeria. “We are planning to test up to about 1,000 people per day very soon in the next month or two we are going to be ramping up our capacity to test.
“For now the government is providing testing free of charge and the government pays about N40,000 to N50,000 per test. “But as we ramp up our testing we are going to try and use some means of subsidy for the test, either through insurance or through some contributions from donors or from development partners to help us to subsidize the test. “For now the state government is providing COVID-19 testing free of charge and all citizens who need to be tested for COVID-19 either because they are not feeling well or had a close contact can get it done free of charge at any of our COVID-19 testing sites on the four laboratories,” the commissioner said.
Vanguard
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Nigerians stranded at airport to return home soon
Three Nigerian travellers stuck at Suvarnabhumi airport for nearly three months due to country lockdowns brought about by Covid-19 are expected to return home in about two weeks.
"They will fly back to their country as soon as the aviation ban is lifted," Immigration Bureau chief Sompong Chingduang said on Tuesday.
They have been in the departure area, receiving food and drink from airport security officers and airline staff, since late March.
Immigration cannot allow them entry because they do not have visas, Pol Lt Gen Sompong said.
They were waiting for connecting flights to Myanmar and Laos when the governments of both countries suddenly imposed travel restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19, he said.
The airlines they travelled with -- Emirates and Etihad -- also halted services, preventing them from returning home, he said.
But while Covid-19 affected many air passengers and millions of people worldwide, "the three have not caught the disease," Pol Lt Gen Sompong said after they tested negative for the virus.
Though they want to continue their journeys -- two to Laos and the other to Myanmar, officials, who have contacted the Nigerian embassy in Bangkok for help, agree it would be better to send them home.
They are scheduled to fly on Emirates on June 4 when the United Arab Emirates resumes international flights, Suvarnabhumi Airport's public relations department said.
Their ordeal caught the interest of the social media community when a Thai Airways International employee posted on her Facebook how she and her friends helped the three.
They have no problems eating as they have been given meal boxes everyday.
"But when I asked whether they needed more help, they said just wanted a shower and a change of clothes," wrote Praphaporn Puengphak.
Bangkok Post
"They will fly back to their country as soon as the aviation ban is lifted," Immigration Bureau chief Sompong Chingduang said on Tuesday.
They have been in the departure area, receiving food and drink from airport security officers and airline staff, since late March.
Immigration cannot allow them entry because they do not have visas, Pol Lt Gen Sompong said.
They were waiting for connecting flights to Myanmar and Laos when the governments of both countries suddenly imposed travel restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19, he said.
The airlines they travelled with -- Emirates and Etihad -- also halted services, preventing them from returning home, he said.
But while Covid-19 affected many air passengers and millions of people worldwide, "the three have not caught the disease," Pol Lt Gen Sompong said after they tested negative for the virus.
Though they want to continue their journeys -- two to Laos and the other to Myanmar, officials, who have contacted the Nigerian embassy in Bangkok for help, agree it would be better to send them home.
They are scheduled to fly on Emirates on June 4 when the United Arab Emirates resumes international flights, Suvarnabhumi Airport's public relations department said.
Their ordeal caught the interest of the social media community when a Thai Airways International employee posted on her Facebook how she and her friends helped the three.
They have no problems eating as they have been given meal boxes everyday.
"But when I asked whether they needed more help, they said just wanted a shower and a change of clothes," wrote Praphaporn Puengphak.
Bangkok Post
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