NAIJAFEED

Monday, August 19, 2024

Nigeria police working to secure release of 20 kidnapped medical students

Nigerian police and security agencies are working to secure the release of 20 medical students who were kidnapped in the eastern part of the country, officials say.

The medical students were on their way to an annual convention when they were abducted in Benue State on Thursday evening, police and university sources said on Saturday.

The Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students said in a statement that the students were travelling to the convention in the city of Enugu when they were taken.

Fortune Olaye, the secretary-general of the Nigerian Medical Students’ Association, said 20 medical students from two universities, as well as one doctor travelling with them, had been kidnapped.

It added that there had been a ransom demand in return for their release.

In a Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) letter to the inspector general of police, posted on the social media platform X, NMA secretary-general Benjamin Egbo said 12 of the abducted students were from the University of Jos and eight were from the University of Maiduguri.

One of the students managed to share their location, indicating that they were in the Oglewu Ehaje area in Benue State, the letter said.

“The Nigerian Medical Association is deeply concerned for the safety and well-being of these future medical professionals,” it added, saying that swift and decisive action to secure their return was “crucial”.

The kidnapping was also confirmed by Catherine Anene, public relations officer for police in Benue State.

Hyacinth Alia, governor of Benue State, said in a statement that he had “directed security agencies in the state to intensify efforts and ensure the safe release” of the students.

The national police said in a statement that it had ordered the deployment of “advanced helicopters and drones, as well as the use of specialized tactical vehicles to facilitate the search and secure the safe return of the victims”.

The kidnapped students were reportedly travelling from the northern part of the country in a convoy of two buses when the incident occurred, Nigeria’s This Day newspaper reported.

The students were abducted on the road near the town of Otukpo, less than 150km (93 miles) from Enugu, which often witnesses attacks and kidnappings.

Cases of kidnapping have increased significantly in Nigeria due to a severe economic crisis which is pushing more people towards crime. However, official figures are unreliable as many cases are not reported.

In 2022, a law was passed banning payments to kidnappers – but many families say they feel they have no choice but to cough up the ransoms demanded.

Nigerian consultancy firm SBM Intelligence said it had recorded 4,777 cases between May 2023, when Bola Tinubu assumed charge as president, and January 2024.

Al Jazeera

Seven dead, 100 kidnapped after attack in northern Nigeria

Friday, August 16, 2024

Video - Nigeria struggles to meet crude oil production targets

Nigeria's crude oil output in July 2024 rose slightly above 1.3 million barrels per day, up from June's output of 1.28 million. However, this still falls short of the 1.5 million bpd OPEC quota and far below Nigeria's 1.78 million barrels per day budget target for 2024. Lack of infrastructure and expertise, oil theft, and low investments continue to cripple output.

CGTN

Video - Nigeria to create 1.4 million jobs through cotton and textile industry

The government also wants to develop key components of the cotton value chain. Presently, Nigeria imports close to 90 percent of its textile products. This new initiative aims to change that.

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Army destroys illegal refineries in Nigeria, seizes crude oil

The Nigerian army said on Wednesday that it had destroyed at least 27 illicit oil refineries and seized around 100,000 liters (26,400 gallons) of stolen crude oil in a series of raids in the Niger river delta this week.

In a statement, the army said its troops destroyed 23 illegal sites along the Imo River in southeast Nigeria. It described the region as "a renowned hub of criminal activities."

Elsewhere, soldiers from the 16th brigade neutralized four illegal refineries in the Degema region near Port Harcourt.

Army spokesman Danjuma Jonah Danjuma said that, along with the crude oil itself, vehicles, storage tanks and metal drums were also confiscated.

"The confiscated products are being handled appropriately," the lieutenant colonel said, according to Nigeria's Daily Post newspaper.

Major General Jamal Abdussalam, commanding officer of the sixth division, commended his troops for their "renewed disposition to take criminal merchants out of business" and ordered them to "ensure the integrity of the pipelines [is] maintained."

He also called on local community stakeholders to continue to provide information on criminal activities to the security agencies.

Nigeria's economy hit by drop in oil supply

Nigeria is Africa's leading energy producer but large-scale oil theft and pipeline sabotage have decreased output in recent years — reducing exports, crippling government finances and posing a serious challenge for President Bola Tinubu.

Just last week, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said it had only been able to help secure 177,777 barrels per day (bpd) from oil producers in the first six months of the year, despite refineries raising their requirements for the second half of 2024 to 597,700 bpd.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Lagos are considering new, stricter punishments for "subversive actions" which critics say are aimed at anti-government protesters. However, the proposed regulation could feasibly by applied to oil smugglers, too.

On Wednesday, parliamentarians began debating a Counter Subversion Bill which proposes three-year jail terms for "disobeying constituted authority," five years for erecting "illegal road blocks" and up to ten years for refusal to sing the national anthem.

The new bill comes as a response to nationwide protests against economic reforms which have exacerbated a cost-of-living crisis in Nigeria.

Nigeria targets crypto accounts worth $38 million in intensified crackdown

Nigerian authorities have moved to freeze millions of dollars of value held in cryptocurrency wallets, which media reports say is an attempt to cut funding to a protest movement.

The move marks an escalation in a year-long crackdown on crypto use since Nigeria’s central bank alleged in February that crypto platforms enabled money flows through the country from unidentifiable sources.

In a Tuesday briefing to a government council chaired by President Bola Tinubu, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu said his office initiated action to freeze $38 million held as crypto in digital wallets. The accounts allegedly received donations in support of nationwide cost of living protests that were held at the beginning of this month, local media outlets reported.

A separate report by Premium Times detailed screengrabs of what it purports to be a court order in Nigeria’s capital Abuja authorizing EFCC, Nigeria’s financial crimes investigator, to freeze four wallets holding about 37 million USDT, a stablecoin valued at par with the dollar. The wallets “are owned by individuals being investigated for offences of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing,” the EFCC said according to the purported court order.

It is not clear when the agency began its investigation of the wallets’ owners. The order to freeze did not specify a connection to the protests and was granted on Aug. 9, the protests’ penultimate day. An EFCC spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment by Semafor Africa.

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Nigeria’s crackdown has included shutting off user access to crypto websites and trading platforms, and the arrest of staffers of Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto companies. Authorities have said crypto trading fueled a sharp weakening of the naira currency earlier this year.

Some doubt has been raised as to the content of the crypto wallets targeted by Nigerian authorities.

Two reports on Wednesday argued that two of the wallets contained less crypto than the EFCC’s court order stipulated and that they remained active, while a third wallet was non-existent. KuCoin, a crypto trading exchange that suspended its peer-to-peer service in Nigeria in May and reported by technology publication Techpoint as the owner of one of the four wallets, could not be reached for comment.

Alexander’s view

Nigeria’s latest action against crypto holders is not surprising given the government’s tone all year, but its overlap with cost of living protests suggests a broader security anxiety within government circles.

Despite veiled threats by the army and police to discourage the protests, residents across the country marched earlier this month against the soaring prices of food and other essentials. The protests did not quite last for the scheduled 10-day period as intensity faded after the first few days. Security forces used tear gas and live ammunition on protesters. At least six people were reportedly killed on the first day of demonstrations.

The specter of Russian flags being flown in northern states, where incidents of looting of stores were also attributed to protesters, appears to have evoked a determination to identify and punish leading actors of the protests. Targeting funding sources is one way to do so, as the authorities did in 2020 during protests against police brutality known as #EndSARS.

By Alexander Onukwue, Semafor