Category Nigeria News

Members of the Local Government Service Commission have filed a lawsuit against the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt.

Goodlife Ben, the commission’s chairman, and five others, filed a lawsuit against Ibok-Ete Ibas, the former sole administrator.

The claimants, who had previously been appointed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, requested that the court order their reinstatement and declare their removal unlawful.

However, Kelechi Ubani, their attorney, announced the case’s withdrawal during the session on Thursday, calling it a “painful but necessary decision.”

Ubani testified to the court that Rivers State should have done this in order to advance peace and development.

Justice Frank Onyiri disagreed with the judge’s request to dismiss the case without further delay rather than to strike it out.

Justice Onyiri cited Order 25 Rule 1, which allows the revocation of civil lawsuits, as supporting their contention.

When the lifeless body of a 15-year-old boy, Sunusi Abubakar, was recovered from a nearby pond on Wednesday, tragedy struck Gabari village in the Jigawa Local Government Area, bringing up concerns about child safety around open water bodies in rural areas.

The deceased was discovered in a pond known locally as Mahayin gidan Toro, about 1.5 kilometers north of the village, according to the spokesperson of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), ASC Badaruddeen Tijjani, who confirmed the incident.

In a statement released on Thursday in Dutse, Tijjani stated that “His shoes and trousers were first discovered abandoned on the riverbank on the evening of September 30.” The villagers began a search because of this, which caused them to be concerned right away.

Sunusi had gone swimming in the pond on Tuesday night at 5 p.m. but did not make it back home, according to the boy’s father, Abubakar Gabari. Local authorities and members of the community conducted a search.

READ MORE: One Dead, Seven Injured In the Jigawa Building Collapse

According to Tijjani, “No injuries were discovered on the body, and it has since been given to the family for burial in accordance with Islamic rites,” according to Tijjani.

The NSCDC has used the incident to further calls for public understanding of the risks of swimming in unfenced, natural water bodies, particularly during the dangerous rainy season.

Tijjani remarked, “This is a painful loss.” We urge parents, guardians, and community leaders to give children’s safety precedence and to discourage them from swimming in unsupervised, unsafe water.

The NSCDC State Commandant, Muhammad Ingawa, also urged people to cooperate with security organizations to report and secure hazardous areas.

Ingawa stated that “our goal is to make Jigawa citizens feel more secure.” We ask that all residents be on the lookout, especially during this time of year when accidents are more likely to occur.

In Jigawa and other northern states, where ponds, rivers, and irrigation channels serve as informal swimming areas for kids, drowing incidents have remained a recurring issue. The majority of these water bodies are not monitored or fenced.

Just last month, four teenage girls drowned in a pond in Malkaderi village, Gagarawa LGA, in September 2024, and three teenage girls died in Buji LGA from 12- to 13-year-olds.

These are not isolated incidents, they are not. Local resident Malam Isa Gambo, who calls for a state-wide campaign to educate families and provide safe recreational areas for children, said.

Barry Andrews, the European Union’s chief observer and a member of the European Parliament, paid Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Chairman, an official visit. &nbsp, &nbsp,

Following the last general election, the follow-up mission will be able to provide updates on how well their recommendations have been implemented.

23 recommendations, with eight specifically directed to INEC, were made by the Mission in July 2023, while the rest were directed at the Executive and the National Assembly.

READ ALSO: A Court Rejects a Tinubu Suit Due to the Emergency Rule in Rivers.

The final report on the 25 February and 18 March 2023 federal and state elections was released by the European Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) on June 27.

The Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, a member of the European Parliament, stated that “Nigerians demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the democratic process in the run-up to the 2023 general elections.” However, the election exposed persistent systemic flaws and calls for more legal and operational reforms to improve accountability, inclusion, and transparency.

The EU EOM made its findings and recommendations following a three-month observation across Nigeria, revealing that inaccuracies in the electoral administration hampered the running of fair and impartial elections and hampered INEC’s trust.

According to Barry Andrews, the Mission is particularly concerned about the priority recommendations for reform in six areas.

The six top recommendations address the need to address: (1) clarify the law; (2) set up a public scrutiny selection process for INEC members; (3) ensure real-time publication and access to election results; (3) increase media protection; address (5) discrimination against women in political life; and (6) impunity regarding electoral crimes.

According to Chief Observer Barry Andrews, political will is necessary to improve Nigerian democracy. It is still important to engage in comprehensive discussion among all parties involved in electoral reform. In implementing these recommendations, the European Union is prepared to support Nigerian stakeholders.

The EU EOM claimed to have completed its work between January 11 and April 11th, 2023, at INEC’s invitation. The EU EOM gathered with a delegation from the European Parliament to observe the presidential and legislative elections.

110 observers from 25 EU member states, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and Canada, were accreditated by the mission.

The Mission made the following 23 recommendations:

1. By removing errors and ambiguities from electoral law and regulations to prevent potential conflicting interpretations, and ensuring that the revision processes are inclusive, protect the interests of voters through certainty of law for all stages and aspects of electoral processes.

2. Implement timely, inclusive consultation to ensure institutional accountability.
publication and dissemination of all election-related laws, regulations, and guidelines, and enactment of consolidated official legislation that is available in hard copy and online through the INEC website.

3. Establish a robust operational framework to ensure electoral administration’s independence, integrity, and effectiveness through a transparent and open-door selection process for REC candidates based on rigorous evaluation criteria for merit, qualifications, and verified non-partisanship.

4. Improve the capacity of the electoral staff by updating the electoral staff’s procedures and providing training for the election supervisors, collation officers, and ad-hoc polling staff, focusing on the use of technology, counting, and completing polling unit results and collation forms.

5. By requiring in law the timely release of test and audit results, along with protocols, guidelines, implementation methodology, procurement, and functionality details, to ensure transparency and permit public scrutiny of election technology,

6. Protect the right to free speech and the integrity of elections.
by creating a results processing system that is robust, transparent, and quickly vérifiable
a clear system of regulations. These include uploading polling unit results directly from the polling unit, and in real time, at each level of collation results.
to be published in a database format that is both easily accessible and scrappable, and all forms to be uploaded in real time.

7. Give citizens the opportunity to register during the previous registration period if they are 18 years old before the elections.

8. Establish a trustworthy foundation for an accurate and inclusive voter register by conducting an immediate external independent audit, including in person, to establish a reliable foundation.
data quality assessment, sample analysis, and biometric data quality assessment. The .
implementation of a clear protocol and guidelines for the process to be followed
The register should be kept up and held accountable in the public.

9. By limiting charging, remove unreasonable limitations on the right to stand.
of excessive fees when a candidate is asked to run in party primary elections.

10. By creating a robust and effective campaign organization, enforce INEC’s campaign regulations.
monitoring and a sanctioning system to stop state-level authorities from obstructing and interfering with their use of incumbency.

11. By establishing strict accounting standards, reporting, and public disclosure requirements for political parties, candidates, and third parties, the campaign finance industry is required to operate pre-agreed dedicated bank accounts for donations, revenues, and spending, with strong sanctions for noncompliance.

12. By creating a comprehensive operational framework that is supported by the tools and resources to prompt investigation and prosecution of all forms of attacks against media practitioners, ensure adequate protection of the right to freedom of expression.

13. Protect the National Broadcasting Commission’s legal and practical independence by upholding its right to freedom of expression and transparency. This could be accomplished by introducing a cross-party approval mechanism, industry professionals’ participation, and/or establishing strict institutional standards for transparency and accountability. This could also be accomplished by introducing an open, inclusive, and competitive system.

14. Transforming the NTA and FRCN into reputable public service broadcasters will help protect pluralism and freedom of expression. This includes provisions for editorial independence, financial autonomy, clear separation from any government institution, and a transparent and competitive management selection process with cross-party review and/or industry professionals’ participation.

15. Amendment overly restrictive legislative provisions that limit this right in the media and online, including the ambiguous definitions of “cyberstalking” in the 2015 Cybercrimes Act and of “classified matters” in the Official Secrets Act, to keep things up with international and regional standards for freedom of expression.

16. To identify, assess, and reduce harmful content while protecting freedom of expression, promote the independent formation of voters’ opinions and reduce manipulative interference through legislative or regulatory measures developed in an inclusive process involving all key stakeholders, including civil society experts.

17. Take urgent and robust affirmative steps to ensure meaningful representation of women through special measures in accordance with the Beijing Declaration.
principles and the National Gender Policy to increase women’s representation in elected office and as candidates, which are further supported by cross-sectoral, increased, and sustained capacity building and awareness of discrimination.

18. Ensure that people with disabilities and the vulnerable have a legitimate opportunity to cast ballots in all election categories, including those who have disabilities and are vulnerable, through a conducive voting environment that allows for independent voting and respect for voter privacy, as well as having sufficient assistive devices.

19. Improve voter access to the right to vote in internally displaced voters by establishing a precise, timely operation plan that includes detailed data on important voter data, specified temporary special measures, polling location, and security.
arrangements, targeted voter education, and early postelection evaluation publication.

20. By ensuring electoral authorities’ public accountability,
law gives reporters and observers full access to all election-related stages.
electoral data, supported by prompt, transparent accreditation procedures, and targeted sanctions for obstructing, intimidating, or using violence.

21. By modifying legal procedures, providing additional resources for adjudication, and consistently and concisely detailing and publishing decisions in a timely manner, including online, to improve voter and candidate certainty, by completing pre-election disputes well in advance of election day, and by advancing election day.

22. By effective interagency coordination that is governed by strict non-partisanship, the use of best resources, effective investigation and sanctioning, and regular public access to consolidated information on outcomes, it can be reduced.

More than 35 percent of Nigerian children under five years old are affected by malnutrition, according to the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), making it a crucial issue for public health.

NARD reported that over 35% of children under the age of five are affected in a post on X on Thursday.

Malnutrition is a significant factor in child mortality. Additionally, it has an impact on national productivity, disease susceptibility, and cognitive development,” the association continued.

According to NARD, interventions include distribution of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), community-based acute malnutrition (CMAM), and infant and young child nutrition (IYCF) counseling.

These methods significantly increase child survival and recovery rates, according to research.

The organization stated that “NARD members are at the forefront of conducting research into and implementing malnutrition interventions in Nigeria.”

READ ALSO: Every Year, Nigeria Loses Over $1.5 billion to malnutrition.

The organization reaffirmed the importance of long-term nutrition programs to safeguard children’s health across the country.

The Federal Government declared the malnutrition crisis in Nigeria to be “a national emergency” in August.

According to Special Assistant to the President for Public Health, Uju Rochas-Anwuka, annual losses from malnutrition exceed $1.5 billion.

Rochas-Anwuka noted that the nation’s development and human capital are undermined by this crisis.

Vice President Kashim Shettima previously issued a warning about malnutrition that affects nearly 40% of children under five.

He referred to the situation as “a national crisis” at the Abuja National Summit on Nutrition and Food Security.

It serves as a reminder that hunger is not the only cause of food insecurity.

It determines whether people are able to obtain, purchase, and consume food that meets their nutritional needs. Education and human capital are important, according to Shettima.

Shettima urged people to take immediate, collective steps to address the crisis.

In northern Nigeria, over 600 malnourished children died in six months, according to a report from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in late July.

Between January and June, according to the report, cases of the most severe malnutrition increased by 208 percent over the previous year.

Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the first lady of Nigeria, gave a statement to the delegation that the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance would continue to support women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship on Wednesday at the State House in Abuja.

Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the minister of state for foreign affairs, made the announcement on her official X handle.

Senior executives and academics from the Alliance, who were led by Anna Nesterova, the group’s chairperson, expressed their willingness to work with Nigeria in fields like healthcare, film co-production, labor mobility, financial literacy, and AI-driven medicine.

Sen. Tinubu welcomed the team by highlighting her humanitarian work through the Renewed Hope Initiative while clarifying that government policy and economic programs are still largely driven by MDAs.

“My office will continue to support your mission, but ministries have the statutory responsibilities and budgets to support your mission.” Through my foundation, I run a lot of programs, but the ministries are the best partners for women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship. My duties are complementing, advising, and facilitating, she explained.

Nesterova praised the First Lady as “an incredible woman who not only improves lives but also opens the door for a prosperous future for the Nigerian people.”

The Alliance’s plans to set up a regional office in Nigeria as a gateway for women entrepreneurs to international markets were made public by her.

PDP Face-Off: Anyanwu Rejects Ologunagba Upon the Absolution Of Akwa Ibom Exco.

To help with maternal health in Nigeria, The Alliance also provided 1, 000 labor and delivery kits.

More than 3, 000 businesswomen from 60 countries are currently connected through Nesterova’s Common Digital Platform, adding that 50 Nigerian women applied for the BRICS Women’s Startups Contest last year alone.

Liudmila Shcherbakova of VET PHARM Group, Natalia Vershinina of the United Migration Center, Orel State University’s Prof. Liudmila Popova, and Third Opinion AI’s Anna Meshcheryakova were among the Russian delegation.

A technical session at the State House Banquet Hall aimed to improve bilateral ties and look into potential investment deals between Russia and Nigeria.

Timothy Ojomah, the commissioner for agriculture and food security in Kogi state, has stated that search and rescue operations are ongoing in the state’s on-going boat accident.

About 11 corpses were recovered from the accident, according to Ojomah, who was a guest on Thursday’s episode of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief program.

The traders were attempting to enter the Ilushi market in Edo State to sell their food items and purchase some goods for the October 1 holiday.

Unfortunately, the boat broke when they arrived in the middle of the river, forcing about 82 people to flee.

He claimed that NEMA and Edo State immediately responded to the incident after distress calls were made out of the situation.

He continued, “Among this number, 82 survived, and about 46 were rescued,” adding, “From this number, 82 survived.” I had a conversation with some of the survivors.

They will be searching for more corpses this morning. 11 corpses had been discovered as of yesterday.

The river is large, you know. Therefore, it is expected that others would have drowned if some corpses had already been found and some were already being saved. However, as of yesterday, we had saved 46 of them.

NEMA Notifies Over 10 Dead, 24 Rescued, and 42 Those Who Missed In Kogi Boat Mishap.