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Parents of Nigeria kidnap victims plead for government help

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3 years ago

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KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) – When Linda Peter last spoke to her daughter, the brief phone call left her relieved the teenager was alive but distraught because she could not pay any ransom demanded.

Peter’s 18-year-old daughter, Jennifer, was among 39 students abducted by gunmen on March 11 from a forestry college in the northwestern Nigerian state of Kaduna. The captors, who called from the teenager’s phone, threatened to kill the male captives and force females into marriage, but did not specify the ransom sum sought.

“The government is not doing anything to help these children,” said Peter, a widow and mother of five who sells vegetables for a living but has not worked since her daughter was taken. “We don’t have anything,” she said.

Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai has repeatedly said his state government will not negotiate with “bandits”, as the marauding criminal gangs are known, or pay ransoms.

Kidnapping for ransom has become an industry in restive northern Nigerian states where over 700 people have been abducted at education institutions since December. President Muhammadu Buhari in February told state governments that “rewarding” such crimes with money and vehicles, could “boomerang disastrously”.

Peter, faced with the prospect of losing her daughter, said the government must do more to free the students.

“I’m angry with them,” she said through tears of the Kaduna government, at a meeting of relatives whose loved ones were taken in the same raid.

Kaduna state’s security commissioner, responding to the comments, referred Reuters to an April 16 statement.

“The governor will continue to work hard until banditry is contained, without succumbing to emotional blackmail and gradual politicization of the unfortunate situation,” it said.

Much of the fear felt by Peter and other worried parents at the meeting, held on Wednesday, stems from the killing of five students who were among around 17 people kidnapped on April 21 from Greenfield University, elsewhere in the state.

Catherine Saleh, whose 29-year-old son Stephen Shuani was taken from the forestry college, said she too had received calls from the kidnappers, initially demanding 500 million naira ($1.31 million) – an unattainable sum for the teacher with a 100,000 naira monthly salary – before reducing that to 50 million.

“We cannot raise that money,” she said. “If I had the money, I wouldn’t send my child to that school.”

The men purporting to be the captors told her to call government officials to demand they negotiate with them, but she does not know anyone to contact.

“These children are between life and death. They can shoot them at any time,” Saleh said.

On the same day as the meeting, Dorathy Yohanna, one of the dead Greenfield students, was buried.

Her father, Yohanna Meck, said he hoped state officials would learn from the tragedy.

“Government should be proactive, they should not just keep quiet,” he told reporters after the funeral. “They should be proactive to help the situation because it’s getting out of hand.”

($1 = 380.55 naira)

(Reporting by Libby George, Bosan Yakusak and Garba Muhammad in Kaduna; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Karishma Singh)

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Nigerian officials probe plan to marry off scores of female orphans

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2 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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ABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Women Affairs says it is investigating a plan by a lawmaker in central Niger state to marry off some 100 female orphans of unknown ages later this month.

Speaker of the Niger State Assembly Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji announced the mass wedding last week but called off the ceremony following widespread outrage.

Minister of Women Affairs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, condemned the plans.

Kennedy-Ohanenye said she had petitioned the police and filed a lawsuit to stop the marriages pending an investigation to ascertain the age of the orphans and whether they consented to the marriages.

“This is totally unacceptable by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and by the government” of Nigeria, she said.

Last week, Sarkin-Daji announced his support for the mass wedding of the orphans, whose relatives were killed during attacks by armed bandits. He said it was part of his support to his constituents following an appeal for wedding funding by local traditional and religious leaders.

The mass wedding had been scheduled for May 24.

“That support I intend to give for the marriage of those orphans, I’m withdrawing it,” he said. “The parents can have the support [money], if they wish, let them go ahead and marry them off. As it is right now, I’m not threatened by the action of the minister.”

Despite national laws prohibiting it, forced or arranged marriage is a common phenomenon in Nigeria, especially among rural communities in the predominantly Muslim north, where religious and cultural norms such as polygamy favor the practice.

Poor families often use forced marriage to ease financial pressure, and the European Union Agency for Asylum says girls who refuse could face repercussions such as neglect, ostracism, physical assault and rape.

Raquel Kasham Daniel escaped being married off as a teenager when her father died and now runs a nonprofit helping children, especially less-privileged girls, get a formal education for free.

She said the ability of women to avoid forced marriage in Nigeria depends on their income and education.

“I was 16 when I lost my dad and I was almost married off, but then I ran away from home. And that gave me the opportunity to complete my education, and now I have a better life,” Daniel said.

“So, the reason why I prioritize education is to make sure that other girls have access to quality schooling so that it will help them make informed decisions about their lives. Education not only increases our awareness as girls about our rights but also enhances our prospects for higher income earning,” she said.

Thirty percent of girls in Nigeria are married before they turn 18, according to Girls Not Brides, a global network of more than 1,400 civil society groups working to end child marriage.

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Shell investigates smoke near Gbaran oil facility in Nigeria

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2 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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YENAGOA, Nigeria, May 14 (Reuters) – Oil major Shell is investigating reports of smoke early Tuesday near its Gbaran Ubie oil and gas facility in Nigeria’s coastal Bayelsa state, a spokesperson said after residents reported hearing explosions and seeing smoke near the area.
The incident would not immediately lead to an operational shut-in, the Shell spokesperson said.
A fire was reported around 0600 GMT by residents in the nearby community, who said blasts were heard where pipeline repair works had been ongoing.
The Gbaran facility, which began operations in 2010, is by far the most important Nigeria LNG gas feedstock project, processing almost 2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.
“We are actively monitoring reports of smoke detected near our Gbaran Central Processing Facility in Bayelsa State. While the source appears to be external to our facility, we are in close communication with regulatory authorities to look into the incident and ensure the safety of the surrounding communities,” a Shell spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
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Shell did not immediately respond to the accounts of residents in the area.
Resident Ovie Ogbuku told Reuters: “At about 7 a.m. I heard the sound so deafeningly and it shook the foundation of the earth and we ran for our dear lives. The result is the thick smoke you are seeing now.”
Another resident Uche Ede said; “We have no idea of the cause of the explosion but we are grateful no life was lost because it was far away from homes.”
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Land operations in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta are prone to sabotage, theft, and pipeline vandalism, forcing oil majors to exit such fields to focus on deepwater drilling.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Nigeria tour: A Round Up

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2 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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Meghan and Harry spent three days in the African country, Nigeria in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent time in Nigeria as part of a three-day tour, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of The Invictus Games.

The couple were personally invited on the trip by Nigeria’s chief of defence staff, General Christopher Musa; they are not there in any official capacity on behalf of the royal family or the UK. The tour schedule, which started in the bustling capital of Abuja, has been jam-packed, including a visit to primary and secondary school Lightway Academy, where they met with students, and experiencing the work of Nigeria Unconquered, a charitable foundation dedicated to aiding wounded, injured, or sick servicemembers.

Naturally, the trip also provided the opportunity for Meghan to showcase a multi-day “tourdrobe”, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the couple stepped down as senior working royals in early 2020 – and she hasn’t disappointed, in a series of summery maxi dresses, elegant tailoring and striking separates.

See highlights from their trip so far, below.

On day three, the couple arrived at Lagos airport, where they were given an official state welcome.

The couple posed for a photo with children and Nigerian dignitaries.

 

The couple were greeted by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

 

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They then attended a basketball exhibition training match at Ilupeju Grammar School in Lagos. After the match, they posed for a photo with the Toronto Raptors basketball team president, Masai Ujiri, and the principal of Ilupeju Grammar School, Josephine Egunyomi.

 

The couple attended a reception hosted by the charity organisation Nigeria Unconquered, held at the Officers’ Mess in Abuja.

 

A visit to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

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