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Controversial SEC 47 Withdrawal: Court adjourns ₦1.5bn NIPSS suit to 24 February

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed 24 February 2026, for hearing in a suit instituted by the founder of PRNigeria, Malam Yushau A. Shuaib, against the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State, challenging his withdrawal from the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 47 of the Institute.

Justice Binta Nyako had fixed the matter for hearing on 8 December, but when the matter came up on Monday, it turned out that it had been adjourned to next year without the usual formal announcement in the open court.

Parties in the matter and others who had come to observe the proceedings were shocked to see in the cause list that the matter had been moved to 2026.

Shuaib had dragged NIPSS before the Court to challenge his unlawful and arbitrary withdrawal from the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 47 of the Institute after his admission had been approved by President Bola Tinubu and the necessary payment and conditions had been fully met.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1329/2025, Shuaib, a renowned public relations expert, is demanding ₦1 billion in general, special, and aggravated damages against NIPSS over emotional trauma and reputational damage he suffered as a result of the unlawful and unjust action of NIPSS against him

He is also seeking an additional ₦100 million as litigation costs, having issued a pre-action notice on June 16, 2025, to the Institute’s Director General, Professor Ayo Omotayo, which was allegedly ignored by the management.

The case, filed on his behalf by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Yunus Abdulsalam, seeks a court order setting aside his withdrawal from SEC 47 and reinstating him with full rights, benefits, and privileges.

Shuaib is also asking for a perpetual injunction restraining NIPSS, its agents, or officials from further harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying.

In his originating summons, the plaintiff raised eight issues for determination. He argued that the publication of a news article by PRNigeria, an independent media organisation, cannot lawfully be attributed to him as misconduct when he neither authored nor endorsed it.

He also questioned whether NIPSS’s alleged access and use of his private email without consent violated his constitutional right to privacy under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution.

Shuaib further contended that disciplinary action against him for professional opinions expressed in a published article breached his right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Section 39(1).

He argued that barring other participants from interacting with him and removing him from official platforms amounted to harassment, cyberbullying, and forced isolation.

He maintained that denying him participation in the international study tour, despite his full payment of ₦18.3 million course fees, constituted discrimination and breach of contract.

Shuaib also faulted his suspension and withdrawal from the course based on alleged “externalisation of the subject” without a fair hearing, describing it as a violation of his constitutional right under Section 36(1).

He is therefore seeking declarations that the actions of NIPSS were unlawful, unjustifiable, discriminatory, and unsupported by any regulation guiding the institute.

In a 40-paragraph affidavit, Shuaib stated that he was nominated by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) to represent it at the course, a nomination approved by the President of Nigeria.

He attached his admission letter, proof of payment of ₦18.3 million, and evidence of compliance with NIPSS requirements, including handing over of responsibilities at his company, Image Merchants Promotion Limited, publishers of PRNigeria.

He alleged that despite complying with institutional rules, he was subjected to harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary disciplinary actions.

According to him, on March 24, he received a query over a PRNigeria article titled “NIPSS Goes Digital; Launches Paperless Platform after Submitting Landmark Report to President Tinubu.”

Shuaib insisted he neither authored nor edited the article, which other media outlets had widely reported.

He further alleged that on April 25, NIPSS again queried him about an internal email concerning an editorial, “Understanding the ‘Blue’ in the Blue Economy.”

He stated the article was a professional reflection containing no sensitive information, yet NIPSS intercepted it before it could be published.

Shuaib claimed that the queries were unfounded and not supported by the NIPSS Code of Conduct. He further alleged that his withdrawal letter dated June 2, 2025, was curiously addressed only to NIPR without being officially served on him.

The plaintiff is asking the court to reinstate him into SEC 47 with full privileges, to declare that NIPSS has no authority to penalise him for content published by an independent platform, to hold that accessing his private emails violated his constitutional rights, and to declare his withdrawal unlawful, unjustifiable, and discriminatory.

Kuwaiti ghost-worker jailed over $1 million salary fraud. What Nigeria’s growing salary fraud scandal can learn

A Kuwaiti civil servant has been sentenced to five years in prison after collecting a decade’s worth of government salaries without showing up to work—a case authorities describe as one of the country’s most striking examples of public-sector salary fraud.

According to Kuwaiti media, the Court of Cassation handed down the tough sentence and ordered the unnamed worker to repay roughly $339,000 in salaries he never earned, along with double that amount as a financial penalty, bringing the total fine to about $1 million.

Court records show the man held a position in the Citizens’ Service Department but failed to report for duty for ten years, even as his salary continued to hit his bank account monthly. The anomaly eventually triggered a criminal probe into unlawful enrichment and abuse of public funds.

Although two lower courts had previously acquitted him, the Court of Cassation overturned those rulings, describing the evidence as overwhelming and the misconduct deliberate.
Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas reported that the ruling stands among the strongest anti-corruption judgments in recent years, part of a broader effort to clamp down on absenteeism and “ghost workers” within the public sector.

Nigeria faces a similar Problem—but with a global twist

The case echoes a growing scandal in Nigeria, where President Bola Tinubu recently ordered a nationwide crackdown after revelations that some government employees who emigrated abroad continue to receive monthly salaries from their former offices.

Earlier this year, the BBC uncovered the case of a UK-based taxi driver who still receives his Nigerian government salary—150,000 naira (about $100)—despite leaving the country two years ago without resigning. The man, identified under a pseudonym, said he kept the job as a “backup plan” and maintained the arrangement through an understanding with a senior official who happens to be a relative.

President Tinubu said he was “struck” by reports of civil servants drawing salaries from overseas and vowed that not only should the salaries be refunded, but supervisors who enabled the fraud “must also be punished.”

Nigeria has long struggled with the phenomenon known locally as ghost-working, where individuals—sometimes entirely fictitious—are kept on government payrolls. Despite repeated purges, independent estimates suggest thousands of such cases remain undetected.

Tinubu’s critics, however, argue that while the administration frequently announces reforms, concrete follow-through remains weak. They point to high-profile spending on new presidential aircraft and luxury residences as examples that contradict the government’s stated commitment to cutting waste.

For both Kuwait and Nigeria, the cases underscore an enduring and costly challenge: entrenched public-sector corruption that continues to drain national resources even as governments pledge reform.

Purity Culture: The silencing of voices in young women

By Añuli Aniebo

The onset of purity
The root of purity is traced to American Evangelical traditions that is binary and gender stereotypical. Men and women are supposed to be chaste and pure, their bodies and minds are designed to not think or perform sexual pleasure and desires until an appropriate and designated period post marriage, however women are seen to be placed on a higher standard of purity expectations than men.

In expanding this ideology, a study speaks to the outcome of chastity commitments taken up by teenagers in the West, noting that purity culture places shame and silences girls who commit to chastity circles but become involved in premarital sexual activity. Some outcomes find that many teenagers experience unplanned pregnancies more than teenagers who did not enrol to chastity commitments.

Societal norms position girls’ chastity differently from boys. Girls are raised to be responsible for the sexual activity of their bodies, as well as the irresponsibility of boys and men over their bodies, by being conditioned to be more responsible for purity.

Some ways by which girls take on the responsibility of other people’s choices are to “behave” in a certain manner and also reduce the likelihood that their bodies experience sexual desires. Boys are raised to see women as objects of purity- a balance between pure or used. A girl is “unworthy” if her sexual desires are subjected to the control of boys and shamed to keep herself silenced from speaking up, especially in cases of sexual abuse.

Boys are seldom raised to be responsible for their actions, even when those actions place a girl in a difficult situation, such as an unplanned pregnancy. Oftentimes, girls bear the burden much more than the boys, which sees many girls drop out of education to raise and nurture children, and the boys carry on with fulfilling their dreams. The question is, when will society think differently in creating solutions and interventions that can support the girls and boys? What is the orientation going to look like in the future?

Body autonomy versus control
Purity culture is a requirement that is insinuated across platforms to preserve the body from sexual activity, which is considered a negative experience (sin in some religions) until there is an appropriate situation, such as marriage, where these pleasures can only be experienced. Men and women are meant to switch off their desires till the right and allocated time and then switch them on when approved. A situation that does not incorporate the biological development of human bodies, and the most intelligent way to deal with these emotions.

The questions that we ought to consider are the missing educational opportunities to effectively address purity, body ownership and agency, violation of rights, violence on women’s bodies and consequences of what we uphold as standards and how this actually plays out in the lives of girls and young women. We need to consider who else is responsible? How does this affect the shaming and blaming of girls than boys? Why do some boys and men get away with the abuse of their bodies than women? When will boys be held equally accountable and culpable in the participation of a broken purity culture and the consequences that girls and women still face?

Our society holds women’s bodies to high standards only when in a state of ‘purity’. Girls and young women are conditioned to feel impure and vulnerable when situations that violate their bodies are experienced, especially when not in control of the triggers and situation. As a result, young women are shamed into silence, which leads to more abuse and violent incidents in bodies such as pregnancy termination, which are reported to be mostly illegal. Young women are labelled, shamed and blamed for all their bodies experience.

Way forward
While I encourage chastity, I also advocate that this should be a personal decision for all genders. The consequences of all decisions should be considered and examined by the body making the decision. The education of purity demands and contexts should be thoroughly explained at the right age and for an effective orientation of mindsets. For as long as this remains unchanged and lacks clarification, our society may keep getting away with human rights abuses, especially netted on girls and young women.

We all need safe spaces that support, are entitled to protection, and are fully equipped to prevent our bodies from victimisation.
Añuli Aniebo


References
House, K., & Moslener, S. (2023). Evangelical purity culture and its discontents. Theology & Sexuality, 29(2–3), 83–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/13558358.2024.2332976
Natarajan, Madison & Wilkins, Kerrie & Sista, Anushka & Anantharaman, Aashika & Seils, Natalie. (2022). Decolonizing Purity Culture: Gendered Racism and White Idealization in Evangelical Christianity. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 46. 036168432210911. 10.1177/03616843221091116.
Owens, B. C., Hall, M. E. L., & Anderson, T. L. (2021). The Relationship between Purity Culture and Rape Myth Acceptance. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 49(4), 405-418. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091647120974992

Imprisoned whistleblower wins international award for free speech

An international organisation, Blueprint for Free Speech, on 3 December 2025, announced Nnamdi Emeh as one of the winners of its Whistleblowing Prize, which celebrates individuals exposing corruption and human rights abuses.

Nnamdi Emeh, a young man who has spent almost three years in a correctional centre in Anambra State for alleged whistleblowing. The 2025 awards marked the eighth edition of the global recognition programme.

According to organisers, the prizes highlighted disclosures against institutions including Meta, South Africa’s state training institution, Ecuador’s armed forces, and the Nigerian police

Blueprint said the awards underscored the vital role whistleblowers play in exposing corruption in multinational corporations, public offices, and armed forces, while also drawing attention to the severe retaliation many face,  ranging from gag orders to imprisonment and assassination attempts.

And while others collected their awards on stage, Emeh remained remanded at the Anambra Correctional Centre, despite having been granted bail by the court.

Emeh’s ordeal began during his National Youth Service Corps year in 2022, when he was posted as an IT consultant to the Anambra Rapid Response Squad, where he was tasked with helping the police track criminals using technology.

In February 2023, a popular blog, Gistlover, published allegations against Anambra police officer Patrick Agbazue, accusing him of kidnapping, extortion, killing, and even harvesting organs. The report further claimed that Agbazue transferred the bodies of those who died in custody to New World Mortuary in Nteje, Anambra.

Following the allegations, the Police Service Commission launched an investigation and took Agbazue into custody for claims of torture, illegal detention, and other abuses, before transferring him to Abuja for further questioning. Then Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, also set up a panel to probe the claims.

After the leak, Emeh’s identity was revealed on social media as the source of the information, prompting him to flee to Benin Republic. He was arrested in March 2023 on an Interpol Red Notice and returned to Nigeria.

The police subsequently filed 12 charges against him, including illegal possession of firearms, money laundering, defamation, hacking into the account of Chibuike Martins Ekwueme, and transferring N47m from the account to another.

In 2023, Justice F.O. Riman granted Emeh bail in the sum of N50m with two sureties of like sum, requiring landed property within the jurisdiction and proof of three years’ tax payment.

Nnamdi’s counsel, Justus Ijeomah, told our correspondent on Sunday that both the police and court officials tried to frustrate the process of perfecting the bail.

He explained that the authorities even requested a new set of sureties without explanation.

He said, “When we wanted to perfect the bail, one of the things we noticed was that Nnamdi’s passport was in the custody of the police in Abuja, and part of the conditions is to deposit the passport with the registrar of the court. So we told the court to expunge the part of that condition or order the police to release the passport. So the police released the passport at the order of the court,” Ijeomah said.

“While we were trying to perfect the bail, the hearing commenced and in the process, Justice Riman passed away, and the hearing was stalled. While still trying to perfect the bail, we noticed that the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court apparently became a stumbling block for us to perfect the bail, and this made me write a petition against her at the Federal High Court. It was at that point that I left the case, and a learned Senior Advocate took over.”

Beyond alleged motives to keep him incarcerated, there were serious concerns for Emeh’s safety while in police and prison custody.

He said, “We started intervening in the matter from the moment Nnamdi was to be brought back from Abuja to Anambra when there was apprehension that certain ominous things were to befall him in the hands of those who were bringing him back. So we engaged the police to ensure his rights were not violated.”

The counsel also clarified that Emeh denied releasing the information to the blog, describing the claims attributed to him as mere speculation.

For Prof Ikechukwu Emeh, the international recognition of his only child came with mixed feelings. “I’m excited about that. Okay, to start this. I’m excited. We are happy. I’m happy about the award. It allows the world to know what is going on with my son, and then in the rotten society we are living in,” he told our correspondent on Sunday.

According to him, Nnamdi is expected in court again on Tuesday to face hearings on charges ranging from money laundering and fraud to impersonation and defamation. He also noted that the police did not accuse his son of giving false information, which he claimed was significant.

Describing the ordeal as traumatic, the octogenarian recalled the family’s struggle to meet the strict bail conditions set by the Federal High Court in Awka, which required two sureties with property within the court’s jurisdiction. He also accused the police of blocking the bail applications at critical stages.

“It has been a harrowing experience for the entire family, a huge trauma. To begin with, all these court appearances and the police kept complicating matters at every turn. They were supposed to grant him bail, and we were supposed to perfect the bail conditions. At one point, in May 2024, we finally managed to meet the bail conditions after spending a lot of money, and the judge signed the release order for him to be freed. Then the prosecuting police officer came to court and blocked it,” he said.

With court delays and police interference, the financial cost has been overwhelming. The academic also lamented the toll on his health and that of his wife: “We are completely impoverished to hire a lawyer, some of them who charge up to N8m just to come and defend him. Some of the sureties, too, we spent over N10m on them. Every time we get them, the police will block his release. I am completely impoverished, and I’m now suffering from high blood pressure. My wife is suffering from high blood pressure. We are completely devastated by this case.”

The continued remand of Emeh despite being granted bail by the court has been widely condemned by civil society organisations worldwide. Police authorities have also been petitioned by rights activists.

Our correspondent gathered that the investigation into the allegations against the officers has yet to be made public, and the implicated officers remain in active service.

Executive Director of Nigerian civil rights group, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said the fundamental problem in Emeh’s case is impunity.

He said the police treated Emeh not as a whistleblower who exposed grave human rights abuses, but as an enemy to be crushed.

“Instead of investigating the serious allegations of extrajudicial killings, organ harvesting, and extortion, the police turned their machinery against the messenger. What followed has been a systematic abuse of the criminal justice process, the use of trumped-up charges, manipulation of court processes, transfer of the suspect across multiple detention facilities, and deliberate disobedience of court orders. His prolonged incarceration, despite meeting bail conditions and having a signed release warrant, can only be explained as an attempt to silence him and shield those implicated,” he disclosed.

He noted that Nigeria has virtually no functional protection for whistleblowers, particularly those exposing security agencies.

The Executive Director of the international NGO, Blueprint for Free Speech, Suelette Dreyfus, also called for immediate action.

She said, “We call for the immediate release of Nnamdi Emeh in accordance with judicial orders issued by the Nigerian courts. He has been granted bail and should not spend a minute longer in jail. We are not pronouncing on the veracity or otherwise of the allegations being made about grave human rights abuses committed by members of the Nigerian police.

“Many unanswered questions remain in this case, but the safety of whistleblowers who bring to light any evidence of wrongdoing in the public interest remains of paramount importance. The Nigerian authorities must investigate the threats against Nnamdi Emeh’s life without delay, and ensure his safety while in custody and upon his release.”

Efforts to reach the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, were unsuccessful as calls and text messages were not returned at the time of filing this report.

Credits: PUNCH

Rights group hits Katsina governor for backing terrorists

Press Release

Pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) – has condemned the Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, for commending communities affected by insecurity for holding peace deals with bandits in the state.

Radda stated this last weekend during his visit to Batsari and Danmusa local councils as part of his ongoing tour of the state.

HURIWA, in a media statement endorsed by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko said any sort of approval of peace talks that would lead to the non-prosecution of terrorists for the crimes against humanity they committed and the bloodshed they unleashed on communities and citizens of Nigeria amounted to a support for terrorists which is delegitimised and criminalised by the extant counter terrorism law of Nigeria.

The Rights group quoted the governor as saying that the peace deal entered into with bandits has yielded positive results in councils that were affected by insecurity.

The Rights group, quoting media report stated that as proof, the governor, during the tour, drove on the road that passes through the dreaded Danburum forest in Batsari Local Council.

The forest, the media recalled was a haven for bandits and hundreds of people have lost their lives there, among other atrocities committed by the bandits. However, with the recent deal between communities and bandits, the forest has become relatively peaceful, with farming and related activities gradually picking up.

The Rights group said the media reported that the governor’s convoy briefly stopped in the middle of the forest on Friday and some passengers disembarked, trekked some distance into the forest, and picked some edible wild fruits that they ate. A source in the convoy said some of the fruits were later given to the governor and some of the dignitaries with him.

The governor said though the state is not totally free from the activities of bandits, the peace deal has led to improved security in communities affected by the challenge.

“We thank God that the peace deal initiative organised by the communities is yielding a very positive result. “I can say that in the last few days, I have not received one single incident in the state from the security forces like I had been receiving,” he said.

HURIWA however blasted the governor and charged the security forces to investigate the governor for his statement which is tantamount to providing support for terrorists just as the Rights group said for the country to defeat terrorists, the law against the support of terrorists and the counter terrorism law specifically must be implemented to a logical conclusion.

“It is unfortunate that in some sections of Nigeria, those who swore oaths of office and pledged allegiance to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are the same persons now putting up defensive propositions and approving meetings with terrorists who have declared war against the Sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. To say that we are disappointed with the Katsina state governor is to put it mildly. We are calling for his investigation and for the Intelligence community to put the governor on their watch list of individuals suspected to have openly canvassed support for terrorists.

HURIWA recalled that in Nigeria, supporting terrorism, including soliciting or rendering support (financial, material, or otherwise) for terrorist acts or groups, carries a severe penalty of at least 20 years imprisonment, under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act (TPA) as amended, with the potential for the death penalty if death results from the terrorist act, especially under the newer 2022 Act. Other offenses like attending terrorist meetings also attract minimum 20-year sentences.

Key Penalties Under Nigerian Law:
• Soliciting/Rendering Support: Anyone who knowingly solicits or provides support for a terrorist act or group faces a minimum of 20 years in prison.
• Terrorist Meetings: Attending meetings to support a proscribed organization is punishable by at least 20 years imprisonment.
• Terrorist Acts Leading to Death: The law provides for the death penalty if a terrorist act results in death, covering offenses like hostage-taking and attacks on protected persons.
• Other Related Offences: Penalties for other offenses, such as harbouring terrorists, training, recruitment, and dealing with terrorist property, also carry minimum 20-year sentences.
Legal Framework:
• The primary law is the Terrorism (Prevention) Act (TPA), updated by the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act of 2022.
• These acts establish stringent penalties, focusing on lengthy minimum jail terms for many terrorism-related crimes, notes the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) website.

Besides, HURIWA said the federal government must be resolute in the implementation and enforcement of the components of the counter terrorism strategies embodied in the recently declared state of security emergency in Nigeria to rescue the over seven thousand victims of abductions by terrorists who are languishing in the forests across 7 states located mostly in the North West of Nigeria.

HURIWA had expected that since over a week that emergency declaration was made in the defence and national security sector, that there would have been improvements in the area of the effectiveness of the security architecture, sadly, there has been no respite from terrorist attacks as the terrorists have renewed their onslaught against Nigerians. Thousands of the victims have been killed, many are living in IDPs camps while thousands of others are still languishing in terrorist camps scattered across the country especially in the north.

HURIWA gathered from media investigation that from Sokoto to Zamfara, Niger to Kwara, Kaduna, Kogi and Kano, armed groups are holding men, women, children, farmers, students and even monarchs in captivity—some for months, others for years—as the nation watches a humanitarian catastrophe deepen.

The Rights organisation noted that although the exact number of those still in captivity in Niger state cannot be officially ascertained, no fewer than 376 persons abducted from the state are believed to still be held captive by the terrorists.

The latest kidnap was that of pupils, students and staff of St. Mary’s Catholic school, Papiri in Agwara Local Government Area of the state where 315 people were ferried into the forest two weeks ago.

HURIWA recalled that however, 50 of them were said to have miraculously escaped as they were being taken into the forest. As at now, 265 persons, comprising 239 nursery/primary school pupils, 14 secondary school students and 14 members of staff of the school are still with the bandits in an unknown destination.

In Kwara state, no fewer than twelve persons including a monarch Oba Ojibara of Bayagan, Alh Rafiu Salami was abducted penultimate Saturday in his farm in Bayagan in Ifelodun local government area of Kwara state while one Fulani (whose identity could not be ascertained at press time) and had lived in Isapa Ekiti local government for many years was reportedly abducted for close to a month. Indication emerged that ten persons abducted in Isapa last week Monday evening around 7pm are still in the captivity of the terrorists.

HURIWA quoted a public analyst and social commentator, Altine Guyawa, as informing that no fewer than 500 residents of Sokoto state are currently being held captive by armed kidnappers operating across 13 local government areas of Sokoto state. Guyawa described the situation as “a humanitarian disaster that is worsening by the day.”

He said that 260 victims, including women, are being held in Goronyo, Sabon Birni, and Isa Local Government Areas. He explained that in Kware and Wurno Local Government Areas alone, 36 abducted persons remain in captivity as their abductors continue to demand ransom.

In Rabah, Tureta, and Dange/Shuni, kidnappers are still holding 56 victims, many of whom have spent months in harsh conditions deep inside forest camps. Guyawa further revealed that another 136 victims are being held in Illela, Tangaza, Gudu, Binji, and Silame Local Government Areas, with most families unable to raise the millions of naira demanded for their release. He added that an unspecified number of victims are being held in Kebbe Local Government Area in the southern part of the state, where access to communities has become increasingly dangerous.

The Rights group described as devastating the statistical data that emerged from Zamfara showing that it has the single largest numbers of Nigerians still being held in captivity deep inside the dreaded Zamfara forests just as the figure was put by experts at over 6,000 kidnapped victims in captivity in Zamfara

In Zamfara state, although there were no official records of the number of kidnapped victims in captivity, it was gathered from members of the communities that over six thousand victims are still being held in over 100 terrorist camps scattered across forests in the state being operated by different leaders. HURIWA is advocating massive counter insurgency measures hy security forces to defeat terrorists. Nigerians are tired of excuses and stories from politicians and the National Security Adviser.

COMRADE EMMANUEL NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO,
NATIONAL COORDINATOR,
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA). SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7TH, 2025.

Nigeria can fire precision missiles at Benin coupists—So why not at bandits at home?

Nigeria’s military posture in West Africa is under renewed scrutiny after reports emerged that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) executed rapid, precision airstrikes to help foil a coup attempt in the Benin Republic — even as Nigerians question why similar decisive force has not been deployed against armed groups inside Nigeria.

According to counter-insurgency analyst Zagazola Makama, NAF fighter jets — acting with the full consent of Beninese authorities — struck at fleeing coup elements attempting to escape Cotonou in armoured vehicles after loyalist forces regained control from mutineers aligned with Lt. Pascal Tigri.

The strikes, Makama said, were conducted in a tightly coordinated 30-minute window, disabling escape routes and halting the retreat of hostile elements.

Residents in parts of Cotonou reported hearing explosions and seeing smoke rising from targeted zones. Security sources said the air operations prevented regrouping attempts and neutralised several vehicles used by the plotters.

“The operation was meticulously planned and executed,” Makama noted, citing sources familiar with the mission. “Our objectives were clear: prevent destabilisation, block escape corridors, and support regional stability in partnership with Benin.”

A top Nigerian military official, speaking on background, added that the mission adhered to international operational protocols, emphasising intelligence-driven targeting and efforts to minimise civilian exposure.

“The Nigerian Air Force remains committed to safeguarding regional security and preventing any spillover that could threaten our borders,” the officer said.

The intervention followed Tigri’s short-lived broadcast announcing the dissolution of state institutions before loyalist troops restored control. Several key members of the coup faction attempted to flee southward, prompting Nigeria’s rapid aerial response.

Domestic Questions: Why Precision Abroad, But Not at Home?

The operation has sparked debate across Nigeria, where banditry and mass abductions remain a persistent threat.

Critics note that the same government capable of launching high-speed cross-border precision strikes has struggled to address violent criminal networks within Nigeria.
The contrast is especially stark in states like Zamfara, where Governor Dauda Lawal has repeatedly said he knows the exact locations and movements of bandit leaders but lacks authority over federal security agencies.

“Wherever a bandit leader is in Zamfara State, I know it,” the governor declared in a viral video. “With my phone, I can show you where they are today.”

Yet the federal government has not acted on his claims.

The dilemma resurfaced after victims kidnapped from a Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara State were released. A presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed that security agencies opened communication channels with the abductors to secure the victims’ safety — raising questions about Nigeria’s reliance on negotiation instead of decisive action.

The contrast has fueled public frustration:
If Nigeria can deploy missiles to stop a coup abroad, why does its response to domestic armed groups appear restrained?

For now, the precision strikes in Benin mark one of Nigeria’s most forceful military interventions outside its borders in recent years — a move analysts say underscores Abuja’s growing willingness to confront regional threats before they escalate.

Shock Video: Outrage as Katsina Lawmaker calls bandit leader “Grand Commander of Peace”

  • Katsina Governor hails community peace deals with bandits

Months after insisting his administration would not negotiate with armed groups, Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda is now praising several communities for securing unprecedented calm through locally driven peace deals with bandits who once terrorised the region.

Touring Batsari and Danmusa councils on Friday, Radda said the shift was nothing short of remarkable. His convoy passed through the Danburum forest, a route many residents long avoided due to years of ambushes, kidnappings, and fear. Today, the governor says, the mood on the ground is different.

“The peace deal initiative organised by communities is yielding very positive results,” he told reporters. He noted that for several days, the state recorded no major security alerts, a development he described as “almost unthinkable” earlier this year.

In a symbolic moment, officials accompanying the governor briefly stepped into the forest to pick wild fruits – a gesture meant to show that the area, once regarded as hostile, is slowly returning to normalcy.

Radda said the impact is already measurable: monthly medical bills for banditry victims have dropped from over ₦40 million to under ₦2 million, reflecting fewer attacks and casualties. Support payments for rescued victims and grieving families have also declined.

Still, he cautioned, Katsina is not entirely out of danger. He urged residents and religious leaders to remain vigilant and sustain the fragile peace. “We are not there yet, but the progress we’ve made is real,” he said.

Viral Video Sparks Outrage as Katsina Lawmaker Appears to Praise Bandit Leader

Meanwhile, a widely circulated video has ignited public fury across Nigeria after appearing to show a Katsina State lawmaker venturing into a forest to negotiate directly with armed bandits—without any security escort.

The footage, filmed in Hausa and now translated, shows the lawmaker addressing armed men with unusual deference, referring to their leader as a “Grand Commander of Peace.” The video has not yet been independently verified, but its political fallout has already begun.

In the recording, the official thanks the armed group for allegedly releasing 37 abducted individuals and claims that no resident from Bakori LGA remains in captivity. He further praises several Fulani leaders, who he says played a key role in the negotiations.

Controversial remarks in the video have triggered intense backlash, including:

  • praising a bandit leader as “the Grand Commander of Peace”
  • announcing a supposed “agreement” between the government and the armed group
  • urging authorities not to carry out military operations against “peaceful bandits”
  • requesting government projects — hospitals, water supply — for bandit-controlled areas
  • suggesting smaller crimes should be tolerated so long as major attacks stop

Security analysts say if the video is genuine, it exposes the growing weakness of state authority and the expanding influence of non-state armed groups functioning as parallel power structures. It also highlights the desperation of some local officials who, lacking federal backing, turn to direct negotiations as a last resort.

The lawmaker concludes in the video by urging communities to work with the armed group to maintain “peace” and announces a joint committee between local leaders and bandits to settle disputes.

The state government has yet to formally respond.

Watch the viral video showing Katsina lawmaker entering the forest to negotiate with armed bandits below.

General Christopher Musa: Lessons and warnings

By Lasisi Olagungu

Better a child is confirmed dead than a child is unaccounted for. I am not sure we remember that about 250 pupils of St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri village in Niger State, remain in captivity. They’ve been with their abductors since November 21 without Nigeria losing a day’s sleep. And we say Donald Trump was wrong to say we are “a disgraced country.”

Anguish, helplessness and despair are not pleasant words to describe the state of anyone; but they perfectly fit the conditions of the parents of the missing kids. One distraught father told the BBC: “If they (the bandits) hear you speak about them, before you know it they’ll come for you. They’ll come to your house and drag you into the bush… I feel so bitter, and my wife hasn’t eaten for days… We are not happy at all. We need someone who will help us and take action.”

So, who will help them? Some of the kids, mere five-year-olds, sleep and wake up there in the bush; they must be wondering why they have to be in someone’s ‘prison’ while the country appears to have moved on. It is terrible.

It is “’Bout time this town had a new sheriff”, a law enforcer says in ‘High Plains Drifter’, a 1973 film that is about retributive justice, about criminals getting what they deserve; about a crime-wracked town that sounds almost like Lagos – it is Lago. The new sheriff is ‘The Stranger’ who brought precision guns, “reversals and exposures” and swept the town clean of crime and criminals. Read the text – it reads like Nigeria. And there is apparently a new sheriff in the Nigerian town. He is said to be Christopher Musa, smooth-talking, clean-shaven, debonair and handsome. But how far can he go?

“Be careful. You’re a man who makes people afraid, and that’s dangerous.” Sarah Belding says in the film above. Nothing should rattle a battle-tested General, yet Christopher Musa, the new minister of defence, must feel more than a flicker of awe at the sheer tumult of the welcome he has received so far. He must be even more afraid of the character of the system that has hired him. To help parents such as the quoted above, Musa has been drafted from retirement. But, what he is joining is no war council; it is a cruise party; the ship he has just boarded is not a warship built for battle against criminals. It is a yacht, a vessel for leisure, for politics, for power, and for wealth.

The man came highly recommended with very rare national acceptability. I’ve always believed that history rewards competence and exposes pretenders. If I say that your next position is encased in your present performance, I will be right. I look at the new Minister of Defence, General Musa. The whole world marked his script as our Chief of Defence Staff and said he passed. I do not have access to the marking scheme, but what I know is that the man is very fortunate. He has a sweet tongue and a good head but he has also worked hard to earn the epaulettes that light the path of his active engagements.

Every feat and office has its witnesses. Julius Caesar did not become Rome’s most powerful figure by bribing consuls and senators and sowing discord in opposition forces. He worked positively hard in his journey of service. He was a General who solved problems. And a leader who solves problems becomes naturally indispensable. That is why Musa had to come back so soon after Nigeria retired him.

I cannot remember any appointment made by this president that has universal appeal and endorsement as we’ve seen with Christopher Musa’s. From the initial speculation to the announcement, to his Senate appearance and screening, the man suffered neither darts nor missiles. Even the fissures and factions of Nigeria spared him the usual smears. Everyone, everywhere owned him. He appeared (appears) loved by all.

A General will always earn the loyalty of his troops if they see and feel in him personal courage, discipline, and strategic clarity. Caesar did not directly lobby for leadership; his results made Rome accept his destiny. History says his rise was built on an extraordinary record in the Gallic Wars (58–50 BCE). In that war he subdued the major tribes of Gaul, captured numerous fortified towns, and brought almost the entire region covering much of what is today France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, Italy, and Germany under Roman rule. By transforming Rome’s power Caesar transformed his own political destiny. History adds that he, as a General, displayed extraordinary engineering genius by building a bridge across the Rhine in just ten days and by leading two bold expeditions to Britain. The Roman General accomplished these feats and stunned Europe; his competence imposed him on his world.

Musa was sworn in on Thursday to pursue his own destiny; his hours started counting almost immediately. There is an experience of leisure and luxury called honeymoon. Every English word possesses a history, its etymology. The history of ‘honeymoon’ is rooted in medieval times when newlyweds shared a honey-fermented drink called mead for a moon cycle (a month of thirty days). It was a rite of fortune steeped in symbolism and was believed to usher the couple into a union blessed with good fortune, sweetness, and fertility. For today’s many newlyweds, rich or poor, honeymoon is “a cachet of distinction” which they all insist they must enjoy. But this beautiful bride, Musa, cannot have a honeymoon. I hope he knows. Accepting to be defence minister of Nigeria at this point is the same as accepting to fetch hot coal with one’s bare palm. With his two palms, and with all his faculties perfect, the new minister went for Nigeria’s smoldering balls of embers. What he accepted is a hot plate. You don’t go that far and still think you can pause and rest. He cannot.

Whatever he says or has said will be used to judge him. And he has been talking: He says he won’t negotiate with bandits: “No negotiations with any criminal, because those things compromise security. If you negotiate with them, they will never abide by it. It is just a monetary tactic, what they do is try to buy more time to acquire more arms, and then they will come out again. We have seen it repeatedly,” he said. The man insists that bandits are traitorous criminals, they do not want peace: “Terrorists are enemies of Nigeria; they have no respect for human life. We are going to go after them fully, working together with all security agencies…”

General Musa will not negotiate with terrorists but the forces he will meet on the battlefield here are more than the bandits, Boko Haram and their brother terrorists. He knows there are powerful people who profess negotiation because bandits are their brothers. A war against bandits is against such men of means.

Musa needs the support of his appointers to deliver. This is where I pity him. His makers may have already achieved their aim: respite from Donald Trump and his troublesome band, home and abroad. In other words, the positive review which the president has got from the new minister’s choice may have been the end the system wanted; nothing more. I may be wrong; if I am wrong here I will be happy. US-based Professor Moses Ochonu put it more elegantly in a Facebook post: “While having a competent and uncompromised defense minister helps, the problem ultimately is not about who is the minister. Rather, it is whether there’s the political will, unsoiled by political and electoral calculation, to go after the terrorists, and whether the Tinubu government is willing to humbly admit that its non-kinetic counterterrorism strategy has not only failed but has emboldened the terrorists, and is, as a result, ready to move to a more offensive posture.” Musa should read this again as he prepares for this phase of his life and career.

The new minister can talk, and he has been talking. Musa wants Nigeria fenced round to combat terror. He said: “Border management is very critical. We have had countries that because of the level of insecurity in their country had to fence their borders. Pakistan fenced 1,350 kilometers of border with Afghanistan; that was the only time they had peace. Saudi Arabia and Iraq, 1,400 km border, is completely fenced.” Geography says Nigeria’s total boundary stretches roughly 4,047 km by land and 853 km along its coastline, giving it an approximate total perimeter of about 4,900 km. Now, let me ask Musa: Which of our own neighbours is our own Afghanistan? The truth is that we are the Afghanistan of Africa. We, not our neighbours, are the danger to be fenced off. The new minister and his team can change our story and our status. They won’t do that with weird ideas like border fencing which is potentially another project etched in the image of an elephant painted white.

But, then, I wonder where the fencing idea came from. The intelligent General from Southern Kaduna has probably forgotten that Boko Haram in the North-East started as a Nigerian start-up. The group has essentially remained a Nigerian brand exporting abhorrence to Chad, Niger, Cameroon, even Benin.

Again, has Musa, the gadfly, forgotten that banditry in the North-West has its roots in the historical tension between the Hausa and the Fulani? Did he listen to a recent interview by the chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, where he admitted that banditry and terrorism in northern Nigeria is self-inflicted? For the records, Bashir Dalhatu said: “We have fifteen million out-of-school children roaming the streets. If we had taken care of that, it would not have gotten out of hand.” The General should read Dalhatu’s lips and ask himself what a fence would do to prevent the multi-million idle hands from becoming the devil’s workshop. A fence will be as useless as a door locked against the enemy within.

The Musa that I watched on TV has no deficit of education. Leadership has never been an accident of luck. Those who attained it worked for it; the best among them are the truly educated ones. Because of his apparent good education, this Musa is not like the one at the gate whispering peace to bandits. His voice has been very shrill against the enemy, but he needs more than his voice to win this war. The enemy is not the Wall of Jericho. He should fight criminals and battle those who excuse their crimes.

The man has a model to copy in legendary British Iron lady, Margaret Thatcher who had the IRA extremists to pummel almost four decades ago. In the midst of “The Troubles” and their bombs, Thatcher reminded her country that: “Crime and violence injure not only the victim, but all of us, by spreading fear and making the streets no-go areas for decent people…To be soft on crime is to betray the law-abiding citizen. And to make excuses for the criminal is to offer incentives to dishonesty and violence. Crime flourishes in a culture of excuses…” Thatcher did not just talk and go to bed; she followed her talk with concrete actions and degraded the enemy.

Our new minister needs good Nigerians to succeed and he already has them. If he will keep them, he must be felt more in action rather than in words. A billion words are mere hot air, they can’t fill a basket. Everyone knows this. Policies and actions that terminate banditry and terrorism are what will sustain his name and legacy of heroism. He will achieve that only when he fences off bloodline politics and treats crime as crime.

I go back to Thatcher. To our president and his minister, I recommend the words of the Iron Lady uttered on October 12, 1990 (35 years ago). She told her Conservative Party that “crime is not a sickness to be cured; it is a temptation to be resisted, a threat to be deterred, and an evil to be punished.”

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

Police state or state police?

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

On 26 November 2025, Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, announced in a statement personally signed by him that he had “decided to declare a nationwide security emergency” to be accompanied by some measures, including the recruitment by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Armed Forces of 20,000 and 50,000 new personnel respectively. In the fortnight preceding the announcement, a flurry of frightening terror incidents had created among populations and communities around the country a heightened state of fear. It also reinforced the perception of a normalization of insecurity and of the traumas associated with it.

Yet, the text and terms of the president’s announcement were odd, to say the least.

Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution empowers the president to declare or proclaim a “state of emergency.”  Under the terms of the Constitution, an emergency proclamation is time-bound (for an initial period of not more than six months) and must be confirmed by a joint resolution of a qualified majority of both chambers of the National Assembly within 48 hours of the proclamation.

The predicate conditions for the proclamation of a state of emergency in Nigeria under Section 305(3) of the constitution are that the country is at war or in imminent danger of invasion or of entering into a war or suffering from a breakdown of public order and safety or in imminent danger of such breakdown. The flood of casualties would seem to suggest that the predicate condition of a country at war exists.

Apart from thousands killed and many more unaccounted for, reports of  7,568 people abducted in 1,130 incidents across the country in just one year between July 2023 to June 2024 suggest also that there is significant breakdown in public safety. However, the president was unwilling to cite any of these as grounds for his action, probably because it would represent an admission of how bad things have become under his watch.

 Moreover, a formal acknowledgement of the existence of an armed conflict would entail the application of the norms of international humanitarian law under the Geneva Conventions Act, which could lead to the recognition as belligerents the motley crowd of insurgent groups presently afflicting the country. That is considered a step too far for a country that has already survived a brutal civil war from July 1967 to January 1970.

Howsoever it is looked at, this “nationwide security emergency” declared by President Tinubu does not sound like the “state of emergency” authorized by the constitution. The use of “emergency” to describe the measures announced by the president was artful, designed to create the public impression that the administration was at last waking up to its primary responsibility to assure the safety and security of all who live in Nigeria. In reality, none of the measures announced by the president requires the existence of an emergency for their accomplishment nor does it make sense why the administration had to wait until now to consider them for implementation. Moreover, the so-called “emergency” is open-ended. It is not hedged by duration and there has been no effort to take it before the National Assembly.

In an innocuous insertion in the announcement, however, the president invites “the National Assembly to begin reviewing our laws to allow states that require state police to establish them.” In this sentence, President Tinubu commits the sleight of hand of suggesting that “state police” will be merely optional only for those states who want it. Of course, he knew better than even suggest that.

State police has become a very emotive expression in Nigeria’s political and security lexicon. Politicians who cannot be bothered to do the most basic of things to protect their people somehow create the impression that they could have accomplished that and more if only they had the magic wand of state police. The evidence to the contrary is very stark and conveniently buried.

First, the record of state security initiatives has been very abysmal. Native Authority policing was abolished following the onset of military rule in 1966 because of the tendency to make them instruments of decentralized despotism. Writing in 2018, pioneer post-colonial public servant, Ahmed Joda, recalled the record of the Native Authority Police: “first generation pioneer opposition politicians of the forties and fifties and up to the end of the civilian era in 1966 experienced hell…. Many of them, especially at election times were simply rounded up at rallies, walked to the Native Authority courts, promptly convicted and sent to another Native Authority institution: the Native Authority Prison for long enough periods to take them out for the election period and render political opposition prostrate. Some were simply adducted and disappeared for the period of the elections.” There is nothing to suggest that State police this time will be any less despotic. On the contrary, the omens indicate that it could be worse.

Second, when he introduced Islamic criminal law of Huddud (crimes against God) into Zamfara State at the beginning of a wave of Sharia insertion into north-west Nigeria in October 1999, then governor, Sani Yerima, justified it with reference to the need to upgrade public safety and security in the state. Despite his best spin, public safety and security in Zamfara State did not get better. Instead, it has disintegrated.

Zamfara State was far from the only state to experience this trend. In the Middle Belt, Benue State adopted a vigilante law in 2000, creating armed volunteer guards supposedly to enhance the protection of the state. Far from enhancing safety and security in Benue, the State turned into a haven of insecurity. Around the same time, Anambra State in the south-east launched its own Anambra Vigilante Service (AVS) under cover of state law in 2000. Under that law, then Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju claimed authority to invite and establish the Bakassi as an armed, anti-crime vigilante in the state. Anyone who wants to understand how insecurity subsequently prospered in south-east Nigeria must return to the origins of the story in the atrocity-with-impunity franchise that the Bakassi became.

Third, when it reported to the presidency in August 2012, the Parry Osayande Presidential Committee on Police Reform recommended quite strongly against the clamour for State police. At the submission of the report, the Chairperson of the Committee, Parry Osayande, a former Deputy Inspector-General of Police, feared that the country lacked the institutional wherewithal to oversight, train, or professionalise a proliferation of armed police units across the country. He recommended effective de-centralisation of the existing NPF “with effective participation of state governors; financial autonomy and better professionalism for the police.” Six years later, Ahmed Joda supported “the need to decentralize our policing system.”

The question now is how to achieve that goal.

The political fad of today appears to be that the answer lies in State Police. Many people will argue that any opposition to this idea, first, reflects path-dependency; and second, that the times have changed and require that the country should explore the idea. Third, advocates of “true federalism” also denounce any opposition to state police, even when they are not able to tell anyone what exactly makes their version of federalism any truer than the next.

The times may have changed certainly but not necessarily for the better. If anything, the reluctance and caution sounded by Parry Osayande 13 years ago is even more resounding today in a context of corroded democratic controls and multi-dimensional impunity.

State police will not be served a la carte nor will it be a matter of variable geometry. Every state governor will see it as a necessary accessory of power. It will not be reserved to only governors who understand the idea of constrained power. Those who enjoy abuse of power will be the first to acquire it, not to advance security but to visit insecurity on their political enemies.

So, in addition to the very challenged NPF which the country struggles with today, we will have 37 more, one for each state and another for the FCT. Each will function under the control of the governor and will be armed by their gubernatorial patrons. This is not state police. Instead, it could be a recipe for a de-centralised police state with no hope of relief. In their enthusiasm, advocates of State police offer no safeguards against this danger.

A lawyer & a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at [email protected]

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

Boris Johnson hails Nigeria as one of UK’s strongest allies, says, “You Give Us Talent. We Give You… Whiskey.”

Owerri, Nigeria — Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday praised Nigeria as one of Britain’s most dependable partners, highlighting a long-standing economic relationship that spans energy, trade, and professional talent.

Speaking at the Imo Economic Summit in Owerri, Johnson described Nigeria as a “strong ally in a solid bilateral relationship,” citing the complementary flow of goods and expertise between both nations.

“I’m very proud of what we export to Nigeria. We send you pharmaceuticals, bankers, services of all kinds and huge quantities of whiskey,” Johnson said to laughter from the audience. “And in return, you send us oil, gas, Nollywood movies, brilliant doctors, nurses, tech geniuses. We are very, very grateful.”

Johnson’s remarks underscored the depth of UK–Nigeria interdependence at a time when both countries are seeking stronger economic ties and investment opportunities.

The summit, a two-day gathering running from December 4 to 5, brought together leaders from government, business, finance, and technology. Held at Concorde Boulevard, opposite the historic Concorde Hotel in Owerri, the event aimed to spotlight Imo State’s economic potential and attract new investment.

Johnson, one of the summit’s star speakers, urged policymakers and investors to deepen cooperation, stressing that Nigeria’s growing pool of skilled professionals has become indispensable to the UK.

The former prime minister’s appearance added international weight to the event, which organisers say reflects Imo State’s ambition to position itself as an emerging hub for industry and innovation.

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