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Bayelsa High Court judge abducted in Yenagoa

  • 12 wedding-bound travellers killed as mob attacks commercial bus in Plateau

Hon. Justice E. G. Umokoro, a judge of the High Court of Bayelsa State, was on Saturday kidnapped by gunmen.

Umokoro of Yenagoa High Court 7 was kidnapped in front of a popular eatery known as Kilimanjaro, Ekeki, at about 7 pm.

Eyewitnesses at the scene of the crime stated that the hooded gunmen clad in black uniforms shot at him but missed

They blocked him with an unmarked white Hilux van and whisked him away.

The masked gunmen did not take away the black Toyota Prado jeep in which he was riding at the time of his abduction.

A video of the crime scene was posted on Facebook by a blogger, “This is Bayelsa.”

In the video, which is trending on social media, the victim was seen struggling with his abductors, who forced him into the white Hilux before driving away.

The incident threw the area into pandemonium as people scampered for safety.

In another development, no fewer than 12 travellers from the Basawa community in Zaria, Kaduna State, were killed during an attack in Mangu, Plateau State, on Friday.

Eleven others sustained injuries and are currently receiving hospital treatment.

The victims, a group of 31 men, women, and children, were travelling in an 18-seater bus belonging to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, when assailants attacked them around 8pm.

Report indicated that the travellers were heading for Qua’an Pan LGA to attend a wedding ceremony when they ran into a mob.

The Chief Imam of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’a Wa’ikamatis Sunnah, Sheikh Suleiman Haruna, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said the corpses have been deposited at Mangu General Hospital.

“There were 31 travellers in the bus. Now we have 8 corpses in the hospitals. We have asked the security personnel to help recover the remaining four bodies. We were together with the chairman of Mangu LGA, and he has been up and doing on the matter, “ the Chief Imam said.

Ibrahim Umar, one of the survivors, narrated that, “We were heading to Qua’an Pan to attend a wedding ceremony of our brother when we missed the road because we didn’t know it. We stopped and asked some people for directions, but before we knew it, they surrounded the vehicle, shouting that we should be killed.

“They started beating and attacking us with dangerous weapons. The mob killed the driver first and then attacked others. They burned the bus with the corpses inside. We are now in the hospital, receiving care.”

When contacted, the spokesperson of the state police command, DSP Alfred Altau, said, “The police were aware of the incident but would issue a statement regarding it later.”

Joseph Chu’ma Otteh: The man who changed human rights enforcement in Nigeria

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

The legal career of Joseph Chu’ma Otteh, whose mortal remains were committed to earth on 20 June 2025, could easily have been different. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife in 1988, very much one of the best students in the set. In 1989, Joe enrolled as a lawyer in Nigeria. He had every opportunity to deploy his prodigious talents and considerable skills in the pursuit of personal fortune and no one could have begrudged him. Instead, he chose the path of legacy and impact through the pursuit of an unpredictable career in the defence of the excluded and marginalized.

As a lawyer, Joe worried about two intractable and inter-related problems: delay in justice delivery and judicial performance. His intellect and temperament were well suited to high judicial service. For someone who did not seek nor pursue a judicial career, however, his preoccupations were startling because ultimate control over the solutions to these issues lay in the hands of the judges, or so it was thought.

Early in his legal career, Joe chose to do something about these issues and he travelled around the world to prepare himself for that purpose, learning about models fit for adaptation in Nigeria. In pursuit of answers, he undertook two programmes of graduate studies in law, one at the University of Lagos in Nigeria and another at the New York University (NYU) in the United States of America. In between both programmes, in 1994, he also researched the same issue as a Research Fellow at the Danish Centre for Human Rights in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Three years earlier, in 1991, just fresh from completing his National Youth Service scheme, Joe had joined the staff of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO). There, he began his career as a lawyer to the under-privileged and under-represented in Nigeria whose encounters with justice were defined by the twin blights of exclusion and delay. For these people, entry into the court system was sometimes attainable but exit from it was almost always intractable. 

For context, this problem probably predated Frederick Lugard’s Amalgamation of 1914. In a memorandum to Frederick Lugard dated 11 February 1914, Edward Speed, the first Chief Justice of post-Amalgamation Nigeria, lamented that “the greatest enemy to the efficient administration of Criminal Law is delay.” It was to the redress of this century-old problem that Joe dedicated his professional life.

Joe realized he could not do this alone. So, in 1999, he founded Access to Justice as an organization dedicated entirely to figuring out how to contribute to alleviating the twin problems of judicial (lack of) performance and delay in the legal process in Nigeria. The few lawyers who had adverted to this before him seemed to believe that the way to redress delay in litigation was to litigate more cases. They would file cases on behalf of specific victims of delay believing somehow that they could jump the queue of institutional dysfunction by inflicting more dysfunction on it.

Joe’s genius lay in his capacity for patient diagnosis. He saw this as a problem of judicial administration and court management. The answer, he believed, lay in working with the judges to re-design case management and judicial throughput. To address this, Joe invested patiently in cultivating the attentions of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) at the time, Mohammed Lawal Uwais, who died earlier this month. He was successful in persuading the Chief Justice Uwais to grant consent for a pilot project in monitoring the performance of judges.

Over a period of one year, monitors would record the way the judges ran their courts, documenting such minutiae as when they began sitting; how long they did; the number of motions, trials, cases that they did and the number of rulings, judgments and orders that they produced. The report was to be submitted to the CJN with whose authorization, under the initial proposal, it was to be issued after he must have reviewed it. The information captured from the pilot was so troubling, the Chief Justice was reluctant to make it public.

Joe was disappointed but not deterred. He repurposed the report into persuading the Chief Justice to endow the National Judicial Council (NJC) with a capacity to monitor judicial performance, an advocacy in which he achieved limited success.

But his ultimate revenge lay elsewhere. As CJN in December 1979, Atanda Fatayi Williams had enacted the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) (FREP) Rules to govern litigation for the enforcement of the fundamental rights guaranteed in Chapter IV of Nigeria’s Constitution. As a cottage industry in claims for fundamental rights grew in the quarter century thereafter, the desire to simplify access to remedies through the FREP Rules became subverted. Delay became chronic and some judges fixated on using the rules to achieve judgment without delivering justice.

Joe believed the only way to change this was to reform and re-enact the FREP Rules and he spent a decade persuading a succession of CJNs that this needed to be done. In this mission, he was relentless. In 2009, Joe finally persuaded Chief Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi to enact the revised FREP Rules. It is a revolutionary piece of work that advertises the full range of Joe’s acuity.

The 2009 FREP Rules could easily be called the “Otteh Rules” because Joe drafted them. Through those Rules and in them, Joseph Otteh wrote his own epitaph long before his earthly tour of duty ended on 28 March 2025.

The 2009 FREP Rules clearly set about fixing the major issues that Joe had diagnosed as the major afflictions that made redress of human rights violations in Nigeria difficult. Three things stood out. First, it addressed clearly the issue of standing to sue or locus standi in human rights cases. Second, it makes it an obligation for courts to “in a manner calculated to advance Nigerian democracy, good governance, human rights and culture, pursue the speedy and efficient enforcement and realisation of human rights.” Third, the 2009 FREP Rules require judges to also “proactively pursue enhanced access to justice for all classes of litigants, especially the poor, the illiterate, the uninformed, the vulnerable, the incarcerated, and the unrepresented.”

This was the constituency to whom Joe devoted his professional life. His convictions and deep thoughtfulness, intellect, integrity, industry, empathy and honour were formed early. Joe was the son of teachers who found virtue in advancing dignity, service, and faith with enlightenment. His Dad, an economics teacher from Okporo in then Orlu Division of Imo State, built life in Agbor in the old Mid-West.

Born 18 October 1965, primary school commenced for Joe at the end of the civil war at the Agbor Model School. His high school began in the famous Edo College in Benin-City in 1977, ending in 1982 at the Ika Grammar School in Agbor, where his Dad served also as the Vice-Principal.

As Africans, the investment in rituals of naming have rich symbolism. When Joe was born, his parents summed up their hopes and beliefs in the name that they gave to the first of their seven children, “Chu’ma” (God knows). It was a confession of total submission to the Almighty. It is also the one consolation that we are left with at his passing.

Most lawyers retail their skills, and are content to do their cases. Joe did his law wholesale. He took charge of upstream lawyering and chose to deploy his skills in building institutions, transforming how they are run, and taking hope to the poor and excluded. Untimely as his passing is, Joseph Chu’ma Otteh has left us with the most durable and consequential impact any professional could hope for in the FREP Rules 2009. He is survived by his mum, Adanma; his wife, Ogechi; their children – Chidimso, Samantha, and Ikechi; and siblings.

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

What happened to us? His son was dying, but LASTMA officials had other ideas

By Chiemelie Kyrian Offor

I wasn’t supposed to stop.

But I did.

There was chaos just ahead of the supermarket gate somewhere in Surulere.

A black Toyota Corolla was surrounded by three LASTMA officials.

The driver, mid-40s, shirt soaked in sweat, kept pacing between them.

And something in his voice stopped me.

“Please. Please just look inside the car. He is not even moving anymore. That’s my son. He is sick, he is very sick. We were going to the hospital. I only stepped in to grab his medication. I was gone for just five minutes.”

One of the officials shook his head like he’d heard it a thousand times.

“You people always have stories. Why park where you’re not supposed to? You want us to lose our job?”

Another officer barked.

“Oga, if you don’t bring ₦70,000 now, this car is going to the yard. And from there? You’ll need close to ₦400,000 to bail it.”

The man reached out. Not to touch them. Just to plead.
They stepped back like he carried something contagious.

“I swear I’m not lying. Please. He has severe asthma. I forgot the nebulizer at home. I was rushing to the hospital, Faithview, just ten minutes from here. Look at him! You have a child, right? Please, have sympathy.”

That was when I looked.

The boy, maybe ten, was in the backseat, his small frame slumped against the door, eyes half-closed. His chest heaved in rapid spasms, every breath sounding like gravel grinding in a pipe.

His fingers trembled. His lips were turning dark.

So I stepped forward.

“What’s wrong with him?”

The father looked at me, disoriented.

“Asthma. It started an hour ago. He had a mild attack in the morning, but it’s worsening fast. I was going to get him treated and just stopped for a refill. Please, sir… help me talk to them.”

I tried to talk to the LASTMA officers but they ignored me so I turned back to the man.

“Try and sort this with them, let me take him to the hospital.”

His eyes widened.

“You…?”

“We don’t have another option and there is no time. He needs oxygen. Now.”

He hesitated.

“You’re a stranger.”

“I am. But your son is dying.”

He looked back at the boy.

Then at me.

He obviously saw that there was no other option left.

His lips trembled.

“Give me your number. Please.”

I gave him mine.

And he gave me his.

I opened the door and gently lifted the boy from the backseat.

He was warm. Burning. His eyes barely focused on mine.

As I placed him in my car, the father shouted behind me.

“Please, call me the moment you get there. Please don’t let anything happen to him!”

I nodded once. Then I got into the car and quickly drove off.

The hospital wasn’t crowded, I guess because it was a private one.

I rushed in carrying the boy in both arms.

“Emergency! Severe asthma attack. Ten-year-old boy!”

The receptionist stood up so fast her chair hit the wall.

She shouted.

“Treatment Room Two! Get Doctor Okafor!”

While I tried to fill the form I was given, two nurses rushed and took the boy, placed him on the oxygen tank, connected a nebulizer, and began checking vitals.

One of the nurses murmured.

“He’s tachypneic. Respiration over 40. Oxygen saturation 82%.”

The doctor said as he rushed in still zipping his scrubs.

“Get the hydrocortisone ready. Nebulize him every 20 minutes. Keep him on oxygen. If he doesn’t stabilize, we’re moving to adrenaline injection.”

I stood there.

My heart pounding.

This wasn’t my child.

But it felt like my fight.

Minutes passed.

Then the doctor came out.

“He is stable.”

He said, wiping his forehead.

“That was close. He’ll be okay, but he needs to stay a few hours for monitoring.”

I thanked him so much.

The bill came.

₦89,000.

I paid with my debit card.

I stepped outside and called the boy’s father.

He picked on the first ring.

“Hello! Sir, please, is he?”

“He is stable. He is getting oxygen and treatment.”

A pause.

Then I heard the man begin to cry. Softly.

I didn’t speak. I let him.

But he wasn’t done.

“They’ve taken the car. They refused to wait. I was still begging when the towing truck came. They said the 70K grace was over. I’m at their yard in Iponri now. Sir… they’re asking for ₦385,000 to release my car.”

I looked at the hospital door behind me.

Then at the sky.

Then back to my car.

I didn’t know what to say to him.

But all I found myself saying was.

“I’m coming.”

And I meant it.

He couldn’t believe his ears.

I arrived at the LASTMA office just before 3PM.

The weather was warm, no sun, but the heat stuck to my skin like wet cloth.

I found him standing by a corner fence, head down, fingers digging into his scalp.

He was tired and confused.

So I said to him gently.

“Sir.”

He looked up like someone coming out of a bad dream. His eyes were red, his face streaked with dry sweat and tears.

He approached me nervously.

His voice was hoarse.

“My car… they have impounded it. Said I’ll pay ₦385,000. They even threatened to keep increasing the fine by day. That car is my only source of income. That’s my office from where I make money to take care of my son and my wife. God, please, help me.”

I told him.

“Stay calm. Nothing will happen to your car, you’ll get it back, I believe.”

He nodded slowly.

“They have been laughing at me. One said, ‘Your son is sick? Na why you go break law? You think say we be Red Cross?’”

I felt something cold stir in my chest.

Not rage.

Just sadness.

I said to him.

“Please, come with me.”

We walked into the building.

Inside, it smelled of engine oil, sweat, and indifference.

I approached the counter.

“Good afternoon. I’d like to speak with your superior officer. It’s regarding a car that was impounded a few hours ago, black Toyota Corolla.”

A thickset officer with bloodshot eyes looked up at me. “Eeyyaa who you be? Police or Army? Abeg everything you want to say, say it here. We don’t have time.”

I responded calmly but firm.

“I was the one who rushed the sick boy to the hospital, I have the hospital card and bill here. He was in the back seat of that vehicle. That child would have died today if I didn’t act.”

He scoffed.

“And so? Good for him. E mean say we no go do our job?”

“No one said that but this man was in an emergency. All he asked was a few more minutes. Instead, you people want to extort him. Now you’re billing him almost ₦400,000. This isn’t traffic enforcement. It’s cruelty.”

Another officer chimed in.

“Oga, the car don enter system. Na only Oga inside go override am. And e no dey see everybody.”

“Then let him see me.”

“As governor of Lagos State or as who?”

Silence.

I stood my ground.

“Get your superior. I’ll wait.”

The minutes crawled.

The father stood beside me like a child awaiting judgment.

Fortunately, a senior officer emerged.

Bald, tall, stern. I saw his name tag.

He sized me up before he said.

“What’s the problem?”

I stepped forward and told the story. From the moment I saw the boy wheezing in the back seat, to carrying him into the hospital, to paying the ₦89,000 hospital bill, to returning only to find the car had been towed.

The Commander listened without interruption. Then he asked a single question:

“Do you have proof the boy was sick?”

I handed him the hospital bill and the case card. He studied them for a long moment.

Then something shifted in his eyes.

He looked at the officers behind the desk.

“You towed the vehicle knowing a child was dying in it?”

“Sir, the man parked in a no-parking.”

“I didn’t ask that. I asked if you knew a child was in distress in the car.”

No one answered.

He sighed.

“Release the car. Immediately. Remove the fine. No man should suffer for saving his own son’s life. And you.”

He turned to the father.

“You’re lucky someone still has a conscience in this country. Thank this guy for stepping in.”

The man fell to his knees.

“Thank you. Thank you, sir… I swear, thank you…”

When the superior left, he turned to me.

And his voice broke.

“You didn’t know me. Yet you rushed my son to the hospital. You paid for his treatment. And now, you’re standing here fighting for me when I couldn’t even fight for myself.”

I helped him to his feet.

He opened his wallet and tried to hand me some money.

“I don’t have much. Please… even if it’s part of what you spent…”

I shook my head.

“Your son is breathing. That’s enough. Please, pick your car and go and see him. God bless you.”

He looked at me, eyes trembling.

“Why? Why would you do this for me?”

I didn’t know how to answer that.

So I said the only thing I truly believed.

“Because someone should.”

As we walked out into the fading light, I handed him a folded note.

It was the hospital’s follow-up card. His son had to return in two days for further tests.

“I already booked the appointment. He’ll need more care. Don’t miss it.”

He opened it slowly, then looked back at me, his lips parted, but no words came.

Only tears.

Only silence.

And behind us, the LASTMA officers watched.

They were quiet now. Maybe even ashamed.

But I left there happy and fulfilled.

You could do the same.

And the world will be a better place.

.

Chiemelie Kyrian Offor 
June 17, 2025

Barely 48 hours after Tinubu’s visit suspected herdsmen attack SGF Akume’s village

Barely 48 hours after President Bola Tinubu visited Benue state, suspected herdsmen have launched a deadly attack on Wannune community in Tarka Local Government Area of Benue State, the hometown of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.

DAILY POST gathered that the attack left many dead and several others injured.

A youth corps member serving in the area described the situation as chaotic and terrifying.

“Everyone is running into the bushes for safety. Please let Nigerians pray for us. The herdsmen are ravaging the environment now,” the corps member said in a desperate SOS, calling on security agencies for urgent intervention.

The renewed violence has cast serious doubts over the effectiveness of President Tinubu’s visit and the directives he issued to security agencies.

During his tour of the state, the President met with stakeholders and ordered the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Defence Staff to apprehend those behind the killings.

​His visit followed a gruesome massacre in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area, where over 200 people were killed, a tragedy that sparked national outrage and condemnation.

Read Also: Yelewata Massacre: What Benue people expected from President Tinubu

16bn logins exposed! Internet users advised to change passwords

Internet users have been told to change their passwords and upgrade their digital security after researchers claimed to have revealed the scale of sensitive information – 16bn login records – potentially available to cybercriminals.

Researchers at Cybernews, an online tech publication, said they had found 30 datasets stuffed with credentials harvested from malicious software known as “infostealers” and leaks.

The researchers said the datasets were exposed “only briefly” but amounted to 16bn login records, with an unspecified number of overlapping records – meaning it is difficult to say definitively how many accounts or people have been exposed.

Click here to continue reading.

Telegram boss, Pavel Durov plans to leave $13b fortune to over 100 children he has fathered

The founder of instant messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, says the more than 100 children he has fathered will share his estimated $13.9bn (£10.3bn) fortune.

“They are all my children and will all have the same rights! I don’t want them to tear each other apart after my death,” Mr Durov told French political magazine Le Point.

Mr Durov said he was the “official father” of six children by three different partners, but the clinic, where I started donating sperm fifteen years ago to help a friend, told me that more than 100 babies had been conceived this way in 12 countries.”

He also reiterated that he denied any wrongdoing in connection with serious criminal charges he faces in France.

The self-exiled Russian technology tycoon also told the magazine that his children would not have access to their inheritance for 30 years.

“I want them to live like normal people, to build themselves up alone, to learn to trust themselves, to be able to create, not to be dependent on a bank account,” he said.

The BBC has approached Mr Durov for comment.

The 40-year-old said he had written a will now because his job involved “risks – defending freedoms earns you many enemies, including within powerful states”.

His app, Telegram, known for its focus on privacy and encrypted messaging, has more than a billion monthly active users.

Mr Durov also addressed criminal charges he faces in France, where he was arrested last year after being accused of failing to properly moderate the app to reduce criminality.

He has denied failing to co-operate with law enforcement over drug trafficking, child sexual abuse content and fraud. Telegram has previously denied having insufficient moderation.

In the Le Point interview he described the charges as “totally absurd”.

“Just because criminals use our messaging service among many others doesn’t make those who run it criminals,” he added.

Russian-born Mr Durov now lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based. He holds dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates.

The founder of VKontakte said in 2014 that he had been fired from the Russian social network after refusing requests from the Kremlin to censor posts.

He founded Telegram in 2013, and the app remains popular in Russia.

Telegram allows groups of up to 200,000 members, which critics have argued makes it easier for misinformation to spread, and for users to share conspiracist, neo-Nazi, paedophilic or terror-related content.

Earlier this year, Mr Durov defended Telegram’s record on tackling child abuse.

“Since 2018, Telegram has fought child abuse in many ways: content fingerprint bans, dedicated moderation teams, NGO hotlines, and daily transparency reports on banned content – all verifiable,” he wrote in a post on X.

“Falsely implying Telegram did nothing to remove child porn is a manipulation tactic.”

A Telegram spokesperson told BBC News that the app was “not effective for the spread of harmful content because it does not use algorithms that promote sensational materials like those used on other platforms”.

In the UK, the app was scrutinised for hosting far-right channels that were instrumental in organising the violent disorder in English cities last summer.

Telegram did remove some groups, but overall its system of moderating extremist and illegal content is significantly weaker than that of other social media companies and messenger apps, according to cybersecurity experts.

The app says it has “removed all channels found sharing calls for violence” and it denies that its system of moderation is weaker than others’. “This is false,” its spokesperson said. “Telegram’s moderation meets or exceeds all industry standards.”

“Telegram blocks tens of thousands of groups and channels daily and removes millions of pieces of content that violate its Terms of Service, including incitement to violence, sharing child abuse materials, and trading illegal goods,” the app says on its site.

Benue killings: Primate Ayodele says, ‘I called Ribadu over 100 times, but he ignored me’

Primate Elijah Ayodele, leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, has accused National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu of dismissing urgent alerts ahead of the deadly Benue attacks.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Ayodele claims he phoned Ribadu “about 130 times,” sent texts, hand-delivered letters—and even enlisted a military general—only to be rebuffed each time.

The cleric said his apocalyptic vision of the carnage was documented in his annual prophecy book, Warnings to the Nations, weeks before the tragedy struck.

He lamented, “When you put people who don’t respect God in power, these are some of the things that happen,” blaming Ribadu and other officials for the bloodshed.

Ayodele was particularly scathing, suggesting the NSA refused to see him because he thought he might ask for cash.

“Probably he thinks I want to collect money from him, and I wonder what he wants to give me that I don’t already have. I went to his office, but I was turned back. I went ahead to write a letter because God doesn’t want the death of innocent lives, but these people in power are something else.”

Further inflamed, he warned that Benue’s problem extends beyond the governor’s power and urged all leaders to respect divine counsel.

Ayodele said he even tasked a general to reach Ribadu with his warning—but was allegedly shut out once more.

In his final plea, the prophet implored authorities to “begin to respect God and listen to his warnings” to avoid further tragedy.

“The problem in Benue goes beyond the governor’s power, and that’s why I sent a letter to him and Nuhu Ribadu. I even called a general to reach out to Ribadu regarding the vision I saw about the Benue attack, but the NSA ignored it. Our governors and administrators need to begin to respect God and listen to his warnings in order to get things done rightly.”

We’re not getting enough crude from Nigeria, we now depend on US crude to forestall shortages—Dangote

The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, says his 650,000-barrel capacity refinery is “increasingly” relying on the United States for crude oil.

This came as findings showed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is projected to import a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025, beginning with about 3.65 million barrels already delivered in the past two months, amid ongoing allocations under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude policy.

Dangote informed the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop for the sale of crude and refined products in naira initiative that the refinery was still battling crude shortages, which had led it to resort to imports from the United States.

In a statement from the firm on Thursday, Dangote stated this when the Coordinator of the OSS Technical Committee, Mrs Maureen Ogbonna, led a delegation to the refinery, which she described as a breath of fresh air, impacting virtually every sector of the economy.

According to the statement, Dangote applauded the technical committee for its role in supporting the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s laudable naira-for-crude initiative.

He commended the positive impact of the naira-for-crude swap deal on the Nigerian economy, noting that it has led to a reduction in petroleum product prices, eased pressure on the dollar, and ensured the stability of the local currency, among others.

“However, he noted that due to a shortage of domestic crude oil, the refinery has increasingly relied on imports from the United States to meet its needs in recent months,” the statement read partly.

The PUNCH recalls that the refinery has been importing more cargoes of WTI in its bid to ramp up production. So far this year, US crude has accounted for a third of the purchases of the Dangote refinery, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. A large part of the American crude feeding Nigeria’s refinery is the WTI Midland grade, the data showed.

Dangote stressed the importance of bold investment in strategic sectors as a key to industrialisation, revealing that building the refinery required extensive infrastructure development, including a world-class, self-sufficient marine facility capable of accommodating the largest vessels globally. He assured the delegation of the refinery’s commitment to national development.

Speaking, the Coordinator of the OSS Technical Committee, Ogbonna, hailed the $20bn facility as a symbol of the industrial revolution, driving Nigeria’s economic emancipation.

“This refinery touches all our lives. There’s scarcely any sector unaffected. From pharmaceuticals to construction, food to plastics, this project is transformational. God has used the President of the Dangote Group to liberate Nigeria. I see this as the beginning of an industrial revolution,” she said.

She noted that, in line with Tinubu’s vision of achieving full domestic sufficiency in petroleum products and positioning Nigeria as a major global exporter, the committee was committed to eliminating regulatory, operational, and logistical barriers that hinder the smooth supply and sale of domestic crude oil and refined products in naira.

Reflecting on the scale of the facility, Ogbonna added, “It is truly mind-blowing that one man could envision and execute such a project. As we toured the refinery, we thought we had seen everything until we reached the laboratory. That lab alone is an institution. I don’t know of any institution in Nigeria or even globally that boasts such a laboratory for petrochemicals.”

Ogbonna urged Dangote to remain focused and undeterred by detractors, emphasising that the project is a global achievement, not a personal enterprise.

“We feel truly honoured to have been warmly received by the President of the Dangote Group and his team. My advice to him is: do not be discouraged by critics. He was never self-centred. Despite the obstacles, he was driven by a vision for Nigeria’s future, reaching far beyond Africa,” she added.

The statement concluded that the refinery was designed to process a wide range of crude types, including African and Middle Eastern grades as well as US Light Tight Oil. “The refinery can meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s domestic demand for petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation jet fuel, with a surplus available for export,” the company reiterated.

17.65m barrels imports

The PUNCH further gathered that the refinery is projected to receive a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025, beginning with about 3.65 million barrels already delivered in the past two months.

The refinery has started receiving crude allocation of the planned nine million barrels in June and is awaiting another five million barrels in July, with the lion’s share of it being the grade West Texas Intermediate – Midland from the United States.

The crude import is part of the refinery’s push to reach a full operational capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and intensified efforts to secure a steady supply of crude oil, including sourcing from international markets. While the refinery has historically sourced crude from countries like Brazil, Angola, and Libya, imports from the US now dominate.

Findings by one of our correspondents, based on recent data obtained from the Tanker Position Report compiled by maritime tracking firm Blue Sea Maritime, showed that 21 oil vessels berthed at ports in Lagos between April 6 and May 28, 2025.

These ships delivered a total of 3,652,214 barrels of crude oil to the $20bn refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man, between April and May. It also plans to receive nine million barrels from the same source in June and five million barrels in July.

Data showed that imports from the US have surpassed allocations received from domestic crude producers in recent months. A breakdown showed that the refinery has moved from total dependence on Nigerian crude in December 2024 to importing 27.1m barrels of crude from the US in seven months. This is compared to 46.2 million barrels obtained from the government within the same period.

An analysis of the Tanker Position Report revealed that between April 6 and May 28, 2025, at least 22 vessels delivered a cumulative 3.01 million barrels of crude oil to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, mainly through the Lekki Deep Seaport.

Data showed that the crude imports began with 130,000 barrels received on April 1, followed by 135,909 barrels on April 5, and 270,250 barrels on April 6.

Additional shipments included 145,000 barrels on April 8, 294,076 barrels on April 9, 145,890 barrels on April 15, 145,890 barrels on April 19, 140,000 barrels on April 20, 136,124 barrels on April 23, and 140,000 barrels on April 30.

In May, the imports continued with 140,000 barrels received on May 3; 146,000 barrels on May 7; another 140,000 barrels on May 7; 125,000 barrels on May 15; and 125,200 barrels on May 21.

On May 23, the facility brought in two vessels conveying 273,454MT and 125,000MT, respectively. On May 24, 247,989 MT of crude oil handled by Agent WAPS arrived at 2:45 pm.

On the same day, a union peace ship carrying 273,454 barrels discharged crude at the refinery. 247,978 barrels berthed on May 27 and 125,000 barrels on May 28.

These shipments, which berthed at Lagos ports, further underscore the refinery’s growing reliance on imported crude amid concerns over inadequate domestic supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Meanwhile, a report by Energy in Africa said a key factor behind Dangote refinery’s preference for US crude lies in crude quality. The refinery is optimised to process light sweet crude, a type of oil with low sulfur content that is easier and cheaper to refine into high-value fuels like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

While Nigeria does produce some light sweet grades such as Bonny Light and Qua Iboe, they are often more expensive on the spot market and subject to frequent supply disruptions and chronic underinvestment in infrastructure.

It said the refinery opted for WTI because strong domestic production, efficient logistics, and a reliable export supply chain often make it more competitively priced than comparable Nigerian grades.

“Feedstock predictability is critical. A facility of this scale cannot afford supply disruptions, even if the crude is sourced from right next door,” a senior analyst at Rystad Energy stated.

According to Randy Hurburun, senior refinery analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd, “WTI offers Dangote advantages over Nigerian crudes that result in improved yields of reformate and better gasoline blending capabilities.”

Also commenting on the situation, global oil markets expert Aleksandr Butov noted that, “The refinery’s reliance on US crude imports highlights Nigeria’s ongoing production challenges, despite repeated government assurances and the crude-for-naira exchange policy.”

In an earlier interview with Bloomberg, a spokesman for Dangote said the increased use of US oil reflects the refinery’s rising processing levels and a reduction of Nigerian crude that’s available to buy.

Earlier this year, the facility said it hoped to ramp up production with the target of hitting the 650,000 bpd mark by June this year. Officials said it planned to import more crude oil as supply and look beyond the shores of Nigeria for the feedstock.

The massive crude imports raise fresh questions about the crude allocation under the naira-for-crude oil agreement and concerns for the foreign exchange market due to scarce FX being used for crude oil imports.

The naira-for-crude deal between Dangote refinery and the government was recently revamped after the Federal Executive Council directed the full implementation of the suspended agreement with local refiners. The deal includes an initial volume of 350,000 barrels.

Recall that the first phase of the six-month deal involving the Federal Government, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and local refiners ended March 31, 2025. To restart the deal, the government said the initiative with local refineries is not a temporary measure, but a “key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining.”

The refinery has repeatedly acknowledged the naira-for-crude deal as the reason for the reduction in petrol prices, which translates to reduced costs at the pumps. It affirmed that the prices of petrol would remain affordable and stable despite the fluctuations in global crude oil prices.

The company, in a release signed by its Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, recently stated that the decision to maintain price stability reflects its unwavering commitment to supporting the Nigerian economy and alleviating the burden on consumers from the increase in fuel prices by maintaining price stability.

“We are immensely grateful to President Bola Tinubu for making this possible through the commendable naira-for-crude initiative, which has enabled us to consistently reduce the price of petroleum products for the benefit of all Nigerians,” it stated.

Yelewata Massacre: What Benue people expected from President Tinubu

Sir, we didn’t need poetry. We needed presence. Precision. Protection

By Stephanie Shaakaa

I did not carry bread, tea, pap, water and toiletries into the Makurdi International Market Camp as only a journalist chasing a story, or as a lecturer with a title.

I did not only go as an observer, but also as a witness.

I also went because I could no longer look away. I also went as a daughter of the soil and a neighbour. My house is just a stone’s throw from the camp.

One of the IDP camps at North Bank has become an integral part of my daily routine. Every morning on my way to school, I stop there. They know me now not as a passerby, but as one of their own. Some of the mothers visit me every Saturday at home.

We sit, we talk, we share and sometimes we cry. What started as a small gesture has grown into a bond that will outlive displacement.

A quiet sisterhood carved out of resilience and shared humanity.

What humbles me most is how they carry their pain with such profound grace, remaining unshaken by the weight of their challenges, that it makes you pause. It makes you question why you even complain about the trivialities in your own life. In their laughter, in their strength, in their dignity, there is a lesson, one that the world desperately needs to learn.

These are no longer nameless faces on the margins of a tragedy. They are my people. And in the ruins of what was, we have built something enduring, something the world must see, must feel, must never forget. We have formed a bond that no circumstance can undo, a sisterhood that would remain even when they return to the ancestral homes they were forced to flee.

Inside the camp, hope hung thinner than the smoke that rose from makeshift kitchens. Children trailed behind me barefoot, not begging for food, but simply curious, curious that someone came who wasn’t handing them ration cards or preaching peace.

The first woman I met had no name to give. She simply said, “I’ve lost too many people to remember what to call myself.” Her eyes were rimmed red, not from tears, but from staring too long at the ground, hoping maybe it would open up and return her sons. “I lost four that night,” she told me. “They came after we had just returned from the farm. We hadn’t even made luam (Tiv name for Fufu).

There was a girl, Dooshima, barely 15, holding a screaming baby. The baby was her little sister, their mom had died in the attack. “She doesn’t stop crying,” she told me. “My mum asked us to run, leaving her behind. The baby was on my back when we ran. I turned to call my mother. I didn’t see her again.” Days later, they found her by the burnt barn. Her words were still. Her pain had fossilized. I said nothing, because what does one say when death is the most constant presence in a child’s life?

I met a boy named Terver. Eight years old. He looked like any other child, except he had no smile, no song, no mischief in his eyes. When I asked him where he came from, he said, “I don’t come from anywhere. I come from running.” He had lost both parents in the Yelewata massacre.

He said, “my Dad and Mom were burnt like charcoal I couldn’t differentiate which corpse was Mom’s or Dad’s.” He said it the way you describe the weather. Like it didn’t matter anymore.

Further inside the camp, I found a woman with twins who gave birth in a makeshift pit latrine shack because the clinic was overcrowded and far. “I didn’t scream,” she told me. “I bit my hand to stop myself from making noise. I was scared they would hear me.” The twins lived. But for how long?

This was no ordinary attack. This was terror scripted and directed for maximum horror. They came at night, at about 10 pm, herded families into their homes, locked the doors from outside and set fire to everything. In one house, forty-five people burned to death, entire generations turned to ash.

In another house, twenty-eight people were charred beyond recognition. A mother lost her five children, burnt alive alongside her aging mother. Nothing was spared. No one.

At the teaching hospital, I met a man cradling a miracle. His six-month-old baby had just been pulled from rubble three days after the attack, alive. Dehydrated, bruised, but alive. “My wife and four other children were found in pieces,” he said, voice shaking. “Only this one survived. Maybe God still sees me. I don’t know.”

Every single family in Yelewata recorded multiple deaths. Some compounds had no survivors. They are still pulling bodies from the ruins. Some have no heads. Some, no legs.

Some, just piles of charcoal and bone. These are the people the federal government calls displaced. No, they are not displaced. They are erased.

Names of some dead ones released

The names tell the story of a people being wiped out while the world watches in silence. Fanen Chii. Doom Chii. Terzungwe Chii. Edeember Uke. Aondodoo Uke. Adohi Dooga. Mbanyiar Dooga. Ikyoche Dooga. Awanboi Dooga. Regina Dooga. Adoo Dooga. Aondofa Dooga. Mathew Iormba. Apam Iormba. Philomena Iormba. Akama Iormba. Ngodoo Iormba. Kumawues Iormba. Nensha Iormba. Victoria Tsegba. Ngodoo Tsegba. Mimidoo Tsegba.

Dorathy Tsegba. Msendoo Tsegba. Iorgyer Kyule. Ute Dooga. Shaadye Koornam. Sewuese Iorember. Dooshima Aondoana. Agbogo Aondoana. Erdoo Aondoana. Orsoja Ikpakyaa. Injinia Ikpakyaa. Chia Orshio. Uyina Orshio. Katie Orshio. Myuega Orshio. Usha Orshio. Philomena Orshio. Alia Orshio. Lydia Ajah. Terdoo Ajah. Iwuese Ajah. Orbuter Anya. Terzungwe Akpen. Aondohemba Akpen. Ushana Akpen. Shater Akpen. Mercy Akpen. Isaac Akpen. Doowuese Ugbah. Ngodoo Ugba. Manta Simon. Manta Laadi. Manta Iwuese. Doose Asoo. Aondosoo Asoo. Terlumun Fidelis. Yakov Shagwa. Margaret Shagwa. Erdoo Shagwa. Dooauur Shagwa. Sewuese Shagwa. Logo Ukô. Eunice Tyokuwa. Jude Aza. Kwaghhar Ordue. Doosuur Ordue. Terngu Nongotse. Msugh Nongotse. Dooshima Nongotse. Orlogbo Lamaaondo. Laadi Lamaaondo. Awan Shiôr. Aondohemba Ucha. Bonashe Uzer. Amaki Dende.

Angbiandoo Dende. Festus Amaki. Mbaufe Ubi. Matthew Uto. Doopinen Uto. Kumater Uto. Terhile Uto. Versuwe Zerkohol. Mbakeren Aondovihi. Monday Aondovihi. Erdoo Aondovihi. Joe Aondovihi. Mwarga Aondovihi. Felicia Gwabo. Mary Gwabo. Terhemba Gwabo. Jirgema Gwabo. Mercy Dende. Lubem Dende. Uwundu Iorhemen. Gabriel Fide. Aondoana Fide. Ukese Fide. Averter Fide. Mwaraorga Fide. Terkimbir Solomon. Amina Kongo. Terkula Kongo.

Aboi Asoo. Shater Amaki. Lumunga Gbem. Doose Ayom. Mama Mfanyi. Samson Uke. Aboi Korna. Aondoawase Lamaaondo. Ormbagba Utim. Mermber Lamaaondo. Doose Ordue. Torsaar Adam. Doose Adam. Nguyilan Adam. Terver Ucha. Agon Ucha. Aondohemba Ucha. Atuur Asom. Uvershigh Asom. Nongo Ulam. Aondoaver Ulam. Ayangealumun Azahan. Nguzugwen Torgeri. Washima Nyiyongu. Tarnum Zerhemba.

We are yet to gather the names from Tse-Ikyoon, Tse-Viambe, Tse-Hwar, Tse-Iortyer, Tse-Aguun, Mbagbanger, Tse-Ikyegh, Tse-Chule, and more villages where nothing remains but silence.

Tinubu visits as Benue displaced indigens rise to 900,000

Over 900,000 people are now displaced across Benue State. Children are growing up in camps with no access to proper food, education, or medical care. And in the face of this unspeakable tragedy, the federal response has been delayed, muted, perfunctory. It took yet another massacre over 200 people wiped in Yelewata for the President to visit.

And even when he came, he brought platitudes and prescriptions, not policies or presence. A committee here, a blood donation call there, a mention of ranching, and vague promises. But the blood had already dried by then. The soil had already soaked it in.

He called for peace. He asked why arrests had not been made. He suggested a committee of elders and said, “We will convert this tragedy into prosperity.” But Mr. President, have you ever stood beside a mother who just buried her five children in one grave? Have you seen a man cradle the only surviving piece of his family, a six-month-old baby with burns? You came to Benue, but you didn’t come to us. You came to speak, but you didn’t come to feel.

Sir, we didn’t need poetry. We needed presence. Precision. Protection

What Benue people expected to hear from President Tinubu

What we hoped the President would say was to name what is happening, terrorism. Genocide. Ethnic cleansing. We wanted him to say, “This is a war on the Nigerian farmers, and I will deploy all federal might to stop it.” We wanted him to say, “We are launching Operation Save Benue Now.” Instead, he told us to lead the way. As if a people hunted from their ancestral homes are the ones meant to blaze the trail for national security.

We wanted him to say, “Here is N100 billion for rebuilding, for restoring, for returning displaced people to their lands.” Instead, we heard talk of peace committees.

We wanted him to say, “I hear your cries, I see your graves, I feel your loss.” But the only thing we heard clearly was that peace is good for development.

But where is development without survival?

How does one talk of ranching while children burn?

How do we ask displaced farmers to return to ashes?

How do we ask them to form peace committees with hands still covered in the dirt of fresh graves?

Where is the plan for resettling displaced persons?

When will military bases be established in the vulnerable areas of Guma, Gwer-West, Logo, and Agatu?

Where is the justice for the thousands of lives lost?

Will the Federal Government declare the attackers as terrorists, or will we continue to downplay the horror?

These are questions we want answers to.

It was Tor Tiv, Professor James Ayatse, who told the hardest truth. Said he: “This is not herder-farmer clashes… It is a full-scale genocidal land-grabbing campaign. It is a total invasion.”

Yet the federal government continues to describe these horrors with vague terms like clashes, reprisals, skirmishes. No. This is calculated violence, ethnic cleansing by fire and fear.

The people didn’t want condolences. They wanted security. They didn’t want to hear about peace committees. They wanted military boots in their villages, now. They didn’t want to hear political poetry. They wanted justice loud, visible, swift.

As I left the camp that morning, a little girl stood before me with a stick she used like a microphone. She said, “Welcome to my news. I live here. My house is fire now. My mummy is black in the ground.” Then she smiled, and sent me on an errand; “Please, tell Abuja we want to go home”.

I turned away because I could not take it anymore. As I was about to walk out of the premises, a man grabbed my hand firmly, but not in hostility. His name was Agber. He had lost his wife and three daughters in the attack. “Please tell them,” he said. “Tell Abuja we are still human beings here. Tell them to stop sending words. We need action. We need to go home”. I promised I would. And that’s why I am writing this.

Let us never again say “herder-farmer clash.” This is not a clash. It is a calculated extermination, a total invasion, genocide and land grabbing and if Nigeria remains silent, it becomes complicit. These names are not just a list. They are an indictment. They are our history’s shame. But maybe, just maybe, if we write them loudly enough, if we say them with enough truth, if we remember them fiercely enough they won’t die a second death in silence.

Mr. President, this is your country. These are your people. Their bones are your burden. Their names are your legacy. Do not let them vanish again.

The death toll from the latest massacre in Yelewata is over 200. Benue currently hosts more IDPs than any state outside Borno and Zamfara. Yet the camps receive little to no sustained federal funding. No resettlement policy exists. The killings continue with no solid plan in place.

Source: Vanguard

Revealed! 150,000 Nigerian children are born with sickle cell gene every year

  • 7.7 million people living with sickle cell disease
  • As WHO unveils life-saving guidelines offering new hope for mothers with sickle cell disease

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), sickle cell disease is estimated to cause over 375,000 deaths. Among them are hundreds of thousands of women with sickle cell disease who face life-threatening risks during pregnancy, often without access to proper care.

Sadly, stakeholders in the health sector have also disclosed that more Nigerian children are increasingly becoming victims of sickle cell disease (SCD) due to misdiagnosis and ignorance.

Citing studies and hospital records, the experts asserted that over 150,000 children are born annually with the disease.

On its part, the federal government said that over 150,000 Nigerian children are born with the gene annually.

On June 19, however, the WHO released its first-ever global guideline on the management of sickle cell disease (SCD) during pregnancy, addressing a critical and growing health challenge that can have life-threatening consequences for both women and babies.

In a statement issued to mark the World Sickle Day, the deputy director of Information and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Mr Alaba Balogun, said “currently, 25% of

Nigerian adults carry the sickle cell gene, and the country records approximately 150,000 infants annually due to SCD representing around 8% of total infant mortality. Survivors often suffer chronic complications, including end organ damage, stroke and increased susceptibility to infections. The psychosocial and economic burden is immense, impacting education, employment, mental health and social inclusion.”

Sickle Cell Disease is a severe, inherited blood disorder affecting nearly 100 million people globally, with the highest burden found in sub-Saharan Africa. It accounts for over 50% of deaths among individuals with the most severe form (Hb SS) and remains the most prevalent genetic condition in the WHO African Region. In Nigeria, it contributes significantly to both childhood and adult mortality.

The disclosures came from the industry players and top officials of the Federal Ministry of Health in separate interviews with LEADERSHIP Weekend, as Nigeria joined the global community on Thursday to mark World Sickle Cell Day.

The experts also disclosed that 25 per cent of Nigerian adults carry the sickle cell gene.
World Sickle Cell Day is observed annually on June 19 to raise awareness about Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and its management.

Couples By Wrong Genotype Test Results

Some parents, who shared their experiences of raising children with the disease, said their ordeals would have been avoided if they had not been misled by wrong results from the tests they conducted before marriage.

A mother of three from Dagbana community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recounted to LEADERSHIP Weekend how she and her husband were certified genotype-compatible before they got married, only to discover their real status when their last child was found to be living with the disease.

The woman, who sought anonymity, said, “We did the required genotype tests before our wedding as the church requested. My result showed I was AA, and my husband’s was AS. So, we thought we were fine. But our third child kept falling ill constantly, unlike the older two. It was after several hospital visits that we were told the child was SS.”

She described the experience as emotionally devastating, saying that her pain and her child’s suffering could have been avoided if the initial genotype test had been accurate.

“We were misdiagnosed, and now we are left to deal with the consequences,” she lamented.
Mrs. Mary Ukaibe, a resident of Nyanya in the FCT, also shared her experience of false genotype results. She had been told she was AA, but a more recent test revealed she was AS.

“Fortunately for me, my husband is AA. But imagine if he were also AS and we had no idea because of that wrong result; we could have had children with sickle cell. It’s frightening,” she said.

These families are among countless others across Nigeria who are bearing the painful consequences of genotype misdiagnosis.

Reacting to the development, the president of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, explained the link between genotype misdiagnosis and the increasing number of children born with sickle cell disease in the country.

Quacks, Fake Reagents, Poor Lab Testing Environment To Blame

Dr. Ifeanyi told LEADERSHIP Weekend that a poorly regulated medical laboratory ecosystem, dominated by quacks, unqualified personnel and substandard reagents, had led to a surge in false genotype results, especially among couples seeking premarital testing.

“Misdiagnosis occasioned by the menace of quacks and charlatans in medical laboratory testing is contributing to the rising number of sickle cell births in Nigeria. This problem is widespread among the upper and middle classes, who often undergo genotype testing before marriage but end up receiving wrong or fake results,” he said.

According to him, many couples are erroneously informed that they are genotype-compatible (such as AA) and go ahead with marriage, only to discover later they are both carriers (AS) after giving birth to children with sickle cell disease.

The AMLSN president said this was not limited to private laboratories but widespread in both government and private health facilities, driven by uncalibrated equipment, fake reagents and a general lack of oversight.

“I personally went into shops recently to source reagents for electrophoretic genotyping and discovered that many of the products in the market were fake. If a professional like me could nearly be misled, imagine the risk to unsuspecting practitioners who lack the technical knowledge,” Dr Ifeanyi said.

He called on regulatory bodies, particularly the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), to take urgent action on equipment calibration, reagent validation and enforcement of professional standards.

According to him, all medical laboratory scientists across Nigeria must join hands to fight the menace of quackery, which he described as a serious public health threat.

When LEADERSHIP Weekend contacted MLSCN on its efforts to curb poor diagnosis by practitioners, it insisted that an official letter be submitted before it would speak on the issue.

Dr Ifeanyi also urged civil society organisations (CSOs), religious institutions and traditional rulers to intensify public education on the dangers of marrying two sickle cell carriers. While acknowledging the progress made in mandatory genotype screening before religious marriages, he said the prevalence of SCD continues to rise at an estimated rate of 3–4% annually.

Sharing a personal experience, Dr. Ifeanyi recounted how a young AS couple ignored the advice from family, friends, and church leaders and went ahead to get married.
He stressed the need for intensive public enlightenment, noting that many young people remain unaware or dismissive of the genetic risks.

“We must reconstruct our society through science-based awareness and robust regulation of testing,” he emphasised.

“We have capable institutions like the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) and the Nigerian Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), yet funding for research into sickle cell solutions is minimal. Donor agencies supporting malaria and HIV should also invest in sickle cell research because of its endemic nature in Nigeria,” he said.

The AMLSN president further called for a multi-sectoral war against fake reagents, substandard laboratories, and unchecked quackery, warning that unless the trend is reversed, millions of Nigerian children will continue to be born into pain and lifelong illness due to preventable errors.

Intending Couples, Beware Of Unqualified Test Labs

For his part, the deputy director, Medical Laboratory Services at the National Hospital Abuja, Anthony Ilegogie, cautioned Nigerians against relying on unqualified laboratories for genotype testing, stressing that the condition of a person’s genotype does not change and should not require repeated testing when done correctly.
Speaking on the issue of conflicting genotype results often encountered by patients, Ilegogie clarified that such discrepancies are largely due to human errors caused by poorly trained personnel and poorly equipped laboratories.

“It’s not true that genotype test must be done several times to be accurate. Genotype is your gene type; it doesn’t change. If the right equipment is used and trained professionals carry out the test, the result will remain the same, no matter which standard laboratory you go to,” he said.

He acknowledged that while errors in genotype interpretation do occur, they are often the result of mistakes made by individuals who lack proper training or operate outside professional standards.

“All manner of people go into the lab business. At the end of the day, if a patient falls into their hands, they are likely to give a wrong result,” Ilegogie warned.

He further noted that modern testing methods have moved away from outdated techniques and now rely on more precise technologies that improve accuracy.

“These new methods are highly reliable. So if the test is done right the first time in a credible lab, there should be no need for repetition,” he said.

LEADERSHIP Weekend learned that Nigeria bears the highest burden of the genetic disorder globally, with about 25 per cent of its adult population carrying the sickle cell gene and approximately 150,000 infant deaths annually attributed to the disease, representing nearly eight per cent of all infant mortality in the country.

Despite this, Dr. Ifeanyi lamented that research into local solutions for managing SCD remains neglected.

According to the special adviser on sickle cell to the coordinating minister of health, Professor Obiageli Nnodu, an estimated four million Nigerians are currently living with sickle cell disease.
She said the figure was drawn from the 2018 National Demographic Health Survey, which found that the condition affected 1.5 to 3 per cent of Nigerians across various geopolitical zones.

“Sickle cell disease is not just a national concern; it is a global health challenge,” Prof. Nnodu said, citing World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that the global SCD population is 7.7 million.

Nnodu stressed the urgent need for policy reform, legislative support, and coordinated non-governmental organisations’ efforts to strengthen advocacy efforts within Nigeria and across Africa.

“We must unite under a common front to amplify our voices and create real impact, far beyond what we can achieve individually,” she stated.

Government Committed To Reducing SCD Burden

Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Health has reaffirmed its commitment to reducing the burden of the disease through robust awareness campaigns, improved early diagnosis, and expanded access to quality care.

“SCD contributes significantly to childhood and adult mortality in Nigeria, yet it remains both preventable and manageable with the right policies, awareness, and clinical interventions, the ministry’s deputy director of information and public relations, Alaba Balogun, said.

“Sickle Cell Disease is not just a health issue; it is a societal challenge that demands collective responsibility.”

Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited blood disorders characterized by abnormally shaped red blood cells that resemble crescents or sickles. These cells can block blood flow, causing severe anaemia, episodes of severe pain, recurrent infections, as well as medical emergencies like strokes, sepsis or organ failures.

7.7 million people living with sickle cell disease

There are around 7.7 million people living with sickle cell disease worldwide – a figure that has increased by over 40% since 2000, according to WHO.

As noted, the disease is most prevalent in malaria-endemic regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa–which accounts for around 8 in 10 cases–as well as parts of the Middle East, the Caribbean, and South Asia. With population movements and improvements in life expectancy, the sickle cell gene is also becoming more widespread globally, meaning more maternity care providers need to know how to manage the disease.

Dr Mbabazi said that “it is recommended” that women with sickle cell disease begin preconception counselling and antenatal care as early as possible “and attend all scheduled visits consistently.”

He added: “Key management strategies include preventing crises through adequate fluid and nutrient intake, taking folic acid tabs, avoidance of triggers such as infections, cold weather, and stress, and undergoing regular blood tests, fetal monitoring and use of safe analgesics during crises.”

Folic acid tablets, Dr Mbabazi explained, are prescribed as supplements “but again, there are lots of foods that contain folic acid (Vitamin B9); ike dodo [amaranth], isombe [cassava leaves], beans, fruits such as avocado, papaya, oranges, bananas, and many more.”

Blood transfusions may also be required to manage severe anaemia or prevent complications, he said.

Dr. Rachna Pande, a specialist in internal medicine, said: “Symptoms can be prevented or minimized by healthy life style. Genetic counselling during pregnancy is also helpful. Regular prenatal check up and following advice is important for someone who has sickle cell disease and becomes pregnant, because there is greater risk for having severe joints pain, weakness. Healthy life style, and good hygiene, is important in preventing infections.”

Until now, according to WHO, clinical guidance for managing sickle cell disease in pregnancy has largely drawn on protocols from high-income countries. The UN health agency’s new guideline aims to provide evidence-based recommendations that are also relevant for low- and middle-income settings, where most cases and deaths from the disease occur.

Accordingly, the guideline includes over 20 recommendations spanning:

  • folic acid and iron supplementation, including adjustments for malaria-endemic areas;
  • management of sickle cell crises and pain relief;
  • prevention of infections and blood clots;
  • use of prophylactic blood transfusions; and
  • additional monitoring of the woman and the baby’s health throughout pregnancy.

Critically, the guideline highlights the need for respectful, individualized care, adapted according to women’s unique needs, medical histories and preferences. It also addresses the importance of tackling stigma and discrimination within healthcare settings, which can be a major challenge for people with sickle cell disease in several countries around the world.

“It’s essential that women with sickle cell disease can discuss their care options early in pregnancy—or ideally before—with knowledgeable providers,” said Dr Doris Chou, the Medical Officer and lead author of the new WHO guideline.

“This supports informed decisions about any treatment options to continue or adopt, as well as agree on ways of handling potential complications, so as to optimize outcomes for the woman, her pregnancy, and her baby.”

Given the complex nature of these disorders, if a pregnant woman has sickle cell disease, the WHO guideline notes the importance of involving skilled and knowledgeable personnel in her care team. These may include specialists like haemotologists as well as midwives, paediatricians and obstetrician-gynecologists who provide services for reproductive and newborn health.

Sickle cell disease is a neglected health condition that remains considerably under-funded and under-researched, despite its growing prevalence worldwide. While treatment options are improving for the general population, the guideline underscores the urgent need for more research into the safety and efficacy of sickle cell disease treatments for pregnant and breastfeeding women – populations that have historically been excluded from clinical trials.

Dr Mbabazi said: “With improved care and early intervention, maternal and fetal outcomes also significantly improve. However, women with sickle cell disease still require close surveillance throughout pregnancy and postpartum period to prevent morbidity and mortality.”

Sources: Leadership/New York Times

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