By Lillian Okenwa

Early that Wednesday morning in March 2022, bandits simultaneously invaded Guni and Kurgbaku communities, forcing the residents to flee. A few hours later. Not less than 20 people, including women and children, drowned in Niger state’s Guni-Zumba River while trying to escape bandits’ attacks on their communities.

The victims were reportedly crossing the river to Zumba and Gwada internally displaced persons’ camps by boat when the small local vessel which was filled above its capacity capsized midway into their journey. Guni and Kurgbaku communities are both in Munya LGA of Niger State. Niger state as well as other northern states including President Muhammadu Buhari’s Katsina State have become playpens for bandits. They come, go and operate unhindered.

Citizens in these states have resorted to negotiations with terrorists, which include payment of huge levies, free labour and other offers to be allowed access to their farmlands.

Recently, a group of armed bandits on a ‘patrol’ on their motorcycles reportedly ‘arrested’ a scavenger, for stealing in Katsina State and handed him over to the authorities. He was reported to have specialised in uprooting metal rods and removing iron bars, from deserted buildings. In a video obtained by PRNigeria the bandit-terrorists were seen parading the scavenger and his stolen metal rods inside a cart before handing him over to a community leader in the state.

The bandits were shown saying to the scavenger, “Don’t you know that it is a criminal offence to steal? You are lucky that we are handing you over to the authorities; we could have executed for engaging in criminal activities.” The terrorists, who were wielding sophisticated weapons, told the community leader to ensure the “scavenger-thief” was dealt with according to the law to deter others from stealing.

Then weeks after the convoy of President Muhammadu Buhari was attacked in Katsina State, terrorists threatened to abduct the number one citizen. The attack on the convoy happened on the day the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) invaded Kuje Prison in Abuja and freed over 800 inmates, including all the terrorists in detention.

A year before —on 24 August 2021 — the rampaging bandits successfully attacked the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna killing two officers, and injuring one other, while Christopher Datong was abducted. Again, on the morning of 28 Mar 2022, heavily armed men attacked the airport in Kaduna, killing a security guard and temporarily halting air services. The incident delayed the take-off of a Lagos-bound flight by almost 44 minutes.

Curiously, the scenario is different in the South East where the full might of the Nigerian Army and other security operatives is openly displayed. PREMIUM TIMES reports that many unarmed residents in the South-east of Nigeria have been killed by Nigerian troops deployed to check Biafra agitation in the region. Below is the report by PREMIUM TIMES.

On 30 August, for instance, three unarmed residents were killed when troops from 82 Division and 34 Brigade of the Nigerian Army invaded Orsu-Ihiteukwa, a community in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State, south-east Nigeria. Army spokesperson Onyema Nwachukwu would later claim that those killed were IPOB members.

Two of the victims, Ugochukwu Obianeli and Nonso Izuegbu, were killed while they were moulding cement blocks in the community, PREMIUM TIMES gathered.

One other victim, Nicholas Onwughala, an elderly man, was shot in his legs by the troops at Eke Ututu Market in the community, according to sources in the community. He died the following morning, 31 August, because of complications from gunshot injuries.

Like in other previous incidents, the troops carried out the attacks as part of an onslaught against suspected members of IPOB.

“Each time the troops come, they carry out shootings. And most times, they end up killing some innocent people, during shooting with the supposed ESN boys,” Chidi Ibekaeme, a resident of Orsu-Ihiteukwa community, told PREMIUM TIMES.

He said there had been no attack in the community until the troops began raiding suspected camps of the IPOB members in December 2021.

“I know of the three persons (killed by the troops on 31 August). Incidentally, one of them, Ugochukwu Obianeli, is my brother-in-law,” Mr. Ibekaeme, a lawyer, said.

“We are living in fear. Each time we hear information that they are coming, we run away.”

Another resident of the community, Friday Nwajuo, narrated to PREMIUM TIMES how the troops killed two of the victims and labelled them IPOB members.

“We ran when we heard the army people were coming,” Mr. Nwajuo began.

“Within 20 minutes, the soldiers came and started shooting. So, the two boys, who were labourers in a block industry, ran away for safety. All of a sudden, they stopped shooting.

“When they (the two victims) came out, they thought the soldiers had left. So, the soldiers saw them and shot them dead, thinking they were ESN members,” he narrated.

Again, on 17 September, exactly 18 days after, the Orsu-Ihiteukwa community in Orsu Council Area of Imo State and Orsumugho, another community in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, were invaded by the troops, killing two unarmed residents and razing shops. Both communities share boundaries.

The troops were said to have invaded Orsu-Ihiteukwa again at about 4 a.m., with many combatant vans, armoured tankers, and military helicopters.

Residents said the troops were firing shots and detonating bombs, while the helicopters hovered over the communities.

The shootings and bombardments were said to have disrupted a burial ceremony, causing guests to run inside bushes for safety.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the operation was carried out in collaboration with members of Ebubeagu, a security outfit backed by the Imo State Government.

A resident, Ifeanyichukwu Edurumba, 23, was said to have been whisked away from his house at about 12 p.m. and dragged to the market in Orsu-Ihiteukwa where he was allegedly killed by the troops.

His uncle’s wife, Ifeoma Onyebuchi, who was staying with him, narrated to PREMIUM TIMES what happened.

“We were inside the house when we heard that army people were coming to the community. So, he (Edurumba) left his poultry farm and ran inside for safety. While we were inside, some people came and knocked on our door. They were a mixture of army people and Ebubeagu members, all in their uniforms.

“They ordered us to open the door when I asked who they were. They quickly broke the door and gained entry. The boy (Edurumba) ran under the bed with some children.

“One of them told us that if we don’t bring the boy, they will kill all of us. I told them the boy is an orphan and the only son of his late parents and that he is a poultry farmer and also an iron bender. I told them he didn’t do anything wrong.

“While I was talking, they went inside the room and dragged the boy out and took him away. They checked the boy’s poultry when they heard his chickens clucking. They later took the boy to Eke-Ututu Market and killed him,” she said.

‘They killed another boy’

Another resident, who said he witnessed the troops’ invasion, spoke with PREMIUM TIMES the following day, 18 September.

“They also killed one (other) boy in Orsumoghu, a neighbouring community here. I don’t know his name yet,” he said.

The man said he came face-to-face with the troops, while he was going to the market to buy an item, but that he hid from them for fear of being killed.

“They were burning houses and stalls. They used some hammers to break shops and took whatever they liked, such as beverages, and then set the shops ablaze.

“Whenever they (troops) come, they kill whoever they see, burn houses. If you come to this village now, everybody is crying. They have reduced us to rubble,” he said.

The troops, according to him, razed over 30 shops.

He said it is disheartening that the Nigerian government would claim to be protecting lives and property, but turned around to order security agencies to kill residents and destroy their sources of livelihood.

Video clips which captured burning shops and motorcycles were circulated on different WhatsApp groups. In one of the clips, a victim, Anselem Ohaachosi, whose shop was said to have been burnt down, lamented the frequent invasion of the community by troops.

“Yesterday, 17th of September 2022, a gang of Nigerian soldiers came to Eke-Ututu, Orsu-Ihiteukwa, destroyed peoples’ shops, properties (and) lives. They set my shop ablaze,” he said.

Mr. Ohaachosi used to sell phones and phone accessories. He said all the items in the shop had been destroyed by the troops. He said he went into the sales of phones because he could not find a job after graduating from Imo State University.

“Look at how they rendered me useless in Orsu-Ihiteukwa. The cost of what they damaged here is nothing less than N10 million. How can I start life afresh?”

Mr. Ohaachosi said the troops were shouting, “Say no to IPOB” during the raid.

“Am I an IPOB member? Did they see any mark on me? I graduated from Imo State University and I am also a holder of a post-graduate diploma in education. I am an educationist. They have to pay for all these,” Mr Ohaachosi said.

Another clip showed helicopters hovering in the sky.

In another clip, apparently shot the following day, 18 September, people, whose shops were not affected during the operation, were seen hurriedly packing their goods out of the shops.

The invasion of the two South-east communities by the troops has attracted condemnations. The military did not comment on the incident.

More extrajudicial killings

A report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rules of Law revealed that between July and August, the military and other law enforcement agencies secretly massacred hundreds of defenceless civilians in Imo, Anambra, and Benue, and tagged them, terrorists.

In the report, released on 2 September, the group said part of their findings showed that the military has been working with armed herdsmen to terrorise the eastern part of the country and Benue State.

Human rights groups kick

Amnesty International Nigeria, like many other rights groups, has repeatedly condemned extra-judicial killings by security agencies in the Southeast.

“Instead of launching proper investigations into these killings, security and government officials are often quick to claim victims were caught up in shoot-outs or simply label them members of the ESN, the armed wing of IPOB,” Osai Ojigho, the director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said in a statement in July.

The rate of sexual and domestic violence and exploitation of women and girls across the country continues to rise in spite of various campaigns by the government and stakeholders to check the scourge.

Unrelenting though, the Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi has commissioned two new satellite Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) for GBV survivors in support of the efforts being made to end GBV as well as provide care for victims.

The two satellite SARCs being an extension of Moremi Clinic located inside Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, EKSUTH Ado-Ekiti, are located at the State Specialist Hospitals, Ikole-Ekiti, and Ikere-Ekiti.

Speaking at the events, Erelu Fayemi charged the people to desist from harbouring violators of the  Gender-Based Violence (prohibition) law no matter their position in the community but rather expose them to the appropriate authorities.

She emphasized that the Dr. Kayode Fayemi-led administration has zero tolerance for Gender-Based  Violence most especially sexual assault and assured that anyone found culpable would be severely punished.

According to the Governor’s wife, the Moremi clinics would serve as venues where sexual assault survivors’ rights and interests are protected and their dignity respected.

“The centres were established to offer free services for Gender-Based Violence survivors in the area of medical assistance, legal, psychological among others”, she stressed.

Assuring the sustainability of the clinics, the wife of Ekiti State Governor-elect, Dr. Yemi Oyebanji, reiterated her support and commitment to curbing GBV and other advocacy programs of Erelu Fayemi, noting that the incoming administration would not suspend any of the ongoing programs but rather continue and improve on them.

In their remarks, the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Banji Filani, and his Education, Science, and Technology counterpart, Dr. Mrs. Olabimpe  Aderiye eulogised the First Lady’s multidimensional approach to solving problems, noting that the new satellite Sexual Assault and Referral Centers are established to serve not only the towns where they are located but the Senatorial Districts and their environs.

Earlier in an address, the Sexual Assault Referral Centres Coordinator in Ekiti State, Barrister Rita Ilevbare noted that the two new Centres would make the 34th  SARCs across 19 states in Nigeria. She further enjoined staff of the clinics to see their duties as calls to national service which requires due diligence, empathy, and utmost confidentiality.

The coordinator also appealed to security agencies to support the functionalities of the clinics noting that no matter how urgent the case, access to psychosocial and medical intervention is paramount.

In June 2020, Ekiti State Government announced the opening of the Ekiti State Sexual Assault Referral Centre, SARC. The Ekiti SARC, known as Moremi Clinic, is a free, one-stop, survivor-centred initiative that prioritises the rights and needs of survivors of sexual violence. 

By Lillian Okenwa

As arguments on whether Academics are deserving of being conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria continues, more senior lawyers share their thoughts on the issue.

While Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN advised that the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, LPPC stick to the standard indicated in its guidelines, Professor Alphonsus Okoh Alubo, SAN said there are many more issues that astute senior lawyers, must worry about.

Ogunwumiju in a WhatsApp chat pointed out that sticking to the rules as it affects academics was “the basis of the Award to Prof. Ben Nwabueze – his books on Constitutional and Administrative law, Nwadialo on Civil Procedure, Sagay on Contracts and Torts, ST Hon on Evidence, I O Smith on Land Law, Jelil Omotola on Conveyance, Abayomi on Wills.”

According to the Senior Advocate: “Truth be told, if six academics are awarded every year, how many of them can say they publish works that have the sort of impact on legal practice that these books have had? Maybe two or at most three. Now, people apply with a compilation of essays or articles written by others just because they compiled them. People apply with a digest of decisions. No attempt to analyse these decisions

“Did you know that the great Gani Fawehinmi got his rank under this category for his publication the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports, NWLR? Same with Deji Sasegbon. These men published works that no serious practitioner can do without.”

However, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olatunde Adejuyigbe has expressed his disapproval of the ongoing debate. Adejuyigbe who observed that the argument is a waste of precious time noted that the application and conferment process of the rank is currently lacking in integrity and merit.

Adejuyigbe said: “It is bewildering that precious time and energy have been dissipated on a banal topic that leads nowhere. A cart-pusher on the streets knows that the rank of SAN is in the same league of devaluation like the Naira. In Nigeria, distinction just like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. These days anyone who is well trained in the art of Rankadede can get the rank. It’s a pity that Late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister never applied for the coveted rank.

“It is only in this our own dear native land that those who should be behind bars are celebrated as leaders of the Bar. It is an open secret that many of those who have been conferred with the rank as Advocates either snatched, borrowed or purchased cases in the Appellate Courts in the bid to meet the requirements. Many of those who took up some criminal cases pro bono before their elevation to the inner bar abandoned such cases thereafter.”

Also, he accused Senior members of the Bar of complicity in the declining status of the rank by sidestepping the guidelines for the award of the rank.

“The fault is not in the guidelines but in us. Many Advocates who have gained mastery in circumventing the guidelines are following the footprints of their seniors in the inner bar. In the days of yore, a good Maths teacher was interested in the workings that led to an answer and not just the correct answer. But that’s not what we do. Just pile up your cases, do your runs and you’ll get a boarding pass.

“When you read pleadings, written addresses, and briefs of arguments authored by some ” giants” in the inner bar you will come to terms with our prevailing Ichabod and seek solace in the Book of Lamentations.”

Insisting that priority in public discourses with legal practitioners should be on salvaging the dire condition of the judiciary and the SAN title which he maintained is currently suffering a deficit in honour, the SAN said:

“There was no issue at all when Professors of Law who are worth their weight in gold were conferred with the rank. They maintained fidelity with academia which is their first love and rebuffed the seduction of another mistress. But times have changed.

“What should be of concern to those who mean well for our nation and the legal profession is the reform of our moribund and dysfunctional justice system. The sterile discourse on the award of the rank to academics is not helpful in any way. All resources should be geared towards the attainment of a virile justice mechanism. Regardless of the route a lawyer took to the inner bar our nation is still afflicted with a system that serves anything but justice. No sane lawyer should be proud of what goes on here. Let’s stop this meaningless squabble over fish and turkey, beans and porridge. There are more serious issues which deserve urgent attention.”

On his part, Professor Alphonsus Okoh Alubo, SAN said: “It is a travesty to have people destroy the ladder they used in climbing up. Needless miasma. There are so many issues that astute senior lawyers, must worry about: Administration of justice, corruption in the judiciary, how to fill the current void in the Supreme Court with the number of retirement of justices, the appointment of Senior lawyers to the Court of Appeal so the jurisprudence of the court can be enriched, etc. Only God knows what would happen in the next few years, with this acerbic clamour from relatively younger Silks.”

Last week when Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), wrote that ghosts may decide Nigeria’s general elections in 2023, many people sneered. However, recent reports appear to indicate that the university professor may be seeing into the future.

THISDAY reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may be under constraint to conduct 2023 elections in over 686 communities under the atrocious activities of armed non-state actors across the federation.

The findings also revealed that the affected communities and wards cut across 90 local government areas (LGAs) and 18 states of the federation.
President Muhammadu Buhari had directed security agencies to ensure stability before 31 December.

Concerned civil society actors conversant with the undertaking of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Electoral Security (ICCES) anonymously shared intelligence about the country’s election security with THISDAY at the weekend.

 INEC had expressed grave concerns over the 2023 elections. However, security agencies had played down the apprehension of the electoral umpire about the country’s unsafe territories for the conduct of the 2023 elections.

The commission had consequently been meeting the country’s security community under the auspices of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to ensure security and stability during the polls slated for February 25 and March 11, 2023.

Despite its initiative to ensure a stable security environment before the 2023 general election, investigations by THISDAY showed that the electoral commission might not be able to conduct elections in “over 686 communities across the federation.”
Concerned about the country’s worsening security conditions, the civil society actors found out that the north “is more affected when compared with the south. Of the 686 affected communities, 618 were identified in the north alone.”

By implication, the findings indicated that the north alone “accounts for 90.1 per cent of the unsafe communities.
The findings further showed that challenge “is minimal in the south,” putting the total number of the affected communities at 68.
In the entire south, the findings revealed that there “are 68 communities where candidates will not be able to campaign or where the INEC cannot conduct any election. The communities represent about 9.09 per cent.”

Of these 680 communities nationwide, according to the findings, 336 were identified in the North-west alone. Of the 336 in the North-west, 200 are in Zamfara State alone. Obviously, Zamfara is now the country’s unsafest state.

The findings said: “In the North-east, 168 communities were identified. Of this number, Gombe is the only state where no community or ward is listed as part of the unsafe territory in the North-east. In Borno State, there are about 79 wards where elections may not be held.

“In North-central, 114 wards are affected. These are mainly located in Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau. Benue and Kogi are not included in the list of these communities. If we have 10 communities in Ondo State, there is no way Kogi will not be affected because ISWAP insurgents are from Kogi State.
“In the South-east, 55 communities have been identified as red zones. These are mainly in Abia, Anambra and Imo States. Ebonyi and Enugu states are excluded from the list of troubled communities,” the findings revealed.

In the South-west, the findings claimed that at least 10 communities are identified in Ondo State, especially in Owo LGA, Ose LGA and their environs.
The findings attributed the case of Ondo State “to its proximity to Kogi State, where ISWAP insurgents have penetrated.”

 The findings put the number of communities affected in the South-south at three, which are all located in Rivers State.
Explaining its roles in ensuring the country’s election security yesterday, the Department of State Services (DSS) acknowledged its synergy with the INEC.
The DSS, through its Public Relations Officer, Dr. Peter Afunanya, said: “It works through its ICCES domiciled in INEC to ensure adequate security and order for the elections.
“ICCES comprises security agencies and the electoral body and meets regularly, share information and proactively makes necessary interventions,” Afunanya said in a response to THISDAY’s inquiries.

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Abuja Division has declared illegal and unlawful, the suspension of Mr. Moses Adaguusu, a Deputy Director and Head of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Taraba State by the Commission.  

The Presiding Judge, Hon Justice Edith Agbakoba, in a landmark judgment, nullified and set aside the Suspension. The Court consequently ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Registrar-General of the Commission Alhaji Garba Abubakar to ensure the immediate payment of all salaries, benefits, allowances, and entitlements due and accrued to the Claimant during the period of his unlawful suspension. The Deputy Director was unlawfully suspended between March – September 2021, while Heading the Enugu Nodal Office of the CAC.

The Court ruled that Mr. Moses Adaguusu was wrongly suspended and was not given a fair hearing.

Hon. Justice Agbakoba while condemning the action of the Registrar General of Corporate Affairs Commission, said the rules of fair hearing were neither observed nor adhered to in the disciplinary procedure adopted.

The Court ordered the CAC and Alhaji Garba Abubakar, the Registrar-General of CAC to pay N2 million naira to the Claimant as the cost of the action.

Learned Counsel to Mr.  Moses Adaguusu, Barrister Terlumun Azoom from the Law Firm of Chief S. T.  Hon, SAN & Co, said the judgment would go a long way in addressing abuse of Office, official impunity, vendetta, executive lawlessness, and illegalities in public offices.

The CAC under Garba Abubakar has been inundated with Court cases before superior courts of records. In October 2021 the CAC Staff Union (AUPCTRE) won another landmark case of unlawful proscription of the Staff Union by Alhaji Garba Abubakar, with N1million damages against the Commission. Rather, than comply with the decision of the President of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice B.B. Kanyip, Ph.D., the Registrar-General decided to appeal the decision, at the risk of industrial unrest.

Counsel to the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Registrar-General of the Commission, Mr. Francis Ogbu while reacting to the judgment said the defendants would appeal the judgment.

Mr. Moses Adaguusu, a Deputy Director and Head of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Taraba State had approached the National Industrial Court after he was wrongfully suspended by the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission.