Rights attorney, law teacher, gender equity advocate and social justice crusader, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi has been nominated into the United Nations Spotlight Initiative Global Reference Group for 2024-2026.

A statement signed by Wemimo Adewuni , Communication Manager , WARDC reads:

“We congratulate, The Founder, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), and Director Center for Human Rights University of Lagos, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi over her nomination to the United Nations Spotlight Initiative Global Reference Group as a recognition of her immense dedication to the cause of women’s rights in Africa.

“A staunch gender rights advocate and law lecturer and practitioner, Dr Akiyode-Afolabi has led hundreds of projects from grassroots to national and international levels, earning her the title ‘The General’ and ‘The Mobilizer’ among CSO circles. This selection by Spotlight Initiative is a true testament to her dedication over two decades, to fighting for the rights of women and girls in Nigeria.

“Spotlight Initiative is a European Union and United Nations Secretary-General Flagship Initiative, a global partnership to eliminate violence against women and girls, working across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific. Spotlight Initiative responds to all forms of violence against women and girls, including domestic violence, trafficking, sexual and economic exploitation, and other harmful practices.

“According to Spotlight Initiative, after an intense review of 140 applications, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi has been selected as one of 17 members of the Spotlight Initiative Global Reference Group.

“She will work with other global leaders across continents to bring a bigger fight against all forms of violence against women and girls by advising and holding Spotlight Initiative accountable to its commitments to civil society organizations.

“We congratulate Dr Akiyode-Afolabi and excitedly look forward to the great impact she will make in this new assignment, as always.”

Luck has run out on a kidnapping gang in Otukpo, Benue South Senatorial District, after some members of the gang were identified by one of their victims in a public bus.

Trouble began for the accused persons as they boarded a vehicle from Otukpo to Makurdi at Ihotu Park only to meet a girl they had kidnapped and released after collecting ransom.

Found with the accused persons was a bag they had collected from the girl when she was kidnapped.

The victim wasted no time in raising the alarm after holding one of the kidnappers inside the vehicle while two other members of the gang took to their heels but were caught by sympathisers.

It was later discovered that the Ghana-Must-Go bag the gang members kept at the back of the vehicle contained N11 million cash.

The Nation correspondent learnt that the said sum was counted at the police station.

An angry mob was about to set the kidnap suspects ablaze when the manager of Ihotu Park quickly called in soldiers and policemen to come to their rescue.

Investigation revealed that the three suspected kidnappers have been moved to the Benue State Police Command headquarters in Makurdi.

At press time, more victims of the gang had come to the police station to identify them.

The Benue State Police Command said investigation was ongoing to identify more of their victims with a view to charging the suspects to court soon.

The Nation

By Abubakar Ahmadu Maishanu

Residents of Magami in Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State are celebrating the relocation of Dogo Gide, a terrorism kingpin rumoured to have been killed in March, to their area.

Gide was allegedly involved in the abduction of students from a public school in Kuriga, Kaduna State.
He was reported to have been killed in a gunfight with soldiers deployed to rescue the pupils.

Reports stated that the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD) wounded Gide in Madada forest in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State on 12 March, five days after the pupils were kidnapped at Kuriga.

According to unofficial reports, the terror kingpin died in a hospital in Sokoto, where he was receiving treatment.

When contacted in March, the spokesperson for ‘Operation Hadarin Daji’ in Zamfara, Suleiman Omale, had told PREMIUM TIMES that the military was trying to verify the report.

He said the result of “our findings” would be communicated to the public, but the army did not speak about Gide since then.

This newspaper earlier reported how other intelligence sources said the terror kingpin was taken on a motorcycle to Kizara village for medical treatment.

The latest evidence from residents, however, established that Gide survived the military bullets and has now relocated from his Babban Doka hideout in the Madada forest.

“Dogo Gide has relocated to Kizara, a community at the eastern fringe of Magami, after his encounter with the military and has assumed control of turfs in the areas. He directed farmers to return to their farms without fear of abduction or seizure of properties”, a resident confided in PREMIUM TIMES.

A new song shared with PREMIUM TIMES, released in June by unidentified singers allegedly from Tsafe, praises Gide for relocating to their area, indicating the resumption of farming activities there.

“Residents are celebrating because abduction for ransom and killings have stopped. Farm fields that were abandoned for over four years for fear of kidnapping have been cultivated this year after Dogo Gide’s directive.

“He (Dogo Gide) has sat with all the Fulanis in the areas, including Ado Aleru, who controls part of Tsafe and Danjibga areas, and warned them to stop kidnapping and allow locals to farm.

“Now the Fulanis are attending Danjibga market in Tsafe Local Government Area without bearing arms, and residents can travel from Wanke to Danjibga, to Kuceri, Bilbis, and Keta without the fear of bandits. But some of the bandits are seizing things from people without the knowledge of their leaders,” the source added.

Song
“The commander who wants peace to reign is Dogo Gide,” a female voice said in the opening chorus in the Hausa language. The song hails Gide as a compassionate person who had stopped the perpetrators of injustice and a commander who wanted peace to reign.

“I came with a new song of Dogo Gide, the mediator. In our areas now, we are proud of you; he always wants peace to reign; may God protect him against his enemies.

“He likes the poor; the perpetrators of injustice are afraid of you; whenever he arrives at their place, they all scatter. In the Fulani tribe, nobody is like Dogo Gide. He is the fence we lean on; the oppressed will not forget what he has done to us. As you arrived in our areas, you stopped the bandits terrorising us, and villagers found succour with the coming of Dogo Gide.

“We, the residents of western Tsafe, are now grateful; please be the solution to our problems.
“He has empathy, a cheerful giver; his generosity has no boundaries, and he has done good things at villages and bushes.

“The commander has sowed the seeds of justice; he is preaching and warning people to stop bloodshed, he doesn’t mingle with insincere persons, we are wishing you well,” verses from the new song stated.

Long reign of terror

Born in Erana district of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, Mr Gide’s long life of violence has left scars on several families. His group carried out many attacks in the North-west and North-central regions of Nigeria.

His operation primarily targets government institutions, officials, schools and travellers.
In July 2021, the terror kingpin and his allies kidnapped over 100 students and eight teachers from the, in Kebbi State. He released the survivors in batches after extracting ransoms.

Unlike other armed groups in the troubled regions, his gang members do not attack villages around the Kwiambana Game Reserve, Zamfara State, where he was hiding.

The new area Gide has relocated to is the larger part of a forest reserve shared by five political wards of Bindin, Dan-Gulbi, Dan-Kurmi and Dansadau town under Dansadau Emirate in Maru LGA.
The area covers 492 square kilometres out of the 1180 square kilometres of Zamfara State – about one-third of the state’s landmass.

Gide rose to notoriety in 2018 after he reportedly killed Tsoho Buhari, the most ruthless and feared bandit in the region.

Gide, who was a protégé of Buhari Daji, killed Buhari for reportedly rustling the cattle of Gide’s in-law.
The killing of Buhari thought to be invincible, ballooned Gide’s reputation among the gangs operating in the area, which he exploited to expand his operations.

This story was originally published by Premium Times on 26 June, 2024

• As Kano Chief Magistrate bags indefinite suspension for taking money from frozen bank account

For abusing his judicial powers and unjustifiably freezing of bank accounts belonging to Mr. Israel Ukoko and Bridges & Stones Property Ltd, the Nasarawa State Judicial Service Commission has handed down a six-months suspension without pay on the Chief Magistrate of the New Karu Magistrates’ Court, Hon. Abdulsalam Abubakar Esq.

Magistrate Abubakar has also been barred from being moved up to the bench whenever the opportunity arises. The sanctions arose after an investigation into a petition filed by Oviemuno Obobolo Esq of Ovie Obobolo & Co.

The petition was handled by the Commission’s Committee for Appointments, Promotions, and Discipline (CAPD).

After its meeting held on May 24, 2024, the Commission approved the findings and recommendations of CAPD imposed the penalties on Hon. Abdulsalam Abubakar.

The Director of Human Resources, Ramatu Idris Esq., conveyed the Commission’s decision in a letter addressed to the petitioner, Oviemuno Urobulo Eso.

The letter, dated May 28, 2024, emphasized the Commission’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the judiciary and ensuring that judicial officers act within the confines of their authority.

Similarly, The Kano State Judicial Service Commission (JSC) clamped an indefinite suspension on a Chief Magistrate who allegedly ordered money to be transferred from a frozen bank account into her own.

Talatu Makama was sanctioned alongside another magistrate and a registrar of the State High Court, Abdu Nasir, who also allegedly received official payment through his personal bank account.

The JSC spokesperson, Baba Jibo-Ibrahim, announced this in a statement he issued in Kano on Monday.

“The Kano State Judicial Service Commission at it’s 72nd meeting held on the 11th June 2024, has taken disciplinary actions against Chief Magistrate Talatu Makama, magistrate Court No 29, Senior Magistrate Rabi Abdulkadir, magistrate Court No 48 and Senior Registrar Abdu Nasir of Appeal section, High Court Kano.

“Sequel to the findings of the Judiciary Public Complaints Committee (JPCC) in respect to three petitions filed and investigated upon against Chief Magistrate Talatu Makama, the commission has adopted the recommendations of the JPCC.

“The JPCC conducted a thorough investigation on the matters and equally examined the chief magistrate’s response came up with the findings that her actions amounts to gross misconduct.

“She made an order to GT Bank to transfer money in the petitioner’s account already frozen, into her personal account which she clearly admitted in her response,” the official statement said.

The statement said the JPCC in the second petition also found elements of judicial bias by the chief magistrate.

In the third petition, the council also found that “her conduct was despicable of a judicial officer where her worship (lordship) was found receiving case and making order to the police even before the case was directed to her.

“Chief Magistrate Talatu Makama is recalled from the bench and relieved of all judicial duties (indefinite suspension) effective immediately”, the statement said.

Also, the spokesperson said another magistrate, Rabi Abdulkadir, was suspended for one year after the commission found her wanting in reckless handling of a case.

“Following the review of the circumstance surrounding the handling of the case between Commissioner of Police Vs Abubakar Salisu, by Rabi Abdulkadir, Senior Magistrate Court No. 48, the Commission found the actions of the Senior Magistrate to amount to judicial recklessness and therefore the Commission has resolved to recall the Magistrate and relieved her from judicial duties for a period of one calendar year. She has been instructed to cease all duties at Magistrate Court No. 48.”

The JSC also considered the investigation report on the alleged misconduct of Senior Registrar, Mr Nasir, of the Appeals Department of the High Court and found unsatisfactory the response of chief magistrate court 60, Tijjani Minjibir, thus, equally got sanctioned for official wrongdoing.

“The report confirmed that Abdu Nasir received payments of fees meant for court records into his personal account, which constitutes serious misconduct.

“Consequently, the commission issued a strong warning to Abdu Nasir and also deferred his promotion for one year”, the spokesperson said.

“The commission also at its 73rd meeting held on 20th June 2024, deliberated on the petitions received against chief magistrate court 60 manned by Tijjani Saleh Minjibir. The response to the queries issued were found unsatisfactory.

“The commission viewed the actions of the chief magistrate to amount to serious misconduct and judicial recklessness and unanimously took the decision to recall Tijjani Saleh Minjibir from judicial duties for a period of one year effective immediately. He is to cease all judicial activities and report to the High Court Headquarters for posting”, Mr Jibo-Ibrahim said.

“The commission will continue to apply the appropriate sanctions against any erring staff particularly those saddled with judicial responsibilities in order to safeguard the integrity and accountability of the judicial system and maintain the confidence of the public.

“These disciplinary actions underscore the Judicial Service Commission’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of judicial conduct and ensuring the integrity of the legal system”, the JSC warned.

Lauren Dickason who killed her three young daughters in 2021 was on Wednesday sentenced to 18 years imprisonment by a New Zealand judge.

Dickason will begin her sentence at a mental health hospital in the custody of the state, a court official at Christchurch High Court told AFP, for the triple killings.

In a statement to local media after her sentencing, Dickason said she had “failed” her children and her husband, who has since moved back to South Africa.

“I take responsibility for taking our three beautiful girls from this world,” she said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to convey the deepest and most sincere remorse for the extreme pain and hurt caused to my children and my family by my actions.”

Justice Cameron Mander did not impose a minimum non-parole period in sentencing Dickason, who escaped life imprisonment which is the usual penalty for murder in New Zealand.

Dickason was found guilty last August on three counts of murder having smothered her two-year-old twins Maya and Karla and first daughter Liane, six.

The killings took place in September 2021 at their home in Timaru while her husband was out to dinner with colleagues. He found the bodies of his children when he returned home.

The family had moved to New Zealand from South Africa just weeks before.

During last year’s trial, Dickason admitted killing the girls but had argued a defence of insanity and infanticide, triggered by the stress of the move.

Under New Zealand law, infanticide is a defence for a mother who causes the death of her child when, “at the time of the offence, the balance of her mind was disturbed”.

Dickason’s lawyer had argued that a mental health unit was the most appropriate place for her, according to local media reports.

AFP

Armed bandits operating in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State have reportedly began the collection of taxes and levies from residents of Torough and nearby communities.

Vanguard reports that on Tuesday a resident of the community, who spoke anonymously for fear of being attacked, said the gangs introduced a levy of N20 million as monthly tax to be paid by each household.

He said they had already started gathering the levy after allocating each household their share of the tax since they had no option but to comply.

He pointed out that no one, including the village heads, dared challenge the authority of the armed gangs or report the matter to security agencies stressing: “We are more or less in bondage here. There is no complete freedom of movement, association or expression. These militia boys are very deadly and powerful here in our Sankera axis.

“The whole of the three LGAs in Sankera made up of Logo, Ukum and Katsina-Ala are affected by this madness. These boys have a very strong communication network for their business. They monitor everything.

“So, when the news about the N20 million came to us, nobody dared report to security agencies. You and your family will be eliminated in broad daylight. We are paying the N50,000 levied each household. Some traditional compounds that have many households are levied N1 million.”

Confirming the development, Caretaker Chairman of Ukum LGA, Mr. Victor Iorzaa said: “it is true that armed bandits are taxing the people and are demanding N20 million. I have reported the matter to the Police and also the State Security Council.

“The person behind is a bandit known as ‘Full Fire’. He was the person that connived with armed herdsmen recently to attack Tiv people, he has been working with armed herdsmen.

“The people are living in fear. That community is the most troubled place in the LGA. He started this shortly after he lost the attack on the community. And the place he stays is a community bordering Taraba State. If you remember two weeks ago, the military launched an attack on his house.

“The man has been terrorising the area for the past five years but the government of Governor Hyacinth Alia is working hard to put an end to their activities. And security operatives are also working hard in that regard.”

Reacting, Special Adviser to the Governor on Internal Security, Joseph Har said bandits were already on the run from the state and could not have the luxury of collecting taxes from villagers.

According to him, “The issue of illegal levies has become a common practice with bandits everywhere worldwide because they use it to survive. However no government will fold its hands and allow that callous thing to happen.

“The criminals have been having very tough time of recent and they are really having the heat and cannot have the guts to wait and collect any tax.

“Most of them have fled their camps, you can find out, and we intend to sustain the momentum until we run them down or they surrender.”

Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene said the Command had not received report of the development.

In 2022, a former managing director of the Kaduna State Media Corporation (KSMC) and a community leader in the banditry-ravaged Birnin-Gwari local government area of Kaduna State, Alhaji Zubairu Idris Abdulra’uf, has said that the farming communities in the local government area have paid over N400million as taxes to bandits for them to be able to farm and harvest their farm produce in the last two years.

The latest report by the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) has revealed that corruption in the nation’s maritime industry added about 15 per cent to the cost of importing food and bulk products into the country.

The international anti-maritime corruption agency in its latest report for 2023 released at the weekend said corruption also added more than $178,000 to the cost of a shipment of petrol.

Similarly, it adds $147,000 per shipment of grain and other food items, which represents about 1-2 per cent to the retail prices paid by customers for grain and petrol.

The report details the results of a study developed by the socio-economic impact assessment firm QBIS, which applies a dollar value to direct and indirect costs of maritime corruption across the private sector, government, and society in Nigeria.

“Government officials extracting bribes for routine tasks, or ‘coercive’ corruption, cause economic damage through ship delays and higher trade costs, as well as endangering the wellbeing of seafarers and exposing them and others to the risk of criminal prosecution.

“In its business-as-usual scenario, where all bribery requests are met without resistance, the study found corruption adds $147,000 per import shipment of grain and more than $187,000 per shipment of petrol. Food and petrol account for around a third of Nigeria’s imports.

“With 63 per cent of Nigerians or 133 million people classified as multi-dimensionally poor, most Nigerian families do not have a budget surplus.

“Increased import costs due to corruption are therefore likely to reduce their household demand and make essential goods less affordable to the average Nigerian family,” the report said.

The Agency stressed that the business-as-usual scenario adds 1-2 per cent to retail prices for grain and petrol.

MACN in its reports disclosed that maritime corruption results in an annual reduction in GDP of $204 million, an annual reduction in revenue collected by Customs by $42 million and 235,000 fewer Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs due to fewer sales and economic activity.

According to MACN, a zero-tolerance approach to bribery during vessel clearance cuts the damages caused by corruption by around 62 per cent, the study found.

The report said by slashing around $114,000 per shipment in corruption costs, the bill for marine corruption falls by around $100 million per year, and its economic impact drops by $230 million.

“By ‘Saying No’ to maritime corruption, GDP increases by about $130 million annually, Customs revenue from tariffs increases by $28 million annually, and more than 147,000 FTE jobs are created due to more sales and economic activity across the supply chain in Nigeria,” said the report.

MACN said the combined efforts of industry and government have reduced corruption in Nigeria, adding that over 90 per cent of corruption incidents are now resolved within 24 hours.

The report said, that a single case took between seven and 10 days before 2019 while the average resolution time is now one to eight hours.

“Impressively, 98 per cent of escalated incidents have been successfully resolved, and the remaining 2 per cent have been escalated to authorities to clarify protocols,” MACN said.

• PhD student accused of killing friend’s newborn baby while babysitting on Father’s Day and abusing baby’s twin

Blaise Aliyu, a 15-year-old student of the Air Force Comprehensive School, Kaduna, who lost his parents in 2013 has died while allegedly serving a punishment meted on him by two senior students.

The now late young Aliyu was reportedly summoned by the seniors to their room under the pretext of punishing him but they allegedly ended up killing him. The deceased’s body has been deposited in the mortuary.

Late was survived by his twin brother who also attends the school.

Expressing sadness over the incident, spokesperson of the Nigerian Airforce, Air Vice Marshal Edward said an investigation has commenced into the matter. In a statement issued on Saturday June 22, Gabkwet said;

“The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, and indeed the entire NAF family are saddened by the painful and unfortunate incident of the untimely death of one of our students at Air Force Secondary School, Kaduna, on June 19, 2024.

“To avoid all sorts of speculations, a thorough investigation is currently ongoing to unravel how, why, and what led to the death of the victim. Rest assured that this matter is receiving the utmost urgency it deserves, and we won’t rest until it is unravelled”

In far away United States, a PhD student, whose father is a prominent Manhattan cardiologist, has been accused of murdering the infant twin son of one of her closest friends.

Nicole Virzi, a fifth year Ph.D. candidate at the San Diego State University/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, is also accused of physically abusing the dead baby’s twin resulting in hospitalisation, according to reports.

Six-week-old Leon Katz, the son of Ethan Katz and his wife Savannah Roberts, died on Father’s Day as Virzi was caring for him in the family’s Pittsburgh home, authorities said.

Virzi and Roberts were doctoral students at different universities — Roberts was studying at the University of Pittsburgh — but both were focused on eating disorders, trauma and body image.

The couple left Leon in Virzi’s care while rushing Ari to the hospital with a mysterious injury to his genitals, which Virzi had alerted them to, authorities said.

It is alleged that Virzi was also the one who inflicted the injury on Ari that led to a hospital stay for the parents and child.

While the parents were caring for Ari in the hospital, Virzi claimed Leon fell from his bouncer chair while she stepped away to get a bottle, according to police and court records.

But doctors found the injuries “consistent with having been sustained as a result of child abuse, as these are inflicted injuries that are not natural and not accidental,” according to WTAE.

Virzi was referred to as a “trusted family friend” in the GoFundMe established to help the grieving parents and their surviving son.

Virzi had been staying in a nearby Airbnb on South Graham Street in the neighborhood when she was asked to care for the baby, who was “alert, conscious and not injured,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by by Pittsburgh’s TRIBLive.

Cops arrived Walnut Street home after Virzi called 911 at 11:17 p.m. June 15, authorities said in the complaint. Virzi said the baby had suffered a bump to his head.

Virzi told cops she started babysitting Leon at about 6:30 p.m. that night, and claimed he was doing fine, eaten, had soiled two diapers and had been burped, according to the complaint.

She fell asleep “for a period of time while Leon was in the bouncer seat,” Virzi claimed. When Virzi awoke, she said, she went to the kitchen to get a bottle for Leon, and heard the baby screaming.

Virzi claimed she found Leon lying on the floor, picked him up, and saw “a large bump to the left side of Leon’s head,” prosecutors said in the court document.

Paramedics rushed Leon to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead at 5:47 a.m. on Father’s Day, police said.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide. Leon’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

A head CT scan showed Leon suffered a severe skull fracture to the left side of the head, along with multiple brain bleeds.

Virzi was charged June 16 with criminal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Virzi is currently being held without bail at the Allegheny County Jail.

Virzi’s attorney David Shrager told The Post Saturday his client was innocent, and planned to plead not guilty.

“She is obviously devastated,” Shrager said. “She’s highly distraught and deeply sad. She said it was nothing intentional. We’re doing a deep investigation. She has no criminal history. We will do our best to give her a fair hearing in court. This is a case with a dead child and a young lady in jail. It should not be speculated on before the case goes to court.”