No fewer than 1,545 persons have been killed by terrorists within the first quarter of 2022, a joint report by the Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities and the Joint Action Civil Society Committee under the aegis of Nigeria Mourns has revealed.

The report also disclosed that at least 1,321 persons were abducted by the terrorists between January 1 and March 30, 2022.

North-Western states of Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi and North-Central state of Niger, have come under intense attacks by the terrorists.

They have daringly attacked the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, killing two officers and abducting one senior officer. The terrorists, numbering about 200, also invaded the Kaduna Airport on March 26, killing a Nigerian Airspace Management Agency staff member patrolling the runway.

The exchange of gunshot between the criminals and soldiers at the airport also led to the delay in the takeoff of a scheduled aircraft.

Outlining the attacks across the country, the group noted that earlier in the year, some terrorists in Kebbi State killed more than 65 persons in a single attack.

The report stated that in Southern Kaduna, within the three months under review, over 100 deaths were recorded following repeated attacks on several communities in the area.

This is in spite of the fact that Kaduna State is home to several military bases and formations, including the Nigerian Defence Academy and 1 Division, Nigerian Army Barracks and Nigerian Police College, Kaduna, amongst others.

Other attacks in the report included the siege on communities in Niger State, the ‘takeover’ of the Suleja-Abuja Road by terrorists in the past month; the increase in cases of kidnapping in the past month; and the continued killings in the South-East, which claimed many lives.

On March 31, a former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani, raised the alarm that bandits blocked the Abuja-Kaduna highway, preventing travellers and other road users from accessing the road. In a tweet on his official Twitter handle, @ShehuSani, he alleged that road users had begun turning back from the road to seek alternative routes and prevent a possible attack on them.

“I just got a distress call that bandits in large numbers have again blocked the Kaduna-Abuja Road this afternoon. Travellers are speedily turning backwards,” the tweet read.

Later in the evening, he wrote, “The kidnappers are freely making calls to the families of their hostages. What happened to the SIM card registration and the NIN (National Identification Number) hoopla?”

Sani had earlier in the day said that with Nigeria’s worsening security situation, Nigerians should be allowed to officially carry weapons to defend themselves.

In what has become a national tragedy, the terrorists attacked a train on the Abuja-Kaduna route at about 7:43pm. The Nigerian Railway Corporation said 398 tickets were bought but only 362 passengers were validated.

The groups however condemned the spate of insecurity across the country, while calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to take action to mitigate further attacks by the terrorist groups.

In a petition on change.org, which had since garnered over 30,000 signatures as of the time of filing this report, the groups wrote, “We are (also) alarmed by the brazenness with which these ‘technically defeated terrorists’ continue to compromise our individual and collective security as Nigerians. More importantly, we are concerned by the government’s apparent nonchalance evidenced by their actions.

“Since the Kaduna train attack, the government has failed to account for the number of persons rescued, the missing and the dead, failing in its primary purpose as provided for in Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution, which states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government and   Section 17(2) (c): ‘governmental actions shall be humane’.

“We point out that the level of humaneness envisioned by our constitution is lacking in the actions of the government in each of these incidents, and that these actions rather suggest that the value for human life in Nigeria is now at its lowest and that the government is failing in its constitutional duties.”

The groups also accused the President of ignoring the tragedy that has resulted in the loss of valuable Nigerian lives, while faulting the circular by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation that directed permanent secretaries to mobilise support for the World Cup qualifier match by closing their offices by 1pm.

They said the circular disregarded the trauma of millions of Nigerians and ignored the tragedy which had resulted in the loss of valuable lives.

The groups asked the government to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident, in the light of the statement credited to the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, that the cabinet did not honour his proposal for the procurement of critical surveillance infrastructure for the rail tracks.

Terrorists kill over 927 in Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger

Meanwhile, the most hit states in the killings were Kaduna, Zamfara and Niger where at least 927 innocent people were reported to have been killed by terrorists within the first quarter of the year.

The figure is based only on a compilation of media reports and data obtained from the National Security Tracker, an initiative of the Council of Foreign Relations, a United States think tank. The casualty figure may however be higher.

It was also learnt that apart from Kaduna State which presents a quarterly report on insecurity, other states do not provide data on the deaths and abductions.

The calculations by Saturday PUNCH showed that in Kaduna State, at least 223 people were killed while in Niger State, 397 lives were lost. In Zamfara State, where the Federal Government imposed a ‘no fly’ order, at least 307 people were killed by the criminals.

The three states also witnessed a combined abduction of at least 904 persons.

In Niger State, Governor Sani Bello said on January 17 that at least 220 people were killed by the terrorists within the first two weeks of 2022.

It was observed that Shiroro was the most affected local government area in the state, with 34 persons killed on January 12, another 18 persons killed on January 29 and 20 persons killed on February 3.

On February 5, no less than 44 persons were killed while 31 persons were abducted, and on February 21, about 14 persons were murdered by the criminals in Galape, a community in the local government.

In Kaduna State, where the terrorists bombed a passenger train around Rijana inwards Rigasa on Monday, the most affected local government areas are Igbabi, Zaria, Giwa, Chikun, Kajuru and Zangon Kataf.

The biggest carnage was in Dilalai community, Giwa Local Government Area where at least 50 people were killed on March 20.

In Zamfara State, no fewer than 200 people in Anka and Bukkyum communities were killed on January 5, the biggest single attack so far this year.

Despite the rising insecurity, however, security experts have warned against the declaration of state of emergency in the North-West.

In separate interviews, the experts, Patrick Agbambu, Timothy Avele and a former Director of the Department of State Services, Mike Ejiofor, said a state of emergency did not achieve the desired result the last time it was declared.

Ejiofor warned against collapsing the democratic structure, adding that it did not achieve the desired result during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo when it was introduced in Plateau State.

He said, “My idea of declaration of state of emergency is prioritising our security architecture which the president has done, in terms of declaration of bandits and terrorists. Now that they have been declared as terrorists why don’t we use the Super Tucanos to go after these terrorists and bomb them instead of telling us 1,000 have been killed, 1,000 have surrendered and the problem keeps getting worse.”

“You remember in Zamfara State when telecommunications network was shut down, did it stop? Plateau State, the same thing, even in Borno State. I think we should base our strategy on tactical operations.”

On his part, Avele, who is the Managing Director, Agent-X Security Group, said state of emergency was not the solution to insecurity in the region.

He said, “The truth is that if our security agencies and the military continue reacting rather than being proactive, we will continue to face even deadlier attacks in the days to come.  We need political will from the President to end this menace once and for all.”

Avele said there was a need for all security agencies including the National Intelligence Agency and the Nigeria Customs Service to double their intelligence gathering capabilities.

“They should also go after the sponsors of these terrorists by simply tracking the money paid as ransom by victims,” he added, while advising security operatives to comb the forests and bandits’ escape routes day and night in Niger, Kastina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kaduna states.

Also, Agbambu, who is the Chief Executive Officer, Security Watch Africa Initiatives, told Saturday PUNCH that a holistic approach should be adopted.

He added, “I think rather than focus on a certain region, why not extend it to other parts of the country? Insecurity has been a national problem. Rather than declare a state of emergency in the northern part of the country, the President should declare a state of emergency on national security.

“However, I must state that measures to address our insecurity should be holistic. But I don’t think that is the solution we have had during the Obasanjo administration in Plateau State; that didn’t solve the problem. It may seem to bring the temporary solution to what we think is the issue but it is not the best.”

Tension in Kaduna as police defuse second bomb in 24hrs

The Kaduna State Police Command has defused another bomb at the Rigasa community in Igabi Local Government Area of the state.

This was barely 24 hours after bomb experts from the command’s anti-bomb squad defused an object suspected to be an Improvised Explosive Device in the same community, a few kilometers away from Rigasa Train Station.

The development caused fears and confusion among residents of the area.

Our correspondent gathered that the object in a jerry can, covered with black nylon, was discovered by children along Shanono Road in the community on Friday.

A source in the community said, “Residents of Shanono area of Rigasa community in Igabi Local Government Area of the state discovered the IED on Friday, barely 24 hours after an IED concealed in a bucket was found in the community.

“Children in the community discovered the object in a jerry can covered with a black nylon on Friday. It was placed very close to a stream in the community. It was kept at the same spot where the Thursday IED was discovered. We don’t know what is happening in this community.

“It was my elder’s brother’s wife that rushed to inform me that the children found another bomb inside jerry can. Security agencies were deployed in the area.”

When contacted, the state Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mohammad Jalige, said men of the anti-bomb squad of the command had been deployed to the area and that the bomb had been successfully defused. “Be more vigilant wherever you are in the state,” Jalige added.

 

 

Federal Government borrowed N1.48tn from bond investors through Federal Government bonds between January and March 2022, according to an analysis of the FGN Bond Auction results available on the website of the Debt Management Office as reported by Punch.

Bond oversubscriptions hit N1.03tn within the period under review, indicating the investors’ increasing appetite for FGN bonds.

An analysis of the breakdown for each month showed that Federal Government bonds for January worth N150bn were oversubscribed by N175.24bn.

The total subscription received from investors for the bonds was N325.24bn, comprising N111.19bn for the 12.50 per cent FGN January 2026 bonds and N214.05bn for the 13 per cent FGN January 2042 bonds.

The auction result added that out of the 112 and 142 total bids for the tenures, 75 and 85 bids were successful.

The Federal Government bonds for February worth N150bn were also oversubscribed by N407.72bn. The total subscription received from investors for the bonds was N557.72bn, comprising N325.40bn for the 12.50 per cent FGN January 2026 bonds and N232.32bn for the 13 per cent FGN January 2042 bonds.

The auction result added that out of the 230 and 151 total bids for the tenures, 46 and 119 bids were successful.

The Federal Government bonds for March worth N150bn were equally oversubscribed by N448.42bn. The total subscription received from investors for the bonds was N598.42bn, comprising N231.02bn for the 12.50 per cent FGN January 2026 bonds and N367.40bn for the 13 per cent FGN January 2042 bonds. The auction result added that out of the 170 and 227 total bids for the tenures, 97 and 141 bids were successful.

In addition, bond oversubscriptions hit N1.61tn last year, which is slightly higher than the oversubscription reached in the first three months of 2022.

Experts have said that investors will likely go for FGN bonds over other bonds since the bonds qualify for tax exemption

In December 2011, the Federal Government issued the Companies Income Tax (Exemption of Bonds and Short-Term Government Securities) Order, 2011, and the Value Added Tax (Exemption of Proceeds of the Disposal of Government and Corporate Securities) Order, 2011.

The orders exempted the interests and proceeds from the disposal of short-term FG securities and bonds, from CIT and VAT respectively. These covered bonds issued by the federal, state, and local governments and their agencies, and by corporate and supranational entities.

According to the gazetted copies of the orders, the exemptions will be effective for a period of 10 years starting from January 2, 2012.

However, bonds issued by the FG will continue to enjoy the CIT and VAT exemptions after the expiration of the 10-year term, which expired on January 2, 2022. The tax exemptions make the FGN bonds more attractive to investors than other bonds.

 

 

...says female population too significant to be ignored 

Lauretta Fagbohun, Ogun 

Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Friday, officially flagged off a women empowerment scheme with disbursement of individual livelihood grants to 2,094 women across the state.

The governor, who performed the flag-off ceremony at the relaunching of Okowo Dapo scheme in collaboration with Nigeria For Women Project (NFWP) at the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, said women empowerment and emancipation would continue to be at the front burner of his administration.

The event had the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development; Mrs. Pauline Tallen, wives of the Kwara and Osun State governors, the World Bank Country Director, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri, among other dignitaries in attendance.

Abiodun noted that in the economic architecture of his government, the womenfolk form a vital economic bloc, hence, the placement of various schemes to empower them, not only financially but economically.

He said out of estimated 7,535,007  2021 population projection by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), for Ogun State, females are put at 3,788,932, which is 50.28%, saying  the significant number of women cannot be overlooked, if the state truly desires sustainable development.

Abiodun, who added that his administration had observed women as mostly involved in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) but always find it difficult to access financial resources for the growth of their businesses from conventional financial institutions, said his government had since devised other approaches to empower the womenfolk.

These, according to him, include "capacity building of 500 female entrepreneurs across the state to enable them access finances and scale up their businesses; empowerment of 2,500 rural women across the state through provision of products worth ₦100m; empowerment of over 600 youths through vocational training while 400 women and youths are still undergoing training at the Vocation training centre under the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development; empowerment of 95 Women across the three senatorial districts and more than 100 widows were also empowered during the commemoration of year 2021 International Widows Day".

He emphasised that the empowerment programmes are targeted at alleviating poverty and increasing prosperity of women.

"Our womenfolk are integral part of our financial inclusiveness agenda. We are committed to providing avenues for our women to gain power and control over their own lives and acquire requisite skills and technical know-how to make strategic choices. It is a critical aspect of achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development (SDG) Goal 5 – Gender Equality. On its own, Gender Equality provides more socioeconomic and political wherewithal for our women. 

"At the macro level, it will go a long way in reducing poverty in the family; reduce gender-based violence and abuse in the society; and, further strengthen the economy. Therefore, empowering our women is not a favour to their gender, it is, in fact, one of the most viable approaches towards achieving sustainable economic development", the governor added.

While commending the Federal Government  for the initiative of the Nigeria for Women Projects (NFWP), the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and the World Bank, Abiodun said the choice of Ogun as one of the six states in each of the six geo-political zones of Nigeria for the implementation of the NFWP programme is commendable.

He expressed optimism that the NFWP programme would be extended to other local government areas in Ogun, saying the FG's scheme is in tandem with Oko’wo Dapo Scheme.

Abiodun stated further that after disbursing  the individual grants to women beneficiaries across the three implementing Local Government Areas of Odeda; Ijebu North-East; and, Yewa North, his administration would soon re-launch Oko’wo Dapo scheme in the remaining 17 LGAs.

The governor, however, disclosed that some of the beneficiaries of the first phase of Oko'wo Dapo in Odeda LG were at an advanced stage of floating a micro finance bank, which according to him, would further provide for financial inclusiveness for more people and easier access to financial resources to boost their enterprises.

 

 

A gas explosion rocked Amuwo Odofin Industrial estate, Lagos on Thursday night, vanguard reports.

A man identified as Hassan Usman was reportedly burnt to death in the resultant fire, while three others who had varying degrees of burns were rushed to a hospital in Mushin area of the state.

Also, properties worth several millions of naira were destroyed in the inferno.

The explosion which occurred at Archers Gas limited, sent residents, most of whom were jostled from sleep scampering in different directions for safety, as they mistook it for an invasion by armed hoodlums.

A resident who identified himself simply as Alabi, said ” we heard a loud bang like the sound of a bomb and everybody ran for safety. We later discovered that it was from the gas company. One man who was burnt to death was taken to the mortuary”.

Police sources at Area ‘E’ command, Festac, explained that ” at about 11 pm, of March 31, 2022, Personal Assistant to Managing Director of Archers Gas Limited located on 19B Amuwo Odofin Industrial estate, Bode Adelu, came to the station accompanied by the factory Manager, Obatade Wasiu. ”

He said there was an explosion in the company.

They also confirmed that one person died while three others were injured and rushed to Awesome Hospital, Mushin.

”Immediately we got the report, our DPO, CSP Gboyega Balogun, led a team of policemen to the scene where necessary action was done and the body of Usman was evacuated and taken to the Mainland Hospital Mortuary for autopsy. ”

"The cause of the explosion is yet to be determined “