The United States has once again warned that it may stop rendering military assistance to Nigeria if the country fails to protect human rights.

The US Secretary of States, Antony Blinken, who gave the warning, also urged federal and Lagos State governments to sanction any individuals found to have violated human rights during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests when the white paper on the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters is ready.

He warned that if the rights violations persisted, the US government might evoke the Leahy Law to deny Nigeria access to hardware, which includes arms and other military equipment to fight terrorism and other forms of criminalities.

An eight-man panel led by retired Justice Doris Okuwobi had submitted a 309-page report to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, indicting soldiers and police for killing peaceful protesters at Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.

Describing the Lekki toll gate incident as a massacre, the panel report stated that at least nine persons were killed by security agents at the scene and listed 48 names as casualties, including 22 protesters, who sustained gunshot injuries and 15 others allegedly assaulted by soldiers and police.

During a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Aso Rock, Abuja, Blinken had said America anticipated the response of the federal and Lagos State governments to the panel’s findings.

On Friday, Blinken met with members of the civil society in Abuja, reiterating the US’ demand for justice.

In an interview with CNN, Blinken urged Nigeria to bring those indicted by the panel report to book.

He said the US might evoke the Leahy Law on military aid against Nigeria if the country failed to protect human rights.

The Leahy Law is an American rights ordinance that prohibits the US government from providing military assistance to foreign security force units that violate human rights with impunity.

Asked during the CNN interview whether the US had changed its conclusion in the light of the panel’s report, Blinken said he was waiting for the full report to be released by the Lagos State Government.

He, however, argued that the most important thing was ensuring that those found wanting face the full weight of the law.

He said, “But a couple of things are really important. As I said, the report itself, done by the state government, but then once it’s out, for there to actually be action on the basis of the report, action as necessary by the states, action by the Federal Government, and action in the sense of two things.

“First, making sure that based on what is documented to have happened, it won’t happen again – so there may be reforms that are necessary – and building or rebuilding trust between the citizens and the security services, between citizens and the state.  That is an obligation of both the state government and the Federal Government.

“Second is accountability. If there are individuals that – as it emerges from this report – who are responsible for committing abuses, there has to be accountability in terms of those individuals. That too is vital to rebuilding trust between citizens and the state and the security services.”

On what the US would do if human rights abuses continued, he responded, “And, of course, we also have laws in place – the Leahy laws, for example – that make sure that if there are units that have committed abuses, we’re not going to provide equipment to those units.”

When asked pointedly if the Leahy law would be imposed on Nigeria, the Secretary of State responded, “Well, we look in any instance if – and if there are credible allegations that prove, that we believe meet the standard of the law, yes, of course, we’ll apply the law.”

A petition by rights groups including Amnesty International had recently forced the US Congress to call for the stoppage of weapons sales to Nigeria.

When asked by CNN if the US government would bow to pressure by the US Congress to impose an arms embargo on Nigeria amid incessant allegations of human rights abuse, Blinken said it would all depend on Nigeria’s response.

Blinken stated, “If there is genuine transparency, accountability and change that follows from these incidents and from these abuses, I think that’s very important not only to our administration, it’s important to Congress in making judgments about continuing to provide assistance to the security forces.”

He explained that the assistance being given to the Nigerian military was not only hardware but training to tackle terrorism and criminal activities.

Blinken said, “But the assistance itself is not just the hardware that we might provide – airplanes or helicopters – it’s the software, the human software. Because one of the things that we’re doing is making sure that as we’re providing equipment to deal with profound security challenges that are faced here in Nigeria – terrorism, criminal activity, other violence – that those who will be using the equipment are trained in a way that makes sure that they are doing it to avoid hurting the good guys even as they’re going after the bad guys, to make sure that the laws of armed conflict are fully in mind. And that if they make mistakes, they’re corrected and they’re brought to light immediately. All of that’s very important. And, of course, we also have laws in place – the Leahy laws, for example – that make sure that if there are units that are – that have committed abuses, we’re not going to provide equipment to those units.”

Panel faults LASG for inviting military to disperse protesters

The judicial panel, in its report, faulted the state government for inviting the army to disperse peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.

The panel noted that the violence recorded in some other parts of the state did not happen at the Lekki toll gate, noting that there was no need for any apprehension on the part of the government to deploy soldiers bearing lethal weapons to dispel peaceful protesters at the toll gate.

The report stated, “The panel finds that although the army gave copious evidence of general commotion, violence and mayhem in other locations in Lagos State other than Lekki toll gate, there is no justification behind the deployment of its soldiers and officers to Lekki toll gate in particular, when there was no violence reported there instead of the other critical areas (for example in places like Orile, Mushin etc), which indeed escalated the violence. The deployment of the army to Lekki toll gate on 20/10/2020, in the absence of any reported violence, was totally unwarranted.”

The Commander, 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Nigerian Army, Victoria Island, A. I. Taiwo, affirmed that the governor called the Chief of Army Staff as well as the GOC 81 Division to ask for intervention because the police had been overwhelmed.

The panel however noted that the ineffectiveness of the police could not be a justification for the invitation of the army and their deployment to the Lekki toll gate on the said date, especially when the government had already opened up dialogue with the protesters.

Punch

The Nkpolu Divisional Police headquarters in Mile three, Port Harcourt, Rivers State have arraigned four secondary school students over charges bordering on cultism.

The charge sheet deposed by Chief Magistrate Phillipa Dike-Udenna said the students are from the Community Secondary School, Nkpolu Oroworukwo axis of mile three in Port Harcourt.

The charge sheet gave the names of the students as Uchechi Okene, 17, Hakeem Suleiman, 18, Sunday Progress, 16 and Nicholas Benson, 16.

The charge sheet PMC 1478C reads, “That you Uchechi Okene ‘m’ aged 17, Hakeem Suleman ‘m’ aged 18, Sunday Progress ‘m’ aged 16 years and Nicholas Benson ‘m’ aged 16 years on the 17th day of November 2021 in Community Secondary School Nkpolu, Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt in Port Harcourt magisterial district did conspire to commit felony to wit Cultism and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516(A) of the criminal code, Cap 37 Vol.11 laws of Rivers State of Nigeria.

“Count 11 read, that you Uchechi Okene ‘m’ Hakeem Suleiman ‘m’ Sunday Progress ‘m’ and Nicholas Benson ‘m’ on the same date and place at the aforesaid magisterial district did belong and are members of Deegbam Secret cult group and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(1) of the secret cut and similar activities prohibition N0 6 laws of Rivers State of Nigeria.”

The  students were remanded in Police custody as Philipa Dike-Udenna Chief Magistrate grade 2 of Magistrate court 30 did not sit and they are to be arraigned properly on Monday 22, November 2021.

Reports have it that Nkpolu Police Division filed the case of cultism against the students without transferring the students to the Anti-cultism of the Nigeria Police as it is usually the process in cases of cultism.

Punch

Nigeria's Federal Government at the weekend insisted that the current pump price would remain for now with the expected high rate of travel during the festive period.

Presently, petrol sells at N162/163 per litre in most major petrol stations with independent marketers selling at N165/litre.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Engr. Farouk Ahmed who spoke to journalists in Abuja at the Petroleum Regulators’ 1st Invitational Golf Tournament organised by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC and NMDPRA, assured consumers that there would be no price increase in the immediate future.

Ahmed who was represented at the event by Ogbogu Ukoha, Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retail Infrastructure, said the government was working hard to resolve the challenges faced by operators.

According to him, “I will like to assure everybody that it is mere speculation. There will be no increase in the pump price, not in the near future.

“This is peak consumption period for Nigerians. Our focus must be on the average Nigerian who is on the street.

“People will be travelling now and so you don’t increase pump price arbitrarily like that. So the pump price will be maintained and Nigerians should feel free to travel”.

He however pointed out “ there are issues. Last two weeks the chief executive led, for the first time, we had every major player under the same roof.

“They raised the issues, the issues were addressed as much as we could and we all left with happy faces and handshakes.

“This is the way forward for now. The NNPC was represented by as high as the Group Executive Director, Downstream, who assured that there will be sufficient supply during this period.

“And even on the dollar payment issue, they (NNPC) conceded to take freight in naira. This is because as we know the dollar issue is critical. So I will like to assure everybody that there will be no pump price increase,” he added.

Also speaking to journalists at the event, the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe noted that despite the global clamour for energy transition, the Commission has had fruitful discussions with investors in the industry.

Komolafe stated that Nigeria needed to increase its oil and gas production to meet its national economic and social demands.

He said: “Since I came on board we’ve started various engagements with investors including international oil companies and other independent producers.

“The feedback we are getting from our engagements with investors has been quite positive regardless of the developments in the outside world, especially with regards to energy transition.

“The PIA (Petroleum Industry Act) has offered very robust and attractive fiscal regimes and so there’s still quite a lot of investment opportunities in the Nigerian oil sector and we try to canvass that to investors regardless of the challenges posed by the energy transition”.

Speaking on the golf tournament which was held at the IBB International Golf and Country  Club, Maitama, Komolafe said: “We need productivity in the oil and gas sector and it is in realisation of that that the NUPRC has put together this tournament with our sister agency, because it is important for our workers to be healthy.

“Apart from the health benefits of the game of golf, it is a means of social connectivity and networking. And for oil and gas investments you need to network with investors. So this provides that opportunity for you to achieve that,” he added.

Vanguard

The Christian Association of Nigeria has knocked the United States for removing Nigeria from its 2021 list of religious violators, saying that Christians are still being persecuted by terrorist groups and other Islamic associations in the country.

The apex Christian organisation said that it is at a loss on the data or statistics used by the US government in arriving at delisting Nigeria from the list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ on the issue of freedom of religion.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a statement on Wednesday, blacklisted Russia, China and eight other countries as religious violators, leaving out Nigeria which was placed on the same list in 2020.

Blinken later visited Abuja, Nigeria on a two-day official visit that ended on Friday, saying the delisting of Nigeria was based on facts.

However, CAN in a statement on Saturday frowned upon the move, saying Christians are still being ferociously attacked and nothing has changed between 2020 and 2021 to warrant the removal of Nigeria from the list of religious violators.

The statement signed by CAN President, Rev Samson Ayokunle was titled, ‘CPC List: We Are At a Loss On the Data the US Government Used for the Delisting of Nigeria – CAN’.

The statement read in part, “The US government did not contact us when they were listing Nigeria among the countries of ‘Particular Concern’ on religious freedom, neither did they seek our opinion before removing Nigeria from the list. If they had done, we would have been able to compare the statistics then and now on the issue of freedom of religion in Nigeria.

“Whatever may be the data they used, our prayer is that Nigeria would be a country where no religious group is discriminated against or persecuted and that our government would see to it that all religiously biased policies are discontinued with.

“Christians had faced and are still facing persecution from ISWAP and the Boko Haram Islamic Group till today as before. These are the people who said their agenda was to wipe away Christianity from Nigeria and to plant Islam as the only religion from the North down to the Atlantic Ocean in the South. That agenda with the killing of Christians has not stopped till today and Nigerians are living witnesses.

“The bandits have joined other militant Islamic groups to be ferociously attacking churches, killing worshippers and kidnapping for ransom. The herdsmen are equally doing their havoc. We have lost many people and places of worship to their assault, especially in the Northcentral part of the country and the Northeast.

“Though the madness has grown now and those who are not Christians are being attacked, killed and kidnapped, this is because these criminal acts have become a lucrative business and it is whoever you can kidnap for money! If the government had responded appropriately when this criminal madness began and subdued these evil groups immediately, we wouldn’t be where we are now!”

The Christian association also said discrimination against Christians, especially in Northern Nigeria has not stopped.

“Up till today, our government is still funding the membership of Nigeria in all the International Islamic organisations like OIC and its allies without being part of any international Christian organization.

“Once again, we urge the US government to help us by allowing us to know what has changed between the time our country was put in the list of ‘countries of particular concern’ and now,” it added.

Punch

Lauretta Fagbohun, Ogun

A sum of N2 billion has been released by Governor Dapo Abiodun in Ogun State to offset part of the global cooperative deductions from the state workers.

The governor who promised to settle the outstanding deductions by releasing one billion naira quarterly until all the entire deductions are defrayed, said "the payment will cover four months and it is meant to address the plight of the workers and pensioners".

Comrade Akeem Lasisi, the Chairman, Trade Union Congress, Ogun branch, disclosed this at a news conference after a meeting between the leaders of labour and pensioners’ unions and the governor.

Lasisi said that the governor also released another N1 billion for gratuities of state and local government pensioners.

He told Nigerian Newstrack that “the new gratuity is a 100 per cent increment from the earlier quarterly payment of N500 million he had earlier commenced in 2020.

“We had a fruitful meeting with the governor today. This is a follow-up to other meetings we had before.

“In the meeting, we told the governor that workers are tensed up and restless due to the non-payment of their deductions and he agreed to do something about it.

“I am glad to inform you that he has directed the immediate release of N1 billion for the payment of gratuities and that N1 billion will be released on a quarterly basis for the pensioners.

“As at today, four months of global deductions has been paid and the governor also promised to do this on a quarterly basis,” he said.

Lasisi said the governor has promised that promotion letters for 2018 would be fully implemented in the new year while promotion entitlements for 2019 would commence by March 2022.

According to him, Abiodun told the workers to expect to enjoy their promotion entitlements for 2020 “from May or June next year”.

Also speaking, the State Chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Chief Waidi Oloyede, appreciated the state government for the gesture.

He praised the governor for accepting to look into the monthly increment, saying that some pensioners collected as low as N5,000 monthly as pension.

Comrade Isa Olude, the state Chairman, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSON) and Chairman Joint Negotiations Committee, called for the commitment of the parties involved to build trust and avoid misunderstandings.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday and discussed domestic and regional security, and West Africa's democratic backsliding, including Nigeria's handling of anti-police brutality protests last year.

Blinken's trip to Nigeria came days after a leaked report said the Nigerian army fired live rounds at peaceful protesters at a toll gate in Lagos in October 2020 and described the incident as a "massacre".

Blinken said during a joint news conference with Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama that depending on the conclusions of the report, authorities should "hold accountable any of those responsible for human rights abuses, and to do that again in full transparency."

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly said advocating for human rights and working to improve democracies around the world is at the heart of its foreign policy, even though critics have said promotion of human rights often takes a back seat to preserve national security priorities.

Buhari, in the first official government comment on the substance of the damning report, told Blinken that his administration would take a lead from state governments which commissioned the report.

"We at the Federal (Government) have to wait for the steps taken by the states, and we have to allow the system to work. We can't impose ideas on them," Buhari said in a statement after meeting with Blinken.

The shootings ended weeks of nationwide protests against police brutality and sparked the worst civil unrest in Nigeria since the return to civilian rule in 1999.

Blinken's three-nation Africa trip started in Kenya, where he reiterated calls for an unconditional ceasefire in the Ethiopian conflict and appealed for a return to civilian democracy in Sudan after last month's coup.

America's top diplomat said he had discussed support to build the capacity of Nigeria's military but in a way that fully respects human rights. Nigeria has been battling Islamist insurgents in the northeast of the country for more than a decade.

Blinken's trip to the region comes at a time when several crises are engulfing the continent, including the war in northern Ethiopia and Sudan's military coup.

He said the United States was deeply concerned by the violence used by the Sudanese military against civilian protesters.

"The military must respect the rights of civilians to assemble peacefully and express their views," said Blinken.

On Friday (today), Blinken will lay out in a speech the Biden administration's policy towards Africa.

Reuters

At least 569 people — including 337 soldiers — have been killed in various forms of ambush launched by insurgents since 2019, according to a report by SB Morgan (SBM) Intelligence.

SBM intelligence, a research organisation, compiles and analyses data about happenings in the country.

In the period reviewed in the report, 62 attacks perpetrated by insurgents were recorded.

On Saturday, fighters of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) killed Dzarma Zirkusu, a brigadier-general, and three soldiers of the Nigerian Army.

The brigadier-general and the soldiers were ambushed while heading to Askira in Borno to provide support for the troops on the ground.

The incident is one of several attacks by insurgents on troops of the Nigerian Army.

SOLDIERS PAYING THE PRICE IN FIGHT AGAINST INSURGENCY

In the report, 337 soldiers were killed in ambush since 2019, while 29 operatives of the Nigeria Police Force and the Joint Task Force (JTF) also suffered the same fate.

In addition, 92 insurgents and 111 “unclassified persons” were killed in similar incidents.

NORTHEAST — THE HOTBED OF ATTACKS

The northeast region of the country recorded the highest number with 53 attacks, while northwest recorded nine attacks.

Borno recorded the highest number of sneak attacks with 45, followed by Zamfara with seven and Yobe with four.

Other states that have recorded ambush are Kaduna (two), Katsina (two), Kebbi (one) and Sokoto (one).

The Cable

Nigeria’s economy grew more slowly in the third quarter of the year than it did in the second quarter, according to data from National Bureau of Statistics.

Gross Domestic Product growth rate fell to 4.03 per cent in Q3 from 5 per cent in Q2, Statistician-General of the Federation, Simon Harry, disclosed on Thursday.

He said that during the quarter, aggregate GDP was 45.11tn in nominal terms, an increase of 15.41 per cent over the performance in the corresponding period of 2020.

Harry explained that the base effect of the negative economic growth recorded in Q2 and Q3 2020 as a result of Covid-19 pandemic contributed to the growth in GDP in 2021.

He added that the current growth trend can be sustained with strict adherence to safety measures effected to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and other variants of the disease.

Punch

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), one of the members of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and other matters, has raised the alarm that members of the panel are being unfairly persecuted by some state government officials over the report that protesters were killed at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.

Adegboruwa made this known in a statement on Thursday titled, ‘EndSARS Panel Members Are Being Unfairly Persecuted’.

It has been earlier reported that the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel submitted its report to the Lagos State Government, noting that at least nine persons were confirmed dead at the Lekki toll plaza when soldiers stormed the tollgate to disperse EndSARS protesters on October 20, 2020.

The 309-page report stated, “The atrocious maiming and killing of unarmed, helpless and unresisting protesters while sitting on the floor and waving their Nigerian flags and while singing the National Anthem can be equated to a massacre in context.”

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who received the report on Monday, constituted a Committee to bring forward a White Paper within the next two weeks to be considered by the Lagos State Executive Council.

Many Nigerians have been outraged by the panel’s report which is at variance with the consistent claim by the government that there was no “massacre” at the toll gate, a focal gathering point during last year’s nationwide demonstration against extrajudicial killings and police brutality by operatives of the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force.

However, the panel members have also been commended for standing for truth and justice in the face of intimidation. In his statement, Adegboruwa said, “Since the submission of the EndSARS Panel Report to the Governor of Lagos State on November 15, 2021, members of the Panel have become subject of vicious attacks by those suspected to be agents of the government.

“All manner of allegations have been heaped upon Panel Members, some of who have been called unprintable names.

“I can confirm that no Member of the Panel lobbied to be appointed into the Panel. As a matter fact in my own case, His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State, appealed to me to accept my appointment, which I saw as a call to national service. The primary reason the Governor gave to me then was that he wanted men and women of integrity, independent and not subject to manipulation, to be on the Panel. “Just today, my attention has been drawn to an interview by a Senior Counsel to the Lagos State Government, to the effect that Panel Members collected bribe in the course of the assignment. It is unfair, ungodly and least expected of the government and its lawyers.

“The Lagos State Government asked for two weeks to enable it release a White Paper on the report submitted to it by the Panel. And we have been waiting, but it would seem that the Lagos State Government has now unleashed mindless propaganda upon Panel Members whilst at the same time asking for restraint from the general public.

“I have in my custody, certified true copies of all proceedings of the Panel and all exhibits tendered before the Panel in respect of the Lekki Toll Gate Investigation. I urge the government to call its agents and lawyers to order so as not to provoke aggravated responses.

“It is unfair to seek to denigrate peoples’ hard-earned reputation on account only that they accepted to render selfless service at the behest of government. If the government and its agents are not restrained from attacking others, nothing stops us from defending our integrity. “I should not become a victim of unwarranted attack just because I accepted to serve the government and the outcome of that assignment did not favour the expectations of the government. Suffice it to mention that I worked with men and women of unblemished integrity and I’m proud to be associated with them all.

“I, therefore, appeal to His Excellency the Governor of Lagos State to call all agents of State to order and to keep to his promise to us to release a White Paper within two weeks and to send the unedited report of the Panel, to the National Economic Council.”

Punch

The Lagos State Government has said that over 40 discrepancies were found in the report on the shooting of unarmed #EndSARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020.

Counsel to the state government on the Judicial Panel of Inquiry on #EndSARS protests, Abiodun Owonikoko said this during an interview with Arise News monitored by Nigerian Newstrack on Thursday.

Recall that the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel had on Monday, November 15th submitted its report to the LASG.

In the 309-page document titled “Report of Lekki Incident Investigation Of 20th October 2020”, the panel revealed that at least 48 protesters were either “shot dead, injured with bullet wounds or assaulted by soldiers.”

Reacting, Owonikoko berated the report and said that there were several details, information left out of it by the panel.

He accused the panel of awarding damages to alleged victims of the incident who are still allegedly alive.

The lawyer cited an example of a 24-year-old man that was killed in a police barracks but was not included in the final report. Owonikoko stated further that the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) was not allowed to present any evidence by the judicial panel.

He alleged that the panel collected the sum of N5m from a woman who was awarded N10m for a gunshot injury.

“By law, the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the panel were not supposed to be made public. The report making rounds on social media is a draft of a minority opinion because I was there all through the proceedings. I am particularly shocked to read what is contained in the report because it is not completely accurate. I sighted over 40 discrepancies in this report, including awarding N15m to someone who was a witness to a police brutality incident that had nothing to do with the Lekki incident. What kind of report is that?

“All the evidence we were able to gather during the proceedings, none of them could be fully established. From the very beginning, the panel lacked the judicial competence to determine the outcome of this incident. The mistake made by the government was not setting up an entirely different panel to look into the Lekki incident because there were some members of the panel that were protagonists in the case against the Police. They were not supposed to be a part of it,” he said.

Owonikoko stated further that some members of the panel already had “a position as they ensured that the Lekki Toll Gate was not reopened four months after the incident, despite the LCC trying to show present evidence to vindicate the company. ”

He also accused human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) of being absent for the most part of the proceedings.

“Adegboruwa cannot give an objective report on the Lekki incident because he was always absent during the sittings which were held on Saturdays. He already had a case in court, challenging the legality of the toll gate. It is worrisome that he also signed off on the report, given that he was mostly absent. It makes the report tainted,” the lawyer said.