President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mr Ola Olukoyede as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media & Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale made the announcement in a statement on Thursday.

Olukoyede’s appointment followed the resignation of the suspended Executive Chairman of the Commission, Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa.

Tinubu also approved the appointment of Mr Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda as the Secretary of the anti-graft agency for a renewable term of five years in the first instance, pending Senate confirmation.

”By the powers vested in President Bola Tinubu as established in section 2 (3) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004, that “the Chairman and members of the Commission, other than ex-officio members, shall be appointed by the President,” President Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Ola Olukoyede to serve as the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for a renewable term of four years in the first instance, pending Senate confirmation.

”Mr. Ola Olukoyede is a lawyer with over twenty-two (22) years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence. He has extensive experience in the operations of the EFCC, having previously served as Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman (2016-2018) and Secretary to the Commission (2018-2023). As such, he fulfills the statutory requirement for appointment as Chairman of the EFCC.

”Mr. Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda is a public administrator with extensive experience in public finance management who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Maiduguri and a Masters in Business Administration from the same university. He began his career as a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi. From there, he went into banking, including successful stints at the defunct Allied Bank and Standard Trust Bank,” the statement reads.

President Tinubu therefore tasked the new leadership of the Commission to justify the confidence reposed in them.

[DailyPost]

The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Wednesday said it would continue to embark on industrial actions until the government meets its demands.

Subsequently, the union is against any plan by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund to include private universities in the country as beneficiary institutions of its projects.

The President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, made the union’s position known at a two-day interactive session between TETFund and all unions of beneficiary institutions.

Osodeke maintained that such a move would lead to the proliferation of private universities devoid of quality.

While commending TETFund on delivery, he urged the fund to work more on the monitoring method of its projects across the country stressing that the level of performance by the beneficiary institutions is not in tandem as some of them received the same amount of money.

He also called on TETFund to apply sanctions on non-performing institutions and advocate for the abolition of what he referred to as the “stakeholders fund”.

According to him, “ASUU will continue to embark on strike until the right thing is done in our tertiary institutions. Stakeholders fund should be abolished”.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, disclosed that the interactive session was conceived as a proactive engagement against the backdrop of the prevailing challenges in the sub-sector.

Echono noted that the engagement was also for the purpose of sustaining steady growth and development of tertiary education while stressing the need to consistently engage and challenge one another on how best to improve the situation.

“It is our fervent hope that this interactive session will provide an enabling environment for us to understand some of our challenges and difficulties in the delivery of quality education in our institutions and thereby make meaningful contribution to the successful execution of the objective of the Fund.

“As you all know our primary mandate is to rehabilitate, restore and consolidate Tertiary Education in Nigeria, using funding alongside project management.

“The session is also expected to serve as a platform to discuss and mitigate incidences of industrial disputes in the tertiary education sector and look at ways to prevent and avoid their occurrences,” he said.

He further stated that the interactive session will afford the opportunity to build and solidify cooperation and collaboration between the fund, its beneficiary institutions and the unions on matters that affect the growth and development of tertiary education in Nigeria.

“As stakeholders and partners, we intend to share with you all that we have done and continue to do,” he added.

On his part, the former President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who spoke on ‘The Role of Trade Unions in TETFund Intervention Activities’, commended the fund for its strident commitment to the elevation of university education and experience for both lecturers, non-academic workers and the student population in various campuses all over the country.

Wabba noted that the NLC has benefitted a great deal from the ideological clarity and consistency of the unions in the tertiary institutions.

“The patriotic and historical resistance of the Congress against the debilitating influence and impact of neo-liberal policies of successive government in Nigeria drew a lot of inspiration and verve from the intellectually sound positions advanced by unions in our tertiary institutions,” he said.

[Punch]

UEFA on Thursday announced the Euro 2024 qualifier between Kosovo and Israel, scheduled for Sunday, had been postponed because of the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

“Israeli authorities currently do not allow their national team to travel abroad,” UEFA, European football’s governing body, said in a statement.

“A new date for the fixture will be announced in due course.”

UEFA had already postponed on Sunday, the day after the surprise offensive launched by Hamas, “all matches scheduled” in Israel “in the next couple of weeks”.

The governing body has rescheduled Israel’s match against Switzerland match, originally scheduled for this Thursday, for Wednesday November 15 with the venue still to be determined.

Israel’s European Under-21 Championship matches have also been postponed along with an Under-17 mini-tournament in which Israel was due to take part.

[Vanguard]

This is the moment the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu always feared with great anxiety. Yet when Hamas launched a deadly attack on Southern Israeli border towns in the early hours of October 7, Bibi and Israel’s elite security forces were unprepared. 

In a bizarre fabrication intended to complete Bibi’s humiliation a few days into the war, social media claimed, falsely, that an antisemitic crow had given the victory to the Palestinians in a mystic moment of avian fury.

The truth is more nuanced and complicated. After over five decades of bloody conflicts, the Israeli-Palestinian war has not produced winners or losers. Only a cycle of senseless violence that appears totally avoidable to everyone except the combatants and those who occasionally use them for their proxy war. 

The current war, which Hamas claimed was to avenge Israeli attacks on the Al Aqsa Mosque, is one of the bloodiest in a long time, but will not produce a result different from all the rest.

Bibi’s war? 

In the popular imagination, no thanks to the Israeli left-wing press, Bibi is a warmonger. The popular view is that he will make war even when peace would cost him nothing, to gratify his anti-Palestinian obsession and deflect from his ruthless control of power and domestic woes. An omen of his just desserts was summed up by the video of a crow tearing up an Israeli flag from a pole on a building in the occupied territories. It didn’t matter that it was an old video which had gone viral nearly six months before the recent outbreak of hostilities. All is fair in war. 

Bibi can hardly escape some responsibility for the present state of affairs in the Middle East. After 35 years of being a part of the Israeli political establishment and 16 years as Prime Minister, it is fair to say that if he genuinely wanted a different outcome in Israeli-Palestine relations, there would be no need for the parable of the crow to achieve one.  

Within the first four days, the current conflict claimed over 1,500 lives on both sides, with thousands more injured or displaced, and communities leveled in the most brutal ways. In figures that seem very conservative, the UN reports that about 6,400 Palestinians and 300 Israelis have been killed in the conflict since 2008. And that is discounting casualties in the ongoing clashes.

Anatomy of anger 

But every story has at least two sides. While the world struggles for a ceasefire to bring relief to millions of innocent victims trapped in this conflict and hopefully, drag the parties back to the forlorn two-state road map for peace, those who want Bibi’s head on a platter might also do well to hear his side of the story.  

Perhaps he might never have been prime minister or he might have been a different one if his brother, Yonathan, had not been brutally killed in 1976 in Entebbe when Yonathan led Israeli special forces to rescue mostly Jewish passengers who were taken hostage and their plane hijacked to Uganda by Arab terrorists. Bibi was only 27-year-old then.  

Perhaps he might not have been prime minister or he might have been a different one, if Egypt, Syria and Jordan did not join hands in a single-minded pledge to wipe out Israel in the Six Day War in 1967 or in Yom Kippur six years later. Israel has mended fences with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a number of other Arab countries since, but one or two old foes in the region have become implacable enemies, too.  

Perhaps Bibi might never have been a prime minister or he might have been a different one altogether, if the Palestinian leadership from Yasser Arafat’s PLO to the current leaders of Hamas were not sworn to the destruction of Israel, at all costs. Sadly, the PLO has either become irrelevant or at best is playing second fiddle to Hamas, while the chaos in Lebanon has given Hezbollah free reign. 

Is it about Gaza? 

If the Israeli occupation of Gaza was its worst crime all these years, then Ariel Sharon’s withdrawal from there in 2005, in defiance of Bibi and other doubters at the time, might have changed the course of that region’s history. Maybe it might even have forestalled Bibi’s emergence as prime minister many years later. Unfortunately, what Bibi said then, that withdrawing to escape terror is inviting terror to chase you, appears to have been proved right.  

Author and syndicated columnist, Jonathan Power, holds a clearly different view, of course. In an article entitled, “Government supporters in Israel are dangerously ignorant of their own history,” he suggests that the same painful memories that radicalised Bibi also radicalised a significant number of five million Palestinians over the years, admonishing those who always talk about the blood libel and the Holocaust not to also forget biblical “genocides” committed by Moses on the journey to the Promised Land or the kindness of Muslim Turks or medieval Spain.

Who owns the land? This is where Bibi’s story gets even more interesting. In his book, Bibi: My story, he accuses an Arab Knesset member of twisting historical facts, in answering the question.  

“The first thousand years or so,” he writes, “are covered in the Bible, and are attested to by archeological and the historical records of other contemporaneous peoples.” 

He traces the history of the Jews from Ur in the Chaldeans through Abraham’s burial in a cave he bought in Hebron, to Egypt and from there to the wilderness where the children of Israel received a moral code that would change the world on their journey to the Promised Land. He recalls the conquests by Joshua and how after Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem, David and his siblings in the battle for control split the realm in two. 

“The northern kingdom, Israel, is destroyed, its ten tribes lost to history,” Bibi writes. “The southern kingdom, Judea, is conquered and Solomon’s temple destroyed by the Babylonians by whose rivers the exiled Judeans weep as they remembered Zion.” 

He then traces the history of the Jews from Roman rule and the destruction of Herod’s Temple in 70 CE to the times of the Byzantines when the Jews were finally reduced to an insignificant minority. “It is not the Jews who usurp the land from the Arabs,” Bibi writes, “but the Arabs who usurp the land from the Jews…the Jews are the original natives; the Arabs the colonialists.”

Lion and the lamb 

This is a story that is hardly told, understood or believed. And perhaps the course of history might also have been completely different if Britain, which maintained control over Palestine under the League of Nations mandate, had implemented the two-state solution instead of dumping the problem at the doorstep of the UN in 1948. 

Anyone familiar with Britain’s legacy of elegantly concealed systematic violence against its colonies which watered the seed of apartheid in South Africa and created the Kashmiri and Cypriot problems, will not waste time blaming that country for the 75-year-old problem in the Middle East. To adapt Max Siollun, the whole object of British occupation was not only to protect the people from themselves, but also to set them against each other.

Yet, the choices made by Palestinians and Israelis over the years have mostly worsened a bad legacy. Blighted as the region may be from its colonial legacy, it cannot be hostage to the hate or personal injuries of its present elite. After the depredations of COVID-19 and the serious supply chain problems caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, the world could use some respite.

Bibi is right to feel that his worst fears about Gaza and the West Bank under the current Hamas leadership and a weakened PLO was confirmed by the recent unprovoked attack of innocent civilians at a peace concert in Israel.  

But his current objective of “wiping out Hamas” even if it succeeds, which is improbable, is not a guarantee that a worse mutation of Hamas will not rise again in Gaza. A stubborn pursuit of his goal might produce in young, innocent Palestinians today the same sentiments that pushed him to the far right. 

The lion and the lamb must find a common ground in their shared, chequered history.

Like a befuddled mind jolted out of deep slumber, Peter Obi, Labour Party’s presidential candidate, hugged a podium to echo a script authored by Atiku Abubakar, his senior partner and co-traveller on a dark ignominious alley to nowhere.

At his press conference earlier today, Mr. Obi blathered on about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s identity and academic record, like a broken voice note of Atiku Abubakar, cutting a pitiful profile as though forced to read a prepared statement by his unimaginative handlers, and mendacious associates in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Unwilling to miss out in the orchestrated campaign of calumny against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his certificate from the Chicago State University, Obi jumped on the tailboard of Atiku’s bandwagon to satisfy his uncanny and insatiable thirst for cheap media attention, long after his Labour Party had dissociated itself from a bogus call to action by the former Vice President.

In his drivel, Peter Obi, demanded that the President reintroduce himself to Nigerians, as though the 8.9 million Nigerians who voted him last February were all groggy when they made their free democratic choice.

Mr. Obi must know that President Tinubu does not need a re-introduction. He does not have any identity problem, except the one contrived by the Atikus and Peters of our political firmament.

The 8.9 million Nigerians who voted him into office were, and remain, aware of his outstanding record and accomplishments as a defender of democracy, freedom, social and economic justice for over three decades. Nigerians know President Tinubu as a thoroughbred professional and former auditor and treasurer of Mobil Nigeria, now ExxonMobil.

Nigerians know the President as a former Senator of the Federal Republic where he served as Chairman of the influential Finance and Appropriations Committee.

They know him as a former Governor of Lagos State who designed and paved the pathway to the growth and prosperity of present day Lagos, the 5th largest economy in Africa.

Nigerians know who they voted for as the 16th President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They voted for him with full faith and confidence that his track record and wide competences would help in the re-engineering of our country’s economy for the good of the greatest number of Nigerians.

In marked contrast, Nigerians have flatly and serially rejected Atiku Abubakar, and denied Peter Obi’s presidential bid in the last election election.

Beyond regaling Nigerians with false and embarrassing statistics for which he has gained notoriety, Peter Obi cannot be said to be known for any outstanding performance as governor of Anambra State for eight years with no worthy legacy standing to his name.

As for President Tinubu’s academic record at the Chicago State University, the facts are clear and settled except for those political jaundiced by the trauma of electoral defeat.

The Chicago State University has unequivocally stated over and over again, and in a deposition, under oath, by the Registrar, Caleb Westberg that President Tinubu attended the school and graduated with Honours.

Nigerians are now familiar with stellar academic performance of President Tinubu as evidenced by his transcript as released by the CSU with 18As, 10Bs and 3Cs grades.

It is disturbing and utterly contemptuous of the courts of our land for the duo of Atiku and Obi to rail and pollute the public space with the very same issues that they have submitted to the court for adjudication. They have continued to perpetrate public deception, operating, simultaneously, as accusers and judges in their own base cause.

We condemn the sordid and disgraceful attempt by Obi, Atiku and their cheerleaders to use the mainstream and social media to intimidate the judiciary, incite the public to violence, disparage Justices of the Appeal and Supreme Court, and we urge all well meaning Nigerians to condemn this anti-democratic and irresponsible conduct of both political naggers. For the records, our team of lawyers stand advised to explore all available judicial mechanisms towards bringing Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar to justice for their ceaseless contemptuous conduct.

In our democracy, the office of the President is not filled by intimidation, blackmail or reckless self help. It is filled by the people, by their lawful votes at the polls just as they did on February 25, 2023 when they elected Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Signed:
Felix Morka, Esq.
National Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Congress (APC)

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to withdraw all charges against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

Ohanaeze said the appeal comes in light of the recent release of Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, a Yoruba Nation activist, from Beninoise prisons.

In a statement on Wednesday by its Secretary General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Ohanaeze commended President Patrice Talon of Benin Republic for the release of Igboho through the intervention of Yoruba leadership and political leaders, urging Tinubu to emulate Talon.

It said, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo expresses its heartfelt appreciation for the unwavering contributions of Yoruba leaders such as former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Banji Akintoye, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and Pa Ayo Adebanjo towards the release of Sunday Igboho.

“The organisation recalls its October 1, 2023 Independence Day plea for the release of both Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo believes that this is an opportune time for President Bola Tinubu to demonstrate similar gestures and drop all charges against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, allowing him to regain his freedom.”

The group added that the release of Kanu would play a pivotal role in restoring peace in the South-East region and help address the prevailing security challenges.

It also called on all Biafran groups to cease all acrimonies and offensive media wars against the Federal Government, urging Igbo leaders to focus on the importance of doing what was necessary for the betterment of the region.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo firmly believes that President Tinubu will be hailed as a national hero if he seizes this opportunity to release Nnamdi Kanu.

“The organization acknowledges that Nigerians who felt denigrated by Kanu’s actions should find it in their hearts to forgive him, as his release will mark a significant step towards national unity and reconciliation.

“We express our gratitude to President Talon, Yoruba leaders, and political figures for their efforts in securing Sunday Igboho’s release. The organization remains hopeful that President Tinubu will embrace this historic opportunity and contribute to the restoration of peace and harmony in Nigeria,” it added

Sunday Igboho regained freedom on Sunday after being held in Benin Republic for two years.

He had fled Nigeria in the wake of a midnight raid on his Ibadan home by the Department of State Services in July 2021.

Igboho stirred the hornet’s nest when he began a campaign for the secession of Yoruba from Nigeria and also launched a campaign to chase killer herdsmen and kidnappers out of the South-West states.

Following the midnight raid, the Federal Government placed the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Customs Service on alert to stop him from leaving the country, but Igboho resurfaced in Benin Republic.

He was, however, arrested at the Cardinal Bernardin International Airport in Cotonou while attempting to flee to Germany.

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, charged African leaders to find home-grown solutions to the myriad of problems confronting the continent.

Obasanjo stated this while addressing a delegation of students and youths, across African countries, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, OOPL, Abeokuta, in Ogun State.

The delegation, which included students’ leaders from Ethiopia and the Tigray Region, was led by the President of All-Africa Students’ Union, AASU, Osisiogu Osikenyi.

The students were on a ‘thank you’ visit to Obasanjo for facilitating the permanent cessation of hostilities agreement between the government of Ethopia and the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front, TPLF, in Pretoria, in 2022.

The former President, who said it was important for Africa to consider the peculiarities of its people in designing and implementing workable home-grown solutions to the problems confronting the continent, said: “No problem in Africa is too great for us to solve.

“It is a great lesson for us to know that yes, whatever may be our problem – political, economic, social in Africa, we can solve them if we go about seeking solutions rightly.

“What is very important and which I want you to take very seriously is that what we were able to achieve in Tigray between TPLF and the Government of Ethiopia is what you and I will regard as finding African solutions to African problems.

“This is what our leaders have been clamouring for even from independence in the early 1960s.

“No problem in Africa is too great for us to solve.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday revealed some former governors, former ministers, and some ministry officials are under investigation.

The Commission which confirmed that it has received a petition against them added that details of the investigation against the former Governors, ex-ministers and others will soon be made public.

The spokesperson of EFCC, Dele Oyewale also disclosed that the commission has recovered N27 billion and $19 million in three different cases it has investigated.

Oyewale said, “The Commission’s works are progressing in line with our mandate.

“Petitions were received in respect of several public officials, some of them former governors, some former Ministers, and some Ministry officials. I can tell you investigations are ongoing on those petitions

“Details of their involvement and our investigations will soon be made public.

“Also, investigations are ongoing in respect of monumental fraud involving some officials of the Federal Ministry of Power and Agricultural Procurement fraud. Funds meant for the Mambilla and Zungeru Power projects are diverted through sundry Bureau de Change operators. For now, several houses purchased with the funds are being recovered. The houses are in Abuja, Lagos and Cross River State.

“Similarly, in three different cases, the Commission has recovered N27, 184, 357, 524, and $19, 084, 419 and we are still recovering.

“Our prevention initiatives, risk assessment, and recovery efforts are being intensified.”

The factional national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Lamidi Apapa in a recent interview shed light on the crisis within the party.

Apapa in the interview with BBC Yoruba distanced himself from the claim that he is working for President Bola Tinubu.

According to Apapa, he has never received any money from Tinubu as widely believed by some.

He called on people who have evidence to support the claim that he is working for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate to come forward with it.

Apapa noted that he voted for Obi during the February 25, 2023, presidential election, adding that he does not have any issue with Obi.

Speaking on the allegations against him he said, “What I am angry about is that some people accused me of working for President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As at the moment I speak before you, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has never given me money but he might do that later. The truth of the matter is that I don’t support him. During the election, my vote was strictly for Mr Peter Gregory Obi.

“For those who think I support Tinubu, I have two questions. First, will I help him get more votes after the election? Second, am I the top judge handling Peter Obi’s lawsuit against him? These are the important questions to consider.”

In his take on Obi joining the Labour Party, he said, “I was really excited when Peter Obi expressed his interest in joining our party because it gave us the opportunity to lead the country and gain more attention. This is something many of us who’ve been with the party for a long time have been hoping for.”

Speaking on the crisis in the party, Apapa said, “The important thing to know is that there was a legal case in a federal high court in Abuja. In this case, Barrister Julius Abure and three other important members of our political party were told not to act like leaders of the Labour Party, but they didn’t listen. This is why there was a fight at the presidential election tribunal. Up to now, there’s no proof that I agreed to support Tinubu for his candidacy.”

Banjul, The Gambia, October 12, 2023 - The Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in The Gambia (TANGO), the Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP), and the Network Against Gender-Based Violence (NGBV) are joined by over 160 civil society organizations from across Africa and around the world in co-signing this open letter urging the Government of the Republic of The Gambia to stand firm in its commitments to protect women and girls by upholding the law prohibiting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This letter is in response to deeply troubling comments recently made by some religious and political leaders advocating for the decriminalization of FGM, including regressive statements in the national parliament calling for the law to be repealed.

Landmark conviction for female genital mutilation
In 2015, The Gambia took a momentous step by amending the Women's Act 2010 to explicitly criminalize FGM under sections 32A and 32B respectively. The Women’s (Amendment) Act of 2015 prohibits FGM, stating that, “a person shall not engage in female circumcision… a person who engages in female circumcision commits an offense” and is liable on conviction to “imprisonment for a term of three years or a fine of fifty thousand dalasis or both; and where female circumcision causes death, to life imprisonment.”

Current attempts to remove legal protections were sparked by the convictions in August 2023 of three women for carrying out FGM on eight infant girls. Each offender was ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 dalasis (around $230 US) or serve a one-year prison sentence. The landmark judgment by the Kaur/Kuntaur Magistrates’ Court marks the first conviction since the law banning FGM was enacted eight years ago.

Sustained efforts are required to accelerate FGM’s eradication, and we hail the significance of these convictions and their role in addressing impunity. This case underscores the need to bolster enforcement mechanisms and awareness-raising throughout The Gambia, where UNICEF estimates 73% of women and girls aged 15 to 49 have been subjected to this illegal practice.
However, we are concerned about the leniency of the sentences, as a fine of just D15,000 does not adequately reflect the crime’s seriousness.

Furthermore, some political and religious leaders have openly supported the convicted individuals. Concerningly, they are also publicly advocating for the law against FGM to be repealed, some influential figures have even recommended that FGM be continued. This is despite the promotion or incitement of FGM being criminalized, and such injurious comments being in direct contradiction to the principles of justice, protection, and welfare of women and girls.

Wide spread concerns over regressive calls to repeal the law against FGM
A joint statement by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) expresses their “deep concern on the current regressive Parliamentary debate” advocating for the repeal of The Gambia’s laws prohibiting FGM.
The UN in The Gambia has also released a statement reaffirming its commitment to supporting the fight to end FGM in The Gambia, highlighting that the prohibition of FGM under the law is in line with The Gambia’s international and regional human rights commitments.
FGM has no health benefits and harms girls and women in many ways. It involves the removal and damage of healthy and normal female genital tissue and disrupts the natural functions of the body. Immediate complications can include severe pain, shock, haemorrhage (bleeding), tetanus or sepsis (bacterial infection), urinary retention, open sores and swelling in the genital area, and damage to nearby genital tissue. FGM can result in death.
Long-term effects can include recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, cysts, painful scar tissue, the need for subsequent surgery, sexual health problems, and mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. FGM can also cause infertility and increased risk of complications during childbirth, such as excessive bleeding and obstetric tearing, which can lead to maternal and infant death.

The Gambia has one of the highest FGM prevalence rates in West Africa, and the Foundation for Research on Women's Health, Productivity and the Environment (BAFROW) reports that seven of the country’s nine ethnic groups practice FGM.

The Gambia’s Government must safeguard women and girls from FGM
We, the undersigned, will not relent in our efforts to ensure every girl and woman enjoys her fundamental human rights and has her dignity respected and defended. As such, we stand in solidarity with the survivors, organisations, and activists in The Gambia who have tirelessly advocated for the rights of women and girls, and our commitment remains focused on the experiences and realities of those who endure the trauma of this harmful practice.
We condemn in the strongest terms the actions of people who misdirect social and religious adherence to promote FGM to the detriment of the welfare and rights of women and girls, who bear indelible scars while their bodies are reduced to political tools. Regrettably, thousands more in The Gambia remain at risk.
The Gambia has demonstrated admirable leadership in taking legislative action against FGM, and the positive ripple effects extend far beyond its borders, influencing other West African nations in their endeavours to combat this entrenched form of gender-based violence. Neighbours have looked to The Gambia as a source of inspiration, drawing valuable lessons and momentum from its progress.
Repealing the anti-FGM law would undo the considerable gains made in safeguarding the rights and well-being of women and girls. Furthermore, reversal would potentially weaken the resolve of other nations, undermining the continent’s collective struggle to eradicate FGM and overshadowing many lives throughout West Africa and beyond.

As Africa celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Maputo Protocol which under its Article 5 on Ending Harmful Practices, obligates the 44 state parties including The Gambia to end female genital mutilation; we urge the government of The Gambia to stay firm and committed to upholding its obligations under this treaty. We look to The Gambia to continue demonstrating its leadership in the criminalisation of FGM and for the Government to fulfill its obligations to protect the rights and welfare of women and girls, which entails upholding its commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol).
In that regard:

1. We request that the Government and the Ministry of Justice impartially uphold the law against FGM and ensure that those who partake in, support, or advocate for FGM face appropriate consequences according to the law.

2. We call for the protection of the rights and well-being of FGM survivors. They merit our unwavering support, empathy, and access to requisite services.

3. We urge the Government through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Justice to call for a national dialogue that is inclusive of all stakeholders to address the FGM issue. .

4. We pledge to tirelessly raise awareness about the detrimental effects of FGM and replace this practice with culturally enriching alternatives that respect the dignity and well-being of women and girls.

5. We invite all Gambians to stand with us in this endeavour to foster a country where the rights and the dignity of every woman and girl are upheld and defended.

*END*

Notes to editors:

Media contact: Mr. Fallu Sowe, National Coordinator for Network Against Gender-Based Violence, Tel: +220 4398122/ 763 8129, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mrs. Yadicone Njie Eribo, Chairperson of The Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in The Gambia (TANGO), Tel: +220 733 3820, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tijan Bojang, Information and Communication Officer, GAMCOTRAP, Email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel:00-220-7130117/3463073

About Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting:
FGM is a human rights violation deeply rooted in gender equality and discrimination. It violates various human rights under international and national law, including women’s and girls’ rights to equality, life, the security of the person, dignity, as well as freedom from discrimination and torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
FGM often results in lifelong health problems, increased risks during childbirth, psychological trauma, and even death. At the time the practice is carried out, risks include severe bleeding, shock, infection, other serious injuries, and even death can occur.
A girl or a woman who has been subjected to FGM can experience a range of issues, including problems passing menstrual blood or urine, urinary tract infections, pain during sex, less or no sexual pleasure, psychological problems, infertility, and increased risk of complications during childbirth.

The importance of eliminating FGM is publicly highlighted by the United Nations within Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which outlines a blueprint for achieving gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls. Target 5.3 under this goal requires all 193 countries that signed onto the SDGs to take action to “eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation” by 2030.

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) banned FGM in 2003 (Article 5), and the following treaty monitoring bodies have all interpreted FGM as a human rights violation in breach of those treaties:
● the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

● the Convention on the Rights of the Child,

● the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

● the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights,

● and the Convention against Torture

Signed by:
ACT Alliance Tanzania Forum

1 Action Aid Ethiopia

2 Action for COmmunity Task (ACT-SL)

3 Africa Coordinating Centre for Abandonment of FGM/C

4 African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies ACDHRS

5 Afya Afrika, Kenya

6 Agency for Culture and Change Management UK (ACCM UK)

7 Akina mama wa Africa

8 Amnesty International

9 Amref Health Africa

10 AMREF Health Africa

11 Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW)

12 Asia Network

13 Associate of Karenni Policy Support

14 Association des blogueurs du Bénin

15 Association des femmes juristes du Burkina Faso (AFJ/BF)

16 Association des Mairies des Jeunes du Bénin ( AMJB)

17 Association for Egyptian Female Lawyers,

18 Association Tin Tua (Burkina Faso)

19 AWASH

20 Case Salone Centre for Advocacy and Sustainable Empowerment

21 Center for Social Value and Early Childhood Development ( CESVED)

22 Centre de Formation en Mécanismes de Protection des Droits Humains

23 Centre for Community Mobilisation and Empowerment (CECOME)

24 Child Protection Alliance (CPA)

25 Circuit Pointe

26 Climate Live Tanzania

27 Coaches of Influence Foundation (COIF)

28 Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW)

29 Come Together Widows & Orphans Organisation (CTWOO)

30 Come Together Widows and Orphans Organization

31 Commission Indépendante des Droits de l'Homme en Afrique du Nord (The Network of the Independent Commission for Human Rights in North Africa)

32 Compassion CBP

33 Concern for Women

34 COVAW

35 Covenant Foundation for Girls (COFGIRLS)

36 Democratic Socialist Women of the Phillipines (DSWP)

37 Droits Pour Tous

38 End FGM European Network

39 End Female Genital Cutting Singapore

40 Equality Now

41 FABSA Foundation

42 Fact Check Centre The Gambia

43 FAMEDEV-Le Réseau Inter Africain Des Femmes,Médias, Genre et Développement (Inter Africa Network for Women, Media ,Gender and Development)

44 Fantanka

45 FAWEGAM

46 Female Lawyers Association Gambia (FLAG)

47 Finnish Mission in Uganda

48 Fondation des Jeunes Amazones pour le Développement (FJAD-ONG)

49 Forum Against Harmful Practices

50 Gambia Association of deaf and hard of hearing.(GADHOH)

51 Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP)

52 Gambia Family Planning Association (GFPA)

53 Gambia Teachers’ Union (GTU)

54 GAMNASS

55 Girl2Girl Empowerment Movement (G2G)

56 GirlKind

57 GirlKind Kenya

58 Girls Talk Organisation

59 Girls’ Pride Gambia

60 Hamia Hapa (Uganda)

61 HEFORSHE –THE GAMBIA

62 Himiza Development

63 Hope Beyond Foundation

64 Hope for Women (HFW)

65 I-REP FOundation

66 Iceland Gambia Friendship

67 IFRAH Foundation (Somalia)

68 Il’laramatak Community Concerns (ICC), Kenya

69 Indigenous Women for Health and Equality (DRC)

70 Initiative for Girls Right and Health Development (Uganda)

71 Inua Mama Njane CBO, Kenya

72 Joy for Children, Uganda

73 Kadirat 74 Kalyanamitra

75 Keep the Drum and Loose the Knife

76 Kenya Council of Imams and Preachers

77 Kenya Council of Imams and Ulamaa

78 Kids Come First Foundation

79 l'Association des Mairies des Jeunes du Bénin ( AMJB)

80 L’Association Malienne pour le Suivi et l’Orientation des Pratiques Traditionnelles (AMSOPT)

81 LHRC

82 Maine libres

83 Malaysian Doctors for Women & Children

84 Men End FGM Foundation

85 Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Cameroon

86 Mothers’ Health Foundation

87 Mtoto News International

88 Musawah

89 MUTAPOLA The Gambia

90 National Forum of Women with Disabilities

91 National Youth Parliament

92 Network Against FGM/C in Somaliland (NAFIS)

93 Network against Gender-based Violence (NGBV)

94 Network for Reorientation

95 Network Gender Advocators’ Gambia (NGAG)

96 Network of Gender Journalists for Women and Cultural Advancement

97 Network of Girls against Human Trafficking

98 NGO Universal Education

99 Nisa Ul Haqq fi Bangsamoro

100 Nova Scotia Gambia Association (NSGA) ONG Droits Pour Tous

101 ONG CO-GNA Niger

102 ONG Éducation Universelle

103 ONG Women Initiative for Peace and Security (WIPeS)

104 Orchid Project

105 Oxford Against Cutting

106 Pan African Female Youth Leaders (PANAFYL)

107 Paradise Foundation Initiative

108 Peace Ambassadors The Gambia

109 Peace Hub The Gambia

110 Peace of Mind

111 Praise Foundation, Sierra Leone

112 Project21

113 Purposeful

114 Raise The Young Foundation

115 Raising Teens Uganda

116 Réseau Nigérien des Défenseurs des Droits Humains (RNDDH)

117 Rural Development Foundation (RDF), Pakistan

118 Rural Initiative for COmmunity Empowerment (RICE-SL)

119 Rural Women Rights Structure

120 Safe Hands for Girls 121 Sahiyo

122 Sainte Philomène, l'espérance

123 Salimatou Foundation for Education

124 Samburu Girls Foundation

125 Silver Lining Kenya

126 Spread Truth Africa

127 State Department for Gender, Kenya

128 STEWARDWOMEN

129 Tanzanian Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA)

130 Tasaru Ntomok Initiative (TNI), Kenya

131 The Association for the Defense of the Right of Household and Domestic Aid Gambia (ADDAD)

132 The Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in The Gambia (TANGO)

133 The Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP)

134 The Five Foundation

135 The Girls’ Agenda (TGA)

136 The New Generation Girls and Women Development Initiative

137 The Survivors of Presidential Alternative Treatment Program (SPATP)

138 The Uncounted 139 Think Young Women

140 Together Africa Gambia Organisation (TAGO)

141 TOSTAN

142 UNFPA Burkina Faso

143 UNRCO/ Uganda Spotlight

144 Voices for the Voiceless Woman Sierra Leone (VVW-SL)

145 Voix de Femmes (VdF)

146 We Speak Out India

147 Wassu Gambia Kafo

148 WAYASS

149 We Can Cox's Bazar

150 WILDAF-Bénin

151 Women Against Violence and Exploitation in Society (WAVES-SL)

152 Women and Children Aid The Gambia

153 Women In Liberation and Leadership (WILL)

154 Women Initiative for Self Help (WISH) Lib. Inc

155 Women Pathfinder

156 Women’s Action for Human Dignity (WAHDSL)

157 Women’s Studies Centre (WSC),

158 Yakarr Justice

159 Yayasan Kesehatan Perempuan

160 Young People in the Media

161 Young Women Christian Association

162 Youth Anti-FGM Network Kenya

163 Youth Association for Development