A collaborative effort involving the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar and a Senegalese NGO has led to the rescue of 24 Nigerian girls from s*xual exploitation in the Tamaccounda and Kedougou regions of Senegal.

The collaborative effort successfully freed the girls from their exploitative situation.

The acting Ambassador of the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar, Salihu Abubakar, revealed the details to the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday.

According to him, the victims, mostly girls and women aged between 11 and 24, but predominantly underage girls, were trafficked to Senegal through Cotonou, Benin Republic, via the Mali-Senegal border for s*xual exploitation.

"These girls and many more are being trafficked to Senegal through Cotonou, Benin Republic via Mali to the Senegal border for prostitution," Abubakar explained.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the majority of the girls and women were school dropouts from Edo and Delta states, with a few others from Imo, Abia, and two from Plateau. Abubakar confirmed that out of the 24 girls and women, 22 had been repatriated weeks earlier, while the remaining two returned safely to Nigeria on Saturday.

The health status of the victims and details regarding the duration of their exploitation remain undisclosed. However, the diplomat emphasised that the successful repatriation highlights the strong international cooperation between the embassy and the NGO, "Free the Slaves" (La Lumiere in French), in combating human trafficking.

"Our main goal and number one priority is to discourage the trafficking of our Nigerian girls to any part of the world for prostitution under any guise," Abubakar said.

The gradual erosion of governance at the local government level and the attendant collapse of both physical and administrative structures are leading legal experts and civil society organisations to pose serious questions about Nigeria’s democratic credentials with visible threats to constitutional orders.

The ongoing political battle between the Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and a faction of the state assembly over the tenure of local government chairmen has also exposed the extent to which virtually all the states have gone to undermine the constitutional order, with local government elections dependent on the whims of the governors rather than the law.

Defence and security experts who spoke with LEADERSHIP Sunday backed a recent assertion by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, that insecurity in many parts of the country, particularly the north, is linked to the absence of local government administration.

Stakeholders who spoke with LEADERSHIP Sunday identified corruption and political dominance as the major incentives pushing governors to disregard the constitution, and Supreme Court rulings and even resort to the deployment of violence in their efforts to control local council authorities and finances.

At stake is trillions of Naira of local government funds. Between January and May 2024, all three tiers of government shared N5.759 trillion from the federation account. The 774 LGAs received N1.416 trillion on this figure.

LEADERSHIP Sunday estimates that the 774 LGAs could collect as much as N3.39 trillion in the whole of 2024.

In January 2024, the LGAs got N288.928 billion, N278.041 billion in February, N267.153 billion in March, N288.688 billion in April, and N293.816 billion in May.
Investigations and expert opinion sought by LEADERSHIP Sunday also show that the effects of weak or absent local authorities is all-encompassing, undermining democracy, fueling insecurity, breeding corruption and raising tension between state governments and the general public on the one hand, and between the states and the federal government on another.

Findings by our correspondents show that virtually all of the present state governors have at one point or another appointed caretakers in breach of Nigerian laws and against Supreme Court rulings. Some, like Osun governor, Ademola Adeleke, have gone as far as sacking elected local government chairmen.
But Anambra could take the prize for illegality as our correspondent reports that local government elections were last held in 2014, a decade ago.

In Rivers State, where the debate has been about which of two wrongs will make a right, the tenure of the elected local government chairmen expired on June 17, 2024.

The governor immediately replaced them with caretakers, while the state assembly insisted it had extended their tenure through a a questionable piece of legislation.
States that have conducted LG elections within the last three years include Sokoto, Kaduna, Plateau, Yobe, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kebbi, Niger, Adamawa, Oyo, Katsina, Ekiti, Borno, Gombe and Edo.

Lagos last held LG elections in July 2021, but does not plan to hold another until 2025, exceeding the three years mandated by law.
In other states, local government elections were last held in Kwara State in 2017, 2018 in Imo, December 2020 in Kogi, October 2020 in Akwa Ibom, May 2020 in Cross River, and June 2021 in Jigawa, with no signs of elections holding soon.

Bauchi State last conducted local government elections in October 2020. In Abia, too, the last election was in 2020, while in Delta, it was in March 2021.
And while the federal government has tried various means to restore constitutionality and autonomy to the local government system, some legal luminaries have disagreed with the approach.
Several Senior Advocates of Nigeria are sharply divided over the suit filed by the federal government against the 36 states of the federation on autonomy for the 774 LGAs in the country.

The attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had dragged the state governments to the Supreme Court over illegal control of LGs by the state governors.
Specifically, the suit is seeking full autonomy for local governments as the third tier of government in the country.

FG has no locus filing suit for LG autonomy – Awa Kalu

Dr Ahmed Raji, SAN, a former Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in about five states including Kano; Chief Awa Kalu, SAN, Professor of law and former Attorney-Genetal of Abia state, and Barrister Paul Omoluabi, a constitutional lawyer, all took different positions on the federal government’s suit at the Supreme Court.

While Prof Kalu said the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON, should have been the legally recognised body to file the suit and not the FG, Dr Raji said since parties have surrendered themselves before the court, the apex court should be allowed to determine the matter one way or the other.

Prof Kalu said, “The proper court to go to, to decide the suit one way or the other is the Supreme Court. The federal government has no locus filing suit on behalf of LGs; why can’t the LGs speak for themselves; after all, they have an umbrella, ALGON, that can do that on their behalf.”

But Dr Raji said, “This case has been submitted for determination, and judgement is being expected, and as a senior lawyer, I should not anticipate what is going to be the judgement of the court. If it is not yet subjudice, it is within my right to comment but being a counsel who has taken a petition and has taken the matter for determination, it would be grossly irresponsible of me to make comments that would try to over-reach the decision of the court.”

On the conduct of LG election, Professor Kalu said the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has no business with LG elections. He also condemned governors that withhold LG funds.
He said, “It is all propaganda; INEC has no business with local government election; it has not even been able to handle its own primary responsibilities well and you still want to hand over another one to it. It is pure propaganda to say you want to hand over LG election to INEC.

“There is no lacuna in the law guiding local governmnent election; it’s all propaganda. There is a Supreme Court judgement that talks about the state having something to do with the running of the local government. There is a Supreme Court judgement to that effect. The Supreme Court made it clear that you can’t be in Abuja and be conducting LG elections in the states.”

Raji on his part said withholding LG funds could lead to anarchy.

According to him, the drafters of the law did not envisage a vacuum in local government administration.
He said, “It is not contemplated that there will be a vacuum; the drafters of our laws did not anticipate that there will be long vacuum after the departure of one regime before another regime comes in. So to find the justification for it may be difficult, but under the doctrine of necessity the governor may be right to put caretaker government in place, but under the constitution, there should be a democratically elected local government but where election is impossible due to disease outbreak that may result in an election not being held, then, the state law will have to provide for a means to keep the government wheels running, but it is not in the contemplation of the law that you can say a tenure is over and there is a gap for one or two years.”

On the conduct of LG elections by INEC, he said the call became necessary because it is believed that the governors are not doing the right thing, as regards the conduct of LG elections.

He said rather than ask INEC to conduct LG elections, the loopholes should be blocked and state independent electoral commissions (SIECs) strengthened to conduct credible elections.
“The reason for this is, it is believed governors are just “messing” up with SIECs; where is the assurance that INEC will fare better?

“I think we need to deepen democracy. If there is anything which the state commission is doing which is not proper, I think we need to block the loopholes and see that they are up and doing because over-centralisation has its own problem.

“I think the monitoring should be more and the judiciary should intervene decisively where there is no semblance of election in any state in respect of the local government councils, so maybe if one or two of them are made examples”, he said.
He also spoke on the attitude of the state governors to withhold LG funds in contravention of the law.
To him, the issue has been put to rest by the Supreme Court in the case between AG Lagos State vs AGF.
He said it is grossly illegal for a governor to withhold funds meant for LG administration.
He said withholding funds meant for the running if govermnent affairs at any level could lead to anarchy.
Constitutional lawyer, Barrister Paul Omoluabi, quoted Section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution which states:

“The amount standing to the credit of the local government council in the Federation Account shall be paid directly to the local government council.”

He said, “Section 162(4) of the Constitution allows the president to withhold funds from the Federation Account if a state or local government fails to comply with the provisions of the Constitution or any law enacted by the National Assembly.

Ungoverned Spaces Fueling insecurity

Security experts have attributed rising insecurity in the country to the absence of effective local government administration and called for local government autonomy.

The experts said effective local government administration would identify brewing security threats and tackle them to avoid their escalation.

Maj-Gen James Nyam (rtd) said the local government area security committee are formed to identify brewing threats and solve them.

“We have 774 LGAs in Nigeria by the Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). Among the administrative structure of the LGAs, there is an LGA Security Committee which is composed of the LGA chairman as chair, representative of the Armed Forces, the Police, DSS, traditional and religious institutions and other critical stakeholders such as union leaders and CSOs where they exist in that LGA.”
He said the committee serves as a veritable tool identifying all forms of insecurity brewing in the LGA, tracking the sources, isolating them and tackling them.

He, however, said the dislocation of LGAs by state governments had created a vacuum where nobody is carrying out that responsibility.
Speaking further, he said the absence of local government has excluded a lot of Nigerians from political participation, thereby leaving a large population idle.

“Secondly, the LGAs offer the largest platform for inclusiveness and political participation at the grassroots. When you dislocate the LGAs, inadvertently, you are excluding majority of Nigerians from political participation. They are then left idle and the only thing that might result from that situation is insecurity…That is what we currently have in Nigeria in very exponential proportions.”
He identified corruption as the reason for the failure of the LG system.

“It is all due to corruption. We have allowed state governors to take charge of local government funds and they are not ready or willing to let go. It’s my hope that the suit filed by the federal government, pursuant to reinstating LGA autonomy, is the right way to go and, if successful, would assuage or address, majorly, our prevailing security challenges!”

On his part, Brig-Gen Sani Usman (rtd) said an effective local government administration will help address security challenges since most of the challenges are local.

“I have been saying the autonomy and effective functioning of the local government is one of the most critical aspects of fighting poverty, corruption and, most importantly, insecurity in the country. Therefore, there is a very strong link between those issues and local governance. The bulk of the security challenges are local and the solution is local. For example, banditry and kidnapping in the northwest, to the large extent, were due to the mishandling of herders-farmers clashes which could have been mitigated at the local level”.

Governors Behind Failure In LGs – CSOs

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working to ensure local government autonomy have accused state governors of causing the failure of the local government system.

They, however, say that scrapping the LG system will not resolve the issues of insecurity and underdevelopment.

The CSOs argue that only financial autonomy will address the problems in the local governments.

According to the CSOs, the collapse of LGs is due to the governors hijacking their funds and not allowing them to fulfill their mandates.

The national team leader of Engaged Citizens, John Mutu,

Highlighted that the lack of financial autonomy and administrative autonomy is the root of the problem.

Mutu stressed the importance of LGs managing their resources and being accountable to the people.

He expressed concern that if the governors appoint caretaker chairmen, they will only be accountable to the governors and not to the people at the grassroots.

Mutu, who previously served as the deputy national team leader of PERL-ECP, a governance programme funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), stated that caretakers appointed by the governors at the local government level should not exist.

He explained that the constitution does not provide for caretakers in the absence of elections.

Mutu suggested that the head of administration in the local government, who is the LG secretary, should take charge until elections are conducted.

“If there are no elections, the natural succession should be the most senior civil servant,” Mutu said.

Meanwhile, CSOs and other stakeholders advocating for local government autonomy have organised a one-day planning and reflection meeting in Abuja.

This meeting aims to assess their successes in advocating for local government autonomy and leverage the ongoing constitution amendment.

The CSOs and organised groups believe that the clamour for local government autonomy and independence will ultimately be achieved.

[Leadership]

Farming communities suffering from bandits’ and terrorist attacks in Shiroro, Munya and Rafi LGAs of Niger State are paying millions of naira “dialogue fee” to their killers with a promise to allow them access to their farms for cultivation.

Speaking with our correspondent, the farmers said despite the millions of naira they had been paying since the beginning of this farming season, attacks had continued.

A farmer in Shiroro, Salisu Baba, said, “Farming is the only occupation and means of livelihood that we have. And we are now hungry. All these humanitarian support people talk about cannot take us anywhere. We want to go back to our communities to engage in farming. We are hungry and impoverished in IDP camps; even our children are not well-fed. That is why when bandits ask for dialogue we do agree because we are eager to go back home. It is almost 10 years; we cannot go to our farms.”

It was gathered that before the attacks the communities produced maize, millet, sorghum, soybean, yam and cocoyam in commercial quantities, attracting buyers from as far as Lagos, the Eastern part of the country and the Republic of Niger.

A farmer who preferred anonymity said, “Majority of us are in IDP camps in Erena, Gwada, Sarkin-Pawa and Kuta. Many of our relations are in captivity. We have completely lost access to farming.”

Meanwhile, recently the Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security, Brigadier General Bello Abdullahi Mohammed (Rtd), disclosed that the government was planning to construct temporary resettlement centres for the IDPs pending when the situation improved.

He warned the victims against returning home without the government’s directive.

The President of Lakpma Youth Forum, Babangida Zaharadeen Kudodo, told our correspondent the victims paid “dialogue fee” amounting to millions to be allowed to cultivate lands.

He said, “They (bandits and terrorists) do come and ask for dialogue fees so that there would be a consensus between them and the villagers. They tax them certain amounts of money which they would pay to them so that they would be allowed to farm.

“The Lakpma axis is suffering from insecurity in Shiroro LGA. So, anybody seen farming now is definitely paying tax to the bandits or terrorists.”

He added that, “Farmers pay tax because they are out of options, because we all know how things have been very difficult for our people. Even when they run to IDP camps, how would they cope? People used to fetch free firewood but they have now come to the town to buy firewood, and there is no money to buy it with the current cost of living in the country.

“So, they feel that if terrorists can tax them as much as N10m, N15m and even N20m, communities prefer to just go and gather the money and give them so that they would allow them access to their ancestral lands to continue with their farming activities.

“But despite that they pay taxes, that doesn’t stop the bandits and terrorists from attacking them, killing them and kidnapping others. So, maybe if one group had taxed them and they paid, another group would not know. So, other groups will still come and kidnap people and even kill them.”

However, in Munya, a local government official confirmed to our correspondent on condition of anonymity that bandits called for a dialogue to allow the affected communities to go to farm, but said they did not collect any levy from the farmers.

He said, “One of the conditions the bandits gave was that they would allow residents access to their farms but that if the farmers see them passing to other places, they should give them cover. But our people have rejected the move.”

 [DailyTrust]

The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence recently stirred the hornet’s nest when it asked the Federal Government to purchase two new aircrafts for President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima.

Nigerians went wild with anger when the committee’s recommendation came to the public knowledge.

The recommendation was contained in a report of the committee’s investigation into the status of the aircraft in the presidential air fleet.

“The committee is of the strong and informed opinion that considering the fragile structure of the Nigerian federation and recognising the dire consequences of any foreseen or unforeseen mishap that may arise as a result of the technical or operational inadequacy of the presidential air fleet, it is in the best interest of the country to procure two additional aircrafts as recommended.

“This will also prove to be most cost-efficient in the long run, apart from the added advantage of providing a suitable, comfortable, and safe carrier befitting of the status and responsibilities of the office of the president and vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the report stated.

The committee was mandated by the lower chamber of the national assembly in May to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the aircraft in the presidential fleet to ascertain their airworthiness and technical status.

The assignment followed a motion by the House Committee Chairman on National Security and Intelligence, Satomi Ahmed.

According to reports, Ahmed’s motion followed reports of faulty aircraft in the presidential air fleet, a development that forced the President to use a chartered plane from the Netherlands to Saudi Arabia during his recent trip abroad

There was a heated debate on the floor of the House when some lawmakers suggested that the President should travel via commercial aircraft or by road.

But in the end, the Committee was given the assignment to investigate and report to the House the condition of aircrafts in the presidential fleet.

To be on the same page, Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Shehu Buba Umar, also supported the recommendation by the lower chamber’s committee.

Ever since the news broke out, Nigerians have been speaking against the move, with many saying the President cannot continue to spend money on luxury and ask Nigerians to be patient with the government.

Others are saying that even if the government wants to buy new aircrafts for the president and vice president, it should not be at this critical period when most Nigerians find it extremely difficult to feed once a day.

Recall that the Organised Labour and the Federal Government have been at loggerheads over a new national minimum wage.

While Labour is pushing for N250,000, the government said it could only afford N62,000 due to economic constraints.

Now, some persons are questioning the rationale behind the move to acquire new aircrafts when the government said it cannot pay a beggarly sum of N62,000 to workers.

Reacting to the development, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, through its national Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba said there was no moral justification to ask Nigerians to make further sacrifices when the leaders don’t care whether the people survived or perished.

Stressing that the government must live by example by cutting luxury items, he said the citizens have been making sacrifices since the advent of the Tinubu administration on May 29, 2023. He argued that asking Nigerians to make further sacrifices amounts to telling them to commit suicide.

“If the government is so reckless in spending, then it has no moral justification to ask the citizens to sacrifice. In any event, the appropriate word is to say to the government, ‘let the poor breathe.’ That would be the right word to say to them.

“There are millions of families in this country that could not celebrate the very special celebration of Eid. They couldn’t celebrate it because they couldn’t afford it.

“So, for the government to nurse such plans shows they are disconnected with the realities on ground, which is that people are dying on a daily basis because they cannot afford food.

“People are dying on a daily basis because they cannot buy medicine. People are dying by reason of the fact that they are frustrated and they commit suicide on a daily basis. And the government seems to be disconnected and averse to the reality in the nation.

“Our own advice as a party is that the President should live by example, by first of all, ensuring that the corruption and the excessive maintenance of their luxury appetites are cut.

“We have said it severally that the government must stop pursuing and funding their luxury appetites. And it comes in the form of vehicles, the nature of vehicles and the number of vehicles.

“The government has no moral justification. Indeed, Nigerians have been sacrificing. They have been sacrificing from day one; since May 29, 2023 when this government came in.

“It started with the rash and ill-thought programme of removing fuel subsidy. Nigerians have been suffering on the basis of that. They have been paying more on electricity tariff, and paying more on multiple taxes being imposed on them.

“These people are suffocating. Telling them to sacrifice more is like saying go and commit suicide. That is what they are saying. It is the government that should sacrifice now. The leadership should show examples.

“And if there is any plan at all to purchase an aircraft, then President Tinubu should perish the thought. Number one, the British Prime Minister flies British Airways. At the last count, we have about seven or nine aircrafts in the Presidential fleet. Former President Muhammadu Buhari came and said he was going to sell all of them; instead of selling, he acquired more,” he said.

Also reacting, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, through its spokesman, Mr Benson Upah accused the Federal Government and the ruling elite of prioritizing luxury over the needs of the Nigerian people.

He said: “When it comes to the comfort of members of the ruling political elite, there is no limit to what the state can do. But, when it comes to the basic necessities of the ordinary Nigerian, they begin to use a calculator.

“As long as the ruling elite consider themselves over and above every other citizen, every need, and every necessity, there will continue to be hunger and anger in the land.

“There is always enough for the pleasures or the passions of the ruling political elite, but never enough for the necessities of the citizenry. Purchasing a presidential jet cannot be a necessity for now, given the complaints or comments from the ruling political elite. It cannot be a priority for now.”

He cited examples of other countries where their leaders fly commercial planes just to save money for their countries.

“We have many leaders, including the Kenyan president, and others, who fly commercial planes,” he said in a statement.

Reacting through his official X handle, former governor of Anambra State and Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi said the plan to acquire new presidential aircrafts was unacceptable and a clear show of insensitivity to the suffering of the people.

He advised the government to focus on alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians rather than wasting money on such luxuries.

He said: “At a time when our country is on the front page of global newspapers for facing its worst economic crisis, marked by high inflation, a falling currency, and widespread poverty, the government is contemplating buying new presidential jets. This demonstrates extreme insensitivity to citizens’ struggles.

“With rising insecurity, poverty, hunger, and homelessness, this decision highlights the disconnect that is apparent between the government and the people.

“It is unacceptable as the situation in the country today more than ever before demands a more compassionate use of resources, and prioritising citizens’ welfare.

“It’s on record that our presidential jets have an average age of 12 years, purchased when most Nigerians could afford basic necessities. Now, as our country faces significant challenges, including a high debt profile, our citizens are in even greater need. Instead of adding to our luxuries, we should be focused on alleviating their sufferings, and finding solutions to their problems.

“For long, our bad leadership has made our priorities as leaders to be at variance with the needs of the society, which is why we are now headed south as a nation.

“To elucidate further, despite dropping down to the fourth largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of $252 billion and a per capita income of $1,080, with huge debt burdens and borrowing to service debts, yet, we are spending $15 million for our Vice President’s residence, while the USA, the world’s largest economy with a GDP of $25 trillion, about 100 times our GDP, and a per capita income of $80,000, about 80 times ours, still houses their Vice President in Number 1 Observatory Circle, a house built over 100 years ago, and whose value is less than the $15 million we are spending on our VP’s residence.

“A reputable real estate company reports that the US Vice President’s official residence is valued at about $7.5 million today.

“While we had earlier refurbished the old VP’s residence with $2 million, the over 100-year-old US Vice President’s house has only undergone wide-scale renovations twice, funded by taxpayers’ money in 1993 and 2021. Every new US VP is free to finance any minor refurbishing from his funds.

“It’s, therefore, time to stop this impunity, insensitivity, and shamelessness and refocus on the needs of our people.

“We must prioritise education, healthcare, and lifting our citizens out of poverty. Let us work together to build a nation that truly serves its people, not just the interests of a few. Let’s rise to the challenge, and build this new Nigeria which is now more possible than ever before.”

President of the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, cautioned the president to be more sensitive to the plight of Nigerians and not indulge in extravagant expenditures.

According to him, “He’s supposed to live by example. If the economy is okay, he can buy a presidential jet, and no one would raise an eyebrow. But, given that the economy is in a bad shape and he knows it, he should be sensitive enough not to spend money on things that are not necessary.”

“However, if he can justify to Nigerians that the current jet is in such bad shape, and that his security is at risk if he uses it, we can understand. But, no one has given us such an explanation. As far as we are concerned, it is just one of those extravagant expenditures,” he told DAILY POST.

For the president of the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the idea was insensitive to the current economic hardship in the land.

“I am totally not in support of any new aircraft at the moment. Rather, he should stay at home and work or manage the available ones.

“Let us be honest with ourselves, this is not acceptable and Nigerians must not be in support of this idea.

“This is a clarion call; Nigerians must resist and condemn this move. We are just recovering from the SUV for National Assembly members and they are now talking about buying a private jet. No, this is wrong and unacceptable,” he said in an interview with DAILY POST.

[DailyPost]