Headline

133m Poor Nigerians: Buhari Dragged To Court Over Failure To Probe Spending On ‘Social Intervention Programmes’

Published

1 year ago

December 25, 2022

Editor

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari over “the failure to thoroughly, effectively and transparently investigate spending on all social safety-nets and poverty alleviation programmes and projects executed between 2015 and 2022.”

Joined in the suit as Respondent is the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows damning revelations that some 133 million Nigerians are poor, despite the government reportedly spending N500 billion yearly on ‘social investment programmes.’ Half of all poor people in the country are children.

In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/2357/2022 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, SERAP is asking the court to “direct and compel President Buhari to thoroughly and transparently investigate the spending on all social safety-nets and poverty alleviation programs and projects executed between 2015 and 2022.”

SERAP is also asking the court to “direct and compel President Buhari to ensure that suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement of public funds meant to take care of the poor face prosecution, as appropriate, and any stolen public funds are recovered.”

In the suit, SERAP is arguing that, “Nigerians have the right to be free from poverty. Allegations of corruption in social safety-nets and poverty alleviation programmes pose both direct and indirect threats to human rights, and contribute to extreme poverty in the country.”

SERAP is also arguing that, “Investigating the allegations of corruption in the spending on social safety-nets and poverty alleviation programmes and projects and recovering any stolen public funds would serve the public interest.”

According to SERAP, “The Federal Government has a legal responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in how public funds are spent, to reduce vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement.”

SERAP is also arguing that, “The government has legal obligations to effectively and progressively address and combat extreme poverty as a matter of human rights.”

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Blessing Ogwuche, read in part: “The failure to address extreme poverty has resulted in high levels of inequality, and serious violations of economic and social rights of socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians.”

“The NBS report suggests a grave violation of the public trust, and the lack of political will by the government to uphold the country’s constitutional and international human rights obligations.”

“The consequences of corruption are felt by citizens on a daily basis. Corruption exposes them to additional costs to pay for health, education and administrative services.”

“Corruption undermines economic development of the country, trapping the majority of Nigerians in poverty and depriving them of employment opportunities.”

“Extreme poverty is the greatest denial of the exercise of human rights, as it denies millions of Nigerians not only their economic and social rights but also civil and political rights such as the rights to life, human dignity, and political participation.”

“The failure to address extreme poverty has resulted in high levels of inequality, and serious violations of economic and social rights of Nigerians, particularly the socially and economically vulnerable sector of the population.”

“The report that 133 million Nigerians are poor suggests corruption and mismanagement in the spending of trillion of naira on social safety-nets and poverty alleviation programmes, including the reported disbursement of over $700 million from the repatriated Abacha looted funds to these programmes.”

“The report also shows that the purported social safety-nets and poverty alleviation programmes are clearly not working. It also shows a failure by the government to uphold the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed human rights of the Nigerian people.”

“The government has a sacred duty to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of the country’s resources, including the spending of public funds on social safety-nets and poverty alleviation programmes and projects.”

“Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended] provides that, ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.’”

“Under Section 16(1)(a)(b), the government has the obligations to ‘harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, a dynamic and self-reliant economy’, and to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen.’”

“Nigeria has also ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognize legally enforceable economic and social rights, such as the rights to education, health, safe food and clean water, security, and shelter.”

“Successive governments have systematically neglected social and economic rights, and failed to address severe poverty and inequality in the country.”

“The allegations corruption and mismanagement in the spending of public funds on social safety-nets and poverty alleviation programmes and projects would clearly amount to a fundamental breach of national anticorruption laws and the country’s international anticorruption obligations.”

“The 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey reveals that 65% of the poor (86 million people) live in the North, while 35% (nearly 47 million) live in the South. Poverty levels across States vary significantly, with the incidence of multidimensional poverty ranging from a low of 27% in Ondo to a high of 91% in Sokoto.”

“The NBS also shows that over half of the population of Nigeria are multidimensionally poor and cook with dung, wood or charcoal, rather than cleaner energy. High deprivations are also apparent nationally in sanitation, time to healthcare, food insecurity, and housing.”

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

VANGUARD

Headline

B-I-Z-A-R-R-E! Man Missing For 26 Years Found Alive In Neighbour’s House

Published

5 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Editor

An Algerian man, Omar Bin Omran, who went missing at the age of 17, 26 years ago following an alleged kidnapping, has been found alive in his neighbour’s house.

According to Daily Mail on Wednesday, Omar was discovered in a hole in the ground within a sheep pen, concealed under stacks of hay.

Omar, one of nine children, disappeared in the city of Djelfa, Algeria, 26 years ago. His family believed he had been killed during the civil war that ravaged the nation in the 1990s and early 2000s.

According to reports, Omar was found less than 200 meters from his family’s home. A 61-year-old neighbour is now in police custody after Omar, now 45, was rescued on May 12.

Footage was shared on social media and broadcast on Algerian television networks of the moment that he was found in what appeared to be a hole in the ground, described by authorities as a sheep pen, within the home of his alleged captor.

The blurry video shows torchlights shining into a pit surrounded by hay as Omar furtively looks up, seemingly in shock at the search party surrounding him, with stray pieces of straw in his hair.

Other images have since been circulated of the bearded man emerging from the hole, thought to be a sheep pen, and of him as a teenager, sitting with a dog and with young children before he disappeared.

According to the Algerian newspaper El Khabar, his dog recognized his scent and stayed near where Omar was held. It was alleged that the captor poisoned the dog to ward the family off.

Omar went missing in 1998 while heading to a vocational school. He was found after the captor’s brother aired grievances on social media, reportedly over an inheritance dispute.

This led Omar’s family to search the neighbour’s house, where they found him. The captor attempted to flee but was restrained and arrested.

Tragically, Omar’s mother died in 2013 without knowing the fate of her son. Reports suggest Omar was informed of his mother’s death while in captivity.

A relative said on Facebook: ‘Thank god my cousin was found. Bin Imran Omar is in good health after 26 years of disappearance. Awaiting details of the case and investigations.’

Public prosecutors in Djelfa, a mountain city of around 500,000 people around 140 miles south of coastal capital Algiers, say Omar will receive psychological care after being rescued as they vowed to get him justice.

‘The Djelfa Attorney General’s Office informs the public that on May 12 at 8 pm local time, it found victim Omar B, aged 45, in the case of his neighbour, B.A., aged 61,’ they said in a statement.

A court official in Djelfa was quoted as saying: “Two days ago, on 12 May 2024, the Public Prosecutor’s Office received, through the regional department of the National Gendarmerie in El Jadid, a complaint against an anonymous person claiming that the complainant’s brother, Omar bin Omran, who has been missing for about 30 years, is in the house of one of his neighbours, inside a sheepfold.”

Following this report, the General Prosecutor of the Court of Idrisiya in the province of Djelfa ordered the National Gendarmerie to open an in-depth investigation and officers went to the house in question.

He added: “The Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered that the victim receive medical and psychological treatment, and the suspect will be presented to the Public Prosecutor’s Office immediately after the completion of the investigation.”

Officials have promised the ‘perpetrator of this heinous crime’ will be tried with ‘severity.’

The suspect, a civil servant, lived alone but was often seen buying enough food for two people. A neighbour recounted to Algerian TV station Bilad that Omar’s mother died without knowing her son was so close by.

Questions have arisen about why Omar did not call for help during his captivity. Some reports claim Omar said he was unable to call out because of a spell cast by his captor, while others suggest his psychological state may have prevented him from seeking help.

The case may be among the world’s longest-running kidnapping cases. Eleven-year-old Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped in Meyers, California in 1991 and remained missing for over 18 years after she was captured by Phillip and Nancy Garrido.

Dugard was kept in depraved conditions and was subjected to extreme sexual abuse, having two children by Phillip Garrido, and later said she adapted to sympathising with her captors to survive.

Headline

FG, States, LGs Share N1.2tn In May

Published

6 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Editor

The Federation Allocation Allocation Committee has disclosed that during the May 2024 meeting of the FAAC held in Abuja, N1.2tn from the April 2024 Federation Account Revenue was shared by the federal, states, and local governments.

The Director of Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Bawa Mokwa, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

The document revealed that N1.2tn total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N284.71bn, distributable Value Added Tax revenue of N466.45bn, Electronic Money Transfer Levy revenue of N18.02bn, and Exchange Difference Revenue of N438.88bn.

Total revenue of N2.19tn was available in April 2024.

The total deduction for the cost of collection was N80.51bn; the total transfers, interventions, and refunds were N903.47bn.

Gross statutory revenue of N1.23tn was received for April 2024.

This was higher than the sum of N1.01bn received in March 2024 by N216.28bn.

The gross revenue available from the value-added tax in April 2024 was N500.92bn. This was lower than the N549.69bn available in March 2024 by N48.77bn.

From the N1.2tn in total distributable revenue, the Federal Government received a total sum of N390.41bn, the state governments received N403.40bn, and the local government councils received N293.81bn.

A total sum of N120.450bn (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared with the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

On the N284.716bn distributable statutory revenue, the communiqué stated that the Federal Government received N112.14bn, the state governments received N56.88bn, and the local governments received N43.855bn. The sum of N71.83bn (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared with the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

The Federal Government received N69.96bn, the state governments received N233.22bn, and the local governments received N163.26bn from the N466.45bn distributable value-added tax revenue.

A total sum of N2.704bn was received by the FG from the N18.024bn Electronic Money Transfer Levy. The state governments received N9.012bn, and the local governments received N6.30bn.

The Federal Government received N205.59bn from the N438.88bn Exchange Difference revenue. The state governments received N104.27bn, and the local governments received N80.39bn. The sum of N48.62bn (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared with the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

According to the communiqué, in April 2024, oil and gas royalties, company income tax, excise duty, petroleum profit tax, electronic money transfer levies, and CET levies increased significantly, while import duty and value-added tax recorded considerable decreases.

The FAAC noted that the balance in the Excess Crude Account remained at $473,754.57.

Headline

Harry & Meghan: Outrage As UK Journalist Says Nigerians Are Nazis

Published

7 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Editor

A British journalist, Christopher Wilson, sparked outrage among many Nigerians with a now-deleted tweet.

In the tweet, Wilson compared Nigerians to Nazis for welcoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, to Nigeria, igniting widespread condemnation.

The three-day visit of Prince Harry and Meghan to Nigeria attracted significant attention and reactions worldwide.

“Desperate to show his wife they were still ‘royal’ in the eyes of the world, the Duke of Windsor took Wallis on a tour of Germany in 1937. Nigeria’s human rights record is not far short of Nazi Germany’s,” Wilson posted on Tuesday.

Wilson, author of ‘A Greater Love: Charles and Camilla,’ was referring to Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who became the wife of King Edward VIII.

Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle, abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Simpson.

The monarch’s decision to marry Simpson, a divorcée, triggered a constitutional crisis, leading to Edward’s abdication from the throne in December 1936.

After their marriage, they became known as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

The couple travelled extensively, and notably, they visited Adolf Hitler at his Berghof retreat in Bavaria, Nazi Germany, in October 1937.

Markle, an American divorcee, married Prince Harry in 2018.

However, the couple announced their decision to step back from their royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California, United States. Despite their move, they retained their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

When confronted for comparing Nigeria to Nazi Germany, Wilson referenced a 2023 report from the United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.

The report he cited highlights human rights abuses in Nigeria, including extrajudicial killings, torture, harsh prison conditions and arbitrary arrests, among others.

The post sparked criticism and backlash from Nigerians and netizens.

On X.com, @wukster2, who tweets anonymously, wrote, “How did we become Nazis @TheWislon? You are so triggered by Harry and Meghan that you have resorted to comparing Nigeria to Nazi Germany. Meghan Markle’s power over mediocre white men and women needs to be studied. We need a global conference.”

A tweep, Faith Harvest, who identifies as @harvest_fa77000 on X, wrote, “Desperate? Nah, there is no comparison. Try as they may to liken Meghan to Wallis Simpson, Meghan is no Wallis and Harry is certainly not an abdicated king with sympathies to Hitler, and as far as human rights records, Christopher Wilson needs to read up on his own history!”

On Arise TV’s The Morning Show, journalist, Rufai Oseni, also voiced his criticism.

“These people are racist. This is the height of racism. He’s just so jealous because Harry and Megan came to Nigeria and they got relevance and it’s in your face it’s going to hurt you to the very end. I hope that this racism eats your bile up and it continues to eat you because we can’t continue this way. How would you relate them to what happened in Nazi Germany?

“The scenarios are different very different. These people came for a worthy cause in Nigeria which is the Invictus game, to be able to support veterans. Harry has built a brand with this Invictus game that goes around the world and has supported a lot of veterans and that’s something worth celebrating but because of the hatred and the bile that you have against this guy just let him be,” Oseni said.

Glow Lee, who tweets as @GlowanneLee, said, “Christopher Wilson is a royalist journalist critical of Meghan from the beginning and has just compared Nigeria to Nazi Germany. This is the mentality of the hard-core royalist. If they can say these things on Twitter, what would they say off it?”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in the capital city of Abuja last Friday and were pictured at a range of engagements over the weekend.

The official purpose of the trip was to celebrate the Invictus Games, Harry’s tournament for wounded soldiers in Nigeria.