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2023: Knocks, Controversies Over Continuous Detention Of Nnamdi Kanu

Published

3 years ago

November 3, 2022

President Muhammadu Buhari has been slammed over the issues surrounding the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his continued detention by the Federal Government.

Despite the ruling by the Court Appeal for the IPOB leader to be released, the Buhari administration stood its ground. It later approached the same court and got a stay of execution.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja had held that the Federal Government breached all local and international laws in the forceful rendition of Kanu to Nigeria, thereby making the terrorism charges against him incompetent and unlawful.

But the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami had vowed that Kanu would not be released despite the court ruling, insisting that the Federal Government would pursue other charges against Kanu.

This is despite the likes of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, elder statesmen such as former Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, the late Mbazuruike Amaechi, Chief Edwin Clark among other prominent groups and individuals calling for adherent to the court ruling.

Also some rights groups such as the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) had knocked the Attorney General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, over the development.

The group said Malami’s activities were gravely pushing Nigeria into a regional and international abyss of mockery, which it said has far-reaching consequences on the country’s socio-economic development, regional and international human rights, rule of law and democracy ratings.

Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, told Buhari that the continued detention of Kanu, would be viewed as kidnapping and would spike other forms of violence in the South East.

HURIWA further accused Malami of acting the script of Miyetti Allah Cattle sellers, insisting that Buhari must stop playing what it described as the toxic Northern ethnic card and obey the court verdict that discharged the IPOB leader.

“Any further detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu would amount to active hostage taking and an outright criminal case of kidnapping which is actionable. We wonder why a lawyer of Malami’s illustrious status adorning the title of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria is now speaking like a one hundred-level law student of one road-side law faculty in a corner of Nigeria,” Onwubiko said.

He added that, “The Federal Government had rushed to the Appeal Court after the Federal Attorney General and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami had used media platforms to impugn and discredit the panellists who freed Kanu.”

Many other people still believe that Kanu’s release would restore peace in the South-East.

“In other democracies, when a court gives its ruling, the government or whoever it affects follows it up immediately. But that’s not the case in Nigeria. One thing the Buhari government is known for is its total disobedience to the rule of law. A court gave an order but instead of obeying the court ruling, they’re busy transferring the judges that gave the ruling and installed those that will do their bidding,” a security expert and senior lecturer in one of the Federal Universities told DAILY POST.

“People living and doing businesses in the South East are forced to sit at home every Monday and I don’t how this is helping Malami and the Buhari government.

“But just as it has been said, it appears this government does not want peace in the South East. It’s looking like they want the region to be destroyed. If that’s not the case, tell me why Nnamdi Kanu has been detained despite the court order.

“I know the APC and some people in the Buhari government want to use the situation to their own advantage. The plan is to keep the South East in crisis with the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu so that the people would be scared to come out to cast their votes or participate fuller in the election activities. They know that the South East is the stronghold of the Labour Party candidate, Mr. Peter Obi,” he added.

DAILY POST

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Meta Suspends Activists For Showing Election Killings

Published

1 day ago

December 5, 2025

Editor

Meta suspended the Instagram accounts of two Tanzanian activists on Thursday after they posted images of the violent crackdown by security forces on election protests, which authorities have tried to suppress.

Tanzania descended into violence on October 29, the day of elections deemed fraudulent by international observers.

More than 1,000 people were shot dead by security forces over several days of unrest, according to the opposition and rights groups, though the government has yet to give a final toll.

Mange Kimambi, who has more than 2.5 million Instagram followers, had been posting hundreds of photos of the dead and wounded since early November, sent to her by Tanzanians via WhatsApp, she told AFP last month from the United States.

Not all the images have been verified, but AFP fact checkers and other media and investigative sites have found many are real.

On Thursday, Kimambi, in a letter to US President Donald Trump published on X, complained that her Instagram accounts and WhatsApp number had been “deactivated after I raised awareness about a series of severe abuses and horrific events occurring in Tanzania”, including “kidnappings, killings and imprisonment of opposition leaders on fabricated treason charges”.

Another prominent Tanzanian activist, Maria Sarungi Tsehai, who lives in exile, also had her Instagram account suspended, though only within Tanzania.

“Check out @Meta @instagram and their role in enabling the cover up of #TanzaniaMassacre by restricting and deleting our Instagram and Whatsapp accounts,” Tsehai posted on X.

“This is a direct attack on human rights defenders! We work to save lives by whistleblowing about abductions, corruption and killings,” she added.

Contacted by AFP, a spokesperson for Meta justified the action against Kimambi in the name of its “policy against recidivism”, implying she had created new accounts after others were suspended.

The action against Tsehai was a response to “a legal order from Tanzanian regulators”, the spokesperson said.

“If we are unable to provide our services there, millions of people will be deprived of connecting with family and friends,” Meta added.

In early November, Tanzania’s attorney general, Hamza Johari, called for Kimambi to be arrested and threatened to try to have her extradited from the United States, where she lives.

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Why Europe Is Blocking More Nigerian Goods At Its Borders

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s exports continue to face repeated rejection in European Union markets, a challenge caused by consistent quality failures, weak regulatory enforcement, and heavy dependence on raw commodities.

New trade figures further show that while export values expressed in naira have risen sharply, dollar earnings have continued to decline, undermining Nigeria’s competitiveness abroad.

Meanwhile, South Africa remains one of the African countries with the highest rate of export acceptance in Nigeria and the EU, highlighting the gaps between both economies’ standards and certification systems.

According to data from International Trade Centre (ITC) , Nigeria’s export earnings fell for a second consecutive year in 2024, dropping by 8.5% to $57.9 billion.

The figure had already declined from $63.3 billion in 2022 to $60.65 billion in 2023. In naira terms, however, total exports rose from ₦26.8 trillion in 2022 to ₦36 trillion in 2023 and surged to ₦77.4 trillion in 2024.

These increases reflect the naira’s steep depreciation, not an improvement in the volume or acceptance of Nigerian goods overseas.

Intelpoint data show that the naira weakened from ₦645.2 to the dollar at the end of 2023 to ₦1,478.9 in 2024, marking the sharpest yearly decline in a decade.

EU border agencies have repeatedly rejected Nigerian agricultural and manufactured goods for failing to meet essential sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.

Frequent violations include excessive pesticide residue, poor traceability, contamination detected during inspection, and inconsistencies in certification documentation issued in Nigeria.

These failures stem largely from fragmented supply chains, weak monitoring capacity and a lack of internationally accredited laboratories.

South Africa, Morocco and Kenya maintain far stronger conformity systems, and South Africa in particular consistently delivers some of the highest acceptance rates across EU ports.

The ITC figures show that oil remains the backbone of Nigeria’s exports, contributing nearly 90 per cent of total earnings between 2022 and 2024. Over that period, the country earned $163.2 billion from crude oil out of total export revenues of $181.8 billion.

Despite this dominance, oil earnings have continued to fall, declining from $57.4 billion in 2022 to $55.6 billion in 2023 and then to $50.3 billion in 2024.

Because crude prices are determined externally and the product is exported with limited value addition, Nigeria gains little competitive advantage from currency depreciation.

Non-oil exports recorded mixed fortunes. Cocoa earnings rose from $679 million in 2022 to $759 million in 2023 and climbed sharply to $2.6 billion in 2024.

Fertiliser exports fell from $1.9 billion in 2022 to $935.4 million in 2024. Ores and residues, however, increased from $158.6 million in 2023 to $824.4 million in 2024.

Despite positive growth in some sectors, quality problems have continued to undermine acceptance in Europe, particularly for foods such as beans, palm oil and processed crops.

Nigeria recorded stronger performance in African markets in 2024 due to the relative strength of the West African CFA franc.

Companies such as Unilever Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria and Guinness Nigeria reported export sales of ₦22.8 billion in 2024, up from ₦9.92 billion in the preceding year. EU markets, however, maintain stricter inspection standards, and Nigeria’s structural weaknesses continue to limit penetration.

The country’s export structure remains heavily constrained by outdated processing technology, weak inspection capacity, irregular regulatory monitoring, and an overreliance on raw commodities.

Also, pipeline vandalism and crude theft also prevent Nigeria from meeting its production benchmark of 1.7 million barrels per day, despite a rise to 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024.

In December 2023, the Federal Government introduced the Trade Policy of Nigeria (2023–2027), aimed at aligning export regulations with World Trade Organisation rules and boosting global competitiveness.

The policy forms part of a wider reform agenda tied to the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025) and Agenda 2050.

Despite these initiatives, limited investment in quality assurance, industrial processing and standards enforcement continues to weaken Nigeria’s acceptance in high-value markets such as the EU.

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US Imposes Visa Restrictions On Nigerians Linked To Religious Freedom Violations

Published

3 days ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

The United States government on Wednesday announced visa restrictions targeting individuals involved in violations of religious freedom in Nigeria. The measures may also extend to immediate family members of the affected persons.

In a statement titled “Combating Egregious Anti-Christian Violence in Nigeria and Globally”, the Department of State said the restrictions were being implemented in response to mass killings and attacks on Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and elsewhere.

The statement explained that under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the State Department would now have the authority to deny visas to those who have “directed, authorised, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom,” with the policy potentially extending to their immediate family members.

It further cited former President Donald Trump’s remarks, noting that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries.” The policy will apply to Nigeria and other governments or individuals implicated in violations of religious freedom.

The announcement follows growing international concern over attacks on religious communities in Nigeria, including targeted killings, abductions, and destruction of property attributed to armed groups.