Headline

UN Report Places Nigeria 4th Globally In Attacks On School Children

Published

3 months ago

September 10, 2025

Nigeria has been ranked fourth among countries with the highest levels of “grave violations” against school children in armed conflict, according to a United Nations report.

The UN Secretary-General’s 2024 report on children and armed conflict, released in 2025, revealed that it verified 41,370 attacks — the highest number of grave violations against children in nearly three decades.

The violations, which include abduction, recruitment, and sexual violence, placed Nigeria behind Israel (and the occupied Palestinian territory), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Somalia.

According to the report, Israel recorded 8,554 cases of grave violations in 2024, followed by 4,043 in DRC, 2,568 in Somalia, 2,436 in Nigeria, and 2,269 in Haiti.

While non-state armed groups were linked to half of the attacks, the report noted that government forces were the main perpetrators of killings, maiming, attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as the denial of humanitarian access.

It further disclosed that attacks on schools surged globally by 44 per cent between 2022 and 2023, while the use of schools for military purposes rose by 20 per cent. Over 10,000 students and teachers were either killed, abducted, arrested, or injured during this period.

“These violations threaten not only individual lives but the future of entire communities,” the report said.

Virginia Gamba, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, warned that children caught in conflicts are being “robbed of their childhood” as governments and armed groups persist in violating international laws.

The report also revealed that more than 3,000 children were detained for alleged involvement with armed groups, an increase from the previous year. Gamba urged governments to treat these children primarily as victims and explore alternatives to detention.

It recommended the full implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration, calling on countries to strengthen resilient education systems.

The report’s release comes ahead of a high-level event in Geneva to mark the International Day to Protect Education from Attack.

Nigeria, which endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration in 2018, developed a policy on violence-free schools in 2021 and established the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre to oversee funding and coordination of security measures.

However, implementation has faced challenges, with the initiative’s enrollment rate reported at 11,000 by mid-2025.

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

14 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP

Headline

Nigeria Grants Asylum To Guinea-Bissau Opposition Candidate

Published

15 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the country’s opposition presidential candidate, following alleged threats to his life after last week’s military coup, The Cable Reports.

The coup was announced by military officers on Wednesday, just days after Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election in which both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, da Costa, claimed victory before official results were released.

Nigeria condemned the takeover and urged an immediate return to constitutional order.

In a letter to the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, dated November 30, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said President Bola Tinubu had approved asylum and protection for da Costa inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.

Tuggar wrote that the decision was made “in response to threats made against da Costa’s life.”

“In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy,” the letter stated.

The foreign affairs minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Cable on Monday.

He said, “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”

He added that Nigeria acted “in the broader interest of de-escalation,” saying the government had exercised its discretion “to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region.”

According to Abdulkadir, the intervention aligns with ECOWAS principles and reflects Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.

Following the coup, ECOWAS held an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored.

Headline

Trump To Attend FIFA World Cup Finals Draw On Friday

Published

15 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The White House on Monday confirmed US President Donald Trump would attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup finals in Washington later this week.

The United States will co-host the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.

“On Friday, President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Centre,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.

But the giant sporting extravaganza has not escaped the political turmoil caused by Trump’s hardline stance on a host of issues.

Trump, a Republican, has raised the possibility of moving games from some US host cities amid a crackdown on what he says is crime and illegal migration in some Democratic-run areas.

AFP