News
Curtailing violence against women in society
It is a shame that in 21st century, Nigeria, a democratic and secular state, that prides itself “on paper” to promote human rights, freedom of speech and expression, and human sanctity, some powerful forces or some men connected to power still use their influence to threaten, ruin and destroy the lives of other folks that do not agree with them, share their political or religious views, or any folk that seemingly to them have crossed their path.
Powerful individuals, extremist religious groups, and conservative religious leaders continue to threaten and intimidate women who promote women’s right. These women have chosen to participate in public life as journalists, activists (especially those advocating for what most conservative Nigerians classify as“taboo” in Nigeria—things like LGBTQ rights, transparency in governance and anti-child marriage advocates), potential candidates, aid workers, teachers, donors, and even women that just want to be able to make decisions for themselves. Women whose behavior challenged social expectations and traditional roles also faced harassment.
In other cases, factional leaders of some religious groups or some extremist religious groups have attacked the offices of some women’s development projects, such as those providing health, literacy and rights awareness programs (especially Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) rights). Such symbolic tracks sent a clear message that women and girls seeking to claim the most basic rights could face retaliation.
Continuous violent attacks and threats against women in the public sphere have also created an environment of fear and caution. Most women’s rights activists and journalists carefully word their statements or avoid publishing on some topics because they are afraid of violent consequences.
These attacks and threats to life are not just isolated to extremist religious groups and conservative religious leaders, but also some powerful men that have had issues with women especially relationship issues have chosen to make the lives of these unfortunate women miserable, and in extreme cases kill them. And since most of these men are so powerful and influential, the cases are not investigated by law enforcement agencies. Proper actions are not taken to protect these women, and the cases are often than not swept under the carpet.
These women live in fear. They are traumatized and some are constantly on the run. Threatening phone calls, letters, emotional and psychological blackmail are being followed at night by unknown men. These forces are attempting to scare women into silence and in some cases get back at them violently.
A typical example of this alarming situation in the country is a story of a young woman currently in hiding because of constant harassment, being stalked and several threats to life. This is but one of several incidences captured.
Let’s call the woman Miss Grace, to protect her identity. Miss Grace was in a relationship with a certain man, let’s call him Mr X. Mr X happens to be a powerful businessman and politician in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, the city Miss Grace and Mr X both lived. The relationship grew to them being engaged to each other, but sometime in 2009, Miss Grace broke the engagement, voting personal reasons. This broken engagement did not go down well with Mr X and he vowed to destroy Miss Grace and exterminate her.
From the moment on, Miss Grace has been harassed, attacked and threatened on several occasions.
On a particular occasion, as relayed by Miss Grace, someone called her on her mobile phone saying: “You think you can embarrass someone after so much investment, and walk free? We will kill you. We know you are staying at (name witheld). We will kill you; we will kill you as an example to other women.”
According to Miss Grace, she knew they were watching her because as he answered the phone, they said “you are opening your door, you are wearing these clothes and you just turned your head.” It was so scary. She was very scared. She stopped going around as much as she used to.
Several other threats came from different strange phone numbers, as calls and text messages. The threats were reported to the police, but Miss Grace had no respite as little could be done by the police to stop the threats or make her feel safe.
Because of constant threats to Miss Grace, Miss Grace’s brother confronted Mr X on his alleged harassment of his sister. A week later, Miss Grace’s brother was found dead in his apartment. Miss Grace’s family suspected foul play, but as there were no evidence pointing to the threat from Mr X, the family had to move on.
For the safety of her life, Miss Grace secretly relocated from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State to Abuja, FCT. She changed her mobile numbers and laid low as much she could. She was able to live in Abuja safe from 2009 to 2012.
By January 2011, Miss Grace started receiving threat messages and phone calls again. From the calls and messages, it was obvious that whoever was sending the messages knew where she was living and was still bent on hurting her. She reported the threats to the police in Abuja but the culprit was not still caught. On one occasion, Miss Grace related that she got a text message describing her car, where it was parked and that a bomb had been planted on the car. Miss Grace was so scared. It took some hours for the nearby security operatives to check the car and assured her that there was no bomb fixed on the car.
One day in March 2011, Miss Grace came back from work only to see her house door wide open. Her house was turned upside down and on further probing, some of her valuables and important credentials were already carted away. Also, there was a bold marking on her wall with the inscription “your life next.” She immediately ran to the local police station at Mpape, Abuja to make a formal police report. The Police advised her that she should move from that part of the town if possible. She moved to Karu, Abuja. She was able to stay undetected in Karu until early 2012, where the threat messages started coming again.
Mid-2012, Miss Grace relocated to some other city. This time she decided to move to Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. This move seemed to have worked, as Miss Grace lived in Ibadan from 2012 to early 2020 without any incident. However in mid-2020, the threats started coming again.
On November 27th, 2020, Miss Grace was accosted by hoodlums possessing knives as she slowed down to turn into her street on her way back from work. Luckily, they were lots of pedestrians around the street, and fortunately, the hoodlums were chased away. Miss Grace has reported being followed severally at night as she navigates home from work and even had a scary experience where a car tried to ramp her into a ditch on Dugbe-Apata road in Ibadan.
She recently had her picture posted by an alleged pseudo facebook account by name ‘Mary Udeji’ with the caption #RIP (Rest in Peace). She is currently in hiding and is seeking protective custody from the Nigerian Police, and has also petitioned the DSS (Directorate of State Service) as she longer feels safe.
This is just one of several stories happening in our country. We need Government and all the relevant authorities to stand up and tackle these anomalies, strengthen our law enforcement so that they can work better in protecting the lives of all Nigerians as this is one of the major responsibility of the government, and most especially, protect the weak and vulnerable in our society.
Obasa said this in an interview with the newsmen on the sidelines of the launch of the Ibile Muslim Community Zakat and Sadaqah Foundation in Lagos.
He said that there was need for such legislation.
The foundation was launched at a public presentation sponsored by Lotus Bank in Lagos.
It aims to empower less privileged Muslims and alleviate poverty by promoting Zakat, Sadaqah, and Waqf.
Obasa explained that the proposed law would empower the state government and foundations like the Ibile Muslim Community Zakat and Sadaqah Foundation to regulate aid soliciting.
According to him, the law will also ensure donations reach the needy without them having to beg on the streets.
He noted that the rising number of beggars in Lagos necessitated this regulation.
“We are looking at how we can manage such situations to stop beggars from parading the streets of Lagos begging for alms.
“Following such legislation, anyone caught begging on the streets or aiding such, particularly among children, would also be sanctioned according to the law,” Obasa said.
Speaking on the foundation’s launch, Obasa highlighted the benefits of Zakat, which helps both payers and beneficiaries by eradicating poverty.
“It is important for anyone blessed by God to reach out to the less privileged.
“This should start from the immediate family and extend to every other member of society.
“The essence is to make everyone equal, or at least to move people from poverty and make them feel comfortable,” he added.
Sheikh Sulayman Nolla, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Ibile Muslim Community Zakat and Sadaqah Foundation, emphasised the foundation’s goal of unifying all Muslims in Lagos.
Nolla, also the Grand Chief Imam of Lagos, noted that the foundation serves all, regardless of religious background, and aims to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor by pooling resources.
Mrs Kafilat Araoye, Managing Director of Lotus Bank, stated that the bank is supporting the foundation financially, technically, and administratively, ensuring adherence to Sharia and Islamic finance principles.
Araoye stressed the need for permanent solutions to poverty rather than temporary palliatives, given the country’s current economic realities.
Zakat is the third pillar of Islam, requiring eligible Muslims to donate a portion of their wealth annually to aid the poor.
It is typically 2.5 per cent of a Muslim’s total savings and wealth above a minimum amount, or “nisab,” each lunar year.
Sadaqah is a voluntary charitable act, while Waqf is an Islamic endowment of property for charitable or religious purposes.
The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) on Sunday advised Nigerians not to engage in panic buying of fuel for stockpiling purposes.
Its Executive Secretary, Mr Clement Isong, gave this advice in an interview with the newsmen due to the ongoing queues at filling stations across Lagos.
Isong explained that the shortfall of product in most stations was due to adverse weather and hunderstorms that delayed ship-to-ship (STS) trans-loading, among others.
Others, he said, included berthing at jetties, truck load-outs and transportation of products to filling stations, creating a disruption in station supply logistics.
He noted that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had also warned that the loading of petrol should be avoided during rainstorms and lightening.
Isong emphasised that petroleum products were flammable and required transportation, dispensation, consumption and storage in strictly controlled and regulated manners.
“Any deviation from these regulations poses significant danger and risks, including fatalities.
“We wish to reiterate that there is no cause for alarm. We strongly urge Nigerians to avoid panic buying or stockpiling of petrol.
“This behaviour not only creates artificial scarcity but also poses a significant safety hazard,” Isong said.
He added that the delay in loading petroleum products at depots due to storms contributed to the shortfall of stocks in filling stations.
“Many trucks could not load product for over 48 hours during the storm.
“Now that the weather is clear, marketers have begun loading, and all trucks have commenced distribution of fuel to all stations across the country.
“We want to assure Nigerians that there is no scarcity, and they should not stock petrol at home,” he said.
He recalled that Malam Mele Kyari, the Group CEO, NNPC Ltd., had said that the Customs had inaugurated a team named, “Operation Whirlwind” to combat the smuggling of petroleum products to neighbouring countries.
He quoted Kyari as saying that the the team would protect the nation’s economy from the adverse effects of smuggling petroleum products.
Isong also mentioned that illegal smuggling of the product to neighbouring countries had increased the country’s consumption to between 58 to 60 million litres per day.
To address this, he noted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL), had tightened up the supply chain to avoid illegal smuggling.
According to Isong, NNPCL is buying and importing petrol at international prices and selling at a considerably domestic price. newsmen who monitored the situation in Lagos, reported that queues for petrol have resurfaced in parts of the city, with fuel stations packed with vehicles waiting to fill their tanks.
The long queues extended to road networks, causing gridlock in some areas.
Some consumers were also seen queuing at closed filling stations in hopes of accessing the product.
Long queues were observed at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) stations on Ikorodu Road, Fadeyi, Bariga, and the Ogba axis of Lagos.
Similar situations were seen at NIPCO stations in Fadeyi, Surulere, and Ago Palace Way.
In Epe, queues for petrol were prevalent at T-Tap, TotalEnergies, Enyo and Petrocam.
In Ikorodu Town, vehicles were lined up at Mobil, TotalEnergies, NIPCO, and Malo stations at Odogunyan First Gate.
The Enforcement and Monitoring taskforce against illegal courier services and operators in Nigeria, on Thursday, July 4, 2024, stormed Maryland in Ikeja and law school areas of Lagos state, apprehending 32 culprits with their motorbikes confiscated.
Comprising staff members of the Courier and Logistics Regulatory Department (CLRD) of NIPOST, officers from the Force Criminal Investigation Department, armed Policemen from the Lagos Force Headquarters, and journalists. The team had their work cut out for them after some of the culprits attempted to resist arrest.
The enforcement which is for the 2nd quarter of the year is in line with the NIPOST Act aimed at sanitizing the nation’s courier industry and flushing out criminal elements that hide under the business to perpetrate criminal activities. By the provisions of Section 43 of the Nigeria Postal Service Act, Cap N127, laws of the Federation,2004, and the Courier and Logistics Operations Regulation 2024, it is mandatory for any postal, courier, express, delivery dispatch and logistics operators to obtain an operating license from NiPOST to avoid Clampdown and prosecution for illegal and unethical operations.
After a successful operation in Lagos, the team is planning to take the clampdown exercise to other parts of the country.
According to the General Manager of CLRD, Mr. Gideon Oladotun Shonde, their clampdown for the first quarter of the year was successfully carried out in Lagos and 11 other States including Abia, Rivers, Edo, Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Lagos, Katsina, Ondo, Kwara, and Delta.
In a statement, Shonde said that, “The postal, express, Courier and logistics industry in Nigeria has been proliferated and infiltrated with so many unlicensed and illegal courier and logistic operators with reckless abandonment for ethical standard and professional conduct.
“There exist unethical sharp practices such as price undercutting, pilfering, broaching, damages, loss and dumping of customers’ items, poaching and subletting of operating licenses with a mountain of public complaints about customers being duped or obtaining money from them under pretense, no traceable office address nor registered brand name. As well as overloading and carriage of items above the stipulated 50 kg.”
Shonde warned everyone aiming to go into the business of courier and logistics to make sure they get the required professional and certification training being offered by NIPOST at a very subsidized rate and also get their businesses fully licensed.
“Every interested private investor in the Courier and Logistics business should follow the due process by obtaining a grant of operating licenses from the federal government, NIPOST”, he said.
“It is a crime against the state to operate on a space that is regulated without proper registration and license”, Shonde added.
Shedding more light on the professional and certification training, he said “The training program is aimed at rescuing the professionally certified dispatch riders and delivery drivers from unwanted harassment or oppression on Lagos or any other road nationwide.
The General Manager pointed out that they have been so lenient with the dispatch riders and delivery drivers by offering them a flexible payment plan to obtain licenses, such that those who cannot pay at a stretch can little by little, till they complete the payment.
‘NIPOST has also been creating awareness through Radio jingles and other media channels on the need for courier operators to get their outfits duly licensed, with up-to-date documentation’. he added.
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