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Nigeria and UN Launch US$306 million Appeal Fund to Tackle Urgent Food and Nutrition Crisis in Northeast

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Nigeria and UN Launch US$306 million Appeal Fund to Tackle Urgent Food and Nutrition Crisis in Northeast

By: Michael Mike

An appeal for US$306 million has been launched to tackle projected food security and nutrition crisis in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states during the lean season of May to September.

The appeal was launched on Tuesday in Abuja by the Government of Nigeria, national and international partners, with the aim of fast-tracking food assistance, nutrition supplies and services, clean water, healthcare, and protection support to people in severe need during the period in the three states that were heavily impacted by the over a decade Boko Haram crisis.

According to the Government-led Cadre Harmonisé analysis released in March this year, some 4.8 million people are estimated to be facing severe food insecurity, the highest levels in seven years in the BAY states,

The report specified that children, pregnant and lactating women, older persons, and people living with disabilities are among those who are most vulnerable.

The appeal launched on Tuesday is expected to at least provide urgent succour to 2.8 million and make them insusceptible to the lean season food insecurity and nutrition crisis with a multi sectoral plan put in place.

A statement on Tuesday by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said this food and nutrition crisis, which has been compounded by soaring food prices, is primarily due to continued conflict and insecurity in the BAY states, alongside climate change impacts. It threatens to become catastrophic without immediate and coordinated intervention. The prices of staple foods like beans and maize have increased by 300 to 400 per cent over the past year following the removal of the fuel subsidy and the depreciation of the naira. Inflation is outpacing the ability of families to cope, making essential food items unaffordable.

It added that malnutrition rates are of great concern. Approximately 700,000 children under five are projected to be acutely malnourished over the next six months, including 230,000 who are expected to be severely acutely malnourished and at risk of death if they do not receive timely treatment and nutrition support.

Speaking at the launch of the plan, the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Zubaida Umar said: “The mobilization of funding and resources to address this lean season food security and nutrition crisis envisaged in the north-eastern part of the country is a step in the right direction in complementing the Federal Government’s efforts to prevent the deaths of people as a result of malnutrition-related complications, adoption of negative coping mechanisms and other health related issues among others.”

Announcing the release of $11 million from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund to jumpstart the emergency response, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohamed Malick Fall, said, “I am confident that we have the capacity to address these increased needs in support of Government efforts, what we need now are resources. Joining hands together, pooling resources, to save lives and stop the suffering”.

The Acting Representative of UNICEF Nigeria, Dr Rownak Khan, on his part, said: “UNICEF is deeply concerned about the escalating food security and nutrition crisis in the BAY states. The alarming rise in severe acute malnutrition among children underscores the urgent need for immediate action. This year alone, we have seen around 120,000 admissions for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition with complications, far exceeding our estimated target of 90,000. We must ensure that lifesaving nutrition commodities reach every child in need. This is not just a call to action; it is a race against time to save lives and protect the future of millions of vulnerable children,”

While highlighting that immediate actions need to be taken for longer term results, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative ad interim in Nigeria, Dominique Koffy Kouacou, said, “given the urgent situation, urgent interventions are required to support short-, medium- and long-term needs of vulnerable populations. The focus therefore needs to be on building resilience supported by emergency agriculture, including seeds, fertilizer, livestock and technical training, and developing agribusiness for better production and better nutrition”.

The World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director, David Stevenson, said: “We need to get out of conflict into solutions, and the solution is peace and production. Meanwhile, there remains a conflict in the north-east that requires our collective urgent assistance. We are prioritizing access to nutritious foods by providing cash-based transfers, specialized nutritious foods, and by supporting local food solutions.”

The statement by OCHA noted that with the lean season coinciding with the rainy season, there is a need for collective efforts to improve access to drinking water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene to combat the spread of infectious diseases, particularly among the more than 2 million internally displaced persons in camps and overcrowded settlements in the BAY states. This is crucial to help break the vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition that threatens the lives of young children and other vulnerable people.

It further said alongside efforts to protect lives, there is also a need to strengthen people’s resilience by supporting agricultural livelihoods which sustain over 80 per cent of the vulnerable people across the BAY states. Limited funding for agricultural livelihoods continues to perpetuate cyclical food insecurity.

It recalled that this is the fourth time that the UN and humanitarian partners are launching an operational plan for the BAY states pointing to the need to address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition. This includes but is not limited to advancing peace-building efforts, improving access to essential health care services, supporting food production systems, enhancing social protection services, and mitigating climate change shocks.

The lean season food security and nutrition crisis multisector plan is part of the 2024 UN-coordinated Humanitarian Response Plan for Nigeria.  

Every year, countries in the Sahel face a difficult “lean season” period between planting and harvesting. During this time, food supplies are low, pasture for livestock is scarce, and households rely on various coping strategies to meet their food needs.

Nigeria and UN Launch US$306 million Appeal Fund to Tackle Urgent Food and Nutrition Crisis in Northeast

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Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction

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Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction

By: Michael Mike

A former coordinator of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Earl Osaro Onaiwu, has called on the political class across party lines to support ongoing security efforts of the federal government.

Onaiwu in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday noted that insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation and was religious neutral, therefore, the need for politicians to eschew partisan slant on security matters.

He cautioned that failure by the political elite to support the fight against insecurity leading to several ungoverned spaces could disrupt elections, stressing that except there is a country, then elections are guaranteed.

The former NGF coordinator particularly commended the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his coordination and strategic efforts in streamlining security policies and engagements in tackling insecurity.

According to him, the recent delivery of military hardware by the United States Government to Nigeria is a demonstration that the NSA was working and his recent foray to the U.S. is yielding the desired results.

“The season requires patriots and this means that irrespective of party affiliations, every politician worth his name needs to support ongoing security efforts as coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

“Insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation, it is religious blind and those not respect societal status. Therefore, Nigerians, especially our political class, should lend their support, proffer solutions and galvanise the people to back the government’s security initiatives.

“Only on Tuesday, the federal government received critical military hardware from the United States Government. This is cheering and it shows that the NSA’s recent visit to the United States and the subsequent hosting of delegations in the country is bearing the desired results.

“Also, renewed military and police onslaughts against terrorists and bandits show that the federal government is taking the fight to those who are intent on denying us our peace and well-being.

“The least we can do as citizens is to support the government, provide real time intelligence from our communities and do not engage in fake news on social media against government’s efforts,” Onaiwu stated.

He further called on governors to match the energy of the federal government by supporting the NSA to address the various security challenges in their states as well as continued logistics and equipment to the military and police.

Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction

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Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case

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Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case

By: Michael Mike

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, is facing possible committal to prison following contempt proceedings initiated over an alleged failure to comply with a Federal High Court order relating to the abduction and disappearance of Mr. John Chukwuemeka Anozie.

The action was instituted by legal counsel to Mr. Anozie’s wife, Mr. Vincent Adodo, who accused the Nigeria Police Force under the leadership of the IGP of willfully disobeying a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 24, 2025.

In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/865/2025 between Mrs. Nnenna Anozie v. Inspector General of Police, Justice Binta Nyako ordered the IGP to produce for prosecution operatives of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) alleged to have abducted Mr. Anozie from his Lekki residence in Lagos on June 15, 2017.

The court also directed the police authorities to forward the investigation report and legal advice on the matter to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation for appropriate action.

The court further awarded ₦2 million in damages against the IGP for failing to respond to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Mrs. Anozie seeking details of investigations into her husband’s disappearance.

The SARS operatives listed in the judgment include officers attached to the former SARS unit in Akwuzu, Anambra State, who were accused of involvement in the alleged abduction.

According to court documents, despite being served with the judgment in October 2025, the IGP has neither complied with the orders of the court nor paid the damages awarded. This development prompted Mrs. Anozie’s legal team to initiate contempt proceedings by serving the IGP with Form 48 (Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Order) and Form 49 (Notice of Committal to Correctional Centre).

The applicant is now seeking an order of court committing the IGP to Kuje Correctional Centre until he complies fully with the judgment.

The motion for contempt has been scheduled for hearing on February 9, 2025, before the Federal High Court, Abuja.

As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force has not issued an official response to the contempt proceedings.

Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case

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VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem

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VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem

Urges African entrepreneurs to close ranks to fully harness continent’s huge potentials

By: Our Reporter

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has lauded the transformative impact of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on the global entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem that has raised over $1.5 billion dollars and created over 30,000 direct jobs in 20 years.

He, however, urged African entrepreneurs to close ranks in order to fully harness the continent’s huge potentials, leveraging MIT’s resource mobilization network and job creation opportunities.

The Vice President made the remarks on Wednesday when he received a delegation from Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025-2026 led by MIT’s Executive Director for the Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, Dina Sherif, on a courtesy visit at the presidential villa.

Senator Shettima called for unity of purpose among African professionals and entrepreneurs, saying “Africa is the new frontier and future belongs to the continent but its people must unite to transform potentials into tangible results that impact lives and livelihoods.

“Africa is blessed with enormous human and material resources but its people must fuse into one to benefit from the tremendous opportunities that abound across the continent,” he added.

He disclosed that Nigeria President Bola Tinubu is daring to leverage available opportunities to transform the entire economy, noting that “President Tinubu is not afraid of taking bold decisions that will reposition Nigeria’s economy and better the lives of the livelihoods of the people.”

Earlier in her remarks, the leader of the delegation, Sherif, said the delegation was at the Presidential Villa to brief the Vice President on the activities of MIT’s Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, assuring that the Centre is dedicated to “fueling the engine of entrepreneurship across the world”.

She noted that the team was in Nigeria in view of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship programme, which, according to her, has helped to entrench the spirit of entrepreneurship across the continent.

Sherif underscored the significance of collaboration among African startups, noting that Nigeria is a leading country, as evidenced in the progress recorded by startups across the continent.

She further assured of improved support for African-based startups from the centre through its various initiatives.

Also present at the meeting with the Vice President were the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, and some fellows of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025 – 2026 Session across Africa.

VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem

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