NHRC: Closure of Badeggi Radio, A Suppression of Press Freedom, Affront to Democracy

By: Michael Mike

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned in strong terms the closure of Badeggi Radio in Niger State by the State Governor Mohammed Bago, discribing it as not only a suppression of press freedom but an affront to democracy.

The Executive Secretary of the Commission Dr Tony Ojukwu, condemned the action while reacting to the ugly incident. He said the governor’s decision to shut down the radio station without following due process is disappointing and a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression, as guaranteed by Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Ojukwu noted that the consequences of suppressing press freedom are far-reaching and can lead to increased government opacity, reduced citizen participation, creat obstacles to accountability, and weakening of democratic institutions.

He said: “The arbitrary shutdown of media outlets undermines the checks and balances essential to a functioning democracy.”

He called on Governor Bago to immediately unseal the Radio Station and allow it to resume full operations, asking him to channel issues concerning any alleged unconstitutional operations of the Radio Station to the appropriate authority and not act with impunity.

He said: “This is both a moral imperative and a democratic requirement.”

Ojukwu who is also the president of the Network of National Human Rights Institutions in West Africa ( NNHRI-WA) urged the governments to protect journalists and media freedom, foster a culture of tolerance, and support independent media. “Journalists must be able to operate without fear of harassment, intimidation, or violence,” He emphasized.

He lamented that the media has severally come under attack in various forms, a situation he termed as unacceptable in a civilized society.

He called on the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to be firm in carrying out its Statutory mandate which must not be abused at any slight opportunity.

He used the opportunity to ask media practitioners to be professional at all times in order to prevent needless censorship by political office holders.

He also called on Nigerian Guild of Editors to provide professional guidance at regular intervals as this will curb the use of hate speech, fake news and other unprofessional conducts capable of adversely affecting the media houses.

He insisted that the Commission remains committed to promoting and protecting human rights in Nigeria and would continue to monitor the situation closely.

NHRC: Closure of Badeggi Radio, A Suppression of Press Freedom, Affront to Democracy

NDLEA, Education Ministry Agree on Drug Education in School Curriculum, Test for Varsity Students, Others

By: Michael Mike

Compulsory drug integrity test for students of tertiary institutions and the review of current secondary school curriculum to include drug education are part of agreements reached between the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Federal Ministry of Education when the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) led a delegation of his management team to a meeting with the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa in Abuja on Wednesday.

Marwa had during the meeting commended the minister for his proactive approach to his job while highlighting the devastating effect of substance abuse on the country’s youthful population. He noted that the fight against illicit drugs is a fight for the souls of the Nigerian youth.

“The purpose of this visit is to seek collaboration with this esteemed ministry in our collective efforts towards drug control in Nigeria. Our focus basically will be on schools and educational institutions. There are millions of our children that are under the supervision of this ministry, and it’s very critical. The drug scourge, as we all know, is very high in Nigeria.

“So, we’re actually fighting for the souls of our children. Now, we also know that the drug use is exacerbating criminal activities. That is, the Boko Haram, the terrorism, banditry, and so on.

“We know that without drugs, they wouldn’t be able to do what they are doing, because they wouldn’t do all these criminal activities in their right senses. So, in our own way, we are contributing to the fight against insecurity in the country. Now, through law enforcement action, we have continued to deal mortal blows to the drug cartels. We know that through the seizures, arrests, convictions, and assets forfeiture, we’re doing our best.

“Supported by President Bola Tinubu, within the last two years, we have made arrest of 40,887 criminal elements, gotten 8,682 convicted and seized 5,507 metric tons of illicit drugs. In fact, from January last year to the present, opioids, that’s tramadol mostly, that we have seized, are in excess of one billion pills, which is worth more than N1 trillion.”

Marwa while stating that the President is also supporting the agency to build seven rehabilitation centres in addition to the existing 30 centres in NDLEA commands nationwide, noted that President Tinubu has also approved the construction of one model rehab centre in each of the geo-political zone in the country.

He listed three key areas he will want the Ministry and NDLEA to collaborate to effectively check the menace of substance abuse among Nigerian youths.

According to him, “the first suggestion we have is for a review of the drug education curriculum in secondary schools. Even though we’re told of the existence of this in the past but because of the complexity of drugs, the dynamism of it, and the new psychoactive substances that have come to play, we feel that it is time to consider a review of this drug education curriculum.

“Another area we were thinking of suggesting is to introduce stand-alone drug abuse prevention programmes in schools, secondary schools. Not the curriculum this time, but programmes that stand on their own, lectures, competitions, and involving the parents, and so on. And then the third area we were thinking is to adopt a drug testing policy in tertiary institutions, because we want a policy to keep our campuses clean. Several vice chancellors have come on their own to seek both our guidance and participation in conducting drug test for their students. So, what we are suggesting now is drug tests for new students, for students returning from vacations, and random tests. This will make the children to avoid taking drugs, knowing fully well that if they do and they are found out, there will be consequences. And the consequences do not necessarily mean rustication.”

In his response, the Minister commended Marwa for his steadfastness and commitment to the service of Nigeria.

He said: “Thank you for your service to Lagos. And beyond that, General Buba Marwa, has committed his life to serve this country. Since I know him 30 years ago, he’s still serving the country. And you could see the passion in the way that he laid out the problems in the country and what he wanted us to do. And as he was talking, I made note and it was as if I had seen his prepared comments. Thank you so much for making this visit.”

He noted that the drug scourge is a huge problem that must be tackled headlong.
“When the youths get into drugs, they won’t go to school and even when they go to school, they are not getting functional education. And at the end of the day, what happens? Their level of critical thinking is lower. Their ability to make informed decisions in the later part of their life becomes significantly reduced. So, they become unemployable. And what happens?

“You now have that vicious cycle. They’re not functional. They’re not useful to themselves. All they do is resort to criminality. Once you use drugs, you’re likely to have a dysfunctional family. So, it’s a huge menace that we need to tackle, and tackle very quickly.”

On the areas of collaboration, the Minister said: “I would suggest we form a technical working group, inter-ministerial working group between our ministry and NDLEA.
As a result, I will also like to create a Substance Use Prevention Unit in the ministry.

“We’re reviewing the curriculum now for secondary school. And that’s why I’ve asked the director of Senior Secondary School to come, to be here and then we find a way to cascade it down to primary school. But we need to get both primary school and secondary school and add this to their curriculum. But the one for secondary school, we can definitely do that now. We’re just developing their new curriculum now.

“Also, on the stand-alone school programmes, I agree with you fully. We should also design ongoing programmes in our schools. That we can roll out, and cascade down. You also said something very important about the drug test policy in tertiary institutions. We will do it.
We have to do it. We do not have a choice. At least, we’ll start with tertiary institutions, for their fresh and returning students as well as random testing.”

The Minister also assured on getting two agencies under the Ministry, UBEC and TETFUND to partner with the NDLEA Academy in Jos as part of efforts to deepen drug education in basic, secondary and tertiary institutions across the country.

NDLEA, Education Ministry Agree on Drug Education in School Curriculum, Test for Varsity Students, Others

At UN Food Summit, Nigeria Maps 10-year Youth-led Agricultural Renewal Plan

** We’ve doled out $538m for SAPZs, created 785,000 jobs, says VP Shettima

By: Michael Mike

The Nigerian government has unveiled a 10-year Strategic Action Plan (2026–2035) to transform its agricultural sector, with Vice President Kashim Shettima declaring that the youth-led innovation will be central to the country’s food systems transition.

The plan is part of Nigeria’s national strategy to implement the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration (2026–2036), adopted by African Heads of State to strengthen food and nutrition security across the continent.

Speaking on Tuesday at a high-level dialogue between African youth agri-food entrepreneurs and African leaders during the United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Vice President Shettima emphasised the importance of investing in young people to drive innovation and resilience across food systems.

“A nation that is prepared for the future is not known by the promises it makes but by the place it gives to its youth in shaping those promises. To see African youths leading the charge in this essential sector speaks more eloquently than any speech,” VP Shettima stated.

He explained that Nigeria has already inaugurated an Agricultural Sector Working Group and a Technical Committee to coordinate national implementation of the Kampala Declaration and develop the 10-Year Strategic Action Plan.

According to him, the plan will align national and subnational priorities, promote public-private partnerships, and embed strong youth engagement at every level.

The Vice President also noted that the Federal Government has recapitalised the Bank of Agriculture with ₦1.5 trillion ($1 billion) to support the Youth Agricultural Revolution in Nigeria, providing loans of up to ₦1 million to young farmers and agri-groups across the country.

“This is not charity. It is strategic inclusion. It is resilience engineered into policy,” VP Shettima said.

The Vice President listed several ongoing initiatives, including Nigeria’s collaboration with the Netherlands, CGIAR, and IITA under the Youth in Agribusiness Initiative, which is targeting 10,000 youth, with 40–50% of them women, across innovative hubs in horticulture, poultry, aquaculture, and cassava processing.

He also cited investments in mechanisation, greenhouse expansion, and irrigation systems, along with the $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project with Brazil, which is enhancing year-round agricultural productivity and value chain efficiency.

“We launched the first 2,000 tractors in a 70-million-dollar investment, targeting over 550,000 hectares of land and reaching more than 550,000 farming households. In partnership with John Deere, we are deploying 10,000 tractors over five years,” he said.

Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s call for increased investment in value addition and agro-processing to end the export of raw commodities and build more resilient local economies.

The forthcoming 10-Year Action Plan, he added, will prioritise training and mentorship in agro-technology and agribusiness, with a strong monitoring and evaluation framework.

“This is not a sprint. It is a generational relay that requires collective action, strategic partnerships, and an unwavering commitment to shared responsibility,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vice President Shettima also addressed the Plenary Session on Transforming Food Systems in Complex Settings, where he disclosed that Nigeria has already committed $538.05 million to the first phase of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme, a flagship initiative aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, improving rural livelihoods, and accelerating agro-industrialisation.

“The SAPZ programme in Nigeria is being implemented in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and other key development partners. The initiative is projected to attract $1 billion in total investments by 2027, reduce post-harvest losses by 80%, and has already generated over 785,000 jobs across targeted regions,” he noted.

VP Shettima added that African youths hold the key to the continent’s agri-food future and thus, no stone should be left unturned in mobilising this greatest asset.

He reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to tackling food insecurity, noting that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared a State of Emergency on Food Security, reactivated over 500,000 hectares of arable land, deployed strategic food reserves, and expanded access to seeds and extension services.

VP Shettima also emphasised the importance of security sector reforms to ensure farmers can access their lands safely and continue food production in rural communities.

In addition, he called for international collaboration to recharge the Lake Chad Basin, expand sustainable irrigation systems, and establish a national farm database.

He also advocated for anticipatory action to climate shocks, emergency school feeding programmes in conflict-affected areas, and resilience-building initiatives to secure long-term stability.

“Food security is the trust anchor of peace,” the Vice President stated.

Also speaking, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, decried worsening global food insecurity, noting that “over 37 million children under five who faced acute malnutrition this year are almost the entire population of Canada.”

“Short-term interventions disconnected from long-term development planning are not the solutions we are seeking. We must choose transformation over dependency,” she said.

She commended leaders, including President Tinubu, who are embedding resilience in national strategies, combining global, digital and traditional knowledge to create inclusive and sustainable food systems.

“We need coordination as a people and not just bureaucracies. Bureaucracies are important; we need strong public institutions, but our efforts must translate into impact in people’s lives,” Mohammed added.

Other speakers at the summit included World Food Programme Executive Director, Cindy McCain; Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia, Salah Jama, and Moubarack Roubo from the Ministry of Agricultural Production and Industrialisation, Chad, among others.

At UN Food Summit, Nigeria Maps 10-year Youth-led Agricultural Renewal Plan