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House of Representatives Promises to Enhance Gender Equality

House of Representatives Promises to Enhance Gender Equality
By: Michael Mike
The House of Representatives has promised to work at reducing inequalities and enhancing the participation of all genders in socio-economic and political development of the country.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen reiterated this commitment at the roundtable on Tuesday in Abuja and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between United Nations, UN Women and Media Executives to escalate media intervention and provide a media platform to enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment in Nigeria.
Represented by the chairman, House committee on women in parliament, Hon. Fatima Talba (APC, Yobe), the Speaker noted that part of the Green Chamber’s efforts in that regard was the re-introduction of the ‘Gender Equal Opportunities’ Bill which failed in the 9th Assembly as well as other critical legislations required to dismantle barriers to women’s economic and political inclusion.
He said the House has equally signed MoUs with various women advocacy groups including the Office of the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (UN-CEDAW) to enhance legislations and other interventions on issues of women economic and political inclusion.
He also noted that the bill to create special seats in the National Assembly and State Assemblies also passed second reading on the floor of the House on July 10, 2024.
He said: “It is an honour to be with you today to celebrate the Significant milestone of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and Media Executives.
“This partnership aims at providing media platforms to amplify and escalate media interventions in advancing women’s political participation and inclusion as we look ahead to the 2027 general Elections.
“Politically, the current representation of women in Nigeria’s parliament is alarmingly low, standing at less than 5%. This situation is unacceptable and must change by the next electoral cycle.”
He added that: “The media has a crucial role to play in not only highlighting the barriers to women inclusion but also in advancing these efforts, and in holding us accountable and providing insights into where progress is being made and where more effort is needed.”
This was as different women groups at the event unanimously recommended that the National Assembly and the Executive arm of government should consider amendment of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 and not its repeal.
A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, and Enact the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Bill, 2024 seeking holistic reform of the law to be in line with the realities of societal change and drafting standards to effective dispensation of justice, is the currently before the National Assembly.
In the resolution, read by media consultant to the UN Women, Moji Makanjuola, the women said: “The Nigerian women at a meeting convened on Abuja Continental Hotel today, September the 17th, 2024 recommend to the National Assembly and the Executive to consider an Amendment to VAP Bill not a repeal.”
In her opening remarks, the UN Women country representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong lamented that globally, one in every 10 women lives in extreme poverty, adding that projections indicate that 342.4 million women and girls will not have moved out of extreme poverty by 2030 unless the current trends are shifted.
Eyong said, the percentages could be higher for countries like Nigeria where the gap between the few rich and a majority poor continues to widen, lamenting the representation of women in Nigeria’s parliament, where critical policies and laws are made that is just about 4% with only 17% of them serving as ministers in the federal executive council.
“These are challenges that we must all join hands together to surmount. This is where you, as media practitioners come in. But the question is, how much is being done by the media to advocate for more women representation and inclusion in appointive and elective positions in Nigeria?
“What can media do differently to improve the chances of more women joining politics and winning in the next elections? These are challenges we must all respond to as women and gender champions in the media sector.”
Eyong noted that: “UN Women invests in enhancing personal resilience and professional development of women to increase their contribution in leadership, economic growth, peace, security and in humanitarian nexus. UN Women believes that investing in women equals to investing in the architecture of the society.
“We do know that no nation can develop and prosper if women are excluded. Our support is guided by shared value, mutual respect and common vision of the Government and the people of Nigeria.”
House of Representatives Promises to Enhance Gender Equality
News
DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo

DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo
By: Zagazola Makama
A wave of coordinated security offensives in Imo State has barbecued the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the militant wing of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), with the killing of key kingpins and the dislodgement of notorious terrorist camps in forested parts of Njaba and Isu Local Government Areas.
Zagazola Makama understand that The offensive, which began on June 29, was spearheaded by the Department of State Services (DSS) in close collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, special forces, and local tactical units.
It was launched after the arrest and detailed confessions of two ESN commanders Uchenna Opara, popularly known as Ntanta Miri, and Ozioma Ihedoro, a.k.a OZ, both natives of Umuaka community in Njaba LGA.
Acting on actionable intelligence, the joint team raided and obliterated several terrorist enclaves, including Umuele Umuaka, Ezioha, and Ugbele Umuaka, known safe havens of the separatist group.
A fierce gun battle ensued as operatives stormed the camps. Three ESN fighters were neutralised during the confrontation, while others reportedly escaped with bullet wounds. Their bodies were later recovered along the Ugbele Umuaka axis.
What followed was a methodical clearance operation targeting the B44 camp cluster, long considered one of ESN’s strategic base networks. The camps, codenamed B44 Tangle 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9, were all successfully dislodged by the joint force.
A caterpillar operator working with the team was tragically killed in the line of duty when the group came under sudden fire while approaching the B44 main camp. He was rushed to the Federal University Teaching Hospital (FUTH), Owerri, but later confirmed dead by a medical officer on duty.
Items recovered from the operation included:
One AK-47 rifle, 15 rounds of live ammunition, pump-action shotgun, two locally made IEDs, one human skull and a Biafran flag
In addition, two suspected ESN members were arrested during the combing of nearby bush paths. The duo Emeka Ogene Sabinus of Ezi Isu in Isu LGA and Nnabuike Emmanuel of Ohofia Oduma in Aninri LGA, Enugu State were said to bear tribal incisions associated with the proscribed militia.
The collapse of the B44 cluster was significant in the counterinsurgency drive in the South-East, where pockets of armed resistance have posed growing threats to residents, security personnel, and national assets.
“The terrain is difficult, but our operatives are relentless,” a senior official close to the operation said. “We are targeting leadership figures, supply chains, and safe havens.”
Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to apprehend fleeing fighters, with mop-up operations continuing in adjoining forest belts across Orlu, Njaba, and Isu corridors.
The Imo offensive adds to a growing list of successes by joint intelligence-led operations aimed at stabilising regions grappling with armed separatist violence, kidnappings, and the weaponisation of local grievances.
DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo
News
FCT police arrest three wanted kidnappers linked to killings, mass abductions

FCT police arrest three wanted kidnappers linked to killings, mass abductions
By: Zagazola Makama
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested three most-wanted bandits and kidnappers operating across Abuja and neighbouring parts of Kaduna State.
According to a police sources, the arrests were carried out on June 29 between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., by operatives of the Scorpion Squad led by ACP Victor O. Godfrey, following actionable and digital reconstructive intelligence.
The sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects were identified as: Abdulkadir Abubakar, a native of Mpape, FCT, Mohammed Tasiu Sani, of Rigina, Kaduna State, Suleiman Jibrin, 27, of Sabon-Gayan, Kaduna State.
The three suspects, all Fulani by tribe, have been on the command’s most-wanted list for
their roles in multiple kidnapping and banditry operations, particularly in Jere, Kajuru, the FCT and its environs.
During interrogation, the suspects confessed to abducting victims and moving them to detention camps in Kachia and Rigina forests in Kaduna State. Some victims, they admitted, were held for months, while others were killed at will.
The sources revealed that one of the suspects, Abdulkadir Abubakar, provided disturbing details of internal executions within the gang, in which some members were killed by their own leaders over mistrust and betrayal.
An operational motorcycle, popularly referred to by locals as the “Boko Haram Motorcycle,” was recovered during the raid. The suspects are currently assisting operatives in ongoing efforts to recover arms and ammunition, and to track down other gang members still at large.
FCT police arrest three wanted kidnappers linked to killings, mass abductions
News
Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun

Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun
By: Zagazola Makama
A 20-year-old farm labourer identified as Solomon (surname yet unknown) has been found dead with gunshot wounds after he was allegedly shot by a member of the Western Nigeria Security Network, also known as Amotekun, along the Ilesa/Iperindo Road in Osun State.
The incident, which occurred on June 29, followed the reported confrontation between a local security operative and a group of five farm labourers on their way to a farmland.
According to Temidayo Olowookere, the employer of the deceased, the labourers were accosted around 11:00 a.m. by an Amotekun operative, one Ajayi Ibukun, who accused them of extorting money from passersby. Two members of the group were apprehended, while the remaining three fled into the bush.
Olowookere said the detained workers were later released to him in the afternoon. However, later in the evening, when two of the three fleeing labourers returned, Solomon remained missing.
A search party was immediately organised. His body was discovered in the bush with gunshot wounds on his back, raising suspicions that he may have been shot during the initial confrontation.
His remains were evacuated to Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, where he was confirmed dead and deposited at the morgue for autopsy.
Police say efforts are currently underway to trace and apprehend the security operative allegedly involved in the shooting, while the community continues to call for justice.
Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun
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