NAPTIP Commences Rehabilitation of Victims of Human Trafficking

By: Michael
Mike

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has commenced comprehensive rehabilitation procedure and interview session with the rescued victims of human trafficking, Miss Odunayo Isaac, who arrived Nigeria from Iraq few days ago.

The session commenced on the order of the
Director General of the agency Binta Bello, who directed Officers of the Counselling and Rehabilitation Department of the Agency as well as Operatives of the Intelligence and International Cooperation Unit (IICU) to immediately undertake the procedures while receiving the victim.

It would be recalled that NAPTIP, in collaboration with other partners, including members of the Civil Society Organisation and foreign agencies, had facilitated Miss Eniola Isaac’s return from Baghdad following a viral video and media reports that escalated her ordeal in the hands of the Iraqi taskmaster.

The victim arrived in Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and was received by NAPTIP Operatives after the initial arrival procedures by the Officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on duty at the airport.

Speaking while receiving the victim at the agency headquarters, Abuja, the Director General expressed sadness over the traumatic experience and the hardship faced by the victim and ordered the immediate commencement of a comprehensive rehabilitation programme, counseling as well as an interview to ascertain the medical status, nature of assistance needed, and immediate psychosocial need of the victim.

The Director General said: “I just finished interaction with the victim. I must say that she had a close shave with death and we are all happy that she is alive to tell her painful story.

“On 22nd January 2023, she left Nigeria and arrived in Baghdad, Iraq the next day; 23rd January 2023 and was received at the Airport by officials of WB Warani Manpower (Company she was registered to work for). She was taken to the hospital on the 24th January 2023 to certify her medically fit for the job she would be assigned to do.

“Her Iraqi agent; Alhaja Shakirat Yusuf whom she knows as only ‘Mama Uganda’ came to WB Warani Manpower to sign her in officially on the 25th January 2023 and was assigned to work for an Iraqi family of eight (six children and two parents) on 29th of January 2023. Her work hours span about twenty hours plus a day, with little or no resting time.

“According to Miss Odunayo, after one month of work, she requested her salary and her madam said that, because of the high commission in paying money into Nigeria accounts, she would be paid every two months and she agreed, but after four months, and she still was not paid. Her ordeal then began when she dared to request payment.

“Her phone was confiscated to prevent communication with members of her family. Each time she asked for her remuneration or spoke about it, she suffered a beating resulting in bleeding and bodily injuries. That, at one point, her madam bound her hands and feet and threw her into the dogs’ cage until 3 am before she was released to continue with her work.

“Because of her level of exploitation and trauma, I have directed the relevant department and operatives of the agency to commence immediate profiling, interview, and the comprehensive process of rehabilitation for her. This is to enable the agency to assess her medical status, the nature of assistance and skills needed, and to design a part of ensuring her reunion with her family.”

The DG assured that: “Also, NAPTIP shall also do the needful to ensure justice for her.

“I wish to use this opportunity to thank all our partners, the Federal Ministry of Foreign, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Embassies and Nigeria Mission abroad, other partnering Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDAs), Hope Haven Foundation, the Media and other stakeholders, for a successful collaboration and support which resulted in the eventual arrival of Miss Eniola Isaac.”

She however added that: “It is also important to advise our youths and parents to always be careful and think twice before jumping at any juicy offer of jobs abroad. Over the past few months, we have intercepted scores of youths, mostly girls, at various points of exit across Nigeria, and their destinations have been some of the volatile countries in the Middle East.

“Certainly, a dangerous journey of this nature could have been avoided with simple caution and a check from NAPTIP.”

In her testimony, Miss Eniola Isaac, said, “I thank God that I am alive. I will not wish that my enemy passes through what I experienced. I never thought I could survive the painful ordeal”, she recalled with a bitter countenance.

NAPTIP Commences Rehabilitation of Victims of Human Trafficking

Borno Govt spent over N9.6 billion for local, international Scholarships in 2024

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Government under the leadership of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum has spent about N9.7 billion in scholarships to indigenous students undergoing various studies at tertiary institutions within and outside the country in 2024.

Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Engr. Lawan Abba Wakilbe, disclosed this while briefing newsmen after the first 2025 Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Zulum at the Government House, Maiduguri, the state capital.

According to Engr. Wakilbe, a total of 30,616 undergraduate students across Nigeria’s Universities, Colleges, Polytechnics and other institutions, studying Law, Science, Medicine, Nursing, and Engineering received N4,289,243,200 billion in scholarships.

Additionally, 335 local postgraduate students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses were awarded a total of N382 million.

In support of international education, N2,325,467,300 billion was disbursed to 132 undergraduate students studying Medicine and Engineering at universities in China and Egypt. Furthermore, 287 postgraduate students enrolled in STEM courses in India and Malaysia received N2,691,467,300 billion.

A total of 31,369 students benefited from the scholarship programme in 2024, with Governor Zulum already approving sponsorship for over 30 new students who will pursue Aviation courses in 2025. Additional scholarship and sponsorship programmes will also be launched for the upcoming year.

Highlighting some of the institutions hosting the beneficiaries, Engr. Wakilbe reported that 997 students are currently enrolled at the College of Nursing, Maiduguri, with 94 others at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). In addition, 32 medical students are attending Al-Ansar University in Maiduguri, while 392 students are studying at the Federal Polytechnic Monguno.

With regards to foreign scholarship, “about 150 students are studying in India, with 19 pursuing Medicine, 29 in Malaysia, 65 at Sharda University, and 85 at Integral University in India. In China, 10 students are enrolled in the MBBS programme at Jinzhou Medical University, 30 at Anhui Medical University, and 50 students are studying Engineering at Naijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Liaoning University of Technology, and Hefei University of Technology”, Hon. Wakilbe stressed.

The commissioner emphasized that these scholarships and their accompanying bonds will help meet the workforce needs in the state, particularly as it recovers from the challenges posed by insurgency.

The initiative aligns with the 10-year transformation agenda and the 25-year development plan set forth by Governor Zulum, ensuring a brighter future for Borno State and its citizens.

The commissioner said, apart from this gesture, Mega schools, and blocks of classrooms were constructed and equipped, with recruitment of qualified teachers across many local government areas in the three senatorial districts, as well as reduction in the number of out-of-school children off the streets.

He commended Governor Zulum and all stakeholders, including the Executive Secretary of Borno State Scholarship Board, Mallam Bala Isa, for creating an enabling opportunity for students and parents to have a sigh of relief while pursuing their education.

Borno Govt spent over N9.6 billion for local, international Scholarships in 2024

FOREIGN POLICY AND THE PATH TO PEACE IN A DANGEROUS NEIGHBOURHOOD

By: Michael
Mike

Nigeria’s foreign policy to promote peace and prosperity is a constitutional obligation as much as it is a considered and sensible manifesto pledge, writes Hon Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I was born in a civil war and was not able to vote for my leader until I was in my 30s. Nigeria is now a country guided by the rule of law and a constitution that clearly defines our system of government. This includes our foreign policy objectives, and rightly so, because in an interconnected world, we define our sovereignty in the context of certain, key principles: our right to self-determination; our right to defend our autonomy and secure our borders; and responsibility to respect our obligations under international law.

As foreign minister, I think these provisions are not just reasonable but vital – both for our own democracy, domestic peace and prosperity but also for a more just and stable international order. But the point is this: it is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, not the manifesto of a political party or predilections of a particular politician, that lays out these provisions. In a democracy, we have the privilege of healthy debate about our values, policies and performance. But if we are to live up to the responsibilities that come with democracy, that debate should be informed, fair and reasonable.

I respect the Constitution and its vision for Nigeria’s place in the international community, as do many of us. It has been an honour and a privilege to protect and promote those constitutional principles. They are the best guarantees for legitimacy, and the authority all governments need if they are to deliver. It is complex and time consuming. To our cost, we have learnt that there are no short cuts. Some Nigerians find fault in our Constitution, while others seek to amend it. There is always room for serious debate in a healthy democracy. But the fact remains it is the very document that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and every public official has sworn to uphold since 1999.

Nigeria’s Constitution declares that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria, from whom government, through this Constitution, derives all its powers and authority. The same Chapter of the Constitution goes on to state Nigeria’s five foreign policy objectives: promotion and protection of the national interest, African integration and support for African unity, promotion of international cooperation for peace and mutual respect, respect of international law and treaty obligations and promotion of a just world economic order. Those who suggest Nigeria does not have a foreign policy or those who agitate for a shift away from an Afro-centric foreign policy are wrong; either they are ill-informed, or deliberately disingenuous.

The irony of it all is that Nigerians are able to speak in support of our military-ruled neighbours, governed without constitutions, precisely because Chapter Four of our own constitution guarantees them these rights and freedoms. This is not the same for the citizens ruled by the very regimes for which they seek to cheerlead of those countries governed without constitutions. Nigerians who are older than 30 know this to be true because we have been there, done that. Somehow in the passage of time, some forget that the military regime here that despatched troops to restore democracy in Sierra Leone and Liberia in the 1990s had first – and by force – taken that same democracy and rule of law away from us – just as military regimes continue to do the world over.

The Constitution also makes clear why any responsible Nigerian government should be concerned when neighbours are governed without a constitution or codified rules. It goes without saying that the sovereignty of our neighbours is their business. They can grant powers to whatever governing structures they deem fit and should expect their autonomy to remain safeguarded. But when our Interdependence Sovereignty overlaps, we equally have a right to exercise control over our borders in those cases where neighbours face insurgencies that significantly comprise territorial integrity and state authority.

International Legal Sovereignty also becomes an issue when we consider that respect for international law and treaty obligations is one of our irreducible foreign policy objectives. This is not the Tinubu administration’s foreign policy; it is a constitutional provision that every Nigerian President and government official swears to uphold. Nigeria is a member of ECOWAS, which is founded on treaties and protocols to which our foreign policy objectives commit us. All 15 member countries are signatory to the treaties and protocols, which is why it was no surprise that President Tinubu, as one who swore to uphold the Constitution, abided by it when ECOWAS leaders collectively objected to Unconstitutional Changes of Government.

In reality, the contemporary nation-state system is highly competitive and Nigeria exists in a self-help world. Our Constitution and international laws are meant to serve as guard rails in navigating the system. And by virtue of our size, we have the additional responsibility of being the regional power. Regardless of how some may try to diminish our standing, it is the way other countries perceive us. Our Constitution further reifies this leadership role right from the preamble- dedicating ourselves to promoting inter-African solidarity, to the foreign policy objectives- promotion of African integration and support for African unity and elimination of discrimination in all its manifestations.

The Tinubu administration comes at a time when an interlocking suite of occurrences have made our neighbourhood less secure; implosion of Libya, failure of the EU Sahel Strategy, terrorism and criminal gangs, effects of climate change and population explosion. Nigeria did not create these challenges and was equally contending with its own domestic issue as these challenges escalated. Nigeria was not part of Operation Barkhane or the G5 in the Sahel, which were intended as efforts to fight terrorism and irregular migration but instead strengthened some irridentist Azawad/Tuareg groups that controlled border areas. This created a cauldron of disharmony between them and their national militaries, trained for a lifetime to keep their countries intact.

Nor was Nigeria part of the Partnership Framework with Third countries that conditioned aid and trade deals for Sahelian migration transit states in exchange for reducing the flow of migrants, with penalties for those who do not comply. In the case of Niger, a moment of truth was the passing of Law 2015-36 in May 2015 when its government, in consultation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and technical and financial support from the European Union and its member states, criminalized ancillary activities of the migration economy, such as providing transportation and accommodation to foreign nationals anywhere north of Agadez, in direct contravention of ECOWAS Protocol on the free movement of people. They were persuaded to use a blunt hammer to crack a delicate nut. There is a highly politicised migration crisis in parts of Europe, that together we can and should resolve. But it was reckless to seek to solve one problem by creating another.

There is a reason why we have free movement in West Africa; seasonal migration- referred to in Hausa as ‘Ci Rani’. Seasonal migration in the semi-arid Sahel can be a matter of life and death, which is why we have always had turbaned Tuaregs going as far as Lagos and Port Harcourt to work as Maigadis (security) during the dry months, only to return back north during the rainy season. The weaponisation of sub-Saharan migration in Europe as a political tool led to the securitisation of the Sahel region, further exacerbating the security situation by forcing many of those affected to turn to criminal activities and terrorism. European migration figures show majority of migrants are from Syria, Afghanistan and Central Asia, not sub-Saharan Africa.

Yes, we need to work with our Sahelian neighbours to fight terrorism, by maintaining a right of pursuit into each others territories. But it would be myopic to think of this in absolutist terms, because we can accede to all conditionalities laid by them, it would still not be enough to tackle the challenges without a lasting solution to the bifurcated Libyan State as a source of weapons, training and fighters, as well as the shadowy involvement of a range of other state and non-state actors.

To achieve a lasting peace in Libya and the Sahel, Nigeria needs to deal with all the countries in the neighbourhood as well as all the major powers. For this reason, it does not make sense to simply deduce that Nigeria has to distance itself from France because that is the prevailing trend in its former colonies. The fulcrum of the Tinubu administration’s foreign policy is Strategic Autonomy, providing us with the clarity to engage with any and all nations based on our national interests and not those of others. As a nation, Nigeria is adult enough and sophisticated enough to deal with countries without being unduly influenced, because that has been part of our historical and civic tradition. You cannot cure an illness by picking which symptoms to consider and which to ignore.

Nigeria and ECOWAS will continue diplomatic efforts towards Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. At a minimum, we have shared interest in peaceful co-existence. President Tinubu has sent a number of high-level delegations that included a former Head of State, traditional rulers and religious scholars. President Tinubu pushed for the unconditional removal of ECOWAS sanctions imposed on Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. What he has consistently asked of the countries in question is for them to come up with a timetable for the restoration of constitutional rule and, in the case of Niger, the release of ousted President Bazoum.

Their response was to declare their intention to leave ECOWAS. With the one-year notice period coming to an end in January 2025, President Tinubu further pushed for ECOWAS to extend the grace period for another six months whilst intensifying diplomatic efforts. The response to this initiative last month was evidence-free allegations that Nigeria was harbouring foreign soldiers and as sponsoring state terrorism. Whenever President Tinubu and other democratic leaders offer stoic statesmanship and an opportunity to work together towards our common interests, it is met by confected controversy designed to divert and distract from a failure to meet the basic responsibilities of public administration. I know why coup leaders might seek to do that: it’s harder to understand the motives of apologists closer to home.

On my part, since assuming the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs on 21st August 2023, I have engaged diplomatically without pause, proposing personal visits and inviting senior government officials and representatives. Response has been akin to a diplomatic cold shoulder. We constituted a ministerial advisory committee that visited Niger and Mali and facilitated the visit of the Nigerian CDS to meet with his counterpart in Niamey. I regret that a proposed return visit was suspended by Niger after a date had been set. But let there be no doubt: we will continue to pursue diplomatic efforts assiduously, with a Ministry of Foreign Affairs that has existed for 67 years.

Nigeria’s principle of strategic autonomy is one that abhors the presence of foreign forces and private military companies in our region, whether from east or west. Nigeria presently has troops on peace keeping operations in Guinea Bissau and Gambia, with Sierra Leone on the way, where it is also supporting the setting up of a logistics base in Lungi. Nigeria is also leading the actualisation of the ECOWAS standby force, all in an effort to fight terrorism and instability within our region under the rule of law. We work closely with our partners on sharing of intelligence in order to guarantee the same rights and freedoms are enjoyed by all the people of the region.

As several of my colleagues in the region remind me, we are the hegemon, whether we admit it or not. And global politics works almost like physics, with polarity, ordering principles, distribution of power, balancing, etc. Nigeria has never had expansionist tendencies, never been threatening towards our neighbours and always chosen the path of peace and conciliation. This in part may have to do with the makeup of our polity and social fabric. Being such a huge country, we are used to the virtues of principled compromise. It is not by accident that we are the only country on the continent with six former leaders living in peace and harmony within our borders. Diversity, not division, is our strength. This is as true for Nigeria as it is for the smallest of countries – and collectively for all of our region.

FOREIGN POLICY AND THE PATH TO PEACE IN A DANGEROUS NEIGHBOURHOOD