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UN Resident Coordinator Leads March Against Violence Against Women in Abuja
UN Resident Coordinator Leads March Against Violence Against Women in Abuja
By: Michael Mike
The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mohammed Fall on Saturday led some prominent women activists in a march on major streets of Nigerian capital city of Abuja to demand for the end of violence against women.
The march was part of activities marking the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV) celebrated worldwide.
During the march which was organized in Abuja by the UN Women in conjunction with Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), Medicaid Cancer Foundation, the UN Resident Coordinator alongside the women carried placards demanding for an end to violence against women and spoke against what they termed crime not only against women but humanity.
Addressing the media after the long walk, Mr. Fall said there was urgent need for an end in violence against women, girls and boys, insisting that everyone needs to be involved in the campaign as it affects the entire human race.
He lamented that the statistics of violence against women is still very much alarming and showed that it needed to be approached with all round strategies that would make people to know its harm and get offenders no hiding place.
Fall said there is still much told be done by government, law enforcement agencies and leaders in all sectors to build awareness against violence against women and to expose it for what it is: crime against humanity.
Speaking on the need to put an end to the crime, the former First Lady of Kebbi State and Founder of Medicaid Cancer Foundation, Dr Zainab Bagudu said with the law against violence against women in place, there is still need to fight on until the society shows it does not tolerate violence against women.
She said after the law, “then the next step becomes the implementation and general awareness, the mindset of the average, person from our environment, is that they don’t even understand what constitutes abuse. So we need to educate them, to make them aware, and most importantly, to combine the facilities that they need if abuse should take place, we focus on women and young adolescent girls, but boys are also victims of abuse, and they can turn out to be perpetrators once they have been abused.”
She said “there is continuous need
to organize educational classes in schools and different places, so that we can educate our boys and they can prompt be supportive.”
She noted that there is need for much more efforts at ending the violence against women, insisting that: “Well, it’s (campaign) never enough. We’re a very large country. The population is high, so we know the challenges that we have and different conflicting priorities. So it’s important that we don’t get tired, and one of the advocacies that we do, to call on government to provide more resources, and donor partners, to help us. The task can be quite big, and the police can sometimes not be as responsive as we would like them to be, due to other reasons, but we hope that they will be more acute to the trauma that this causes to women, children and some men when it happens, and that’s why we keep on advocating so it’s not enough. We need to have more. We need to have more action. We need to have more understanding. There are also programmes that focus on educating our security forces so that they really understand how they should be reacting. Every police station should have a desk against gender based violence and women should have the confidence, or abused victims should have the confidence to approach these desks, make their point without fear of stigmatization.”
On her part, the Mandate Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory, Dr. Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, said the campaign was on in all parts of the Federal Capital Territory to drive the message to the grassroots.
She noted that: “We need to keep aggregating and scaling like what is happening today. We need to have more of this advocacy. We need to have more of the intentionality of collaborations between governments and private, public individuals, people who are able to invest and engage not just the interest, but in terms of the action and bringing interventions from messaging to the place of invested empowerment, of the mindsets of cultural traditional practices.”
Project Manager of WARIF, Adeola Potts-Johnson, on her part, said the campaign has been a success so far for it has grown from just being held in a city to many important cities of Nigeria and prominent cities across the globe.
She said WARIF would continue to push the bar until violence against women becomes history.
UN Resident Coordinator Leads March Against Violence Against Women in Abuja
FG unveils 39 inmate transport vehicles, armoured booths for prison security
By: Our Reporter
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of interior, has inaugurated 39 mini-green Maria vehicles to ensure the safe transportation of inmates to courts during trials.
In a statement on X, the ministry said the commissioning took place at the headquarters of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).
The minister also unveiled four armoured security guard booths to protect correctional facilities from external aggression by non-state actors.
“The Hon. Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, today inaugurated four armored security guard booths at the Nigerian Correctional Service headquarters to enhance the defense of correctional facilities against external threats,” the statement reads.
“He also unveiled 39 mini-green Maria vehicles designed to ensure the secure transportation of inmates to court during trials. These efforts reflect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s dedication to the safety and welfare of officers and inmates.
FG unveils 39 inmate transport vehicles, armoured booths for prison security
Damaturu Flyover: The Making of A Befitting State Capital
By: Mamman Mohammed
Since the news about the signing of the Damaturu fly over contract filtered the air, it attracted accolades in many quarters and of course, reservations in some quarters. This is very normal and usual with every human endeavour.
It is pertinent to note that His Excellency the Executive Governor of Yobe State, Hon. Mai Mala Buni CON, COMN, while presenting the 2025 budget to the state House of Assembly, emphatically said “The widespread of road projects is intended to give a facelift and accessibility to our communities. Government is committed to the completion of the seventeen ongoing road projects, and to embark on eleven new ones. The completion of the township roads and drainages in five Local Government Areas is very dear to the government. I am also pleased to inform you that work would soon commence for the construction of the Damaturu flyover. We would also commence work on the Damaturu Green Economic City”.
Similarly, the budget allocated funds to other sectors to run simultaneously to improve the lives of the people without obstructing the execution of other projects and programmes in other sectors.
Importantly, the budget went through open process of careful and critical scrutiny, with Civil Society Organizations, individuals and groups in attendance.
Throughout the public sitting, none of the interest groups and individuals identified any project including the Damaturu flyover road as a misplacement of priority that would be at the expense of another, and as they may say, it is robbing Peter to pay Paul.
There is no doubt that the Damaturu flyover project will not only check the numerous congestion and accidents in the metropolis but, also beautify Damaturu, from a glorified local government headquarters to a beffiting state capital that is comparable to its peers, and a pride of every Yobean.
This takes us to the Muhammadu Buhari lnternational Cargo Airport as a reference point. When Gov. Buni took over the leadership of the state in 2019, there was an argument for and against the completion of the airport.
Many people described it as a wasteful project while others urged the new administration to ensure its completion. And when Gov. Buni finally announced the completion of the airport which was still at skeletal stage, it put such arguments to halt.
Gov. Buni’s argument was that, abandoning the project at that level would be a monumental loss to the state that would only attract untold inflation whenever any administration decides to complete the airport. Thanks to the wise decision, and the deep futuristic thinking by Governor Buni.
Today, the argument over the completion of the airport is now history. It is
completed and commissioned. It remains
one of the iconic legacy projects, with a very prosperous future to the state.
Already, some international investors have indicated interest in direct and indirect investments in the state. The Qatari business community and most recently, the Moroccan Investment, lmport and Export Development Agency, said the airport is a window to a fruitful economic partnership that would generate employment and wealth creation.
The same criticisms greeted the Kano, Maiduguri, Yola, Kaduna and Jalingo flyovers.
Surprisingly, some characters who lauded the flyovers elsewhere have suddenly changed their positions with the Damaturu flyover.
As a known fact, there may be no single government project or programme that would generate100% support from the public, as everyone may have his opinion for or against such project.
We should always see such projects positively and support government in its development strides to make Damaturu a state capital that is in tune with the changing times.
Damaturu Flyover: The Making of A Befitting State Capital
Kidnapped Munya LGA Secretary Regains Freedom as Security Forces Intensify Rescue Efforts
By: Zagazola Makama
The Niger State Police Command has confirmed the release of Usman Daina, the Secretary of Munya Local Government Council, who was abducted by armed bandits.
Daina was freed unhurt following a sustained pursuit operation by security forces. However, authorities have stated that efforts are still ongoing to rescue other victims who remain in captivity and to ensure the arrest of the perpetrators.
Zagazola Makama had reported that On Feb. 21, 2025, heavily armed bandits launched an attack on Munya Local Government Area, abducting several residents, including the council secretary.
It was gathered that that the assailants moved from Chibani forest through the Shakwata axis before striking various communities, including the Dandaudu area of Munya LGA.
The attackers invaded homes, looted food supplies, and forcefully took away multiple victims.
Following the abduction, the Nigerian Army troops, police tactical teams, vigilantes, and other security forces were deployed to track the movements of the kidnappers.
Their aggressive pursuit led to the successful release of Daina, while efforts continue to rescue the remaining captives and dismantle the criminal network responsible for the attack.
Sources said that the security forces are currently conducting aerial surveillance, intelligence-driven operations, and ground raids on identified bandit hideouts in the region.
Kidnapped Munya LGA Secretary Regains Freedom as Security Forces Intensify Rescue Efforts
FG unveils 39 inmate transport vehicles, armoured booths for prison security
Damaturu Flyover: The Making of A Befitting State Capital
Kidnapped Munya LGA Secretary Regains Freedom as Security Forces Intensify Rescue Efforts
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