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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
Advocacy Group Demands Proof of NBMA Chief’s Eligibility
By: Michael Mike
A civil society organisation, Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER), has formally requested access to the academic and professional records of Bello Bwari, director-general of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), raising questions about his eligibility to occupy the position.
The request was submitted under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to the Federal Ministry of Environment.
CASER said the move was prompted by concerns that the current head of the biosafety agency may not meet the qualifications required by law.
According to the group, the NBMA Act provides that the director-general of the agency must possess at least a master’s degree in biological sciences or a related field, while noting that Bwari is widely known to be a legal practitioner, a background the organisation argues may be inconsistent with the statutory requirements for the role.
In the FOI application, CASER called on the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, to confirm the director-general’s credentials and make the information available to the public. The organisation stressed that transparency in appointments is essential for maintaining confidence in regulatory institutions.
CASER further warned that failure to clarify the issue could weaken public trust in agencies responsible for biosafety, environmental protection, and biotechnology oversight.
The group added that the matter goes beyond one appointment and reflects broader concerns about compliance with enabling laws in public offices.
Founder of CASER and a human rights lawyer,!Frank Tietie, criticised what he described as the lack of response from professionals in the scientific community. In a recent opinion article, he argued that leadership of a biosafety agency without strong scientific grounding could undermine effective regulation.
Tietie said adherence to the law must be non-negotiable, warning that overlooking statutory provisions risks eroding accountability and institutional integrity.
End
FG Reaffirms Commitment to Strengthening Environmental Governance
By: Michael Mike
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening environmental governance and improving the delivery of internationally funded environmental projects in the country.
The commitment was made on Monday in Abuja as the National Capacity Building Workshop on Project Oversight for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Operational Focal Point and Implementing Partners commenced.
Declaring the workshop opened, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, described the programme as timely and strategic, noting that Nigeria continues to grapple with a range of environmental challenges, including desertification, plastic pollution, biodiversity loss, oil contamination in the Niger Delta, and the growing impacts of climate change.
The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mahmud Kambari stressed that addressing these challenges requires not only access to global environmental financing but also strong institutional capacity for effective planning, implementation, monitoring, and oversight of projects.
He acknowledged the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as a long-standing development partner, highlighting its significant contributions to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, sustainable land management, and community-based environmental initiatives across the country, while noting that GEF-supported interventions have helped conserve hundreds of indigenous plant species, promote sustainable forest management, and support renewable energy and energy-efficiency initiatives aligned with Nigeria’s climate action goals.
Lawal further emphasized the role of GEF projects in addressing land degradation and enhancing food security through sustainable agriculture and landscape restoration. He cited flagship interventions that integrate nature-based solutions with livelihood resilience as clear examples of how environmental protection can be linked to socio-economic development.
The Minister also commended initiatives such as GEF GOLD+, which promotes mercury-free artisanal gold mining, and integrated landscape management projects in the Niger Delta aimed at transforming cocoa and palm oil production systems.
In the welcome remarks from the office of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, the importance of strong project oversight in translating GEF funding into measurable and lasting environmental outcomes was underscored.
The remarks which was read by the Director Planning, Research and Statistics in the Ministry, Agnes Aneke noted that the workshop was designed to strengthen Nigeria’s engagement with the GEF and ensure that stakeholders are fully equipped to manage the country’s project portfolio in line with international best practices.
Aneke also noted that Nigeria has benefited from over three decades of partnership with the GEF, with interventions spanning biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, land degradation control, international waters management, and the reduction of chemicals and waste. However, he emphasized that funding alone is not sufficient, stressing the need for effective coordination, technical competence, and robust monitoring and evaluation systems.
She said the Nigeria-focused training directly addresses the country’s pressing environmental challenges, including desertification, plastic waste proliferation, oil pollution in the Niger Delta, biodiversity loss, and increasing climate risks, while . explaining that participants would, over the two-day workshop, deepen their understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the GEF Operational Focal Point, implementing agencies, and other stakeholders, while also strengthening skills in reporting, communication, project visibility, and results-based management.
The workshop was organized by the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility, with technical support from the Tropical Biology Association (TBA). It builds on lessons from a recent regional training held in Ghana and is expected to enhance transparency, accountability, and overall performance in the implementation of GEF-supported projects in Nigeria.
Participants were drawn from government institutions, implementing agencies, civil society organizations, and convention focal points were urged to engage actively in the sessions, share experiences, and develop practical oversight strategies that align with Nigeria’s national development and environmental priorities.
The two-day workshop is expected to contribute to improved project performance, stronger partnerships, and more effective environmental interventions across the country.
FG Reaffirms Commitment to Strengthening Environmental Governance
Seven dead, five injured in multiple-vehicle crash along Lokoja–Abuja highway
By: Zagazola Makama
At least seven persons were killed and five others injured on Tuesday morning in a multiple-vehicle collision along the Lokoja–Abuja highway near Gadabiu Village, Kwali Local Government Area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the accident occurred at about 9:00 a.m. when a Howo truck, with registration number ANC 665 XA, driven by one Adamu of Tafa Local Government Area, Kaduna State, lost control and rammed into three stationary vehicles parked along the road.
The affected vehicles included a Golf 3 (GWA 162 KZ), another Golf and a Sharon vehicle.The drivers of the three stationary vehicles are yet to be identified.
The sources said the Howo truck had been travelling from Okaki in Kogi State to Tafa LGA in Kaduna State when the incident occurred. Seven victims reportedly died on the spot, while five sustained various degrees of injuries, including fractures.
The injured were rushed to Abaji General Hospital, where they are receiving treatment. The corpses of the deceased have been released to their families for burial according to Islamic rites.
The police have advised motorists to exercise caution on highways and called on drivers to ensure their vehicles are roadworthy to prevent similar accidents in the future.
Seven dead, five injured in multiple-vehicle crash along Lokoja–Abuja highway
Advocacy Group Demands Proof of NBMA Chief’s Eligibility
FG Reaffirms Commitment to Strengthening Environmental Governance
Seven dead, five injured in multiple-vehicle crash along Lokoja–Abuja highway
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