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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
NCoS Dismisses Claims of Prisons as TB Hotbeds, Reaffirms Strong Disease Control Measures
By: Michael Mike
The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has rejected claims that custodial centres across the country have become “hotbeds” for tuberculosis (TB), describing such assertions as misleading, alarmist, and unsupported by verified data.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, the Service spokesperson, Jane Osuji faulted a report published by Daily Trust on January 3, 2026, titled “How Nigerian Prisons Became Tuberculosis Hotbeds,” insisting that the narrative failed to reflect the realities within Nigeria’s correctional facilities.
According to the NCoS, while it welcomes responsible media engagement on public health and inmate welfare, the report relied on sweeping generalisations and unverified claims, despite the Service having provided the reporter with detailed and factual information on tuberculosis prevention and treatment in custodial centres.
“The portrayal of custodial centres as unchecked tuberculosis hotbeds is misleading and unfair,” the Service said, adding that some of the names and cases cited in the report do not exist in the records of any correctional facility known to the Service.
The NCoS noted that tuberculosis remains a global public health challenge affecting both custodial and non-custodial populations, stressing that Nigeria’s TB response is coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Health through the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme (NTBLCP), in line with World Health Organization guidelines.
It explained that the Service is an active stakeholder in the national TB response, operating health clinics across custodial centres nationwide and working closely with the NTBLCP, federal and state ministries of health, non-governmental organisations, and development partners.
These collaborations, the Service said, support routine TB screening, laboratory diagnosis, treatment initiation, adherence monitoring, and referral to secondary or tertiary health institutions where required. Inmates diagnosed with tuberculosis are placed on nationally approved treatment regimens at no cost.
The NCoS further outlined that healthcare management in custodial centres includes medical screening upon admission, periodic health assessments, infection prevention and control measures, isolation of infectious cases when clinically indicated, and structured referral systems to external hospitals.
While acknowledging challenges such as congestion in some urban custodial facilities and ageing infrastructure, the Service stressed that these issues do not amount to neglect of inmate welfare. It highlighted ongoing decongestion efforts through jail delivery exercises, collaboration with the judiciary, and the expansion of non-custodial measures provided for under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act.
The Service also recalled its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that despite custodial centres being classified globally as high-risk environments, proactive screening, isolation protocols, and close collaboration with public health authorities ensured that no active COVID-19 cases were recorded in custodial centres nationwide.
According to the NCoS, this experience demonstrates its institutional capacity and preparedness to manage communicable diseases, including tuberculosis, within custodial settings.
The statement added that the Federal Government has approved the recruitment of additional medical and healthcare professionals to further strengthen health service delivery, disease surveillance, and treatment programmes across custodial centres.
Reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding the health, dignity, and human rights of persons in custody, the Nigerian Correctional Service said it remains open to constructive criticism but will continue to challenge reports that misinform the public or unjustly malign the institution.
NCoS Dismisses Claims of Prisons as TB Hotbeds, Reaffirms Strong Disease Control Measures
US Invasion of Venezuela: ECOWAS Urges Restraint, Backs Dialogue
By: Michael Mike
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has expressed concern over the recent developments in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, calling on all parties to exercise restraint and respect international law.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, ECOWAS acknowledged the right of states to combat international crimes such as terrorism and drug trafficking but stressed that such efforts must be carried out in line with established principles of international law.
The regional bloc reminded the international community of the obligation to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, as provided under Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter.
ECOWAS said it fully aligns with the African Union’s position, articulated in a statement released on 3 January 2026, which urged restraint and encouraged inclusive dialogue among the people of Venezuela as a means of addressing the country’s challenges.
The statement comes amid heightened tensions in Venezuela following reports of foreign military actions and growing international reactions to the evolving security and political situation in the South American country. Venezuela has in recent years faced prolonged political instability, economic hardship, and international pressure, leading to sharp divisions both domestically and globally over how best to address the crisis.
ECOWAS reiterated its solidarity with the Venezuelan people and called on all states to respect Venezuela’s independence and territorial integrity. The bloc expressed support for efforts by Venezuelans to determine the future of their country through an inclusive and peaceful process.
The West African regional body joins a growing list of international and regional organisations advocating de-escalation and dialogue as tensions continue to draw global attention.
US Invasion of Venezuela: ECOWAS Urges Restraint, Backs Dialogue
Troops neutralise seven terrorists, rescue hostages in Borno
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Joint Task Force (North East), Operation Hadin Kai, have neutralised seven terrorists and rescued three abducted persons during coordinated clearance and ambush operations in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno.
Zagazola Makama reliably informed that the latest encounters occurred in the early hours of Saturday under Operation Desert Sanity V.
According to the sources, troops operating in conjunction with members of the Hybrid Force and Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) made contact with terrorists at about 4:40 a.m. at Sojiri, a known terrorist crossing point in Konduga LGA.
“During the firefight, five terrorists were neutralised, while three hostages kidnapped by the terrorists were successfully rescued. One AK-47 rifle was also recovered,” the sources said.
They added that no casualty was recorded on the side of own troops, with no personnel killed, wounded or missing.
In a related operation, the main advancing force into terrorist territory was reported to be about four kilometres short of the crossing point at Kana after commencing movement from a harbour position.
The sources said contact was made by an ambush team between Meleri and Ngirbua, where two additional terrorists were neutralised and one AK-pattern rifle recovered.
Zagazola reports that Operation Desert Sanity V is part of sustained offensive actions by the Nigerian military aimed at degrading terrorist networks, blocking movement corridors and rescuing abducted civilians across the North East.
Troops neutralise seven terrorists, rescue hostages in Borno
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