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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
News
Police exhume seven bodies over Yelwata killings, as part of the Presidential Medical Delegation Investigation in Benue
Police exhume seven bodies over Yelwata killings, as part of the Presidential Medical Delegation Investigation in Benue
By: Zagazola Makama
The Police in Benue have exhumed seven in connection with the 2025 Yelwata killings as part of ongoing investigations by the Presidential Medical Delegation as part of efforts to ensure justice for victims of what he described as a brutal assault.
Zagazola learnt that the exhumation was carried out on Feb. 24 by federal investigators led by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) following an earlier situation report on the exercise.
According to the sources, the bodies were exhumed for inquest, adding that the exercise would continue at a later date.
“Seven corpses have been exhumed by the IRT-led federal investigators for inquest. The exercise will continue, and further development will be communicated,” police sources said.
Forensic pathologists from the Federal Ministry of Justice have arrived in Benue State to investigate the June 13, 2025, attack on Yelwata, a community in the Guma Local Government Area of the state.
The Presidential Medical Delegation on Monday visited Yelwata in Guma Local Government Area to inspect graves of victims of the June 2025 attack on the community.
Security sources said the delegation visited the burial site where victims of the attack were interred, and the graves were identified as part of ongoing investigative and medical review processes.
The deployment follows proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where nine suspects were arraigned on 2 February 2026 before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik in connection with the Yelwata attack.
The court stressed the importance of forensic evidence to ensure a fair trial and proper determination of culpability.
The sources added that adequate security measures were put in place to ensure a peaceful and hitch-free exercise.
The Guma Local government Yelwata attack of June 13, 2025, resulted in the deaths of several residents and forced many others to flee their homes.
Police exhume seven bodies over Yelwata killings, as part of the Presidential Medical Delegation Investigation in Benue
Farmer Killed in Yobe Over Land Dispute, Pastoralists Injured
By: Zagazola Makama
A farmer, Moh’d Abdullahi, 50, of Garin Mallam Village, Karasuwa LGA, has been killed after being shot with arrows during an altercation with pastoralists on his farmland on Monday.
Sources said the suspects, identified as Usmanu Alh. Musa, Buba Alh. Manu, and Ahmadu Inusa, all from Tarja Fulani Settlement in Jakusko LGA, allegedly trespassed onto Abdullahi’s farmland. When the farmer cautioned them, the suspects attacked him, leaving him with fatal injuries.
In the ensuing retaliation, some villagers assaulted Ahmadu Inusa, who sustained injuries to various parts of his body. Both victims were rushed to Specialist Hospital Gashua in Bade LGA, where Abdullahi was certified dead, while Inusa received medical attention and remains hospitalized.
The body of Abdullahi was released to his family for burial according to Islamic rites. Investigations into the incident and the circumstances surrounding the dispute are ongoing.
Farmer Killed in Yobe Over Land Dispute, Pastoralists Injured
Nigeria’s Support Against US Blockade Vital, Says Cuban Ambassador
By: Michael Mike
The Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Miriam Morales Palmero, has commended Nigeria and the African Union for their consistent opposition to the decades-long United States economic blockade against Cuba, describing the sanctions regime as an “unjust system of coercion” that has inflicted prolonged hardship on the Cuban people.
Speaking at the Conference of the Solidarity Movement with Cuba in Nigeria, Palmero expressed gratitude for Nigeria’s repeated votes at the United Nations General Assembly in favour of resolutions calling for an end to the US embargo.
“Nigeria is one of the countries which has voted at the United Nations General Assembly in favour of the resolution against the economic, commercial and financial blockade,” she said. “We highly value Nigeria’s support.”
She also acknowledged what she described as the historic stance of the African Union, particularly its recent resolution condemning the US blockade policy and Cuba’s inclusion on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The ambassador characterised the US embargo as more than a bilateral dispute, calling it “a deliberate policy of asphyxiation” designed to force political surrender through economic deprivation.
“For more than six decades, Cuba has faced one of the most prolonged and unjust systems of economic, commercial and financial coercion in contemporary history,” she said.
Palmero criticised a recent executive order signed by US President Donald Trump which, she said, threatens sanctions against countries that supply fuel to Cuba. She described the move as extraterritorial and a violation of international law.
According to her, the measures are intended to worsen shortages in energy, nutrition, healthcare, education and transportation, while exerting pressure on other nations to limit cooperation with Cuba.
“We do not accept threats. We do not accept blackmail. We do not accept interference,” she declared.
Despite economic difficulties, the ambassador maintained that Cuba has consistently extended assistance to other nations, particularly in healthcare and education.
She highlighted Cuba’s long-standing medical diplomacy, noting that Cuban doctors, teachers and technical experts have served in dozens of countries, including Nigeria.
“Cuba represents no threat whatsoever to any country,” Palmero said. “Our foreign policy is one of solidarity, peace, friendship and cooperation, fully committed to international law and the United Nations Charter.”
She described it as “inconceivable” that the world’s largest economic and military power would consider Cuba a threat.
Beyond condemning the blockade, the ambassador used the conference to call for a stronger and more structured Solidarity Movement with Cuba in Nigeria.
She urged trade unions, academic institutions, youth groups, community organisations and media platforms to amplify advocacy efforts in support of Cuba, especially as sanctions intensify.
“This meeting is not only an expression of political and moral support,” she said. “It is a strategic moment to strengthen the structure of the Solidarity Movement with Cuba in Nigeria.”
Palmero encouraged participants to develop a coordinated action plan that would increase mobilisation, communication and public engagement throughout the year.
The ambassador reaffirmed Cuba’s commitment to sovereignty and its chosen social model, insisting that the country would not bow to external pressure.
“We know that the Cuban people are not alone,” she said. “Cuba will never renounce its independence.”
She declared that: “Because justice cannot be blockaded. Because dignity cannot be sentenced. Because solidarity is stronger than any coercive measure.”
The conference brought together members of Nigeria’s solidarity movement, trade union representatives, Cuban-trained graduates and supporters of Cuba–Nigeria relations, underscoring the longstanding diplomatic ties between both nations.
Nigeria’s Support Against US Blockade Vital, Says Cuban Ambassador
Police exhume seven bodies over Yelwata killings, as part of the Presidential Medical Delegation Investigation in Benue
Farmer Killed in Yobe Over Land Dispute, Pastoralists Injured
Nigeria’s Support Against US Blockade Vital, Says Cuban Ambassador
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