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UN Women Asks for Prioritization of Funding for War Against SGBV

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UN Women Asks for Prioritization of Funding for War Against SGBV

By: Michael Mike

United Nations Women has called for prioritization of investment by all stakeholders in financing development plans towards ending violence against women and girls, even as it pleaded for strategic policy development aimed at putting a stop to the scourge.

The call was made at the weekend by the UN Women Deputy Country Represntative to Nigeria. Mr. Lansana Wonneh at a Joint Symposium on Prevention of Violence Against Special Need Groups in Nigeria; with the theme: “Tackling Multi-forms of Vulnerability and Violence through Improved Policies, Programmatic and Funding Mechanisms”.

Wonneh, who was represented by the National Programme Officer UN Women, Mrs. Patience Ekeoba, said that despite many countries passing laws to combat violence against women, weak enforcement and discriminatory social norms remain a significant problems.

He said: “Being able to stop violence from occurring in the first place is critical to achieving the goal of ending violence against women and girls (VAWG) because if violence does not occur all the other GBV responses will not be necessary. VAWG is preventable; we need to continue to invest in transforming social norms, addressing unequal gender power relations, strengthening essential services for survivors, and enabling safer environments. I call for more attention to gender responsive budgeting, ensuring that budget circulars have definite allocations to gender equality and women empowerment including budget for addressing violence against women and girls.”

Wonneh explained that women with special needs and other groups experience violence differently because of their vulnerability and special needs, hence the need for stakeholders engagements to mobilize support and raise awareness to end the menace.

He added that: “The symposium provides opportunity for ASWHAN and the other special need groups to share their experiences of violences, their survivor stories and make demand for increased prevention interventions and response. It will also allow all relevant government agencies, the UN System, development partners, civil society gather here today to listen, discuss and advance prevention strategies and funding mechanism to enhance prevention and mitigation services and actions for the targets groups. So I call on you to participate actively so that at the end of today’s interactions we will all come up with practical strategies towards reducing and eliminating violence that affect this critical groups in our society.”

Also speaking, the Acting Director, Policy Planning and Coordination, Nation Agency for the Control Aids (NACA), Dr. Yinka Anoemuah, noted that the agency will continue to work with partners to achieve the desired goal of ending all forms of violence.

“We have so many vulnerable population that experience vulnerabilities and that is why we will continue to partner with the UN system and partners to find ways to bring an end to all the challenges that people are facing in the communities. We recognize very much the relationships between Gender Based Violence (GBV) and HIV, and that is why to the key area of strategic engagement that we have over the years, because if we want to control the virus, and end the epidemy by 2030, we need to bring to a stop all forms of violence, be it emotional, psychological, physical, then we have to work together to make that happen. Without resources, without people, without investment we will not be able to do it, but with collaborations and partnerships we will achieve a lot”. She noted

On behalf of people with disabilities, the President Women With Disabilities, Lois Auta, called for an increase in budget allocation on disabilities issues.
“Women with disabilities are much more vulnerable to issues of GBV, these violence could be in different forms such as issues of economic empowerment, issues of health, issues of institutional barriers and infrastructural Barriers. We have legal frameworks and these frame works are not implemented. The big issues is lack of funding, with need to come together and collaborate and activate the goal 17 of SDG, by working together. We need to insert a budget plan in all the MDAs for issues of women and girls with disabilities.
She said: “We need to talk to National Assembly to increase the budgets allocation on issues of disability as well as increase awareness on GBV in the rural areas.”

According to the Head Health Desk, Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs Marian Shuaibu, the ministry takes priority in the wellbeing of all women. Noting that approval to establish a mobile court to deal with the perpetrators of GBV has been gotten, as well as development of a policy on mental health.

This year theme, “UNiTE!; Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls” is apt as it focusses on investment and financing of strategies and programmes that will help prevent violence from happening in the first place against women and girls.

The symposium was put together by UN Women, NACA, UNAIDS, Association of Women with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, (ASWHAN) and the Ministry of Women Affairs.

UN Women Asks for Prioritization of Funding for War Against SGBV

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Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction

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Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction

By: Michael Mike

A former coordinator of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Earl Osaro Onaiwu, has called on the political class across party lines to support ongoing security efforts of the federal government.

Onaiwu in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday noted that insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation and was religious neutral, therefore, the need for politicians to eschew partisan slant on security matters.

He cautioned that failure by the political elite to support the fight against insecurity leading to several ungoverned spaces could disrupt elections, stressing that except there is a country, then elections are guaranteed.

The former NGF coordinator particularly commended the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his coordination and strategic efforts in streamlining security policies and engagements in tackling insecurity.

According to him, the recent delivery of military hardware by the United States Government to Nigeria is a demonstration that the NSA was working and his recent foray to the U.S. is yielding the desired results.

“The season requires patriots and this means that irrespective of party affiliations, every politician worth his name needs to support ongoing security efforts as coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

“Insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation, it is religious blind and those not respect societal status. Therefore, Nigerians, especially our political class, should lend their support, proffer solutions and galvanise the people to back the government’s security initiatives.

“Only on Tuesday, the federal government received critical military hardware from the United States Government. This is cheering and it shows that the NSA’s recent visit to the United States and the subsequent hosting of delegations in the country is bearing the desired results.

“Also, renewed military and police onslaughts against terrorists and bandits show that the federal government is taking the fight to those who are intent on denying us our peace and well-being.

“The least we can do as citizens is to support the government, provide real time intelligence from our communities and do not engage in fake news on social media against government’s efforts,” Onaiwu stated.

He further called on governors to match the energy of the federal government by supporting the NSA to address the various security challenges in their states as well as continued logistics and equipment to the military and police.

Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction

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Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case

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Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case

By: Michael Mike

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, is facing possible committal to prison following contempt proceedings initiated over an alleged failure to comply with a Federal High Court order relating to the abduction and disappearance of Mr. John Chukwuemeka Anozie.

The action was instituted by legal counsel to Mr. Anozie’s wife, Mr. Vincent Adodo, who accused the Nigeria Police Force under the leadership of the IGP of willfully disobeying a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 24, 2025.

In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/865/2025 between Mrs. Nnenna Anozie v. Inspector General of Police, Justice Binta Nyako ordered the IGP to produce for prosecution operatives of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) alleged to have abducted Mr. Anozie from his Lekki residence in Lagos on June 15, 2017.

The court also directed the police authorities to forward the investigation report and legal advice on the matter to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation for appropriate action.

The court further awarded ₦2 million in damages against the IGP for failing to respond to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Mrs. Anozie seeking details of investigations into her husband’s disappearance.

The SARS operatives listed in the judgment include officers attached to the former SARS unit in Akwuzu, Anambra State, who were accused of involvement in the alleged abduction.

According to court documents, despite being served with the judgment in October 2025, the IGP has neither complied with the orders of the court nor paid the damages awarded. This development prompted Mrs. Anozie’s legal team to initiate contempt proceedings by serving the IGP with Form 48 (Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Order) and Form 49 (Notice of Committal to Correctional Centre).

The applicant is now seeking an order of court committing the IGP to Kuje Correctional Centre until he complies fully with the judgment.

The motion for contempt has been scheduled for hearing on February 9, 2025, before the Federal High Court, Abuja.

As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force has not issued an official response to the contempt proceedings.

Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case

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VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem

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VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem

Urges African entrepreneurs to close ranks to fully harness continent’s huge potentials

By: Our Reporter

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has lauded the transformative impact of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on the global entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem that has raised over $1.5 billion dollars and created over 30,000 direct jobs in 20 years.

He, however, urged African entrepreneurs to close ranks in order to fully harness the continent’s huge potentials, leveraging MIT’s resource mobilization network and job creation opportunities.

The Vice President made the remarks on Wednesday when he received a delegation from Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025-2026 led by MIT’s Executive Director for the Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, Dina Sherif, on a courtesy visit at the presidential villa.

Senator Shettima called for unity of purpose among African professionals and entrepreneurs, saying “Africa is the new frontier and future belongs to the continent but its people must unite to transform potentials into tangible results that impact lives and livelihoods.

“Africa is blessed with enormous human and material resources but its people must fuse into one to benefit from the tremendous opportunities that abound across the continent,” he added.

He disclosed that Nigeria President Bola Tinubu is daring to leverage available opportunities to transform the entire economy, noting that “President Tinubu is not afraid of taking bold decisions that will reposition Nigeria’s economy and better the lives of the livelihoods of the people.”

Earlier in her remarks, the leader of the delegation, Sherif, said the delegation was at the Presidential Villa to brief the Vice President on the activities of MIT’s Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, assuring that the Centre is dedicated to “fueling the engine of entrepreneurship across the world”.

She noted that the team was in Nigeria in view of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship programme, which, according to her, has helped to entrench the spirit of entrepreneurship across the continent.

Sherif underscored the significance of collaboration among African startups, noting that Nigeria is a leading country, as evidenced in the progress recorded by startups across the continent.

She further assured of improved support for African-based startups from the centre through its various initiatives.

Also present at the meeting with the Vice President were the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, and some fellows of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025 – 2026 Session across Africa.

VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem

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