Femicide: NHRC, AU Rights Envoy Mount Pressure on Nigeria to Ratify Convention

…As envoy demands 15-country push to bring treaty into force, seeks reserved parliamentary seats for women ahead of 2027 elections

By: Michael Mike

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights have stepped up pressure on Nigeria to ratify the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, amid growing concerns over femicide, sexual violence and the increasing use of digital platforms to intimidate women.

The push, which comes ahead of the 2027 general elections, also includes demands for affirmative action and reserved seats for women in parliament to address persistent barriers to their political representation.

The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, gave the commitment during an advocacy meeting with the African Commission’s Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, Hon. Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, at the commission’s headquarters.

The proposed ratification would commit Nigeria to a stronger regional framework for preventing and addressing violence against women and girls, including femicide, while strengthening accountability and protection mechanisms.

Ojukwu said the NHRC would mobilise civil society organisations and other stakeholders to intensify advocacy for Nigeria’s adoption and ratification of the instrument, assuring that the commission would pursue concrete actions rather than allow the engagement to end with expressions of commitment.

He said observations by the African Commission on Nigeria’s human rights reports had highlighted troubling developments, particularly femicide and technology-facilitated violence against women, requiring stronger legislative, institutional and enforcement responses.

The NHRC boss said the commission would also work with relevant institutions to improve access to justice for victims of gender-based violence and ensure that recommendations from the African Commission were implemented.

The urgency of the campaign was underscored by Sallah-Njie, who challenged Nigeria to use its continental influence to help secure the entry into force of the convention by becoming one of the 15 countries required to facilitate its implementation.

She disclosed that the African Union adopted the convention in February 2025, describing it as a significant addition to existing continental human rights protections because of its response to emerging forms of violence against women and girls.

According to her, Nigeria’s ratification would demonstrate its commitment to protecting women and girls while strengthening the continent’s collective response to gender-based violence.

She expressed concern over femicide in Nigeria, alongside developments in Cameroon and South Africa, and called on the NHRC to champion the ratification campaign, prepare relevant national reports and monitor the implementation of laws protecting women and girls.

Sallah-Njie particularly highlighted the importance of the convention’s explicit recognition and prohibition of femicide, arguing that stronger legal recognition was necessary to confront the killing of women because of their gender.

But beyond the ratification campaign, the visiting envoy raised another major concern: the exclusion of women from political decision-making and the violence increasingly accompanying their participation in electoral activities.

With the 2027 elections approaching, she called for temporary special measures, including affirmative action and reserved seats for women in parliament, arguing that granting women the right to contest elections was insufficient without measures to overcome structural and socio-cultural disadvantages.

She said women continued to face barriers that prevented them from competing on equal terms with men, insisting that deliberate interventions were necessary to translate formal political rights into meaningful representation.

The Special Rapporteur urged Nigerian women to scrutinise the voting records of their representatives on legislation affecting women’s rights and hold them accountable, while encouraging more women to contest elective positions.

She also warned that attacks, intimidation and victimisation of women pursuing political ambitions could discourage others from seeking public office.

Of particular concern, she identified election-related sexual violence, harassment and technology-facilitated abuse as threats capable of pushing women out of the political space.

She urged the NHRC and other relevant authorities to monitor such violations and establish preventive mechanisms to ensure that women could campaign, vote and contest elections without fear of violence or discrimination.

Sallah-Njie further called for women’s inclusion in peacebuilding and conflict-resolution processes, maintaining that decisions on security and the future of communities must not exclude half of the population.

Responding to the concerns, Ojukwu disclosed that the NHRC had established thematic departments, including a dedicated Department of Women and Children, to strengthen its response to violations affecting vulnerable groups.

He said the restructuring was intended to provide specialised attention to human rights concerns rather than rely solely on a general institutional approach.

He also highlighted the commission’s collaboration with the African Commission, noting that regional resolutions and recommendations were important in strengthening Nigeria’s human rights protection framework.

The NHRC, he added, had linked its website with that of the African Commission to make relevant human rights instruments, resolutions and recommendations more accessible to Nigerians seeking information and remedies.

The Executive Director of Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, Yèyé Bunmi Dipo-Salami, supported the call for affirmative action, recalling previous advocacy for special seats for women in the National Assembly.

She said the proposal had faced resistance from some lawmakers who argued that reserving seats for women would discriminate against men.

Dipo-Salami, however, maintained that affirmative action was an internationally recognised mechanism for addressing historical inequalities and ensuring meaningful representation of disadvantaged groups.

She commended the NHRC for creating specialised departments and providing leadership opportunities for women, while pledging civil society support for efforts to advance gender equality.

The delegation also included representatives of the Women’s Advocacy Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), among other stakeholders.

Sallah-Njie said she would report the outcome of the engagement in her next intersessional report to the African human rights community, expressing hope that Nigeria would demonstrate measurable progress in ratifying and implementing the convention.

She said tangible action by Nigeria would strengthen the continent’s efforts to end violence against women and girls.

Femicide: NHRC, AU Rights Envoy Mount Pressure on Nigeria to Ratify Convention

UMTH: CMD visits NEDC seeks more healthcare intervention

By: Our Reporter

As part of measures to further strengthen existing cordial relationship between the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the North East Development Commission NEDC, the New Chief Medical Director Professor Faruk Buba incompany of Top Management Committee of the hospital paid a courtesy visit to Managing Director/ CEO of NEDC Dr. Mohammed Goni Alkali at the Commission’s head office In Maiduguri.

Professor Faruk Buba recounted on the giant strides in healthcare interventions done to the hospital by the NEDC which cut across establishment of the Burns Centre, provision of steady water supply through drilling of boreholes, procurement and installation of High-tech Magnetic Resonance Imaging also known as MRI, High-efficiency generators as well as the recent establishment of Fertility Care Centre and en-suite maternity complex among others.

These and many more he said have contributed immensely to being the largest Hospital in Nigeria and longstanding Centre of Excellence in Immunology and Infectious Diseases.

The Chief Medical Director further solicited more interventions from the Commission especially in procurement of more up-to-date equipment to enhance the hospital capacity in healthcare service delivery to the teaming population of Borno state, the North East region, Nigeria and Beyond.

Responding, MD/CEO North East Development Dr. Mohammed Goni Alkali said the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital has been a partner in progress adding that UMTH has played critical roles in extending the Commission’s numerous life-touching interventions for the people in the region one of which is provision of accessible and affordable healthcare service delivery.

Dr. Alkali revealed that large consignments of Healthcare equipment are en-route to the region and as always, Tertiary Health institutions like the UMTH will be given priority consideration.

Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Director alongside top management Committee had paid condolences visit to Medical Director, Hospitals Management Board Borno state Professor Abubakar Kullima over the demise of his sister and offered prayers for the grieving families.

UMTH: CMD visits NEDC seeks more healthcare intervention

NDLEA, Australian Police Seal Pact to Combat Drug Cartels, Trafficking Networks

…Marwa declares war on transnational syndicates; AFP vows to hunt traffickers as a pack

By: Michael Mike

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have entered into a strategic partnership to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks operating along the Nigeria-Australia route, with a focus on intelligence sharing, joint operations and coordinated investigations.

The partnership was formalised on Monday through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the NDLEA national headquarters in Abuja, with the agency’s Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), describing the agreement as a declaration of war against international drug cartels.

Marwa said the agreement would strengthen the capacity of both countries to track, disrupt and prosecute criminal networks exploiting international borders to move illicit drugs, particularly methamphetamine and cocaine.

He expressed confidence that combining the AFP’s international reach with the NDLEA’s operational capacity would make the Nigeria-Australia drug corridor increasingly hostile and unprofitable for traffickers.

Under the agreement, the two agencies will collaborate in four major areas: intelligence and information exchange, joint and coordinated operations, capacity building and professional development, as well as controlled delivery of illicit consignments to facilitate investigations and arrests.

Marwa said the agreement was particularly important as drug trafficking networks had become increasingly sophisticated and interconnected, with Nigerian organised crime groups developing links along the Australia-Pacific drug route.

“ Nigeria is being exploited as a transit and sourcing hub, but no single country can fight this alone,” he said.

He expressed hope that the partnership would translate into major drug seizures, the arrest of high-value targets and successful controlled delivery operations, adding that its implementation would begin immediately.

The NDLEA chairman cited recent operations, including the seizure of 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine intended for export and the dismantling of four methamphetamine laboratories in recent months, some of which allegedly had Mexican nationals embedded in their operations.

He said one of the laboratory operations resulted in seizures valued at more than 360 million dollars.

Marwa also highlighted the dismantling of a Switzerland-based drug cartel allegedly operated by a Nigerian, Simon Amadi, following more than a year of collaboration with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and law enforcement agencies in France, Greece and Switzerland.

He said the cartel’s assets in Nigeria had also been targeted as part of efforts to dismantle its criminal infrastructure.

Earlier, the head of the AFP delegation, Ms Sandra Booth, said the fight against illicit drugs required a comprehensive, collective response, commending the NDLEA for combining enforcement operations with preventive interventions.

She described the NDLEA’s international partnerships as commendable, noting that the new agreement would serve as a force multiplier in the fight against organised drug trafficking.

Booth warned that criminal organisations were increasingly using proceeds from drug trafficking to finance other serious offences through what she described as a “crime as a service” model.

She said vulnerable young people were being recruited to deliver and transport drugs, while some were drawn into violent attacks against rival criminal groups.

According to her, the consequences extended beyond addiction to the destruction of families, destabilisation of communities, gang violence and deaths in Australia.

“Whilst Nigeria is a transit country, we are a destination country. And unfortunately for us, people will pay a lot of money for the commodity,” she said.

Booth said Australia was committed to working with Nigeria to prevent illicit drugs from reaching its territory and protect young people and other vulnerable populations.

Emphasising the need for a united front, she said both agencies must demonstrate commitment, integrity and determination in confronting the criminal networks.

“It is so absolutely necessary that we work together as a team, that we are forceful, that we are committed, that we show integrity, and we hunt as a pack. And I am very proud that we can now be part of your pack,” she said.

The ceremony was attended by the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Leilani Bin-Juda; Deputy High Commissioner, Timothy Milikan; and other members of the AFP delegation, Andrea Humphrys and Susan Gray, alongside senior NDLEA officials.

NDLEA, Australian Police Seal Pact to Combat Drug Cartels, Trafficking Networks