National News
UNODC, EU, FG Promote Strategic Plan for Wildlife, Forestry
UNODC, EU, FG Promote Strategic Plan for Wildlife, Forestry
By: Michael Mike
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the European Union (EU), and the Federal Government have insisted that there is urgent need to put in place strategic approach to effectively curtain the rising crime against wildlife and forestry in the country.
Speaking on Tuesday during the presentation of International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC): Analytical Toolkit Nigeria, Country Representative of UNODC, Oliver Stolpe
decried the high level of environmental degradation, saying Nigeria had one of the highest rates of deforestation globally.
He lamented that the country from 2002 to 2020 lost 141kha of humid primary forest equivalent to 14 per cent of its total tree cover.
He said: “Excessive, unsustainable, and most illegal extraction threatens the livelihood of local communities and species, who called these woods their home.
“Wildlife is not only threatened by the continuous shrinking of their habitat but also by professional poachers and local hunters.
“Organised criminal trade of wildlife and forest products through Nigerian ports has created a threat to biodiversity across the entire region.”
He added that: “Not one of these developments has gone unobserved, neither by the government of Nigeria nor by the international community.”
Stolpe however commended the adoption of the first national strategy to combat crime, the recent establishment of the wildlife enforcement task force, and efforts to review the legislative framework and boost the criminal justice system to be strategic steps taken.
He also revealed that such efforts started to bear fruits with regard to the ability of Nigerian law enforcement to seize illegally traded wildlife and forest products.
Stolpe said: “These efforts have not yet reversed the trend to put an end to the role of Nigeria, as a regional hub for the illegal trade in wildlife and forest products.
“The legal framework continues to evidence gaps as concerns the penalties foreseen by law.
“Recent cases suggest that investigators, prosecutors and judges appear to require further capacities and resources to mount an effective and credible justice response when organised crime is involved.”
Also speaking at the event, Ambassador of the EU to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Samuela Isopi,, described the event as an urgent step for the survival of not just the animals to be protected, but humans.
Isopi, represented by Dr Sobri Mekaoui, Programme Officer, EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, urged stakeholders to work closely together at the country level for the benefit of Nigeria and humanity.
She said: “Basically, this effort when fully analysed is about the preservation of the human species as much as it is about the preservation of wild animals.
“That explains why this event is funded by the European Union, through the general grant for the implementation of the ICCWC, which includes Nigeria as a target country.
“The EU will continue to play a leading role and support actions that contribute to the preservation, conservation, protection of wildlife, biodiversity and the environment in general as our commitment to climate action.”
Isopi noted that to achieve holistic climate action, every nation must be prepared to push forward the green agenda not just in the area of hardware, but also efficient administration of justice in this regard.
She disclosed that the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS supported Nigeria with a 2 million euros conservation project being implemented by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Cross River State of Nigeria.
She however said the project would protect the environment and biodiversity against the effects of climate change and strengthen the system through the design and implementation of ecological, socio-economic, and law enforcement, to measure progress towards conservation objectives.
During the official inauguration of the toolkit, the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi,, said the toolkit would further boost sustainable management of forest and biological resources.
Abdullahi, represented by Malam Stanley Jonah, Director of Planning Research and Statistics, explained that the toolkit would ensure a world free of wildlife crime, a safer planet and a global vision of living in harmony with nature.
He said: “We hope to continue to welcome and work closely with our Development Partners to sustain and heighten the tempo as necessary as we can.
“We have resolved to leave no stone unturned in protecting and conserving our valued natural endowments for national development and for the sake of our planet.
“The responsibility is not for one entity to shoulder, it calls for strategic involvement of a broad range of stakeholders and partners, to build a sense of ownership and responsibility for quantitative and qualitative results.”
UNODC, EU, FG Promote Strategic Plan for Wildlife, Forestry
VP SHETTIMA AND THE ILLOGICAL PERMUTATIONS FOR 2027
By: Inuwa Bwala
As happened in 2023, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was to name his running mate, vested interests are again up in arms, trying to hoodwink or armstwist him into doing their bids.
What people forget, however, is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a master schemer and knows exactly what to do at the appropriate time. Contrary to what many people think, he has his own game plan and can not be compelled to play to the gallery.
In the last few weeks, I have read a plethora of writeups trying to give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu prescriptions on how to chart a new political course if he hopes to achieve his second term bid in the 2027 general elections.
Many of the write ups contain permutations in the event of the emergence of a perceived strong opposition and that unless he drops his Vice President for another person, he will have a difficult task.
As a student of political history, and given our experiences, I dare say that if Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima could win in the face of all the obstacles placed in their ways from within and from without there does not appear any threat to this same ticket in 2027.
I must confess that I have not yet met a shrewed political strategist in Nigeria like the President who against all permutations settled for Kashim Shettima neither am I aware of any politician who could be as loyal dedicated and determined to his Boss as Shettima has demonstrated over the years.
The game is already on, and the biggest threat to Tinubu in 2027 is indeed any attempt to shift the goalpost in the mu
middle of the game.
As far as I know, the combination has given a very good account of itself, and with the rays of hope beyond the immediate horizon, Kashim Shettima remains President Bola Ahmed Tinubu best choice
I am aware that people have been trying to drive a wedge between them by framing false narratives that are neither here nor there. So as not to embolden those who are heating up the polity unnecessarily, the silence maintained on political permutations remains the best by both the president and the vice president.
Silence on certain issues has paid off for both of them before, and it will again pay off.
When people thought Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sick and weak and may even die before the end of his first tenure, he maintained a golden silence on his health status and rather magnified it as real thereby tricking all Nigerians into believing it was true.
Now that he has proven to be healthy and strong, the voices that predicted a doom for the presidency are silent.
VP SHETTIMA AND THE ILLOGICAL PERMUTATIONS FOR 2027
Nigerien Army Deserter Who Joined Boko Haram Surrenders in Diffa Region
By: Our Reporter
A deserter from the Niger Republic Armed Forces who reportedly joined the terrorist group Boko Haram has surrendered to local authorities in Kindjandi, located in the Diffa Region of southeastern Niger Republic.
The individual, identified as Abba Ibrahim, had been serving with the Nigerien Armed Forces since 2022 before deserting his post in Bosso on March 8, 2025, according to military intelligence sources. He fled alongside a fellow soldier, Bandam Dala, and subsequently joined a Boko Haram faction active in the Lake Chad area.
Security sources disclosed that Ibrahim surrendered on April 21, 2025, arriving in Kindjandi on horseback with a rifle. He was accompanied by an unidentified young man whose details are yet to be confirmed.
Ibrahim was taken into custody by the Nigerien Armed Forces on the morning of April 22, 2025, and is currently undergoing debriefing and interrogation by military intelligence.
The Diffa Region has remained a hotspot for insurgent activity due to its proximity to Lake Chad and border areas with Nigeria, where Boko Haram and other extremist groups operate.
Nigerien Army Deserter Who Joined Boko Haram Surrenders in Diffa Region
National News
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
By: Michael Mike
The West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS) has commended the initiative by ECOWAS to extend an invitation to the governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger for the official launch of ECOWAS’ golden jubilee in Accra.
The Network, in a press statement on Tuesday, said it supports the initiative by ECOWAS to ease tensions and foster diplomacy in a bid to sustain the common heritage, shared history, and longstanding socio-cultural ties of the peoples.
The statement read: “As ECOWAS opens its doors and extends an arm of friendship and collaboration to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the Network encourages the three countries to reciprocate the gesture, upholding the spirit of good neighbourliness and cross-border cooperation. Such
cooperation is necessary now more than ever, especially as we require a concerted effort to confront matters of common interest to the subregion, such as security and trade.
“WADEMOS maintains the position that the restoration of trust and confidence between
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, on the one hand, and ECOWAS, on the other hand,
remains critical to sustaining cooperation and enhancing the free movement of goods and people. Building trust and confidence, we believe, is also critical to effectively combat the growing threat of terrorism across the subregion.
“Considering the close ties that exist among the West African peoples, WADEMOS
continues to urge the three Sahelian countries to be reconciliatory in their engagements with ECOWAS.”
WADEMOS is an independent and non-partisan network of diverse national and transnational civil society organisations and civic groups working to promote and defend democracy, good governance, and inclusive development in the West Africa region.
It mobilizes, coordinates, and leverages the collective voice and power of civil society and other pro-democracy actors, resources, and opportunities within the West Africa region to advance its mission. The current membership of WADEMOS stands at 47 spread across West Africa.
The WADEMOS Secretariat is based in Accra, Ghana.
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
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