Musings From Abroad

UNICEF wants criminal charges for bandits in Nigeria

Published

1 year ago

August 19, 2023

UNICEF wants the Nigerian government to bring criminal charges against bandits for their crimes of rape and murder against women and children.

UNICEF Country Representative, Cristian Munduate Cristian, made the call during a press briefing preparatory to the commemoration of World Humanitarian Day in Maiduguri on Friday.

She said it was unacceptable that governments had not acted forcefully to stop people who kidnapped children from schools, killed teachers and other females, and sexually assaulted young schoolgirls.

The arrangement to de-radicalize repentant terrorists or bandits, thereby exonerating them from a criminal conviction, has been widely criticized.

She demanded that judicial institutions be strengthened appropriately and issued a dire warning that the heinous deed must end so that kids could attend school without worrying about being abducted or sexually assaulted.

She said, “So, yes, it is bad. You can read these on a daily basis on the number of attacks on the community and schools. Just a couple of days ago, teachers were attacked and unfortunately, they were murdered. This aspect requires immediate action.

“It is not acceptable that bandits are not taking to courts and they have been assaulting, killing children and women; abducting and raping etc. It scares me, if there is any process, I think there is no proper punishment for these people legally.

“We have international laws and also a legal system. Of course, the country has their national laws and these laws have to be applied.”

Sub-Saharan Africa’s Sahel area, where more people died from terrorism in 2022 than in South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa (MENA) put together, is the current epicenter of the global threat.

Related Topics:Bandit Featured Nigeria Terrorism

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Musings From Abroad

Nigeria, India to strengthen counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation

Published

2 hours ago

November 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

During a state visit to Nigeria on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra, Modi reached an agreement, on behalf of his country, to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, intelligence, and maritime security.

President Bola Tinubu invited Modi to visit Nigeria, the first Indian prime minister to do so in 17 years.

Tinubu is looking for investments from some of the largest economies in the world.

In addition to discussing economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security, Modi and Tinubu met at the presidential mansion on Sunday after arriving in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday night, according to a joint statement.

The two nations decided to work together to protect maritime trade routes and fight piracy in response to the mounting risks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is looking to attract more Indian investment and lower-cost credit lines in order to strengthen its economy and generate employment.

Nigeria announced last year that it had obtained about $14 billion in pledges from Indian businesses, including Jindal Steel and Power, which promised to spend $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel industry, during the G20 conference.

Over 200 Indian businesses are present in Nigeria.

Modi was scheduled to go to Brazil for this year’s G20 conference after Nigeria.

Nigeria and India have a long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship. Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people, and India, home to 1.3 billion people, are both sizable emerging nations with multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious communities.

Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

Published

22 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Russian military advisors are in Equatorial Guinea training indigenous soldiers.

Anonymous sources cited by Reuters during the week claim that between 100 and 200 Russian instructors are training with elite guards in charge of guarding the President and the first family.

The males had been seen in Malabo, the country’s capital, and Bata, its second city. Reports of Russian forces stationed in the nation initially appeared in August.

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has maintained close relations with Moscow.

Nguema travelled to Moscow in September to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

Russia has strengthened military connections with African countries, sending advisors and combat soldiers to the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Faced with an Islamist terrorist insurrection, three Sahel countries have turned to Moscow for support, expelling French and American troops.