Headline

Killings: Catholic Church Writes Buhari, Calls for Quick Resolution (Full Text of Letter)

Published

8 years ago

May 24, 2018

Eric

The Catholic Church in Nigeria, through the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Archibishop Adewale Martins, has written an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, expressing its displeasure to the incessant killings of innocent Nigerians in various parts of the country, especially Benue State.

The letter was in sync with the mass protest by Catholics in the country, saying with one voice that killings must be brought to an end.

The Letter in full:

THE TEXT OF AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI GCFR PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE NIGERIAN ARMED FORCES ON THE OCCASION OF A SOLIDARITY RALLY EMBARKED UPON BY THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF LAGOS TO DENOUNCE THE INCESSANT KILLING OF INNOCENT NIGERIANS BY SUSPECTED HERDSMEN. TUESDAY MAY 22, 2018.

Your Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR;

On behalf of the entire Priests, Religious and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, I wish to use this medium to convey to you, Mr. President, our sadness and deep displeasure over the incessant killings and general insecurity being experienced across the length and breadth of our dear country Nigeria but especially in the North Central part of the nation in recent times. We are very saddened by the fact that our security Agencies have not been able to put measures in place to bring the situation under control. Instead, the signals we are getting are that we do not have enough number of personnel to secure all the people of Nigeria. In the meantime, farmers cannot go to their farms, neither are they safe in their villages. We hear reports of the killers attacking the villages and feeding the yams in the barns of the inhabitants to their cattle. The height of it is that now they have pushed their boundaries to attacking people in their places of worship. If it was Boko haram, as we know it, it would have been sad but not as alarming as when so-called herdsmen are the ones perpetrating these crimes. Most disturbingly, our security agencies seem incapable of dealing with the situation

Mr. President, many Nigerians embraced happily the change mantra upon which they elected your government to power and they welcomed you with open hands and minds, with much hope for a new vista of life for our countrymen and women. Three years after, Your Excellency, our people now live in palpable fear especially because of the killer-herdsmen who actually qualify to be called terrorists. We watch helplessly as our hope for a better tomorrow trickles away in the hands of herdsmen who are proving to be deadlier than even the Boko Haram, if they are not Boko haram in another guise. Innocent people are now being murdered at will and their means of livelihood forcefully taken from them. Children are being turned to orphans, wives to widows, husbands to widowers. Communities are being wiped away in manners that can only be likened to ethnic cleansing. Human life, a most sacred gift from God, has become of less value than that of cattle in this part of the world. This is unacceptable!

Being a secular nation, our constitution clearly provides for freedom of worship without fear or favour in any and all parts of the nation. Alas, in some parts of the country this is not the case in practice. We watch helplessly as thousands of people in communities that are predominantly Christian, particularly in Southern Kaduna and the North Central parts of the country are being massacred, displaced from their ancestral lands and treated as second class citizens. In many towns and rural areas, people of these predominantly Christian communities are victims of religious intolerance as they are denied rights to own lands to build their Churches and worship their God in peace. Out of all the girls that were kidnapped at Dapchi, Leah Shaibu stands out as the one yet to be released simply because she is Christian and has refused to deny her faith. Unfortunately, incidents such as these have led to the fear of an agenda to Islamize Nigeria. Permit me to say, Your Excellency, that you are often accused of being in support of this agenda. We are confident that you would not fail to discharge yourself from such accusations in a way that would be crystal clear to all.

Mr President, today, Tuesday May 22, 2018, is a watershed in the annals of Catholicism in our country Nigeria. It is a day the entire Catholic Church in Nigeria speaks out, in a practical way, against injustices, insecurity, nepotism and other vices plaguing our dear country. Today, we rise in unity to express our solidarity with our brothers and sisters who have been killed, and are still being killed, across the country. Most especially, we mourn with heavy hearts the murder of two of our priests, Rev. Frs. Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha and seventeen lay faithful who were mowed down last month, April 16, while attending an early morning Mass at St Ignatius Catholic Church, Ukpor-Mbalom, Gwer Local Government of Benue State. By these killings, the perpetrators, who unfortunately are still roaming about freely, have further desecrated all that we hold dear as Christians and dared us to do our worst. As these men and women of faith are committed to mother earth today in Makurdi, we bid them perpetual rest in the bosom of our Lord, even as we say with one voice, enough is enough. We can no longer stay still and watch our fellow humans butchered like chickens.

Mr. President, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), in its most recent letter to you, posed some very strong questions: ‘How can the federal Government stand back while its security agencies deliberately turn a blind eye to the cries and wails of helpless and armless citizens who remain sitting ducks in their homes, farms, highway and now, even in their sacred places of worship? Weeks later, we are still waiting for answers to these questions. Left defenceless, the ordinary Nigerians get killed while the politicians and the privileged ones go about with security details.

Permit me, Sir, to say that without any doubt, the Catholic Church in Nigeria has a long history of restraint in its engagement with governments of the country over the years. As partners in progress, we have always maintained integrity and restraint in the manner we react and respond to issues bordering on security and religious harmony. We believe strongly in the preservation of human life. We have consistently been advocates of peace, religious tolerance and inter-religious dialogue with other religions. We have always provided a cordial atmosphere for robust discussions and genuine efforts at ensuring national cohesion. Unfortunately, it is sad to note that we have frequently been at the receiving end of attacks; the most recent being the callous killings in Benue State. Mr. President, we have been provoked far too many times and now we say again, ‘Enough is enough.’

As an institution that upholds the sanctity of human life and the promotion of peace and good neighborliness with all people, in obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ, we want to state categorically that we shall continue to preach restraint and tolerance amongst our members. However, let it be known that our insistence on dialogue and peaceful conduct is not only in obedience to Christ but also in recognition of the truth of the saying attributed to the great Mahatma Gandhi that ‘An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.’ We recognize the strength in seeking and insisting on peaceful resolution of problems and so we hope that will not be taken for granted.

Justice cries out for all the innocent Nigerians who have died in the hands of the gun totting herdsmen. We are aware that the Vice President recently promised that the Federal Government would undertake the rebuilding of the places that were destroyed by the killer-herdsmen in Benue State and hopefully in other similar places. We hope that people will also be compensated for the loss of their farm produce and of their properties so that the Internally Displaced People who have been turned to beggars will get justice and restoration to normal life. Very importantly, we urge you, Mr President, to direct the security agencies to wake up, fish out the perpetrators of these callous killings and neutralize them so that people can once again feel safe. We pride ourselves with having some of the best security agencies in the world. This is the time for them to prove their mettle by bringing an end to these killings.

Mr President, that time has come for you to act fast and put to rest all the insinuations being pandered all over about you. We reiterate that our call for your urgent intervention is borne out of our deep patriotism and desire to save the country from imminent crisis that could snowball into ethnic, tribal or religious war. May the Lord grant you the wherewithal to carry out your duties and bring peace, security and growth to the nation.

Archbishop Alfred Adewale MARTINS

Catholic Archbishop of Lagos

FOR AND BEHALF OF OVER 3 MILLION CATHOLICS OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF LAGOS

Headline

Opposition Parties Reject 2026 Electoral Act, Demand Fresh Amendment

Published

18 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Eric

Opposition political parties have rejected the 2026 Electoral Act recently passed by the National Assembly, which President Bola Tinubu swiftly signed into law.

The parties called on the National Assembly to immediately begin a fresh amendment process to remove what they described as “all obnoxious provisions” in the law.

Their position was made known at a press briefing themed “Urgent Call to Save Nigeria’s Democracy,” held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Thursday.

In a communiqué read by the Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) Ahmed Ajuji, the opposition leaders stated:

“We demand that the National Assembly immediately commence a fresh amendment to the Electoral Act 2026, to remove all obnoxious provisions and ensure that the Act reflects only the will and aspiration of Nigerians for free, fair, transparent and credible electoral process in our country. Nothing short of this will be acceptable to Nigerians.”

Some of the opposition leaders present in at the event include former Senate President David Mark; former Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, all from the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ahmed Ajuji, and other prominent members of the NNPP, notably Buba Galadima, were also in attendance.

The coalition said the amended law, signed by Bola Tinubu, contains “anti-democratic” clauses, which they argue may weaken electoral transparency and public confidence in the voting system.

At the centre of the opposition’s concerns is the amendment to Section 60(3), which allows presiding officers to rely on manual transmission of election results where there is communication failure.

According to the coalition, the provision weakens the mandatory electronic transmission of results and could create loopholes for manipulation.

They argued that Nigeria’s electoral technology infrastructure is sufficient to support nationwide electronic transmission, citing previous assurances by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The parties also rejected the amendment to Section 84, which restricts political parties to direct primaries and consensus methods for candidate selection.

They described the change as an unconstitutional intrusion into the internal affairs of parties, insisting that indirect primaries remain a legitimate democratic option.

The opposition cited alleged irregularities in the recent Federal Capital Territory local government elections as evidence of what they described as a broader pattern of electoral compromise.

They characterised the polls as a “complete fraud” and said the outcome has deepened their lack of confidence in the ability of the electoral system to deliver credible elections in 2027.

The coalition also condemned reported attacks on leaders of the African Democratic Congress in Edo State, describing the incidents as a serious threat to democratic participation and political tolerance.

They warned that increasing violence against opposition figures could destabilise the political environment if not urgently addressed.

In their joint statement, the opposition parties pledged to pursue “every constitutional means” to challenge the Electoral Act 2026 and safeguard voters’ rights.

“We will not be intimidated,” the leaders said, urging civil society organisations and citizens to support efforts aimed at protecting Nigeria’s democratic system.

On February 18, 2026, President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Act (Amendment) 2026 into law following its passage by the National Assembly. The Act introduced several reforms, including statutory recognition of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and revised election timelines.

However, opposition figures such as Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have also called for further amendments, particularly over the manual transmission fallback clause, which critics say leaves room for manipulation.

The president said the law will strengthen democracy and prevent voter disenfranchisement.

Tinubu defended manual collation of results, questioned Nigeria’s readiness for full real-time electronic transmission, and warned against technical glitches and hacking.

The Electoral Act sparked intense debate in the National Assembly over how election results should be transmitted ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Civil society groups under the “Occupy NASS” campaign demanded real-time transmission to curb manipulation.

In the Senate, lawmakers clashed during consideration of Clause 60, which allows manual transmission of results if electronic transmission fails.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (ADC, Abia South) demanded a formal vote to remove the proviso permitting manual transmission, arguing against weakening real-time electronic reporting.

The move led to a heated exchange on the floor, with Senate President Godswill Akpabio initially suggesting the demand had been withdrawn.

After procedural disputes and a brief confrontation among senators, a division was conducted. Fifteen opposition senators voted against retaining the manual transmission proviso, while 55 supported it, allowing the clause to stand.

Earlier proceedings had briefly stalled during clause-by-clause review, prompting consultations and a closed-door session.

In the House of Representatives, a similar disagreement came up over a motion to rescind an earlier decision that mandated compulsory real-time electronic transmission of results to IReV.

Although the “nays” were louder during a voice vote, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas ruled in favour of rescinding the decision, triggering protests and an executive session.

Headline

AFP: How Tinubu’s Govt Paid Boko Haram ‘Huge’ Ransom, Released Two Terrorists for Kidnapped Saint Mary’s Pupils

Published

3 days ago

February 24, 2026

Eric

The Nigerian government paid Boko Haram militants a “huge” ransom of millions of dollars to free up to 230 children and staff the jihadists abducted from a Catholic school in November, an AFP investigation revealed Monday.

Two Boko Haram commanders were also freed as part of the deal, which goes against the country’s own law banning payments to kidnappers. The money was delivered by helicopter to Boko Haram’s Gwoza stronghold in northeastern Borno state on the border with Cameroon, intelligence sources told AFP.

The decision to pay the militants is likely to irritate US President Donald Trump, who ordered air strikes on jihadists in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day and has been sent military trainers to help support Nigerian forces.

Nigerian government officials deny any ransom was paid to the armed gang that snatched close to 300 schoolchildren and staff from St. Mary’s boarding school in Papiri in central Niger state on November 21. At least 50 later managed to escape their captors.

Boko Haram has not been previously linked to the kidnapping, but sources told AFP one of its most feared commanders was behind the mass abduction: the notorious jihadist known as Sadiku.

He infamously held up a train from the capital in 2022 and netted hefty ransoms for the release of government officials and other well-off passengers.

Boko Haram, which has waged a bloody insurgency since 2009, is strongest in northeast Nigeria.

But a cell in central Niger state operates under Sadiku’s leadership. The St. Mary’s pupils and staff were freed after two weeks of negotiations led by Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, with the government insisting no ransom was paid. Nigeria’s State Security Service flatly denied paying any money, saying “government agents don’t pay ransoms”.

However, four intelligence sources familiar with the talks told AFP the government paid a “huge” ransom to get the pupils back. One source put it at 40 million naira per head – around $7 million in total.

Another put the figure lower at two billion naira overall. The money was delivered by chopper to Ali Ngulde, a Boko Haram commander in the northeast, three sources told AFP.

Due to the lack of communications cover in the remote area, Ngulde had to cross into Cameroon to confirm delivery of the ransom before the first group of 100 children were released.

Nigeria has long been plagued by mass abductions, with criminals and jihadist groups sometimes working together to extort millions from hostages’ families, and authorities seemingly powerless to stop them.

Source: Africanews

Headline

Unlawful Invasion: El-Rufai Drags ICPC, IGP, Others to Court, Demands N1bn Damages

Published

4 days ago

February 23, 2026

Eric

Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has slammed a ₦1 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for what he claimed was an unlawful invasion of his Abuja residence.

El-Rufai, in a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, also listed the Chief Magistrate, Magistrate’s Court of the FCT, Abuja Magisterial District; Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as 2nd to 4th respondents respectively.

According to the suit filed through his lawyers, led by Oluwole Iyamu, El-Rufai prayed the court to declare that the search warrant issued on February 4 by the Chief Magistrate, Magistrate’s Court of the FCT (2nd respondent), authorising the search and seizure at his residence as invalid, null and void.

Security operatives had stormed and searched the former Governor’s residence in the ongoing investigations against him.

However, he argued in the case marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, that the search was in violation of Section 37 of the Constitution, and urged the court to declare that the search warrant was “null and void for lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth, and absence of probable cause thereby constituting an unlawful and unreasonable search.”

In the suit dated and filed February 20 by Iyamu, ex-governor, who is currently under detention, sought seven reliefs.

He prayed the court to declare that the invasion and search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on Feb. 19 at about 2pm and executed by agents of ICPC and I-G, “under the aforesaid invalid warrant, amounts to a gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution.”

He urged the court to declare that “any evidence obtained pursuant to the aforesaid invalid warrant and unlawful search is inadmissible in any proceedings against the applicant, as it was procured in breach of constitutional safeguards.”

El-Rufai, therefore, sought an order of injunction restraining the respondents and their agents from further relying on, using, or tendering any evidence or items seized during the unlawful search in any investigation, prosecution, or proceedings involving him.

“An order directing the Ist and 3rd respondents (ICPC and I-G) to forthwith return all items seized from the applicant’s premises during the unlawful search, together with a detailed inventory thereof.

“An order awarding the sum of N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira) as general, exemplary, and aggravated damages against the respondents jointly and severally for the violations of the applicant’s fundamental rights, including trespass, unlawful seizure, and the resultant psychological trauma, humiliation, distress, infringement of privacy, and reputational harm.”

The breakdown of the ₦1 billion in damages includes “a N300 million as compensatory damages for psychological trauma, emotional distress, and loss of personal security;

“A ₦400 million as exemplary damages to deter future misconduct by law enforcement agencies and vindicate the applicant’s rights.

“A ₦300 million as aggravated damages for the malicious, high-handed and oppressive nature of the respondents’ actions, including the use of a patently defective warrant procured through misleading representations.”

He equally sought ₦100 million as the cost of filing the suit, including legal fees and associated expenses.

Iyamu argued that the search warrant was fundamentally defective, lacking specificity in the description of items to be seized, containing material typographical errors, ambiguous execution terms, overbroad directives, and no verifiable probable cause.

He added that the warrant violated Sections 143-148 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015; Section 36 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) Act, 2000, and constitutional protections against arbitrary intrusions and several other constitutional provisions.

“Section 146 stipulates that the warrant must be in the prescribed form, free from defects that could mislead, but the document is riddled with errors in the address, date, and district designation;

“Section 147 allows direction to specified persons, but the warrant’s indiscriminate addressing to “all officers is overbroad and unaccountable.

“Section 148 permits execution at reasonable times, but the contradictory language creates ambiguity, undermining procedural clarity,” he submitted.

Iyamu stated that the execution of the invalid warrant on Feb. 19 resulted in an unlawful invasion of his client’s premises, constituting violations of the rights to dignity (Section 34), personal liberty (Section 35), fair hearing (Section 36), and privacy (Section 37) of the Constitution.

He further argued that the search was conducted without legal justification and in a manner that inflicted humiliation and distress.

“Evidence obtained without a valid warrant is unlawful and inadmissible, as established in judicial precedents such as C.O.P. v. Omoh (1969) NCLR 137, where the court ruled that evidence procured through improper means contravenes fundamental rights and must be excluded,” he said.

In the affidavit in support of the application, Mohammed Shaba, a Principal Secretary to the former governor, averred that on Feb. 19 at about 2p.m., officers from the ICPC and Nigeria Police Force invaded the residence under a purported search warrant issued on or about Feb. 4.

According to him, the said warrant is invalid due to its lack of specificity, errors, and other defects as outlined in the grounds of this application.

He said the “search warrant did not specify the properties or items being searched for.”

Shaba stated that the officers failed to submit themselves for search as provided by the law before proceeding with the search.

“That the Magistrate did not specify the magisterial district wherein he sits.

“That during the invasion, the officers searched the applicant’s premises without lawful authority, seized personal items including documents and electronic devices, and caused the applicant undue humiliation, psychological trauma, and distress.

“Now shown to me and marked as ‘EXHIBIT B’ Is the list of the items carted away.

“That no items seized have been returned, and the respondents continue to rely on the unlawful evidence.

“That the applicant suffered violations of his constitutional rights as a result, and this application is brought in good faith to enforce same,” Shaba said.

Source: Naijanews.com