News & Announcements

A leading rights group in Nigeria, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has dragged Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the country’s National Assembly to court over increment in the pump price of fuel and electricity tariff.

SERAP and 302 concerned Nigerians are asking the court to “declare illegal, unconstitutional and unfair the recent hike in electricity tariff and fuel price.

SERAP averred that the court must declare the hikes in the tariff void, as top-level public officers cannot continue to receive the same salaries and allowances and spend public money to finance a life of luxury for themselves while asking poor Nigerians to make sacrifices.

Joined in the suit as defendants are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

While presenting the 2021 budget proposal of N13.08 trillion to the National Assembly, President Buhari had reportedly stated that: “The new petrol pricing has freed up resources that were used for subsidy payments, while the new cost-reflective pricing in the electricity industry is meant to address the liquidity challenges in the sector.”

In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/330/2020 filed last week at the Federal High Court, Abuja, SERAP is seeking: “an order directing and compelling the RMAFC to cut the salaries, allowances and other emoluments payable to President Buhari, Professor Osinbajo, Dr. Lawan, and Mr. Gbajabiamila, in line with the current economic realities, and principles of justice, fairness, equality, and non-discrimination.”

SERAP is arguing that: “The Constitution of Nigeria 1999 [as amended] makes it clear that the authorities should harness Nigeria’s resources to promote and ensure the maximum welfare, prosperity, freedom, and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality. The country’s resources ought to be harnessed and distributed to serve the common good, and not to finance a life of luxury for politicians.”

According to SERAP: “Increasing electricity tariff and fuel price in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic is antithetical to the public interest, the common good, and a fundamental breach of constitutional oath of office.”

SERAP is also seeking: “an order of injunction restraining the RMAFC from paying the same amount of salaries and allowances to President Buhari, Professor Osinbajo, Dr. Lawan, and Mr. Gbajabiamila until the RMAFC comprehensively reviews downward the salaries and allowances and other emoluments of these top public officers and other high-ranking public officers, in line with Nigeria’s current economic realities, and consistent with the principles of the rule of law.”

Dr. Lawan issued for himself and on behalf of all 109 members of the Senate, while Mr. Gbajabiamila issued for himself and on behalf of all 360 members of the House of Representatives.

According to SERAP: “A public officer shall not put himself/herself in a position where his/her personal interest conflicts with his/her duties and responsibilities. Personal interest, in this case, is when top public officers like the defendants continue to receive the same salaries and allowances while asking poor Nigerians to sacrifice and bear the burden of electricity tariff and fuel price hike.”

SERAP is also asking the court to determine “whether RMAFC can lawfully continue to maintain the same level of salaries and allowances for President Buhari, Professor Osinbajo, Dr. Lawan, and Mr. Gbajabiamila, in light of Nigeria’s current economic realities, and constitutional provisions, and despite their apparent roles in the increase of electricity tariff and fuel price.”

SERAP said further: “Public money is spent as security votes without transparency, and to pay for lavish lifestyles for top public officers including lawmakers, who continue to buy expensive new cars at the expense of taxpayers, the poor and socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians. The National Assembly is also set to spend N27 billion to renovate the National Assembly Complex, as proposed in the budget.”

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Opeyemi Owolabi read in part: “Public duty means showing leadership by example and commitment to the ideals of public service, including by reducing salaries and allowances of high-ranking public officers like the defendants.

“The Nigerian Constitution is founded on the rule of law the primary meaning of which is that everything must be done according to law. It also means that government should be conducted within the framework of recognized rules and principles, which restrict discretionary power.

“The court, being the last hope of the common man, must come to the aid of the poor and socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians by granting the reliefs sought by SERAP and 302 concerned Nigerians. Unless the reliefs sought are granted, the Defendants will continue to breach the constitution at the expense of Nigerians living in poverty.

“The poor and socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians would be negatively affected by the hike in electricity tariff and fuel price. The increase is contrary to the oath of office by the president to faithfully ensure the well-being and prosperity of the people. Increasing electricity tariff and fuel price is neither in the public interest nor the well-being of Nigerians.”

Protesters against police brutality and the end of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Nigeria, which is simultaneously ongoing in the past 12 days across cities in the country, on Friday, blocked the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport road in Abuja and took over the city gate.
The youths in their numbers barricaded the expressway, preventing vehicular movement on the ever-busy road.
The crowd, which has continued to grow vowed not to back down on their demands until a country where the system will work for the betterment of the people is achieved.
The youths were seen holding and waving the national flags to symbolizing their act of patriotism.
They also displayed a banner containing the photographs of the victims of police brutality in the country.
The blockade has led to heavy traffic jams in the area as motorists were forced to take alternative routes.
Meanwhile, armed policemen attached to the city gate allowed the protesters to move unhindered.

The Algerian authorities have apprehended and held 44 Persons for attending a gay wedding.

This is even a human rights advocacy group, Human Rights Watch, said that Algerian authorities must immediately release and drop the charges against the 44 people for attending a “gay wedding”.

According to reports, on July 24 the police raided a private residence and arrested the 44 people, including nine women and 35 men, most of them university students.

The arrests took place in el-Kharoub, a district in Constantine Province, north-eastern Algeria after the neighbours complained.

Human Rights Watch reported that an Algerian lawyer involved in the case told the rights group that the court used police reports describing the decorations, flowers, and sweets indicative of a wedding celebration, and the men’s supposedly gay appearance, as evidence of guilt.

“Algerian authorities’ attack on personal freedoms is nothing new, but arresting dozens of students based on their perceived sexual orientation is a flagrant infringement on their basic rights,” said Rasha Younes, a researcher on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights at Human Rights Watch.

According to the report, the court convicted the 44 of same-sex relations, public indecency, and subjecting others to harm by breaking Covid-19 quarantine measures.

Two men were sentenced to three years in prison and a fine, and the others to a one-year suspended sentence.

The rights advocacy group said these convictions contradicted the right to privacy under international human rights law.

It said this right was also reflected in Algeria’s constitution, which provides for the protection of a person’s “honour” and private life, including the privacy of their home, communication, and correspondence.

According to LGBTQ+ media outlet Equaldex, homosexuality in Algeria is illegal and punishable by imprisonment.

Same-sex relations are punishable under article 338 of the penal code by up to two years in prison.

The Sierra Leonean main Opposition APC party has backed former President Ernest Bai Koroma after he was accused of organizing his supporters to block the way for Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), who last week was to meet the former leader at his home in Makeni.

Recall that on Thursday last week, hundreds of angry youths staged protests and blocked the road leading to his house, to prevent ACC investigators from meeting with him.

The former president is accused by the Commission of Inquiry into the corruption of mismanagement and abuse of power by his government during his two terms in office between 2007 and 2018, involving hundreds of millions of dollars.

In a statement by the APC signed by Alhaji Osman Yansaneh, the party’s National Secretary, it said it was appalled by the avalanche of press releases against the APC from the President Julius Maada Bio’s Government as well as the civil society groups.

It said: “The All People’s Congress is appalled by the flurry of press statements coming from supposed democratic institutions in regards to the incidence in Makeni on 8th October 2020 when the Anti-Corruption Commission was scheduled to meet with the former President, H.E. Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma.

“The statements hurriedly condemn the gathering of residents of Makeni who were out to show solidarity with the former President in respect of several instances of intimidation, name-calling, and harassment against his person. The APC is particularly dismayed by the fact that these institutions are overly selective in their condemnation of acts in the current state of affairs in Sierra Leone.

“While we detest every act of lawlessness and every threat to the peace and stability which our party has sustained in Sierra Leone throughout our tenure in governance we must register our disappointment over the failure of state and some non-state institutions to denounce the endless spate of human rights abuses, violation of constitutional rights of expression and assembly, abuse of processes and victimization perpetrated by the government of H.E. Julius Maada Bio since his assumption of office in 2018.

“Sierra Leone enjoyed the peace and political calm for almost two decades since the end of the war, and much of that dispensation was superintended by the APC Party. Former President Koroma’s administration had all the hallmarks of democracy, peace, and stability. There were no political prisoners; opposition politicians suffered no form of harassment while the rights of expression and assembly were guarded with the utmost candour.

“Sierra Leone excelled in international rankings on peace and tolerance and the former President received global attention for his demonstration of statesmanship. We conducted Presidential elections in 2018 without any form of intimidation of the opposition and handed over power peacefully despite the blatant irregularities that attended the results.

“Since this government entered State House our party officials and supporters have become the object of countless incidences of oppression, incarceration, killings, and trumped-up legal charges. As a political party, we have made several petitions to the Supreme Court on issues ranging from elections to the conduct of the Commissions of Inquiry but all of them were discountenanced with criminal arrogance. Yet none of these institutions bothered to denounce this as a recipe for chaos.

“The government on several instances has used both police and military forces to stifle peaceful protests of citizens, and in most cases live rounds of ammunition were fired at unarmed civilians. Many have died and many more injured by this show of brute force by state security personnel.

“Senior members of the APC who were either Minister in the former administration or current Members of Parliament have consistently been arrested and molested by officers of the current government. One such case is Alfred Palo Conteh’s matter.

“The former Minister of Defence, Minister of Internal Affairs and head of the National Ebola Response Centre was incarcerated for several months on bogus treason charges. He was later acquitted of the said charges but he is still behind bars despite several attempts by his lawyers to bail him pending the determination of his appeal against other less serious charges.

“The Anti-Corruption Commissioner has on a number of occasions ordered the detention of people who were already persons of interest and were being investigated by the Justice Biobelle Georgewill Commission of Inquiry on the same issues raised by the latter.

“Sierra Leoneans are witness to the National Electoral Commission’s rogue handling of Bye Elections across the country and how the former Chief Electoral Commissioner would in one instance announce results declaring the APC candidate winner and later reverse his declaration in the interest of the SLPP candidate.

“In another instance (in Constituency 110) the Commissioner’s refusal to announce the victory of the APC candidate even though the results indicate a clear victory only reveals a trait of ineptitude attendant with blatant disregard for democratic processes in a fashion that is out of place in the civilized world.

“We need not mention that in each of these elections SLPP rented thugs led by senior officials of their party who are also government ministers have shown up to disrupt the voting process, harass peaceful citizens and destroy voting materials in the full glare of the police. Neither arrest nor investigations were made to look into these several acts of violence.

“Additionally, while there is a ban on secret societies and masquerades Sierra Leoneans have witnessed on several occasions when masquerades show up at gatherings and occasions organized by government officials and sometimes no less a person than the President would be seen dancing with them. No press statements were made to condemn such acts of lawlessness.

“The APC is wondering how long will state institutions turn a blind eye to all of the horrible acts of injustice perpetrated by the government only to issue out statements to condemn the gathering of people who have lost confidence in the institutions that are constitutionally mandated to protect them. For how long will this lip service to democracy and the rule of law continue?

“President Koroma has, through an official press release and leaked audio on his conversation with the Inspector General of Police committed himself in very clear language to the ACC probe and any action that promotes the rule of law. This is in keeping with his demeanour as a respecter of the law.

“In conclusion, while we call on our numerous supporters to be peaceful and abide by the rule of law our resolve is strengthened to guard against any collusion by state institutions to cloak the truth and to work within the confines of the law to defend against campaigns of calumny executed by the SLPP government against the former President and members of our party.

“By this release, we call on our development partners and the international community to note the level of hypocrisy displayed by these supposed democratic institutions of the state and some non-state actors. We remain undaunted.

“God Bless Sierra Leone. Long live the APC.”

The official websites of the Nigerian Government have come under attack as a group of hackers, which called itself ‘Anonymous’ has broken into several websites belonging to it.

According to Guardian, hacking was part of the going protests against police brutality in the West African country.

The move comes after anger over the police’s notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) erupted in the streets earlier this month, forcing the government to announce it was disbanding the unit — which is known for beating up and torturing citizens — as part of wider policy reforms.

The Guardian said the group had posted about the hack on Twitter, but that its handle, created on October 12, had since been temporarily restricted by the social media giant.

On Monday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said the disbanding of SARS was the first step in protecting citizens.

“The disbanding of SARS is only the first step in our commitment to extensive police reforms in order to ensure that the primary duty of the police and other law enforcement agencies remains the protection of lives and livelihood of our people,” he posted on his Twitter page.

“We will also ensure that all those responsible for the misconduct are brought to justice. We also deeply regret the loss of life of a young man in Oyo State during the recent demonstrations.”

Buhari added that he had ordered that the circumstances of the young man’s death be thoroughly investigated, emphasizing it should not be taken for granted that the majority of the men and women in the police force were hardworking and diligent.

After disbanding the dreaded and highly rotten Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which took credit for extrajudicial killings of innocent young Nigerians on flimsy excuses,Nigeria Police Force has released guidelines for the new tactical team that is to replace SARS.

The development was conveyed through a press release that was signed by the Public Relations Officer for the Force Headquarters Abuja, DCP Frank Mba, on Tuesday, October 13, 2020.
The press release contained the activities, and fact of information on the newly carved police tactical team, as it pointed out that no personnel of the defunct SARS would be selected to be part of the new tactical team.
The release also stated that the operations of the new team would be strictly intelligence-driven, while its members are not expected to be on routine patrols.

The new Police Tactical team members are banned from the indiscriminate and unlawful searches of phones, laptops, and other smart devices. 
According to the release, the operatives of the new Tactical team must be free from any pending disciplinary matters, especially those with issues of misuse of firearms and abuse of human rights.
The release also highlighted areas that the new team is expected to be working on. Members of the team are expected to always respond to robbery attacks, they are also expected to respond to the scene of weapon-related crimes.

Duties of the Police Tactical Team according to the release are to respond to rescue operations and special operations that are involved in high profile criminal cases.

Somalia’s Islamist insurgents are moving millions of dollars through the formal bank system and appear to be investing in businesses and real estate, according to a United Nations report offering a rare glimpse into their finances.

Al Shabaab has for years been battling Somalia’s internationally-backed government to impose strict Islamic law in the anarchic Horn of Africa nation.

“Al Shabaab remains in a strong financial position and is generating a significant budgetary surplus, some of which is invested in property purchases and businesses in Mogadishu,” said the report by the UN sanctions panel on Somalia.

The report by the group, according to the report reeled by iol.co.za, which monitors compliance with an arms embargo on Somalia, is due to be published this week.

The al Qaeda-linked Somali militants carry out frequent bombings and attacks at home and have also killed hundreds of civilians in Kenya and Uganda. Earlier this year, al Shabaab killed three Americans at a U.S. military base in Kenya.

The UN report included details on two bank accounts held at Salaam Somali Bank, founded in 2009 as part of the Hormuud group of companies, raising questions about Somalia’s capacity to enforce a 2016 law aimed at curbing terrorist financing.

The bank did not respond to requests for comment.

Somalia’s Financial Reporting Center, which oversees compliance laws against money laundering and terror financing, said it is investigating the allegations against Salaam.

Nearly $1.7 million moved through one of the accounts during a 10-week period until mid-July this year, the report said, noting the account appeared to set up to receive an Islamic tax called zakat.

With around 5,000 fighters, al Shabaab controls towns and countryside in southern Somalia, but its spies and assassins operate nationwide. Its estimated expenditure last year was around $21 million, with about a quarter of that going to the Amniyat intelligence arm.

Al Shabaab also runs its own courts. One businessman told investigators that the courts had summoned him this year and ordered him to pay more than $100,000 in zakat based on a review of his business, which they had assessed before he arrived.

The businessman, who was not named, provided a banking deposit slip and a receipt from al Shabaab to investigators as proof of payment. “Al Shabaab maintains a registry of citizens, which includes financial assessments on individuals and businesses,” the report said.

Another account, which appeared to handle fees levied on businessmen using Mogadishu port, had $1.1 million moved through it from mid-February until the end of June this year, the report said. It included a cash deposit of $25,000 by someone calling himself “A B C” on documentation.

In total, the two accounts made more than 128 transactions exceeding the $10 000 thresholds that should trigger automatic reporting to the Financial Reporting Centre.

When asked if the accounts had been shut down, Amina Ali, head of the center, told Reuters: “All the necessary steps have been taken.”

The report also examined a single al Shabaab road checkpoint – one of the dozens – that former al Shabaab tax officials told investigators made between $1.8 million-$2.4 million per year.

In the government-controlled southern port of Kismayo, businesses are forced to pay the insurgency between $300-$600 monthly depending on their size, which could earn them nearly $6 million a year from Kismayo alone, the report said.

Businessmen are afraid to refuse al Shabaab for fear of being killed, said Hussein Sheikh Ali, a former Somali national security advisor and founder of the Mogadishu-based Hiraal Institute thinktank. Their own report on al Shabaab finances is due out this month.

US-supported Somali special forces sometimes attack al Shabaab checkpoints to cut their revenues, he said.

“Shabaab is super efficient in terms of collecting money throughout industries and the country,” he said.

“We know they have surplus money… and we believe they may send some money to al Qaeda.”

Mohammed Adamu, the Nigerian Inspector General of Police (IGP), in accordance with Section 18 (10) of the Police Act 2020, ordered all personnel of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to report at the Force Headquarters, Abuja for debriefing, psychological and medical examination. 
A statement from DCP Frank Mba, Force Spokesperson on Tuesday showed that the officers were expected to undergo this process as a prelude to further training and reorientation before being redeployed into mainstream policing duties. 
The medical examination, according to the statement, will be carried out by the newly set-up Police Counselling and Support Unit (PCSU), a unit, which henceforth shall engage in psychological management, re-orientation and training of officers of the Force deployed for tactical operations and other duties.The unit, which is domiciled with the Force Medical Department and coordinated by the Force Medical Officer, has its membership is drawn from amongst psychiatrists, psychologists, medics, pastors and imams, Public Relations practitioners, Civil Society and other Human Rights groups with relevant qualifications and expertise. Meanwhile, the IGP has set up a new Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team that will fill the gaps arising from the dissolution of the defunct SARS.Prospective members of this new team will also undergo a psychological and medical examination to ascertain their fitness and eligibility for the new assignment. They are to commence training at the different Police tactical training institutions nationwide, next week.While personnel from the Police Commands in the South-East and the South-South will be trained at the Counter-Terrorism College, Nonwa-Tai, Rivers State, those from the  Police Commands from the North and the South-West will be trained at the Police Mobile Force Training College, Ende, Nasarawa State and the Police Mobile Force Training College, Ila-Orangun, Osun State, respectively.
While reaffirming his irrevocable commitment towards the successful and holistic implementation of the Police reforms, the IGP enjoined members of the public, particularly protesting citizens to exercise restraint and allow measures being put in place to come to fruition and engender a Police Force that would meet the yearnings and aspirations of the citizenry.

Julius Malema, the EFF leader in South Africa, has vowed that the party’s protest rally planned for Senekal in the Free State, where white farmers violently stormed the court, damaged property, and burnt a police vehicle last week, will go ahead.

Racial tensions remain high in Senekal after a young white farm manager, Brendin Horner, 21, was murdered last week.

Police Minister Bheki Cele and State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo visited the area on Tuesday.

Speaking outside the Randburg Magistrate’s Court where he and EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi are facing charges of assault against a policeman, Malema accused the police of being scared of white people.

He said the red berets and the party’s ground forces would be heading to Senekal where they would protect state property from white protesters, which the police had failed to do.

“We are not scared of them. We are going to get them on Friday. We are going to face white men face to face,” Malema said.

Malema and Ndlozi briefly appeared before the Randburg Magistrate’s Court where the matter was postponed to October 28 and 29 to hear the application by the media to broadcast the trial.

Malema took a swipe at the police who maintained their presence as he addressed a group of EFF supporters outside the court, saying the police were quick to monitor black people but they were scared to deal with white people even when they were violent.

“You cowards allowed white people to burn your cars. You are cowards. We are not cowards. We are getting them to come Friday. And there is no one who can stop us,” he said.

The DA has blasted Malema, accusing him of incitement to violence.

The DA has laid criminal charges and lodged a complaint with Parliament’s ethics committee against Malema.

Malema pointed out that the EFF would not be in Senekal to protect those accused of the killing of Horner but to confront white arrogance and criminality.

“We have no business with murderers. That black man who killed a white man must go and rot in jail. It is not our problem.

“We do not protect criminals but we will never allow white men to show us what they showed (Nelson) Mandela during the negotiations.

“That thing must have ended there. That white arrogance should have ended there,” he said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa will deal with the rising unemployment in the country. This is according to the labour minister, Thulas Nxesi.

Nxesi said President Ramaphosa’s economic recovery plan will be tabled at the Parliament on Thursday by the president himself, which will deal with the rising unemployment in the country.

This comes after Statistics South Africa released its latest figures that showed there were 2.2 million who lost their jobs in the second quarter.

This was at the time COVID-19 was at its peak with most businesses closed or shutting down.

Nxesi was answering questions from MPs in the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday on Covid-19 relief schemes.

The government has spent billions in the last six months to cushion the poor.

But MPs were concerned that the additional 2.2m people, joining the unemployed, would be a crisis in the country, and they wanted to know if Ramaphosa would address this question.

Nxesi said he would not give details, but this would form part of the recovery plan to be unveiled by Ramaphosa in the joint sitting of Parliament.

“The question was asked what are we doing to mitigate the expected large scale retrenchments in the region of 2 million.

“This is a question about the national reconstruction and recovery plan, which will be announced by the president on Thursday.

“I can say that the Presidency has consulted fully with all sections of government as well as all partners at Nedlac and indeed all partners; business, labour, and community were specifically invited to make proposals,” said Nxesi.

“From my side, I would add that in addition to the stimulus measures there are plans for mass unemployment measures, but let us wait for the president to pronounce on that,” he said.

Nxesi added that COVID-19 caught the country and the world off guard.

They were not prepared and the fight against the virus continues.