ONLY IRRESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENTS DEMOLISH BUILDINGS By Frank Tietie

Being a Reflection on the Reported Demolition of Ayefele's Music House by the Oyo State Government

It is irresponsible for state governments to demolish buildings in a country like Nigeria where the government has failed woefully to discharge its responsibilities under _Article 11_ of the *International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights* which provides as follows, that:
_The States Parties to the present Covenant (including Nigeria) recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.

The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.

In a country with over 17 million housing deficit, the citizens should be commended by the government whenever they are able to provide any form of shelter or buildings for themselves, even where such buildings are said to contravene law or built in lands that don't belong to them.

A responsible government cannot demolish any building, even for safety reasons, unless it first, above all else, provides alternative buildings or shelter for those that would be affected by any such planned demolition.

Thus, a citizen who has helped himself, anyhow, to build a house of his own when the government has failed to assist him to build one, cannot have his building demolished by that same government that failed in its responsibilities to provide legal housing or prevent the erection of illegal buildings. 

Majority of Nigerian citizens are unable to access mortgages, which in some countries range between 20 to 30 years tenures. In Nigeria, mortgages are given only to employed middle class persons with an average tenure of 6 months to 12 months.

Even the middle class in Nigeria cries under the weight of lack of friendly mortgage conditions or near absence of direct support from the government.

The government's mass housing schemes of the past were mindlessly hijacked by unscrupulous estate developers who defeated the noble aims of the schemes and have made the houses unaffordable to the mass number of Nigerians.

The National Housing Fund with Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, despite huge budgetar allocation is now a relatively unknown agency of government with little or no direct impact on the life of ordinary Nigerians.

An average mass housing property in Abuja at a time sold for N25 million, in a country where the minimum age is N18,000. Some people said the fight against corruption should be told to the marines.

For the ordinary Nigerian citizen, he suffers deprivation and extreme poverty because of the practice of corruption by majority of Nigerian public servants. Therefore, he is permanently deprived of incentives such as mortgages and cheap loans.

He is banished to live in shanty towns, usually within a suburbia. What justification therfore, has any government to wake up one morning and demolish such shanty towns on the grounds that they have contravened law or they are built on some other person's land?  Where was the government or the landowner respectively, when the said shanty town was being built?

Why must a place like Otodo-Gbame community be demolished by the Lagos State without it acting as a responsible government, by first settling the residents in an alternative housing estate or even caring to compensate them before the planned demolition? Such carelessnes would  be described as evil in a highly religious country like Nigeria, yet it was highly condoned by the majority. We have done nothing to assuage the grave injustices done to the residents of that Lagos community. Which community next in line for demolition?

Extending the principle of contributory negligence, the question should be, where was the government when the said illegal building was being erected? It is only an irresponsible and corrupt government that would not use its force to stop the erection of an illegal building but would rather choose to wait until the building is erected, with people residing in it for a period of say, twenty years before that same government would decide to use its force to pull down the building without having first, provided alternative shelters or payment of adequate compensation.

That is the height of irresponsibilty. Demolitions in Nigeria are carried out without concern for citizens' welfare and human rights with regards to issues of fair hearing and the right to housing, in complete neglect of the international human rights obligations of Nigeria.

The proper thing for a government to do is to commit a sizable amount of its resources to providing houses for all its citizens, including those that are yet unborn.

Nigeria has had more than enough resources, since 1960 to provide houses for all its citizens. The culture of corruption as practised by the majority of the operators of government is the reason why majority of Nigerians are without adequate shelter and are currently living below poverty lines despite the presence huge oil resources in the last 5 decades.

Buildings in Nigeria should be treated as sacred and must not be pulled down by any government without an order of court which must have considered seriously, the contributory negligence of the government and in the absence of providing immediate alternative shelters,  the courts would give such reasonably long notices which range bwtween 20 to 30 years before the actual demolition of buildings are carried out by the government.

Such long notices should also be applicable to politically motivated demolitions which include the ruthless demolition of Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi's house by the Kaduna State Governor or today's shocking and painful demolition of Ayefele's Music House by the Oyo State government.

Those are examples of crass abuses of governmental powers with crude violation of the human right to housing.

The case of the Ayefele's Music House is barbaric since it is a building  from where a radio station broadcasts information and knowledge to the people of Oyo State and beyond.

Whether or not the state government likes their philosophical or driving standpoint as a station is immaterial. They are guaranteed under *Section 39* of the Nigerian Constitution such a right to own a radio station, hold certain opinions and broadcast them.

The demolition of the Ayefele's Music House may not only be politically motivated but it is unjust and constitutes a serious human rights violation by a state actor.

Also, it is unreasonable for some governors in Eastern Nigeria, particularly that of Imo State who some time ago ordered the outright demolition of houses that are said to belong to kidnappers or armed robbers. Such houses built from established proceeds of crime should be confiscated and given to the poor.

Houses which pose threat to human safety must, however, be demolished to avoid the reoccurrence of incidences of building collapse both at construction and inhabitable stages. But even the residents of unsafe houses must first be immediately given alternative shelters or paid adequate compensation to relocate before such demolitions are carried out. The owners of such houses along with the government supervisors who fraudulently granted building approvals or failed to carry out proper inspections should also be promptly be arrested prosecuted as should be expected the recent case of the collapsed building in Jabi, Abuja, which occurred in the foregoing week.

The application of the law by office occurred government must at all times consider respect for humanofficialsnd the urgent need to ensure the steady social and economic development of Nigeria.

Henceforth, there should be a macroeconomic development of houses in Nigeria for at least a period of 30 years.

CAN cautions presidency, police over threat to democracy

The leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has warned the Presidency and the Nigeria Police not to do anything capable of threatening the survival of democracy in Nigeria.

Reacting to the invasion of the official residences of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, CAN warned the presidency to desist from using the Nigeria Police to pull down democratic institutions built at a great price, which includes, but not limited to, loss of lives and imprisonment of many patriots in the past.

We express grave concerns over the poor handling of police’s invitation to the Senate President, Saraki, over the infamous Offa robbery saga that led to the death of no fewer than 30 people. And the alleged plan by the EFCC to arrest Ekweremadu over alleged money laundry.

The Christian umbrella body condemns in strong terms the way and manner the Police were deployed in subjecting the leadership of the National Assembly to needless embarrassment and harassment. The ongoing action of the Police is a siege against democracy.

CAN notes with every sense of responsibility that the only difference between democracy and dictatorship is the presence or absence of the National Assembly. As stakeholders in the survival of the Nigerian democracy, we have no choice but to speak out against unfolding political imbroglio that is capable of not portraying in good standing in the comity of nations.

We caution the Police against being used to threaten democracy. CAN needs to remind the Nigeria Police that once a suspect has been invited to any of its offices, the best international practice is to exercise patience until the invitee fails to honour such an invitation. We are shocked, disappointed and alarmed at the aborted moves by the Police to stop both the Senate President and his deputy, from attending Tuesday’s proceedings for whatever reasons.

We urge the Presidency to avoid any action that could threaten the democracy of our nation.  The Nigeria Police are supposed to be neutral in order to ensure the survival of democracy. We call on both leadership of the National Assembly and the Presidency to stop acting in a manner that constitutes international disgrace and embarrassment. It is needless to remind the legislative and executive arms of government to work in synergy for the interest of our nation’s democracy.

CAN calls on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other professional bodies, like the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), among others, to remain vigilant in rescuing democracy from forces that are hell-bent in derailing it.

We appeal to all security agencies to stop being involved in partisan politics. Nigerians must realise that leadership goes around and comes around, but our country will continue to remain. CAN calls on all service chiefs, including the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, not to destroy our democratic institutions through needless partisanship.

A WORD IS ENOUGH FOR THE WISE.

We urge you to use your credible and popular media to publish this statement as we appreciate your support and understanding.

Thank You.
Signed
Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant (Media& Communications) to the CAN President, his eminence, Rev Samson Olasupo A. Ayokunle, PhD.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT’S DIRECTIVE ON SARS:* THE NEED TO OVERHAUL THE ENTIRE NIGERIAN POLICE SYSTEM AND ENSURE PROPER FUNDING OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

The Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) commends the acting President for directing the overhaul of the erstwhile Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

However, the directive is nebulous and does not depict any clear positive expectation with regards to structural and operational changes in the Nigerian Police system that would enhance the observation and enforcement of human rights.

SARS, as a police unit has had a national reputation for brutality and gross human rights violations. Documented studies and reports by human rights groups on the operations of SARS contain some of the worst cases of torture, extra-judicial killings and abuse of police powers across the world. Nigerians remained shocked beyond belief as they witnessed for a long time the norm of using SARS operatives as debt collectors and  elements used by oppressive persons to settle scores with their rivals.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sufficient powers in law to address cases of human rights violations and it does not require a directive from the Acting President to discharge its functions of ensuring the observation and enforcement of the human rights of Nigerians. A government that is genuinely interested in enforcing the human rights of Nigerian citizens would properly fund the NHRC and ensure that all persons found to have violated the human rights of Nigerians, are punished and their victims adequately compensated.

The swift and dramatic response of the Inspector General of Police to the directive of the Acting President appears cosmetic and does not in the face of it, address any of the problems of gross human rights abuses that are associated with the erstwhile SARS.

Therefore, nothing short of the total disbandment of the concept of special squads such as SARS and the establishment of a comprehensive, civil police operational standard, including training and  a review of the quality of individual policemen, may be a fitting starting point in reversing the obsolescent police service offered to Nigerians and the poor reputation of the Nigerian police.

*Frank Tietie*
Executive Director,
CITIZENS ADVOCACY FOR SOCIAL & ECONOMIC RIGHTS (CASER)

Akpodubakaye assures on judicious use of constituency project funds

An aspirant for Warri South West State House of Assembly seat in the Delta State House of Assembly, under the platform of All Progressive Party (APC), Mr. Jude Akpodubakaye has stressed the need for State Houses of Assembly to assign constitutional roles to traditional rulers in the country.

Speaking during a consultative visit to the Pere of Ogbe-ijoh Kingdom, HRM Couple Oromoni, in Warri South West local government area of Delta state, Mr. Akpodubakaye, reiterated the rightful role of traditional rulers in mitigating crisis in their domains, pointing out that the many security challenges at the grassroots would be drastically reduced when the royal fathers are assigned constitutional roles.

According to the APC aspirant, giving such constitutional roles to monarchs would enable the traditional institution to deliver more effectively on their roles in peacebuilding and security at the grassroots.

Mr. Akpodubakaye, who was pioneer head of Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme’s regional-sub office, at Boro town (Orubiri) in Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area of Bayelsa state, extolled the exemplary leadership qualities of the monarch, just as he commended the royal father for his role in sustaining peace and unity among his subjects.

The aspirant pointed out that “until traditional rulers are given their deserving roles in the constitution, the nation may continue to have one crisis or the other”.

He recalled that “history had clearly shown how  how traditional rulers played significant roles in curtailing conflicts”, adding that even the colonial masters duly recognised the role of the traditional institutions in governance.

The APC aspirant further stressed that traditional rulers have the mechanisms and instruments of addressing societal challenges if their structures were properly utilised.

Mr. Akpodubakaye, a First-Class Soft Ware Engineering graduate of University of East London, told the royal father that when elected into the state assembly, his priorities will be among others, to facilitate relevant bills that would enhance good governance and foster peaceful co-existence among the communities and ensure that constituency project funds were properly utilized, in addition to engaging the youths and women on vocational skills trainings to enable them become self-reliant.

Responding, the Pere of Ogbe-Ijaw, HRM Couple Oromoni, thanked Mr. Jude Akpodubakaye for taking advantage of the “Not-Too-Young-To-Rule-Bill”, recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, while charging him to always put the well-being of his people first in his priorities.

The royal father reiterated that power and position come from God and that as a traditional ruler, his duty is to pray for the aspirant to succeed in his political ambition.

Democracy only thrives where there is peace

By Abujah Racheal, News Agency of Nigeria(NAN)

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),Boss Mustapha has restated that development thrives where there is peace, transparency and accountability, Justice and equity, freedom of speech and choice near absence of corruption, where nationhood thrives and the vote count.

Mustapha expressed this view, where he gave a welcome address at the 2018 Democracy Day Lecture, with its Theme: Peace Building and Good GovernAnce for sustainable development, on Monday in Abuja.

The SGF described democracy has a globally cherished and accepted practice for electing leaders, protecting it’s inalienable rights,preventing arbitrariness in governance, distributing wealth and public goods enthroning good governance and bringing development to the people.

“ In Nigeria, we have  for  almost two decades, experienced four consecutive and successful transition of power from one democratic dispensation to another.

“ Most notable is the fact that we recently witnessed a transition from an incumbent to an opposition.

“That singular feat gives assurance that our democracy has taken root, the Nigerian people can now freely decide who their leaders would be and that their votes now count,”he said.

He underscored the theme for 2018 democracy day lecture as the important role democracy and all its attributes played in bringing about sustainable development.

According to the SGF, as a member of the United Nations, signed onto Sustainable Development Goal(SDGs), commitments under the SDGs include keeping people safe.

He added that it’s also ensures fair administration of Justice in accordance with the rule of Law and genuinely building inclusive institutions that would provide the people with a voice in the decision- making processes that affect them.

Mustapha said the 2030 agenda for sustainable development emphasised that “There can be no peace without sustainable development and no sustainable development without peace”.

He said Nigeria is similarly a signatory to the open government partnership and has committed to four key thematic areas namely : promoting fiscal transparency,access to Information, anti - corruption and asset disclosure, citizen engagement and empowerment.

“All these thematic areas remain critical ingredients for good governance and sustainable development.

Delivering the lecture, Prof. Attahiru Jega, former chairman Independence National Electoral Commission  (INEC), said Nigeria had come a long way in the quest to fulfil its aspirations for democracy.

“ It could have been worse than this; it can, and should have been, better, but i am glad it is not worse than what we have today. We should just try harder to make things much better than they have been with sustained incremental positive changes .

“ This is where the theme of today’s lecture becomes pertinent, especially if posed as a question: how can Nigeria attain enduring peace, predicated on good, democratic governance and sustainable development?,” he said.

Jaga introduced the theme as  a board sweep,to explore the connections between, or the interconnection of, the concepts which were contemporarily, of paramount importance-in discussing the political economies of the countries such as Nigeria, namely Peace building,Good (democratic) governance and sustainable development.

He said the conceptualising of  peace building  is a concept often used in the context of post -civil war or post -conflict situations.

“It is about Addressing the factors that cause or exacerbate inequality, conflict and violence.

“It is also about mitigating risk of conflict and preventing a relapse of conflict dynamics.

“It is about transforming socio-economic environmental systems so that they sustain progress and equitable opportunity,” he said.

In conceptualising of good governance, he noted that social science concepts were often ambiguous and defiant of precise definition.
“ The concept of governance and most especially the popularised notion of good governance are clear examples of opaqueness and ambiguity of such concept,” he defines

Jaga said, it is ironic that we have to apply the notion/ concept of peace building to address Nigeria’s perennial conflicts, even though technically, the country is not a post-civil war or post- conflict society in the conventional definitions of there, in which the concept is normally applied .

“ The reality, however, is that the fragility of our systems, institutions and structures, circumscribed as they have been by bad governance, require a drastic restoration,” he said.

He, however said that good governance is the framework and the foundation for peace building and sustainable development.

Jega concluded by saying “ having established the interconnectedness of peace building, good democratic governance and sustainable development, and having reviewed the current state of things in Nigeria presently, with recommendations for improvements.

“Given our diversity, which has historically been complicated by mutual suspicions  and fears, and bedevilled by perennial conflicts, we must nurture and develop the infrastructure for peace and we must invest massively in peace building and in sustainable development.

“ The major challenge of our time is how to make Nigeria more peaceful, Just and inclusive, especially for those most at risk of violence, injustice and exclusion’, and how to embark on a solid pathway to sustainable development, he said

He said that only good democratic governance can provide the appropriate framework for meeting this challenge on a sustainable basis.

According to him, this is not a manna that can fall from heaven while we all “siddon look” it is a product of concerted vigorous struggles by progressives democratic forces in our country. (NAN)

The UNHCR alleviating the plight of IDPs in Nigeria

By Racheal Abujah, News Agency of Nigeria(NAN)

The introduction of the United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), has brought about an increased protection of refugees, Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs), stateless and other persons of concerns and resolution of their problems.

The UNHCR has strengthened its presence in Nigeria and has expanded its protection activities from profiling of IDPs seeking the most appropriate protection response as well as initial durable solution.

More than two million people have been forcibly displaced in Nigeria, including 1.87m resulting from the Boko Haram violence as at 2014. Some 169,000 people have sought shelter in neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

These have not only led to the untimely deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent and hapless Nigerians, but has also resulted into a serious humanitarian crisis staring the country in the face.

Many people, especially women and children, have fled their homes, leaving everything behind.

These IDPs are currently living in formal camps, host communities and satellite camps in liberated communities and Northern Cameroon mainly at the Fotokol border to Gamboru Ngala, Borno state as a result of the insurgency.

UNHCR and relevant authorities provided and supported more than  3.2m Nigerians with welfare materials, health and education facilities, vocation training and tools of trade, empowerment programmes and security.

The UNHCR is committed  to upscale humanitarian assistance to displaced persons and refugees in Nigeria and also to identify clearly the urgent needs of the IDPs and returning refugees.

The agency at the regional level took into consideration the urgent measures to upscale humanitarian assistance to the distressed population, especially in psychological assistance.

The agency recently held meetings with the National Emergency Management Agency, the National Commission for Refugee, Migration, and Internally Displaced Persons, UN country teams and a host of other stakeholders.

The purpose for the gathering was to hear from them what they think UNHCR is doing to alleviate, mitigate, and support the population that is in dire need of humanitarian adsistance.

The  UNHCR geared  up to reorient its programme towards finding more adequate trained counselors and push them into the communities to begin talking with traumatised people.

The UNHCR's mandate of protecting and assisting refugees, has done a lot for the IDPs in Nigeria. Aside  humanitarian support and assistance, UNHCR are ready to assist the Nigerian government in ensuring the safe return and resettlement of the IDPs and returning refugees to their homes.

UNHCR will also assists the Nigerian government and other stakeholders in handling the appropriate return of IDPs and refugees, and also in ensuring their adequate resettlement.

The UNHCR, in collaboration with Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) has registered a total of 22,092 Nigerian returnees from Cameroon between August 2015 through May 2016.

Recently the Cameroonian government has further identified over 67,000 Nigerians who returned from Northern Cameroon mainly at the Fotokol border to Gamboru Ngala, Borno from January through April 2016.

UNHCR is leading a comprehensive Borno Protection Sector Working Group (PSWG) assessment in Damboa and Dikwa.

The assessment plans to cover Bama and Monguno, due to the need to have  a comprehensive protection assessment in camps and host communities in Maiduguri, the rapid protection assessment was expanded to cover all 12 Maiduguri camps, as well as some of the host communities, to obtain a full picture of the scale of protection issues.

UNHCR assessed 6 camps and 2 host communities on May 10, 2016 with data collection on going.The office shared the protection findings of the multi-sector joint assessment to the Boko Haram Task Force in New York as well as to the IASC Regional Meeting in Dakar.

UNHCR is also leading a return survey in Yobe State to determine whether IDPs have started to return to their areas of origin. The return survey indicates that 592 people have returned to their Local Government Areas (LGA) of origin from host community areas.

The UNHCR supported a Regional Protection Dialogue which brought together officials from four Lake Chad Basin countries to discuss critical protection issues including regional durable solution.

The dialogue informed discussions over tripartite agreements with Lake Chad Basin (LCB) States as a mechanism for advocacy on issues such as safe, voluntary and dignified return and international standards relating to forced return and determination of conditions conducive to voluntary repatriation.

The LCB has been the arena for Boko haram insurgency for the past seven years. Initially confined to the North East of Nigeria, the violence had spilled over into the neigbouring countries of Niger,Chad and Cameroon .The insurgency had resulted in the displacement of over 2.7m people in the region, and a death toll estimate to be in excess of 25, 000 people.

The objective of the dialogue was to identify the most urgent protection risks in the lake chad basin resulting from conflict and to agree on measures at the local,national and regional level to improve protection measures to meet the needs of affected population, particularly refugees and IDPs.

The Niger government is expected to established a National Action Plan in Dec.  2016, to  include concrete steps towards the achievement of the overall objectives outlined and agreed upon in Abuja in Jun. 2016

The UNHCR trained more than 450 IDPs in Borno state under the livelihood skills acquisition
Waste to Wealth project in collaboration with the American University of Nigeria  (AUN)

In the 'waste to wealth,'  450 women were trained to weave nylon waste into market table bags, mats, shoes, key holders and other salable items.

The second phase of the project was launched in 2016 to include the IDP menfolk and financial literacy training component to enable the trainees manage their finances properly.

The Agency in collaboration with National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally displaced persons (NCFRMI) in partnership with Etisalat Nigeria, organised quiz to commemorate the World Refugee Day.

The quiz was organised to acquaint and sensitised students of the six secondary school in Abuja, area on the displacement crises in Nigeria and refugees.
It's also created an awareness of humanitarian activities to serve as a call for the children who are the future generations to make the world a better place.

The humanitarian agency has also collaborated with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to promote access to justice for IDPs in Borno state.

The project aims at strengthening access to justice by IDPs, and to provide legal services, court representation, and counseling to the most vulnerable IDPs in detention in the state, who have no financial means to afford a lawyer.

The project also sought oawareness to raise the legal rights of IDPs and to provide access to justice for wider IDP population in Borno.

The UNHCR erected 100 shelter units and established livelihood projects. It added three thousand households that  received non-food items as the UN agency for refugee scales up its activities.

The humanitarian agency in Nigeria continues its scaled up activities towards protecting and assisting IDPs, refugees, stateless persons or those at risk of statelessness and other persons of concern.

As the Nigerian government continues to open up areas formerly controlled by Boko Haram and to facilitate the return of thousands of people to their home areas in the north-east, the scale of the damage is becoming more and more apparent and new humanitarian challenges are emerging.

In Maiduguri, the authorities continue to move internally displaced people from school buildings to camps: more than 4,000 people were relocated from the Arabic Teaching College to Bakassi camp, which already hosted some 17,000 people. 

UNHCR continues to scale up its presence in the north-east with the deployment of additional staff (9 new staff as off September 20).

It also  plans to build 1,400 additional emergency shelters and to distribute 2,500 shelter kits in the local government areas of Borno state.

Away from the North-east of Nigeria, The same profile of IDPs is  found in Agatu Benue state,  notably within the middle belt area of Nigeria, which was invaded by Fulani herdsmen.

In the light of this, the UNHCR visited various IDPs camps in Benue and distributed relief materials to the victims.

The agency donated relief materials worth N21 million including solar lamps, mattresses, blankets, cooking pots, detergents and antiseptic soaps to the IDPs in Agatu community during the visit.

The UNHCR , had remained one dependable platform, whose contribution in the area of capacity building, direct material support and other governance initiatives have been immeasurable.

Materials received by the Benue state government for the eight local governments with high IDPs included maize seeds, rice seeds, herbicides sprayers, pots, mosquito nets and roofing sheets.

The eight benefitting councils are Makurdi, Guma, Gwer west, Gwer East,Kwande, Agatu, Logo and Katsina-Ala.

The UNCHR also embarked on housing project to help bridge accommodation deficit so that most of the displaced people could be accommodated.

The agency took 80 percent of the bill while the Benue state government took care of 20 percent of the housing project.

The UNHCR has hosted more than 2,557 refugees and asylum seekers in Nigeria of mixed nationalities mainly from the Democratic Repulic of the Congo,Cameroon and cote d'ivoire.

The agency has worked to safe guard their rights and protections in Nigeria. (NAN)

Bringing succour to victims of Agatu crisis

By Rachael Abujah, News Agency of Nigeria(NAN)

 

Undoubtedly, the Agatu crisis involving Idoma famers and Fulani herdsmen with its attendant killings and destruction of properties has become a humanitarian issue.

Statistics from the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) indicate that no fewer than 300 persons have been confirmed dead in a renewed outbreak of violence in Agatu local government area of Benue state.

Properties worth millions were also said to have been destroyed, while over 10, 0000 persons have been displaced from the villages of   Aila, Akwu, Enogaje, Odugbeho, Ugboju, Okokolo, Ocholonya, Adagbo among others.

Observers trace the origin of dispute to 1986 clashes over farmland owned by the Idoma people of Agatu which were rummaged and destroyed by cattle reared by the Fulani herdsmen.

They say that initial attempts made to resolve the issues were deadlocked; hence the reoccurring current attacks and the massive invasion of the local government on March 5.

Stakeholders say that the numerous victims of the crisis deserve pragmatic and concerted attention in order to alleviate their suffering.

 To this end, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently visited various Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) in Benue and distributed relief materials.

UNHCR, in the visit, donated relief materials worth N21 million to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Agatu.

Ms Angele Atangana, UNHCR Country Representative, presented the items to the victims at the IDPs camp in Apa Local Government Area on Wednesday. 

The Items distributed included solar lamps, Mattresses, Blankets, Cooking pots Detergents and Antiseptic Soaps values

Atangana who expressed concerns over the destruction carried out by the herdsmen also decried the deplorable condition of the women and children in the camp.

She noted that the relief materials would help alleviate sufferings of the IDPs while efforts were being made to ensure that they are eventually resettled in their homes.


"The assistance is timely and of essence due to the increased number of IDPs from other villages and their need for basic amenities.

"The items will go a long way to improve the living condition of these displaced persons.

''Majority of the people in IDPs are women and children who chose to remain in different host communities for fear of further attacks", she said 

The country representative promised that UNHCR would continue to partner with Benue state to build capacity for IDP protection.

``The amount of damage done to Agatu communities is similar to what obtained in Borno and other affected states in Nigeria. 

``As at now, over 2.2 million Nigerians have been displaced from their homes in villages and towns seeking refuge and protection in camps and communities.

``The Great Lakes Protocol and the Kampala Convention make it mandatory for member states to develop national legal frameworks to protect the rights of the IDPs,’’ she said.

She said that in her 20 years of working as a humanitarian, she had never seen such level of destruction before

Receiving the items, Mr Boniface Ortese, the Executive Director, SEMA, thanked UNHCR Nigeria for its continuous humanitarian assistance to IDPs across the country.

Ortese, who was represented by SEMA’s Head of Planning and Statistics, Mr Ralph Ndull assured that the state, through the agency, would ensure equitable distribution of the items 

Sharing similar sentiments, Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue State appealed to the Federal Government and international organisations to assist in rebuilding parts of Agatu Local Government Area destroyed in the invasions by herdsmen.

He said that SEMA remained a dependable platform in contributing to capacity building, direct material support and other governance initiatives.

``We will reach out to the Federal Government through the Victims Support Fund and other avenues to secure assistance toward rebuilding the area,’’ he said.

The Gov. Samuel Ortom said that the government was determined to ensure that all communities destroyed by the herdsmen were rebuilt to enable refugees return home.

"We understand that the herdsmen come from Mali, Ghana, Congo, and Niger, among others and are killing us every day with impunity, but this must stop,"he said.

Ortom stressed that the state would not forget such invaluable gesture by the UNHCR while also recalling the commission role during the 2012 and 2013 floods that ravaged the state.

On his part, Bishop Michael Apochi, Catholic Bishop of Otukpo Diocese urged the Federal Government to apply the golden rule to end the recurrence of communal clashes in communities in Agatu, Benue. 

Apochi explained that the golden rule entailed the unconditional love of one’s neighbours. 

The clergyman complained that the Agatu Area had witnessed deadly attacks on houses, hospitals, worship places and farmlands.

He said it had become necessary for the Federal Government to apply the golden rule to bring a lasting end to the communal clashes. 

The bishop, who also serves as the Chairman, IDPs Camp Management Committee in Agatu, expressed displeasure that the attacks by herdsmen had devastated the Agatu communities.

"Life has become unbearable for our people in Agatu, who have survived these attacks, because it has come as a surprise to them all.’' 

The bishop urged the Federal Government to urgently take measures to curb unprovoked attacks in rural areas.

He appreciated troops of the Nigerian Army deployed to the area and urged the government to secure the place so that the people could go back to their farms. 

"Agatu communities are known for farming and fishing. 

“This is the best time for them to put their farm lands to use; but, it is almost impossible because they need to be secured in order to farm. 

“If these herdsmen would not allow farmers to go to farm, then the agriculture we are to fall back on, as a replacement for crude oil, cannot be successful," he said. 

He added that the people of Agatu lived and cohabited with the Fulani's over the years and wondered what could have caused the crises. 

A retired soldier and one of the victims, Mr. Daniel Ochefu, lamented that the situation on ground in Agatu was beyond the scope of the state and local government council, even a nation at large.

"You can see the camp for yourself. We hardly get food to eat, no water, no drugs even the accommodation in the school can hardly take a quarter of the refugees in this camp.

"Toilet facilities are not there, most of us are forced, most times, to defecate in the open despite its attendant consequences on the health of everyone.

"We want to go back to our homes, if our security is guarantee. We cannot continue to live like this, our children are no more in school and we cannot carry out our daily responsibilities to our families,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, at a recent peace meeting to brokered Mr Solomon Arase, the Inspector-General of Police, the Fulani community in Benue State, alleged that the crisis started after 10,000 cattle belonging to its members were killed by Agatu natives.

Ado Boderi, who spoke on behalf of the Fulani community, said criminal elements from both sides escalated the crisis despite the quick intervention of the governor.

He said that Fulani herdsmen were a peace-loving people, whose main concern was the problem of cattle rustling.

Akpa Iduh, who spoke on behalf of the Agatu people, decried the continued unprovoked attacks on his people by Fulani mercenaries.

Mr. Iduh said that the crisis started over five decades ago, lamented that it had recently turned into a war because of the types of weapons the herdsmen were using against them.

 ``Fulani mercenaries were killing both children and pregnant women on sight, adding that they were powerless after embracing the Benue Amnesty Programme and surrendered illegal arms to government.

“The herdsmen are bent on turning our land into their grazing area, thereby rendering us homeless and without food,’’ he alleged.

Stakeholders say that the Agatu crisis should be handled with the seriousness it deserves to forestall further bloodshed and destruction of properties.(NAN)