SR SahelReporters

By Aviashima Toom, Abuja A civil rights movement under the aegis of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre on Monday shed light on why the rate of sexual exploitation in tertiary institutions in Nigeria had remained very high. The organisation attributed it to the absence of justice for victims of the crime. CISLAC said that the refusal of victims to speak out due to perceived distrust in the University system was also aiding the menace. Speaking in Abuja at a stakeholders consultative forum on sexual exploitation in tertiary institutions in Nigeria, Executive Director, CISLAC, And Transparency of Nigeria, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the crime is mostly committed by high profile individuals in the schools. At the event, CISLAC launched an electronic channel, TIMBY, a platform for reporting cases of sexual exploitation and where victims could pursue psychological support and redress. Rafsanjani lamented increasing cases of girls and women being extorted when reques...

By Aviashima Toom, Abuja There was a mild drama on Tuesday in Abuja as Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State put a stop on attempt to play Nigerian national anthem during the opening session of a workshop on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The governor, who was apparently surprised that the programme- Subnational Strategy Workshop on AfCFTA, which had commenced before his arrival, was to be paused for the national anthem and prayer, prompting him to react in protest. “National anthem is a recurring decimal, it should not just be a permanent thing anytime we just gather in public occasion,” he said. The governor’s comment elicited laughter among some of the participants as the programme proceeded without the playing of the national anthem. Fayemi, who is the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), which jointly organised the workshop with the National Action Committee on AfCFTA, said trading under AfCFTA’s banner would support the nation’s economy in the area of tr...

By Aviashima Toom, Abuja The Presidential Think-Tank on Defence and Security is set to forge a common front to address the ugly development at an upcoming national summit for major stakeholders in Abuja. This is alarmed by the increasing rate of insecurity and insesane destruction of the the country's critical infrastructure in the recent past,  The task force put in place by President Muhammadu Buhari as part of efforts to address the nation’s general insecurity, headed by Major Gen Abdulmalik Jibril (rtd), who disclosed this to journalists on Thursday in Abuja stated that the security of “lives, properties and national assets is a collective responsibility of all and sundry” and such should be given priority attention. Other members of the Committee includes; retired AIG, Henry Adebayo Fadairo; (rtd); AVM Dick Iruenabere (rtd),  Codr Manu Yagada (rtd). According to him, “To this, the group will be organising a summit on the theme: ‘Protecting Nigeria’s Critical I...

By Aviashima Toom, Abuja A civil rights movement under the aegis of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre on Wednesday shed light on why the rate of sexual exploitation in tertiary institutions in Nigeria had remained very high. The organisation attributed it to the absence of justice for victims of the crime. CISLAC said that the refusal of victims to speak out due to perceived distrust in the University system was also aiding the menace. Speaking at a stakeholders consultative forum on sexual exploitation in tertiary institutions in Nigeria, Executive Director, CISLAC and Transparency International, Nigeria, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the crime is mostly committed by high profile individuals in the schools. At the event, CISLAC launched an electronic channel, TIMBY, a platform for reporting cases of sexual exploitation and where victims could pursue psychological support and redress. Rafsanjani lamented increasing cases of girls and women being extorted when requesting ba...

....Ask FG to Demilitarize South East By Aviashima Toom, Abuja The chairman of the Igbo Elders Council, Dr. Chukwemeka Ezeife, has asked the Federal Government to demilitarize the South East, as well as take other administrative and non-kinetic measures restore peace in the zone. The Elders Council made their position known on Tuesday during a press briefing in Abuja, also demand the immediate released of over 5000 Igbo Youths arrested by the security agencies. He said the increasing militarization of the south east has built up tension and security challenges in the zone,  thus threatening the hitch-free conduct of the Anambra general election. He added that, the insecurity in the south East has taken a frightening dimension and remain a terrible and worrisome puzzle that must be taken care of for the Independent National Electrical Commission, INEC to conduct a free, fair, and credible election in the state. Ezeife who expressed dismayed over the dehumaniz...

By Aviashima Toom, Abuja The Association of Public Procurement Practitioners of Nigeria says it would partner the anti corruption agencies and other institutions to boost the fight against corruption in the public sector in Nigeria The association said that it is poised to sanitize the procurement process by strict enforcement of the procurement Act of 2007 by promoting due process, accountability, transparency and value for money in government and private organizationsions. The group further stated that, the regularisation of the practice of public procurement in the country to international best practices was critical to national development, insisting that the country's economy will benefit more when procurement is done with due  diligence and transparently. In a statement signed by its National President, Mr Emem James Kanico and Director of Inter governmental affairs, Mr Austine Omang and made available to newsmen in Abuja said that, the leadership has set strategi...

By Our Reporter Comite International Geneva, (CIG) has donated food items to 33,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and vulnerable people in Uikpam, Guma Local Government Area (LGA), Benue. Mr Jessey Andrew, the  Economic, Security and Generalist Field Officer, disclosed this in an interview with Sahel Reporters on Saturday at the IDP Camp in Uikpam, Guma LGA of the State. Andrew said that each beneficiary was given 50kg of rice, 10kg of vegetable oil and 1kg of table salt. "Beans is supposed to be given to the beneficiaries too but it is out of stock now but arrangements are in place to get it for them in a record time. "We are given the food items to vulnerable people in the host community too in order to reduce tension. "If only the IDPs are given there will be tension between the IDPs and members of  the community. "There is hunger in the land and we are trying to close the hunger gap. This is one of our cardinal mandates,...