Author: Chief Editor

Barely four months after the Chairman of its Board of Trustees (BoT), Mr. Nastura Shariff, was arrested and detained by the police in Abuja for organising a protest over insecurity in Katsina State, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), yesterday vowed to commence today a wave of marches in the 19 northern states to protest rising insecurity in the region. The non-stop protests, according to the group, are aimed at drawing the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari and the 19 northern states governors to the plight of the region. CNG said the ineptitude and an apparent failure of elected and…

•Demonstrations ground more cities as thugs attack demonstrators in Abuja, Lagos •Adeboye endorses #ENDSARS marches •IBAN condemns brutalisation of reporters Despite the approval of their five-point demand by a presidential panel and the creation of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, to replace the disbanded Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), the #ENDSARS protests entered its eighth day yesterday as protesters continued their nationwide demonstration, insisting on holistic reforms of the police. The protest, which got the backing of the General Overseer of the Redeem Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye,…

Since the #EndSARS protests began, I have had a tab open on my computer to put down my reflections on the movement. Like many young people in Nigeria, I have had several regrettable experiences with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and the Nigeria Police Force generally. The memory of each experience only brought me deep sighs. I tried writing about the time officers of SARS stopped me on the road a couple of days after burying my mother last year. They claimed a paper issued to me by the Nigeria Police Force was fake and demanded N50,000 to let me go.…

Niran Adedokun nadedokun@gmail.com Let’s make no mistake about it, the #EndSARS protests that have hit Nigeria in the past couple of days are not so much about the police as they are about the failure of governance in the country. These protests are a metaphor and warning that government’s inefficiency is getting on the nerves of a Nigerian generation whose opinions, ideas and worldview are not limited to what happens in Nigeria. The police are the closest law enforcers to the people. There are, in fact, communities where people do not feel the existence of government beyond its capacity to…

Greg Odogwu “Obedience is dangerous: it has facilitated every form of institutional oppression and violence. Every advance in justice, peace and democracy has been made possible by disobedience. Ethical progress is unlikely when we do only what we are told.” –George Monbiot. We now live in an age of revolutions. All around the world, new demands are being made on the existing status quo. A global pandemic has upended the calm mien of civilisation. The global citizenry want to move on to new ways of living, and doing things. Many people want change. Even for those who are comfortable…

Abimbola Adelakun aadelakun@punchng.com On Tuesday, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, announced a new police outfit to replace the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police. Given how vehemently the police had previously argued that it was impossible to dissolve SARS before they capitulated to public pressure, the haste with which they have replaced SARS is worrying. What exactly has changed within the 48 hours between when Adamu disbanded SARS and set up its replacement named SWAT? Most likely, SWAT will still employ existing SARS personnel and their existing infrastructure. The rather hasty switch from SARS to SWAT suggests…

Wife of Governor of Sokoto state, Hajia Maryam Aminu Tambuwal yesterday expressed worried over the increasing culture of early marriage and poverty among others predicament impeding girl child in Northern Nigeria. Besides, the emir of Arugungu in Kebbi state His Highness Alhaji Samaila Mohammad Mera advocated compulsory completion of secondary school education for a child before marriage in the country. This call came when the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Pauline Tallen frown at the prevailing sexual harassment and other related gender-based violence against the girl child in Nigeria. The three personalities spoke yesterday during a webinar…

The Kano Community Policing Committee (KCPC) has challenged the Inspector General of Police, Muhammad Adamu to go the extra mile beyond the recent banning of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in the force. The group advocated thorough investigation and subsequent prosecution of the bad eggs among operatives of the proscribed SARS to restore public confidence in the leadership of the police force. Besides, the committee warned the police to ensure a proper mechanism to checkmate the recruitment of men and women into Community Policing to prevent similar operational challenges posed by SARS. The IGP, Mohammad Adamu on Monday declared the immediate…

HEAD of the November 18 governorship election in Anambra State, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has handed its ticket to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo. But the party’s State Chairman Norbert Obi described the development as fake news A chieftain of the party, who spoke in confidence with The Nation in Awka, the state capital, said APGA decided to hand the ticket to Soludo because the party believed he is the only person who can win the election for the party. The source also said the obstacle Soludo was facing in the hands of…

KOGI State Governor Yahaya Bello has raised concerns over violence witnessed across the country in the ongoing #EndSARS protests by youths. He called on the youths to sheathe their swords. Bello, who made the call in a broadcast to the youths on the ongoing protests for reforms in the Police Force, said Nigerian youths have already won the war but should not allow themselves to lose the battle ultimately. The governor said he was concerned over the manner the protests which began on a peaceful note were now been infiltrated by criminal elements, engaging in the destruction of public facilities.…