Nigerian police have raided a home allegedly being used to force teenage girls to have babies that were then offered for sale for trafficking or other purposes, authorities said on Wednesday.
"We stormed the premises of the Cross Foundation in Aba three days ago following a report that pregnant girls aged between 15 and 17 are being made to make babies for the proprietor," said Bala Hassan, police commissioner for Abia state in the country's southeast.
"We rescued 32 pregnant girls and arrested the proprietor who is undergoing interrogation over allegations that he normally sells the babies to people who may use them for rituals or other purposes."
Some of the girls told police they had been offered to sell their babies for between 25,000 and 30,000 naira (192 dollars) depending on the sex of the baby.
The babies would then be sold to buyers for anything from 300,000 naira to one million naira (1,920 and 6,400 dollars) each, according to a state agency fighting human trafficking in Nigeria, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
The girls were expected to be transferred to the regional NAPTIP offices in Enugu on Wednesday, the regional head Ijeoma Okoronkwo told AFP.
Hassan said the owner of the "illegal baby factory" is likely to face child abuse and human trafficking charges. Buying or selling of babies is illegal in Nigeria and can carry a 14-year jail term.
"We have so many cases going on in court right now," said Okoronkwo.
Cases of child abuse and people trafficking are common in West Africa. Some children are bought from their families to for use as labour in plantations, mines, factories or as domestic help.
Others are sold into prostitution while a few are either killed or tortured in black magic rituals. NAPTIP says it has also seen a trend of illegal adoption.
"There is a problem of illict adoption and people not knowing the right way to adopt children," said Okoronkwo.
Human trafficking is ranked the third most common crime after economic fraud and drug trafficking in the country, according to UNESCO.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Nigerian envoy recalled for beating wife
Nigerian High Commissioner to Kenya Dr Chijioke Wigwe has been recalled following wife battery allegations in Nairobi, by the federal government.
Dr Wigwe doubles as Ambassador to the Seychelles and is Nigeria’s representative to the United Nations Environmental Programme and the UN Habitat in Nairobi.
The High Commissioner was recalled back home to facilitate an investigation after his wife Tess Iyi complained that she had been battered and seriously wounded by the envoy.
Photographs of Dr Wigwe’s wife with injuries on her face were splashed on The Star newspaper in Kenya earlier in the week, sparking protests from gender-based organisations.
Foreign ministry spokesman, Damian Agu, said the outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia (SAN)had requested he returned home.
“It is only when he is back that we can investigate him and know if the allegations were true or false,” Agu is quoted as having told THISDAY on telephone on Monday.
When Capital News from Kenya telephoned the Nigerian High Commission offices in Nairobi, an official said they were not aware of the latest development.
“Yesterday (Monday) was a holiday for us so we resumed today (Tuesday), I am not aware of that and the deputy High Commissioner who could confirm such reports is not around. Please call us much later to get a confirmation,” an official who declined to give his identity said.
Last week, Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere wrote to the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Nairobi, asking for the waiver of the envoy’s diplomatic immunity to enable him order for his arrest and prosecution on the matter.
Dr Wigwe has in the meantime dismissed the battery claims terming them a “fabrication by his wife.”
Dr Wigwe doubles as Ambassador to the Seychelles and is Nigeria’s representative to the United Nations Environmental Programme and the UN Habitat in Nairobi.
The High Commissioner was recalled back home to facilitate an investigation after his wife Tess Iyi complained that she had been battered and seriously wounded by the envoy.
Photographs of Dr Wigwe’s wife with injuries on her face were splashed on The Star newspaper in Kenya earlier in the week, sparking protests from gender-based organisations.
Foreign ministry spokesman, Damian Agu, said the outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia (SAN)had requested he returned home.
“It is only when he is back that we can investigate him and know if the allegations were true or false,” Agu is quoted as having told THISDAY on telephone on Monday.
When Capital News from Kenya telephoned the Nigerian High Commission offices in Nairobi, an official said they were not aware of the latest development.
“Yesterday (Monday) was a holiday for us so we resumed today (Tuesday), I am not aware of that and the deputy High Commissioner who could confirm such reports is not around. Please call us much later to get a confirmation,” an official who declined to give his identity said.
Last week, Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere wrote to the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Nairobi, asking for the waiver of the envoy’s diplomatic immunity to enable him order for his arrest and prosecution on the matter.
Dr Wigwe has in the meantime dismissed the battery claims terming them a “fabrication by his wife.”
Monday, May 30, 2011
Mohammed Bin Hammam to appeal against FIFA Ethics Committee decision
Mohamed Bin Hammam will not accept yesterday’s decision by the FIFA Ethics Committee. As he is only allowed to appeal against the motivated decision by the FIFA Ethics Committee, he urgently requested this by Tuesday, May 31st, to be able to file his appeal in due time and to revoke the provisional ban before the congress of June 1st is starting.
There are many open questions: What was the discussion in the Ethics Committee and how did the Ethics Committee come to its conclusion? There are many other questions which need to be answered and transparency is urgently needed.
Mohamed Bin Hammam: “The way these proceedings have been conducted is absolutely not compliant with any principles of justice. I am punished before I am found guilty. I get the impression that the outcome of these proceedings had been defined from the very beginning as it has been made evident at the press conference on Sunday evening at which FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke showed his bias very clearly. This is not acceptable as the FIFA Ethics Committee is supposed to be a fully independent body. Therefore, I also expect the further investigation to be influenced and manipulated.”
Sunday, May 29, 2011
German police officer kills a Nigerian woman
On Thursday May 19, a German female police officer shot dead a 39-year old Nigerian woman ((Mrs Christy Schnudeck nee Omorodion), who had a German passport in an unemployment benefit centre in Frankfurt.
She had come into the Jobcentre, a branch of the unemployment services that serves refugees and homeless people, that morning because she urgently needed financial assistance. She had submitted her official claim nine days earlier. However, upon arriving at the office, she was told she could not receive her benefits in cash because the money could only be paid into a bank account
According to the Frankfurter Rundschau, the amount in question was “no more than fifty euros” and the woman was clearly in a desperate situation. Jobcentre employees say that the woman became “loud”, and refused to leave the building until she got her money in cash. After the security personnel tried to remove her, the police were called.
When a police patrol arrived consisting of a 30-year-old policeman and a 28-year-old policewoman, they demanded to see the Nigerian woman’s identity card. According to Chief Magistrate Thomas Bechtel, the woman responded by reaching into her bag to take out a knife. She then stabbed the policeman in the belly. At that moment, the policewoman drew her pistol and shot her at close range. The bullet went through the woman’s stomach and pelvic artery. She died as she was being taken to hospital.
The general question in the lips of Africans in Germany is, why on earth will she carry a knife to job centre? The answer is simple considering the area it happened. It is well documented that she had a mental problem and by law, such people are treated with respect and absolute care. In a Country where one can escape judicial punishment when alcohol is found in Peoples blood system, one could imagine what happens to people with mental illness in Germany.
The state police in Wiesbaden have taken over the investigation. The question of necessity of firearms use "is being examined anyway.
She had come into the Jobcentre, a branch of the unemployment services that serves refugees and homeless people, that morning because she urgently needed financial assistance. She had submitted her official claim nine days earlier. However, upon arriving at the office, she was told she could not receive her benefits in cash because the money could only be paid into a bank account
According to the Frankfurter Rundschau, the amount in question was “no more than fifty euros” and the woman was clearly in a desperate situation. Jobcentre employees say that the woman became “loud”, and refused to leave the building until she got her money in cash. After the security personnel tried to remove her, the police were called.
When a police patrol arrived consisting of a 30-year-old policeman and a 28-year-old policewoman, they demanded to see the Nigerian woman’s identity card. According to Chief Magistrate Thomas Bechtel, the woman responded by reaching into her bag to take out a knife. She then stabbed the policeman in the belly. At that moment, the policewoman drew her pistol and shot her at close range. The bullet went through the woman’s stomach and pelvic artery. She died as she was being taken to hospital.
The general question in the lips of Africans in Germany is, why on earth will she carry a knife to job centre? The answer is simple considering the area it happened. It is well documented that she had a mental problem and by law, such people are treated with respect and absolute care. In a Country where one can escape judicial punishment when alcohol is found in Peoples blood system, one could imagine what happens to people with mental illness in Germany.
The state police in Wiesbaden have taken over the investigation. The question of necessity of firearms use "is being examined anyway.
Goodluck Jonathan sworn in as Nigerian President
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in for his first full elected term at the helm of Africa's most populous nation on Sunday, faced with the challenge of driving reform and trying to heal regional rifts.
Heads of state from across Africa, foreign dignitaries, religious leaders and traditional rulers gathered in Eagle Square in the centre of Abuja for the ceremony and a military parade to mark the start of his four-year term.
"As president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the constitution," Jonathan said as he took the oath of office.
The former zoology student won elections last month which, while far from perfect, were deemed to have reflected the will of the people in a nation that had known virtually nothing but military rule and rigged votes for the past half-century.
Jonathan emerged from the polls with a credible mandate, having won 59 percent of the vote, but with his ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) chastened by a weaker parliamentary majority and the loss of several powerful state governorships.
Heads of state from across Africa, foreign dignitaries, religious leaders and traditional rulers gathered in Eagle Square in the centre of Abuja for the ceremony and a military parade to mark the start of his four-year term.
"As president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the constitution," Jonathan said as he took the oath of office.
The former zoology student won elections last month which, while far from perfect, were deemed to have reflected the will of the people in a nation that had known virtually nothing but military rule and rigged votes for the past half-century.
Jonathan emerged from the polls with a credible mandate, having won 59 percent of the vote, but with his ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) chastened by a weaker parliamentary majority and the loss of several powerful state governorships.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Canadian Immigration apologises to Nigerian couple
Citizenship and Immigration Canada is apologizing to a Nigerian couple who have been kept apart for nearly two years because the Canadian federal government made a series of costly mistakes while processing their visa application.
“We just wanted to have the opportunity to apologize profusely for the multiple errors that have occurred in the processing of this file and for the distress and expense that has caused both of them,” departmental spokeswoman Nancy Caron said on Friday evening.
With the pains of separation and distance killing the marriage, Gideon Christian, 36, was ready to give up on his doctoral studies in law at the University of Ottawa to return to Nigeria and be with his wife after he was repeatedly frustrated in his attempts to bring her to Canada.
Christian married Isabella Chinelo Ekpunobi, 25, also a lawyer, in September 2009. Shortly after the wedding he returned to Ottawa, where the permanent resident filed a sponsorship application so his bride could join him.
They soon received confirmation the visa was being processed at the Canadian High Commission in Accra, Ghana, but nearly a year later, they received a strange request in the mail from the Canadian embassy in Paris asking Ekpunobi to undergo another medical examination — and complete an alcoholism screening test.
“The questions were so strange, because my wife doesn't even drink,” said Christian.
When the office of Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger (Ottawa–Vanier) contacted Citizenship and Immigration on their behalf to find out what was going on, he was told the medical exam was a must.
Last December, they received another letter asking for yet another medical examination, even though by this time Christian had learned through an Access-to-Information request that the initial request had been sent in error.
On February 10, Ekpunobi got an email from the High Commission in Accra telling her the visa was ready for pickup. The couple arrived in Accra the night of Feb. 27 and hurried to the immigration office the next morning, but the visa was not ready. The two emails and letter had been sent in error. They needed another medical test.
Christian is not holding his breath for a resolution.
“I don't believe things are over yet until we have the visa,” Christian said.
“We just wanted to have the opportunity to apologize profusely for the multiple errors that have occurred in the processing of this file and for the distress and expense that has caused both of them,” departmental spokeswoman Nancy Caron said on Friday evening.
With the pains of separation and distance killing the marriage, Gideon Christian, 36, was ready to give up on his doctoral studies in law at the University of Ottawa to return to Nigeria and be with his wife after he was repeatedly frustrated in his attempts to bring her to Canada.
Christian married Isabella Chinelo Ekpunobi, 25, also a lawyer, in September 2009. Shortly after the wedding he returned to Ottawa, where the permanent resident filed a sponsorship application so his bride could join him.
They soon received confirmation the visa was being processed at the Canadian High Commission in Accra, Ghana, but nearly a year later, they received a strange request in the mail from the Canadian embassy in Paris asking Ekpunobi to undergo another medical examination — and complete an alcoholism screening test.
“The questions were so strange, because my wife doesn't even drink,” said Christian.
When the office of Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger (Ottawa–Vanier) contacted Citizenship and Immigration on their behalf to find out what was going on, he was told the medical exam was a must.
Last December, they received another letter asking for yet another medical examination, even though by this time Christian had learned through an Access-to-Information request that the initial request had been sent in error.
On February 10, Ekpunobi got an email from the High Commission in Accra telling her the visa was ready for pickup. The couple arrived in Accra the night of Feb. 27 and hurried to the immigration office the next morning, but the visa was not ready. The two emails and letter had been sent in error. They needed another medical test.
Christian is not holding his breath for a resolution.
“I don't believe things are over yet until we have the visa,” Christian said.
Friday, May 20, 2011
UK court awards 5000 pounds to 4 Nigerians
Four Nigerian women who claimed they were treated as slaves won damages in Britain's High Court, where a judge ruled on Friday that the police's failure to investigate the complaints breached human rights law.
The women, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, alleged that they were illegally trafficked from Nigeria to the U.K. when they were between the ages of 11 and 15. Now in their 20s, they claimed they were forced to work 18-hour days for no pay in British
households and were subjected to emotional and physical abuse in the London area between 1997 and 2006.
Justice Wyn Williams ordered the Metropolitan Police to pay each woman 5,000 pounds ($8,100), saying in a written judgment that the police's failure to carry out an effective probe in 2007 breached European human rights law.
At a March court hearing, police denied that any officer had breached the women's human rights by failing to investigate their complaints.
The women were "ready, willing and able to participate in an investigation," Williams said, rejecting claims by police that the victims failed to cooperate.
A spokesman for the women's' lawyers noted Friday that the Metropolitan Police has not apologized for failing to investigate the abuses and argued — unsuccessfully — that it did not have a legal duty to investigate "credible allegations of servitude unless those allegations were reported whilst the servitude was ongoing."
"The (police) commissioner should not require a court judgment to appreciate the importance of investigating child slavery," said Tony Murphy, one of the solicitors. "His decision to fight this case sends a dangerous message to officers that combating human trafficking is not a priority for the Met."
The Metropolitan Police said it will carefully consider the judgment and take any appropriate action.
"It is, of course, a matter of deep regret that the claimants did not receive the levels of service which they expected," the statement said.
The women, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, alleged that they were illegally trafficked from Nigeria to the U.K. when they were between the ages of 11 and 15. Now in their 20s, they claimed they were forced to work 18-hour days for no pay in British
households and were subjected to emotional and physical abuse in the London area between 1997 and 2006.
Justice Wyn Williams ordered the Metropolitan Police to pay each woman 5,000 pounds ($8,100), saying in a written judgment that the police's failure to carry out an effective probe in 2007 breached European human rights law.
At a March court hearing, police denied that any officer had breached the women's human rights by failing to investigate their complaints.
The women were "ready, willing and able to participate in an investigation," Williams said, rejecting claims by police that the victims failed to cooperate.
A spokesman for the women's' lawyers noted Friday that the Metropolitan Police has not apologized for failing to investigate the abuses and argued — unsuccessfully — that it did not have a legal duty to investigate "credible allegations of servitude unless those allegations were reported whilst the servitude was ongoing."
"The (police) commissioner should not require a court judgment to appreciate the importance of investigating child slavery," said Tony Murphy, one of the solicitors. "His decision to fight this case sends a dangerous message to officers that combating human trafficking is not a priority for the Met."
The Metropolitan Police said it will carefully consider the judgment and take any appropriate action.
"It is, of course, a matter of deep regret that the claimants did not receive the levels of service which they expected," the statement said.
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