The first time she was released from the detention centre, Ya’ana was told she would be locked up again if she ever narrated her ugly experience to anyone. But then, that is exactly what she does. “Hajja Ya’ana has come!” Unlike the other people she entered with, Ya’ana Kaumi*, 42, was not a strange face …
Read more “Relatively Few Women Have Been Detained At Giwa Barracks. Ya’ana Was There Twice.”
Photos often used by local media organisations to represent criminal herdsmen in Nigeria have been found to have roots in Kenya, South Sudan and Tanzania. Clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria have recently drawn more attention, especially with increased tension and hostilities in the southern region. On the downside, misleading information around the subject …
Read more “These Photos Of Armed Herders Were Not Taken In Nigeria”
The authors say proceeds from the book will be used to fund educational needs in Chibok, especially for the families of survivors. When terrorists successfully abduct a group of civilians and hold them hostage for a long time, public discussions often suggest that the road to their rescue is straightforward, typically involving the swift deployment …
Read more “Hidden Roles Mediators Played In Securing Chibok Girls’ Release”
Both were sent off to two death zones, the husband to the Giwa military barracks and the wife to the Bama Hospital IDP camp. Luckily, after several years, they made it out alive to tell their stories of adversity and resilience. ‘The women cannot farm, or go to fetch water and firewood. And when the …
Read more “Separated By Military, A Borno Couple’s Uphill Journey Back To Each Other”
The spread of the new coronavirus variant and the panic it has created have led to the emergence of a fresh wave of harmful conspiracy theories. And for the world to fully beat the pandemic, all hands must be on the deck to fight misinformation arising from them. Said to be as old as politics, …
Read more “Why Conspiracy Theories Can Be As Misleading As They Are Convincing”
Asides the loss of loved ones and properties that come with violent conflicts, there is also an undeniable mental toll it takes on the survivors. Because of its sheer scale, addressing the problem has been daunting in Nigeria’s northeast region, which has experienced a decade-long insurgency. But one non-governmental organisation has taken up the challenge. …
Read more “Traumatised Insurgency Victims In Northeast Nigeria Gradually Getting Help”
When she was only 14 years old, Aisha, a resident of Borno, a state in northeast Nigeria, was kidnapped by Boko Haram members and taken into the forest. She was beaten for trying to escape days into her capture and forcefully married off to one of the insurgents. “He forced himself into me almost on …
Read more “Sexual Violence Survivors In Borno Find Succour In ATJLF-Funded Project”
The Deradicalised is a five-part series. In 2016, the Nigerian government launched a multi-sectoral programme tagged “Operation Safe Corridor” to deradicalise and rehabilitate “low-risk” Boko Haram members and encourage insurgents to embrace peace. But years into its operation and after about a thousand people were graduated in different batches, extraordinarily little was really known about …
The deadly combination of a rigid lockdown, health workers’ industrial actions, and economic hardship occasioned by the pandemic led to a wave of unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions across Nigeria. Omolara* had an unsafe abortion this year and it nearly killed her. Since she gave birth to her first child last year, she has been …
Read more “How COVID-19 Upset Family Planning Services, Threatened Women’s Lives”
Behind the institution’s ranking as the best state polytechnic in Nigeria are a hardworking workforce and multiple stories of grief, depression, and regrets. Funmilayo* was 28 when she started working at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, as a youth corps member. In 2015, she was formally employed on a part-time basis as a teaching assistant. According to …
Read more “‘Slavery’ At The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Where Lecturers Are Paid N19,800 Monthly”