Nedu Echianu's Blog

When Cynthia (name has been changed) went out with a group of her friends in Abuja on April 26, 2019, she probably envisaged a nice Friday night out with the girls after a hard week at work. Like many other single women living in Abuja, Cynthia was attracted to the relatively dynamic economy and vibrant, cosmopolitan lifestyle available in the federal capital. Unlike many other places in Nigeria where simply coming out at night is an extreme sport, the seat of Nigeria’s federal government offered a semblance of normalcy. The group of friends settled for a club called ‘Cloud 9’ at the Nadrem Emporium on 3rd Avenue, Gwarimpa. Suddenly the party was broken up by a large group of men who barged in, demanding that Cynthia and her friends stand up and follow them outside immediately. When they naturally resisted this unwanted intrusion on their evening outing, they were dragged outside along with the other women in the club. Outside they saw a convoy of law enforcement and armed forces

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, on Wednesday said though the Supreme Court had dismissed the appeal of the party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, against the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari, the final judgement comes from God almighty. He stated that Nigeria is in such an untidy state that only God can bail her out. He spoke in a statement by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, while  responding to the judgement of the Supreme Court dismissing their appeal against the victory of Buhari and the All Progressives Congress in the February 29 election. He urged Nigerians to remain resolute in their prayers to God, adding that the country is in such “an untidy state that only God can bail” her out. Secondus commended Nigerians of all divide for their commitment and support to the party and to democracy. He said the commitment of Nigerians to democracy and its tenets, “despite inhibiting factors,” is worthy of emulation and highly commenda

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23, 2019 presidential election. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, who led six other members of the apex court’s panel, delivered a three-sentence judgement which put paid to the legal dispute over the poll. The CJN, who said the reasons for the decision of the court would be made known on a date to be announced, disclosed that he and members of the panel had read all the documents and exhibits filed in the case for two weeks and found the appeal to be lacking in merit. The Punch newspaper reports that the judgement which was unanimously consented to by the other six members of the panel came less than an hour after the court took arguments on the appeal.

Salamatu Bello, a victim of alleged sexual harassment by a university lecturer has embarked on a lone protest on Friday in Kaduna. She said it took her a long time to protest because of the stigma attached to it by society. “We always had this belief that, if you come out like this, nobody will marry you. But this has to stop,” she said. Bello dismissed the notion that she was merely being vindictive, saying she was out to protest for the sake of posterity. The victim alleged that a lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria solicited sex for marks from her while she was a student between 2009 and 2010 and running a diploma course. She claimed the lecturer was sacked by the management of ABU for alleged sexual misconduct but was later employed by the Kaduna State University. Bello claimed the KASU management also suspended the said lecturer following allegations of sex for marks against him. Holding a placard with the inscription, “It’ s your right not to be sexually abused

In the third and final part of a three – part undercover investigative series, FISAYO SOYOMBO documents the soft side of his time in police cell and prison, and how prison, police and court officials conspired to abduct him after his cover was blown. I had not yet spent a full day at Pedro Police Station, Shomolu, Lagos, when I asked myself the question: “Who sent me?” But it was nothing new; I knew I would ask myself that question at some point during this investigation, and I knew too that it would not make me call it off. If you asked any hardcore investigative journalist, they would say the same of almost every daredevil story they have covered. As I lay in that warm cell in the wee hours of Tuesday July 9, it dawned on me that surviving the days ahead would require more than brawn. Five of us ‘suspects’ had crammed ourselves into that narrow, filthy cell, all wanting to get our bodies on that small mat but none fully succeeding. So, intermittently, one suspect pushed or snuggle

In the second report of a three-part undercover investigative series, FISAYO SOYOMBO exposes how the courts short-change the law, and the prisons are themselves a cesspool of the exact reasons for which they hold inmates. Too many unforeseen obstacles had sprung up against me by the time I arrived at the gates of Ikoyi Prison, Ikoyi, Lagos, on July 12: I had had my most tortuous night in the police cell; I had been messed up by the typically ruthless Friday evening Lagos traffic; I had arrived under the cover of darkness, which wasn’t the plan. Even the few things that went well would later come back to haunt me. Proceedings were well underway at Court III when we stepped into the Chief Magistrate Court, Yaba, Lagos, after my unlawful detention for five consecutive days at Pedro Police Station, Shomolu. It was a little afternoon — or thereabouts. A funny but very contentious matter was ongoing. The protagonist, a woman, was being tried for, allegedly, illegally selling a piece of la