Below The Headlines - 24
NSCDC can now confirm if someone is gay and inviting a Nigerian to your wedding does not mean you're not a racist
Hope you have all had a restful week. We did here and did not publish any pieces in the last week.
Once you hear November, you know we have reached the part of the year when you have to take extra care to ensure that you do not feature in any of the stories we share here in Below The Headlines. A word is enough for the wise.
Inside Nigeria
I’m told, reliably, that this was a very real and credible threat that was foiled by good intelligence and surveillance: “A statement, signed by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the Boko Haram members apprehended yesterday were getting ready to unleash a major terror on Kano State before they were arrested. During the operation, the security agencies recovered from the terrorists, five AK 47 Rifles, five AK 47 Rifle Magazines, one Rocket Propelled Gun (RPG), five RPG Bombs, six Hand Grenades, five pairs of Desert Camouflage Uniforms, 10 pairs of magazine pouches and some Improvised Explosive Device (IED) making materials” - ThisDay
Some schools are now collecting school fees on a daily basis: “In a school I served in Muwo, when the management saw the predicaments of parents due to what the economy had become. They introduced the Esusu style of collecting school fees. They made small cards with months and days available to parents. The wards come to school with the cards and their amount they are paying for the day and it is ticked to show parents. The children are given the cards when going home to avoid misplacing them. If such a means is not adopted parents will move their wards to other schools, you know things are very difficult and they cannot really afford paying the fees so they take such a child to a public school” - Vanguard
Interesting piece about the scrap metal business in Nigeria: “He said EVs are playing a pivotal role in this transformation. He cited that the electrification of transportation demands an array of metals for the production of batteries, which account for a significant portion of an EV’s overall cost, noting that some of the scrap metals taken from garbage bins in Nigeria end up in factories in major economies around the world” - Nairametrics
Update on the 76 people arrested at a ‘gay wedding’ in Gombe by the NSCDC. The NSCDC now says it has ‘confirmed’ that 21 of them are gay: “We identified those who were directly and indirectly involved; fair enough, we decided to bail out those who were not directly involved. One thing significant is that we didn’t impose the statuses on them but rather they identified themselves that they are homosexuals and that they want to transfer in being a male to female” - Punch
Sentences to ponder: “There was a mild drama yesterday, when some residents of Awkuzu Community, in Oyi Local Council of Anambra State, engaged the state’s fire fighters in a scuffle. The firefighters, they suspected, were coming to prevent them from scooping fuel from a fuel-laden truck that fell in the area” - Guardian
My favourite billionaires are fighting. It is my sincere prayer that they both lose: “While Dangote Group has accused BUA Group of orchestrating a malicious campaign in the media by disguising as a concerned citizen, the latter on the other recalled how it overlooked its rival’s antics aimed at running it out of business” - Daily Trust
Whenever you read a story about someone dying during a ‘sex romp’ in Nigeria, you can be sure there drugs involved. You can link this to the proliferation of pornography on the internet: “Investigation revealed that the incident happened on Monday at a guest house situated at the Temidire community, Offa Garage area in the metropolis, while it was reported that the middle aged man, said to own a barbing salon, went for relaxation with his girlfriend. An unconfirmed report from members of the community also alleged that the man was under the influence of drug with the aim of impressing his girlfriend before the experience turned sour. The girl was said to have got tired during the mating and later gave up the ghost” - Punch
This was the church I went to when growing up in Kaduna in the late 80s: “Treasure Ayuba, the last boy who was still with the bandits who kidnapped the 121 students of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna, on July 5, 2021, has just returned home today, November 2, 2023” - ICIR Nigeria
The former minister of women affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, went on a contract bonanza just before leaving office in May. Some gems: “Powercell Limited, a renewable energy company owned by Balogun Omotayo, is one of the firms that benefited from the contracts. Powercell was paid N8,696,880 to procure 3000 reusable sanitary pads for women and girls in Zamfara State” - FIJ
In the year 2023, people are still being burnt alive in Nigeria. Disturbingly, Governor Soludo’s comments may have contributed to this: “In a video that had gone viral, bystanders were seen screaming,” These are touts collecting illegal levies around the Bida area of Onitsha. They were being set ablaze for touting. This is not good. The punishment is too much for just touting. They are children to somebody. This is the return of the Bakassi Boys.” - Tribune
More details on the woman who was scammed by her son-in-law in a scheme to get her married to former President Buhari. The story gets worse: “I didn’t believe him until when I asked his wife (my daughter) and she swore by Allah and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that what her husband said was true, that she was present when ex-President Buhari said it. I couldn’t control my tears. My son-in-law later brought out a paper, alleging that it was a letter written by Buhari to me and read it to my hearing. He said Buhari requested for my personal pictures” - Daily Trust
Outside Nigeria
Across the world, a large majority of people who caught mPox and died from it were gay or bisexual men. But in Nigeria things appear to have been different according to a new research report: “Professor Dimie Ogoina of Niger Delta University suspected that mpox was spreading via sex, finding that many of the affected men reported high-risk sexual behaviour, including condomless casual sex, multiple partners and contact with sex workers” - Aidsmap
A Nigerian Pharmacist with Boots in the UK sued the company claiming that his white colleague racially harassed him. She claims he behaved in a threatening manner towards her. He won the case and will now receive compensation: “The ruling came after a white Boots pharmacy technician argued that she could not have racially harassed a black senior pharmacist because two Nigerian women had attended her wedding and she was friendly with other non-white colleagues.” - The Times
The diary of C.J Obasi and his ‘Mami Wata’ which is now being touted as a Oscar hopeful: “On this night, “Mami Wata” is officially announced as Nigeria’s entry for the International Features Category of the 2024 Oscars. My phone’s been buzzing all night, all through the morning. It feels great and a significant achievement in the history of Nigerian cinema. You have to remember, I’m not the famous filmmaker, or even the celebrated “Nollywooder,” on everyone’s lips, so to have an outlier’s film chosen by the committee of 14 is unprecedented and symbolic to the new possibilities on the horizon for Nigerian cinema” - LA Times
“Two Nigerian nationals who were extradited to the United States from Spain were sentenced to 128 and 87 months in prison for their roles in a transnational inheritance fraud scheme. With today’s sentencing, five defendants who were extradited from the United Kingdom and Spain in connection with this matter have been sentenced” - US Department of Justice
The fallout from Nigeria’s victory over P&ID in the High Court continues and the impact it might have on the arbitration industry: “Whether the judge’s “more interventionist approach” will be followed in all cases or restricted to those where a state is the respondent remains to be seen, says Ben Knowles, a partner at Clyde & Co (and no relation to the judge). But he adds that “if you are an arbitral tribunal involved in a case where one of the parties is a state, if something doesn’t smell right in the way the case is being handled, you are on notice of the need to proactively make enquiries”. - The Times
A cure for sickle cell - using the innovative CRISPR technology - is around the corner with America’s FDA granting approval to the first experimental treatment: “Vertex’s therapy starts when doctors remove stem cells from the blood and send them for treatment. Next comes intense chemotherapy to completely clear the bone marrow before the treated cells are injected. After that, patients must spend at least a month in a hospital while the treated cells repopulate the bone marrow” - New York Times
A Nigerian asylum seeker in the UK tried to kill himself after he was told he was being transferred to the new ship for asylum seekers: “The Nigerian man arrived in the UK as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child and lived in foster care until reaching the age of 18” - Guardian
29yr old Ray BLK is a singer on the new M&S Christmas advert in the UK: “Real name Rita Ekwere, the star was born in Nigeria, but grew up in Catford after moving to London at four years old. A tough childhood growing up in what she calls 'ends' saw her kicked out of school for fighting.” - Daily Mail
David Muoka is hoping to be the first player born and raised in Hong Kong to play in the NBA after he made history by becoming the city’s first to be drafted by the competition’s development league: “Born to a Nigerian father and an English mother, Muoka received a scholarship to study at Lamar University in Texas after spending a year at a college-preparatory school at Athlete Institute in Canada in 2019.” - South China Morning Post
Sad news about Afronation: “Unfortunately the Afro Nation Nigeria festival in Lagos will now not be taking place. As event organisers, we hold ourselves to extremely high standards and it has become clear to us that it is currently not possible to deliver a show that is of the quality that Nigeria deserves in December 2023” - Afronation
An Africa-focused payment fintech recently issued a profit warning just 3 months after its IPO. That caused its share price to fall 85%. It has been trying to explain since: “CAB Payments laid the blame for its revenue downgrade on unforeseen volatility in African markets, which make up a large portion of its business. Nigeria’s currency, the naira, crashed in June after its central bank governor was suspended. The company said this led to smaller fees on trades in the currency” - Financial Times
The AP carried out an investigation into ageing oil ships around the world and the dangers they pose. The story is illustrated with Trinity Spirit, a ship which exploded and killed 7 people off the coast of Nigeria early last year: “Nigerian authorities haven’t published a conclusive reason as to why the Trinity Spirit exploded, but photos of the ship shortly before it exploded and the accounts of three survivors point to it being in a state of near-total disrepair. The engine room flooded twice, one crew member told AP, and the main generator plant was damaged and never repaired. The surviving crew members said maintenance had all but stopped on the 46-year-old ship” - Associated Press
NNPC claims it will supply the Dangote Refinery with 200,000 barrels of oil in December for ‘testing’. Will believe it when I see it: “The NNPC official said gasoline and diesel purchases from the refinery would be negotiated in separate contracts at a later date. NNPC has a 20% stake in the refinery. The refinery began the commissioning process in May this year after running years behind schedule at a cost of $19 billion, above initial estimates of $12-14 billion” - Reuters
Zainab Saleh has been teaching women karate in Nigeria and also runs a karate championship. She says she was inspired by watching Bruce Lee films: “You always hear and see news of women getting sexually assaulted and I can’t begin to imagine what they all go through. I wanted to start a movement through karate so that these women and girls can defend themselves in some way against these violent attacks” - Olympics
The completely unnecessary supplementary budget has achieved the effect of making the current government look feckless with yachts and cars capturing the imagination: “Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s first supplementary budget includes a fleet of SUVs for himself and his wife, a presidential yacht and the renovation of his villa amid a cost-of-living crisis for some of the poorest people in the world.” - Bloomberg
Do you remember Koo? It’s ok if you don’t: “Two years on, however, Nigerians have abandoned the Indian microblogging platform. Former president Buhari’s verified account still states he is Nigeria’s president, even though he left the job in May 2023. His last post on Koo was in November 2021” - Rest of World
Military helicopters from Turkey have arrived: “The Turkish Air Force A400M cargo plane carrying the T-129 attack helicopters touched down at the NAF Headquarters Tactical Air Command in Makurdi, Benue State on November 1, 2023, following its departure from the TAI facility near Ankara.” - Military Africa
QTWTAIN - Can Nigeria's community vigilantes combat bandit gangs? : “The Katsina state government also procured armored personnel carriers, motorcycles, and other security equipment in its effort to eliminate the threat from bandits. Katsina governor Dikko Umar Radda said that his state is leading the way in directly involving members of the public” - Deutsche Welle
On the epidemic of kidnapping in Nigeria: “Between July 2022 and June 2023, 3,620 people were abducted in 582 kidnapping incidents across Nigeria, with ransom payouts amounting to 302 million naira ($387,179), according to SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based geopolitical analytic research company. In August last year, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that 25,000 people were missing in Nigeria, more than 14,000 of them children” - The National