Groups fault composition of panels of inquiry in Cross Rivers, Rivers, others

Some civil society groups have expressed concern over the manner in which some Panels of Enquiry on Police Brutality were being established in Cross River, Rivers, and other states of the federation, warning that the committees may not achieve the expected results. Executive Director of ‘We The People,’ Ken Henshaw, said the decision of some governors…

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#EndSARS probe: Group worries panels’ composition may undermine agitators’ demands

A non-governmental organisation, We the People, has expressed fears that the composition of various State Panels of Inquiry might undermine the genuine intention of federal and state governments to investigate the activities of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Executive Director of We the People, Ken Henshaw, expressed this in a statement he issued in Port…

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State Level Panels of Inquiry Must be Inclusive and Objective

Following the nationwide #EndSARS protests which has forced the federal and some state governments to re-assess their responsibility of ensuring that law enforcement officers operate within established rules; and that atrocities committed by those tasked to protect are accounted for, different levels of government have established frameworks for investigative processes. Several states have established Panels of…

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Address host communities’ issues in new PIB – Expert

Mr Ken Henshaw,  Executive Director,  Center  for Social Studies and Development (CSSD)  says a decent  Petroleum Industry Bill  (PIB) must address  major concerns that will  drive economic growth of oil producing communities and the country at large. Henshaw made this known at a Virtual Masters class on Precept 5 of the Nigerian Natural Resource Charter (NNRC)…

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Crisis looms over planned termination of amnesty programme

As concerns grow among ex-militants that the federal government might be considering the termination of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), signs of a possible resistance are already building up in the Niger Delta region.

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Niger Delta groups want Buhari to suspend procurements in NDDC

President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to suspend all procurements in Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In a petition to the President, 29 civil society organisations across the Niger Delta recommended that supervision of the NDDC should moved back to the presidency.

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Why we are also demanding an end to SARS and other forms of law enforcement brutality

In the last 3 years, We the People has campaigned actively demanding an end to atrocities of law enforcement officers against citizens in Nigeria, especially in the Niger Delta. In 2018 alone, we published 10 reports describing killings by state and non-state actors, including those of the Police and other armed forces. Between 2018 and 2019,…

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We the People and Street Children in Calabar Protest Government Neglect

We the People is deeply concerned about the plight of Street Children in Calabar. For almost 2 decades, Calabar, the capital of Cross River state in southern Nigeria has seen a continued rise in the number of children that live on the streets and provide for themselves without the supervision of adults. While Cross River state…

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Police Disrupt We the People’s Independence Day Protest on Bad Governance, Insecurity

To commemorate Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary, We the People on October 1st, 2020, participated in a peaceful protest in Port Harcourt aimed at calling the attention of the country’s leadership to bad governance, poorly implemented policies, insecurity and killings in the country and the general decline of development indicators in the country.  Unfortunately, the protesters numbering in…

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We the People Raise Alarm over Shrinking Civic Space in Nigeria, Trains Journalists, Bloggers and Activists to Defend the Space

In the last five years, Nigeria has witnessed an alarming rise in state backed attempts to stifle the civic space, criminalize democratic dissent and suffocate freedom of assembly and expression. In this period, there has been at least three legislative attempts made to stifle basic freedoms and the civic space. These have included attempts to pass…

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‘FG treating US warning on ISIS, Al-Qaida, B’Haram infiltration to South with levity’

Executive Director of a nongovernmental organisation, We The People (WTP), Mr. Ken Henshaw, has accused the Federal government of treating the warning to the Nigerian government by the United States of the infiltration of ISIS, Al- Qaeda and Boko Haram into the Southern part of the country with ignominy.

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“Corruption Allegations in NDDC Must be Investigated and Culprits Diligently Prosecuted” We the People Press Conference Demands

We are deeply concerned about recent revelations on the scale of corruption and mismanagement in the Niger Delta Development Commission. We recall that the NDDC was established in 2000 as one of the first tasks of the new democratic government in Nigeria, and conceived as a response to the agitations of the people of the region…

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FG’s benefits transfer systems to host communities failing ― Report

All the systems of benefits transfer to oil-producing communities put in place by the Federal Government have over the years, failed to address the exploitation, degradation and deprivation suffered by the communities, according to a report by Centre for Social Studies and Development.

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‘Bulk withdrawal’ made from NDDC account during NASS probe — 35 CSOs

THIRTY-FIVE leading Niger Delta-based civil society organisations, CSOs, and community organisations, on Wednesday, raised the alarm that while the National Assembly probe into the activities of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, was ongoing, ‘bulk withdrawal’ was made from its account.

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Why Nigeria scored poorly in natural resource charter…Experts

Oil and gas stakeholders and community development experts have listed several reasons why Nigeria currently performs abysmally in natural resource charter that has led to gross under-development of many rural areas where crude oil is mined and refined...

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Notes on Corruption in NDDC

• “People were treating the place (NDDC) as an ATM, where you just walk in there to go and pluck money and go away” -Godswill Akpabio • “NDDC has 12,000 abandoned projects in the Niger Delta” -Godswill Akpabio • “There is no way NDDC road can last (for) even two years” -Godswill Akpabio • NDDC owes…

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Overhaul leadership architecture of NDDC-CSOs tell Buhari

A coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria have called for the overhauling of the Niger Delta Development Commission and the disbandment of the leadership architecture of the commission.

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Street children: Group task C’River govt on implementation of ‘Child Rights’ law

The increased number of street children in Calabar, the Cross River state capital, has drawn the ire of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Centre for Social Studies and Development which blamed the issue on the inability of the state government to implementing the Child Rights Law it domesticated.

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Street children in Calabar accuse Cross River State Government of neglect – dailypost.ng

Over one hundred street children in Calabar, Cross River State have accused the State government of neglect and abandonment. The Street children who spoke to DAILY POST separately on Tuesday at their makeshift residents at Lema dump-sites in Calabar regretted the way the government treats them, lamenting that their situation was not as bad during the…

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Advocating for Street Children in Calabar: We the People Hosts Street Child Summit

In Calabar the capital of Cross River state, southern Nigeria, hundreds of children, some as young as 6 live on the streets. These kids are exposed to the most horrendous conditions of existence, conditions that can only be described as atrocious. To survive each day, they depend only on what they can scavenge from refuse dumps,…

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Read more about the article Over 300 kids live on the streets of Calabar, dangerously at risk of exposure to Covid19 if the government doesn’t act.
Over 300 kids live on the streets of Calabar, dangerously at risk of exposure to Covid19 if the government doesn't act.

Over 300 kids live on the streets of Calabar, dangerously at risk of exposure to Covid19 if the government doesn’t act.

This video briefly tells the story of hundreds of children in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria who literally live on the streets and fend for themselves without any support from families or the government. It demands action from the government to protect these kids from exposure to COVID19"

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Read more about the article Press Conference on the Military Invasion of Udoda Community in Ahaoda West LGA of Rivers State by the Nigerian Military.
We Demand Accountability for the Invasion and Atrocities Committed at Udoda.

Press Conference on the Military Invasion of Udoda Community in Ahaoda West LGA of Rivers State by the Nigerian Military.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, We the People and the Rivers State Civil Society Organizations profoundly welcomes you to this Press Conference. We have invited you here this morning to share our concerns about recent spate of actions by the Nigerian military against Niger Delta communities, actions which can best be described as atrocious.  …

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Jaws of Death

Between November 2019 and February 2020, there was noted rise in cases of killings in River state. The period witnessed attack on and by law enforcement officers, gang killings and random murders. This report details the killings and makes a profound demand for accountability.

(more…)

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Documentary Evidence of Military Atrocity against communities in the Niger Delta

“Everywhere Scatter” In the Niger Delta, the Nigerian Military has adopted a very strange strategy for fighting illegal refining of crude oil. Wherever it finds these illegal artisanal refineries, it destroys the entire community with bombs, irrespective of the innocence of people in the community.  This video tells the story of a community in Rivers state…

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We the People Validates Research Findings on Oil Sector Governance in Nigeria

On the — of November 2019, We the People held a dialogue session in Port Harcourt, Rivers state to present and validate findings from its 2019 Natural Resource Benchmarking Exercise. The benchmarking exercise assess Nigeria’s performance against 12 Natural Resource Charter (NRC) precepts with a view to identifying lapses in the extractive governance decision making process. The Charter is a set of principles for governments and societies on how best to harness the opportunities created by extractive resources for development. It provides certain minimum standards and frameworks which are recommended for implementation to provides maximum benefits from natural resources. (more…)

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CoSet Launches Campaign to End Gas Flaring in Nigeria

On the 26th of November 2019, the Coalition for Social and Ecological Transformation, CoSET, an umbrella of several environmental and human rights focused originations across Nigeria, launched a campaign in Port Harcourt, Rivers state aimed at ending the flaring of associated gas in the Niger Delta. At the launch of the campaign, the Coalition berated Nigeria’s Federal Government for not taking a firm stand to end gas flaring in the country, citing the continued shift of every deadline established to ensure that multinational oil companies stop the flaring of gas at oil extraction sites. (more…)

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We the People and Cross River Communities Demand New Forest Protection Regime

On the 12th of October 2019, We the People and the Coalition of REDD+ Delineated Forest Communities in Cross River state, held a consultative meeting in Calabar to assess the level of forest protection in the state and examine actions and proposals that could impact the forests. (more…)

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Origins of the Street Child Phenomenon in Calabar: An Interview with Researcher and Child Rights Campaigner Williams Arikpo

WTP:  Could you introduce yourself sir and tell us a bit about the work you have done with street children in Calabar?

WilliamsArikpo: My name is Williams Arikpo. I started working with street children in 2003, I did a head count and found more than 300 children on the streets of Calabar. I have a paper I wrote down their names one by one. It wasn’t like a survey but I mean, when I meet you, I write down your name. (more…)

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Incidents of Atrocity in Rivers State in September 2019

In September 2019, gang criminality continued to rise in River state. The month witnessed attack on Police officers, politically motivated killings and inter communal murders. However, the most bizarre of the killings were those by a serial killer(s) following a pattern of murders targeting women in hotels in Rivers state. In the month of September 25…

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MY CORRUPTION STORY: My Sex for Marks Experience

As a student and a citizen of Nigeria, I see myself growing up to become a responsible leader but corruption has a way of manipulating the minds of people. I studied Statistics in Kenule Beeson Saro Wiwa Polytechnic, the former Rivers State Polytechnic. As a National Diploma (ND1) student, I made good grades, not because I…

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Gang Wars

In the 31-day period of August 2019, there were 10 documented incidents of atrocity in Rivers state that resulted in 45 killings. This figure is more than double that of the previous month, indicating a further descent into insecurity in parts of the state. The spate of killings reflects a general climate of insecurity and lawlessness…

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End of visit statement of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on her visit to Nigeria

Between the 19th of August and the 3rd of September 2019, Agnes Callamard, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions conducted an official country visit to Nigeria. For 12 days, she examined situations of violations of the right to life by State and non-State actors; the Federal State security strategy and the responses…

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Paradise of Pedophiles

 In the last decade, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of children living in the streets of Calabar. These kids are exposed to the most horrendous conditions including forced labour and regular physical abuses. To survive each day, these kids depend only on what they can scavenge from refuse dumps, leftovers at restaurants,…

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Death Toll

The month of July 2019 saw further reduction in cases of atrocious killings in Rivers state. The month also witnessed important interventions by the state government to address the problem of insecurity in the state as well as atrocious killings.  In the 31-day period of July 2019, We the People tracked and documented 11 incidents that…

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We the People Holds Town Hall to End Atrocity Against Children in Calabar

In the last decade, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of street children in Calabar. These kids are exposed to the most horrendous conditions of existence, conditions that can only be described as atrocious. To survive each day, they depend only on what they can scavenge from refuse dumps, leftovers at restaurants, what they can steal and the occasional goodwill of a few conscientious individuals and organizations. (more…)

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CSSD demands audit of N1bn NDDC indebtedness to contractors

The Centre for Social Studies and Development (CSSD) has advocated an audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over alleged N1trn debt to contractors. CSSD Executive Director, Ken Henshaw, said only a thorough audit of the agency would reveal the veracity of its actual indebtedness. Henshaw told The Guardian that it was worrying that an…

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