General
EndSARS: Human Rights Watch Calls for Action on Panel Recommendations
By Adedapo Adesanya
Human Rights Watch has called on Nigerian authorities to act on the #EndSARS panel recommendations and hold those responsible to account.
This call was made in a press statement on Monday in which the group accused the federal government of not making efforts to ensure justice for the killing of protesters in Lagos state in 2020, six months after a judicial panel implicated security forces in the abuses.
Speaking on this, Mr Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch said, “The report of the judicial panel of inquiry should not be swept under the rug without any consequences for those responsible for killing and injuring protesters.
“A failure to act on the panel’s recommendations will send a painful message to victims and risks encouraging more violence by security officers.”
For context, in October 2020, young people across Nigeria took to the streets calling for the disbandment of an abusive police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and for an end to the brutality, in a movement using the hashtag #EndSARS.
Security forces responded with excessive force, including gunfire. One of the worst crackdowns was at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on October 20, when army and police officers opened fire on a crowd of protesters, leaving people dead and wounded.
In response, the Lagos state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwolu, mandated a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate the incident and provide recommendations for justice and accountability.
The panel heard testimonies for a year from victims and representatives of the army, the police, and hospitals that treated victims. It was found in November 2021 that the security forces shot, injured, and killed unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, corroborating Human Rights Watch findings.
The panel also presented a list of at least 48 casualties, including nine dead, four missing and presumed dead, and 21 wounded by gunshots. The panel recommended appropriate disciplinary measures and dismissals of army officers implicated in the abuses. The panel also recommended prosecuting police officers implicated in the indiscriminate shooting and killing of protesters at the toll gate and prompt payment of the compensation that the panel awarded to victims.
The Nigerian police and military authorities have neither taken further steps to independently investigate nor responded to the panel’s findings and recommendations.
The federal government, which has oversight of these institutions, rejected the panel’s recommendations. The Lagos state governor, who called for the investigation and gave assurances that victims would get closure, has also been quiet on the issue of accountability.
Nigeria has a poor history with judicial panels of inquiries, whose recommendations have no force of law and are often dependent on the responsible authorities to carry out the recommendations.
A lack of political will on justice and accountability has meant that past judicial panels including those set up to investigate mass extrajudicial killings in other contexts made no progress toward ending impunity for security force abuses.
Adding her input, Mrs Serah Ibrahim, a coordinator of the EndSARS Survivors’ Group, made up of victims of the Lekki Toll Gate incident and their families, told Human Rights Watch that she and other members of the group including those who are managing serious injuries from the shooting are following up with the Lagos state government officials.
She said they want to see justice done and compensation paid but it appears futile because state government officials have told them it is not up to them to determine what happens next.
“They don’t want to fish out [identify] the people who shot at us and they also do not want to pay compensation for what happened because it will be an admission of guilt,” she said.
“Sometimes I just want to move on because pursuing justice in Nigeria seems pointless, but I can’t because I know what happened and the impact it has had on the lives of victims and their families,” Mrs Ibrahim added
Following the submission of the Lagos judicial panel report to Governor Sanwolu, he set up another committee to review the contents and come up with a white paper to chart the way forward. The white paper, released in November 2021, rejected the panel’s key findings, including the death toll of nine, stating that there were substantial inconsistencies and a lack of adequate evidence to back the claim.
But the Lagos state government said it fully or partially accepted all but one of the panel’s recommendations that relate to its own authority and indicated that it would forward other recommendations to the appropriate authorities, including the federal government, the Police Service Commission, Nigeria Police Force, and the Nigerian Army.
The federal government through the Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, rejected the findings and recommendations of the panel though, and maintained the position it had taken since the incident occurred that reports of shooting and killing by security forces at the Lekki Toll Gate were “fake news.”
Justice and accountability should not be determined by the views of individual government ministers or officials but should rather be guaranteed for all Nigerians through independent systems and authorities mandated to investigate and act on allegations of abuses, Human Rights Watch said.
Within the Nigeria police force, there are several units including the X-Squad Unit of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) and the Provost Department, which are responsible for investigating offences by officers and recommending disciplinary actions and criminal prosecution where applicable. The Police Service Commission, which provides external oversight, also has the authority to investigate complaints and to mandate disciplinary actions, including dismissal, it added.
Similarly, the military police can investigate the actions of army officers implicated directly or indirectly in the abuses against protesters. An internal board of inquiry or regimental inquiry can also be set up to uncover the facts around their involvement and a court-martial process can be convened to discipline officers who engage in misconduct and ensure accountability,’ the group noted.
The executive secretary of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, Mr Tony Ojukwu, told Human Rights Watch that it is because of the failure of the various internal systems for accountability to adequately do their jobs over the years that police and military officers have continued to act with impunity.
“Nigerian authorities have evaded their responsibilities to identify, discipline, and prosecute security officers involved in abuses.
“Unless this changes, violence by security forces against ordinary citizens will continue,” Mr Ewang added.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A report released by Spotify has revealed that in 2024, Apostle Femi Lazarus was the most streamed podcast on its platform, closely followed by Motivation Daily by Motiversity.
Podcasts are one of Africa’s favourite ways to tell stories. With almost 4 billion minutes of podcast audio played in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, the continent’s appetite for this content is loud and clear.
South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya listened to the most shows this year, with South Africa contributing over 2 billion minutes. If you started playing podcasts on one device today, it would make for about 30 centuries of listening.
“The numbers don’t lie. Podcasting is here to stay because it lets creators take control of their narratives and tell these stories on their terms while bringing their community along for the journey,” the Sub-Saharan Africa Podcast Manager for Spotify, Ncebakazi Manzi, stated.
Motivational shows around issues like managing finances, relationships, personal goals and health remain popular across the three leading countries. Shows like “The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett”, “Motivation Daily by Motiversity” and “The Success Addicted Podcast” have attracted listeners who want to get their lives in order and learn from the stories of inspirational people.
Audiences in Nigeria and South Africa embrace shows about spirituality. “Christian Motivation” had one of the most shared episodes in South Africa while “Apostle Joshua Selman” maintained his popularity in Nigeria for another year. As the continent’s second-largest podcast market, Nigeria listened to 700 million minutes in 2024 and it created half of the new shows published in Sub-Saharan Africa this year.
Even though spirituality dominated Nigeria’s top charts, the continued popularity of shows like “I Said What I Said” and “The HonestBunch Podcast” tell us that listeners also want conversation-style shows. Listeners in Kenya and South Africa also showed an affinity toward these shows.
A good laugh with friends
The “ShxtsnGigs” podcast, an opinion show hosted by two best friends James and Fuhad, tapped into audiences’ hunger for conversational shows. The humorous podcast has made its way to the top charts in six of the top 10 podcast-playing African countries. In Kenya, The 97s Podcast has been inspired by this approach where funny and frank chats between hosts Trevor, Frank and Dante have led the podcast to take the number-one spot in the country for the first time.
Kenya’s broader listening data shows that relationships are a meaningful taking point. Seven of the 10 most shared episodes in the country discuss love, sex lives and dating. Julia Gaitho’s “So This Is Love” holds three out of the top five most shared podcast episodes in the country. Her interviews resonated because she draws lessons from her guest’s stories about lost lovers.
Some listeners just wanted to laugh through the pain. Ensemble shows like “Mic Cheque Podcast” and “The Sandwich Podcast” made Kenyans feel like they were hanging out with a close circle of friends. When difficult topics come up, moments of infectious laughter help lighten the mood.
Women creators like Murugi Munyi, Julia Gaitho, Sharon Machira and Lydia K.M. take this comedic approach to a new level on shows like “The Messy Inbetween” and ‘It’s Related, I Promise’. This genre contributed heavily to the country’s 400 million podcast minutes streamed in 2024.
Below are the most streamed and shared podcasts for the year;
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TOP STREAMED PODCASTS IN SOUTH AFRICA |
TOP STREAMED PODCASTS IN NIGERIA |
TOP STREAMED PODCASTS IN KENYA |
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2. Motivation Daily by Motiversity 3. Success Addicted Podcast with the voice of Earl Nightingale ; Napoleon Hill ; Jim Rohn and many more |
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TOP SHARED PODCAST EPISODES IN SOUTH AFRICA |
TOP SHARED PODCAST EPISODES IN KENYA |
TOP SHARED PODCAST EPISODES IN NIGERIA |
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By Dipo Olowookere
A $15 million debt facility has been obtained by Watt Renewable Corporation from the AfriGreen Debt Impact Fund to finance hybrid solar power plants to be built and operated by the former, especially in Nigeria.
WATT intends to use the projects to serve commercial and industrial clients in Nigeria, particularly in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.
By integrating solar hybrid solutions, the firm aims to significantly reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions, enabling its clients to achieve substantial energy cost savings while promoting environmental sustainability.
As a pioneer in renewable energy solutions, WATT continues to drive innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The company’s robust roll-out plan includes deploying hundreds of hybrid solar power sites nationwide to meet the growing energy demands of commercial & industrial clients.
This strategic expansion aligns with WATT’s vision to revolutionize energy access across Africa, enabling sustainable development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The funds from AfriGreen provide the critical capital needed to accelerate WATT’s ambitious projects, strengthening its market position and empowering businesses with reliable and affordable energy solutions.
Business Post gathered that to mitigate the currency risk for WATT in the event of devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, AfriGreen is offering a local currency facility that matches the payment structure of the power purchase agreements.
“We are thrilled to partner with AFRIGREEN on this transformative journey to expand reliable and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.
“With this support, it enables us to accelerate our shared mission of providing hybrid solar power to businesses, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting economic growth while enhancing energy security for our clients,” the Managing Director of WATT, Mr Oluwole Eweje, said.
“We are delighted to support WATT in rolling out hundreds of hybrid sites across the country.
“This represents another key transaction for AFRIGREEN in Nigeria. The combination of high energy prices, good solar irradiation, and strong demand from industrial and commercial energy users makes this market particularly attractive for companies like WATT.
“By leveraging these favourable market conditions alongside WATT’s exceptional operational performance and a well-structured financing solution, we are setting the stage for a strong and lasting business partnership,” the Managing Director of AfriGreen, Mr Alexandre Gilles, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has denied issuing a directive that gas supply to power generating companies (GenCos) be halted.
In a statement on Wednesday, the authority also denied instructing wholesale gas suppliers to stop further supply of gas to companies due to failure in payment obligations.
The NMDPRA described reports stating that it has directed the stoppage of gas supply to GenCos over N2 trillion debt as “false and completely unfounded”.
“It has absolutely no bearing on the information shared at a recent stakeholders’ engagement held in Lagos between the Authority, the OPTS, IPPG and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry,” the NMDPRA said.
“The purpose of the engagement was to sensitise stakeholders on the requirements, opportunities and benefits associated with the implementation of the wholesale supply license as provided by sections 142 and 197 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“It was a follow-up to an earlier stakeholder engagement held at the NMDPRA corporate headquarters in Abuja on November 27, 2024.
“The Authority wishes to reassure all our stakeholders and indeed the general public that at no time was the false statement made at that event and anywhere else, and are advised to completely disregard the publication as every effort is being made to ensure that the supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products to end users is seamless and unabated as we head into the festive season and indeed all through the coming year 2025.”
Recall that Nigeria’s national grid experienced another collapse on Wednesday, the 11th time in 2024 as Gencos couldn’t generate enough power, compounding issues facing the Nigerian power sector.
This was the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shutdown in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
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