General
SERAP Sues FG Over Failure to Rescue Train Attack Victims
By Adedapo Adesanya
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the federal government over its failure to protect the rights to life, security, and dignity of the victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, and the failure to secure the safe release of those held captive by the terrorists.
The suit followed reports that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) failed to approve funds for surveillance equipment that could have helped to prevent the train attack.
Business Post had reported that terrorists had attacked the AK9 Abuja–Kaduna train on March 28, killing at least nine people, wounding several others, and abducting an unknown number of passengers.
The victims have remained with the terrorists for a month despite repeated appeals for the government to free them from captivity.
In the suit No ECW/CCJ/APP/20/22 filed last week before the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, SERAP is, therefore, seeking “a declaration that the train attack, abductions and killings of passengers by terrorists amount to a failure by the government to protect Nigerians, and to prevent these grave human rights violations.”
The body is also seeking “an order directing the Buhari government to protect, promote, and fulfil the human rights of Nigerians, including travellers across the country, by ensuring adequate security and taking measures to prevent attacks.”
SERAP is seeking “an order directing the Buhari government to urgently find and identify all the passengers, victims and their families, and to pay adequate monetary compensation of N50 million to each of the passengers and victims and their families.”
In the suit filed together with an application for an expedited hearing, SERAP is arguing that “The Buhari government has a legal duty to protect individuals from real and immediate risks to their lives and security caused by actions of third parties such as terrorists.”
It is also arguing that “a fundamental notion of contemporary human rights law is that victims of violations such as the victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack enjoy an independent right to effective remedies. Rights without remedies are ineffectual, rendering illusory the government’s duty to protect such rights.”
According to SERAP, “the Buhari government has failed to protect the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed rights of the victims of the train attack to life, dignity and security, and their right to an effective remedy.”
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare and Miss Opeyemi Owolabi, read in part: “The Buhari government is under a legal obligation to protect the life of every citizen in the country.
“Remedies logically should be proportionate to the gravity of the harm or violations caused by the government and its agents or by terrorists or unknown perpetrators.
“Human life has a special value and dignity which requires legal protection. It is the principle of international law, and even a general conception of law, that any breach of an engagement involves an obligation to make reparation.
“The officials of the Buhari government have publicly stated that they knew or had information that an attack on the train was imminent but the government failed and/or neglected to take measures to prevent the train attack.
“The government will still be held accountable for failing or neglecting to guarantee and protect human rights regardless of whether such violations are directly or indirectly attributable to the government or its officials.
“The Buhari government has an obligation to promote and protect the rights to life, security and dignity. This obligation means that the government must create an enabling environment that facilitates the enjoyment of these rights by the people.
“The failure of the Buhari government to protect and guarantee the rights to life, security, liberty and dignity of the passengers and victims of the train attack violates the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.
“The Buhari government and the Nigeria Railway Corporation had ignored several warnings in the past to take preventive measures to provide adequate security for the train services, and to suspend late rail services to prevent attack by terrorists and to ensure the security and safety of passengers.”
“Few days before the train attack, some terrorists had gained control of and entered the Kaduna airport in a daring attack. The Buhari government failed or refused to take preventive measures to ensure adequate security in the airport and its surrounding, and to prevent the attack on the train.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For disrupting Nigeria’s democratic path and weakening its institutions, the military must tender an apology to the nation, foremost public commentator, Mr Ope Banwo, has submitted.
The legal practitioner, who called for a national reckoning, insisted that an apology would acknowledge the harm caused by repeated military interventions and reaffirm the supremacy of the constitution.
Speaking on the recently commemorated Armed Forces Remembrance Day, Mr Banwo argued that decades of political intervention by the military disrupted the country’s democratic growth.
According to him, repeated military takeovers did not rescue the country from early post-independence challenges but instead deepened instability and entrenched authoritarian governance.
While acknowledging that Nigeria’s early civilian leaders contributed to political chaos through electoral malpractice and ethnic tensions, he maintained that military coups worsened the situation, noting that the first coup in 1966 triggered a cycle of interventions that culminated in civil war, institutional breakdown, and long-term political trauma.
He emphasised that successive military regimes promised to fight corruption, restore discipline, and sanitise governance, but failed to deliver lasting reforms.
“Rather than ending corruption, they professionalised it,” he posited, adding that military rule created a powerful elite class that continues to wield influence in politics and business long after the return to civilian rule.
Mr Banwo further argued that the military never fully relinquished power, but merely exchanged uniforms for civilian attire, leaving behind a culture where constitutional authority is often treated as optional, stressing that in democratic societies, the armed forces must remain subordinate to civilian leadership, warning against any renewed appetite for military intervention in governance.
“The military is not Nigeria’s emergency solution to political failure,” he disclosed, urging the armed forces to focus on their constitutional responsibility of securing the country amid rising insecurity.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has said it would prioritize the use of local materials to drive its new reform agenda that will close the housing deficit in the country.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, at the 14th National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development meeting on Monday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
He said Nigeria’s housing deficit, estimated in tens of millions, remains one of the most pressing social and economic challenges, driven by rapid urbanisation, population growth and rising construction costs, noting that the new policy framework is expected to shape housing delivery, land administration and urban development planning across the federation in the coming years.
Speaking at the event, the Minister, represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics of the ministry, Mr Mukhtar Ilyasu, said the government has placed effective land management at the centre of its housing delivery strategy, describing land administration as the foundation for expanding access to affordable housing nationwide.
According to him, urban renewal and regeneration have now been adopted as national policy tools for modernising Nigerian cities, addressing uncontrolled urban growth and responding to population pressure and climate challenges.
He said the government is also prioritising the large-scale adoption of locally sourced building materials and technologies as a cost reduction strategy aimed at making housing more affordable while strengthening domestic construction industries.
“Effective land management remains the foundation of housing delivery in Nigeria. Without fixing land administration, it will be difficult to close the country’s housing deficit.
“Urban renewal and regeneration have been adopted as national policy tools for rebuilding Nigerian cities, addressing uncontrolled urban growth and improving the quality of life of our citizens.
“The promotion of locally sourced building materials and technologies is now a policy priority to reduce construction costs, deepen local industry and improve housing affordability.”
“Federal and state governments are being aligned under a unified housing and urban development agenda to ensure coordinated implementation and results driven execution”, he said.
Mr Dangiwa added that public private partnerships will serve as the main engine for mass housing and urban infrastructure delivery across the federation.
The government, he noted, will provide policy support, land governance reforms and investment frameworks to attract private capital into the sector.
To support the new direction, he said the FG is strengthening national land governance frameworks to promote inclusive urban growth and remove long standing bottlenecks in land administration that have slowed housing development.
The minister said the new policy thrust further includes innovative housing finance and investment strategies designed to unlock long term funding for real estate development and bridge Nigeria’s widening housing gap.
He stressed that federal and state governments are being aligned under a unified housing and urban development agenda to ensure coordinated implementation and results driven execution.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Department of State Service (DSS) has arrested former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, shortly after his release from Kuje prison in Abuja on Monday.
He was reportedly arrested to face a fresh probe over arms allegedly discovered in his house in Birnin-Kebbi, the Kebbi State capital, last December.
Recall that two weeks ago, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja granted the former AGF and two others bail in the sum of N500 million.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed a 16-count alleged money laundering charge against Mr Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Malami, and his wife, Mrs Asabe Bashir.
The DSS operatives reportedly arrested him as he was exiting the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, where he had been held since December 30, 2025, over the pending N8.7 billion money laundering charges filed by the anti-graft agency.
Monday’s arrest followed weeks of reports of surveillance by the secret police in front of the prison facility since the time Mr Malami, his wife and son were remanded there over the money laundering charges.
As per reports, Mr Malami had gathered that he would be picked up upon regaining his temporary freedom decided to wait. However, after his eventual emergence, the DSS operatives took the ex-AGF into detention again.
In a press statement by Mr Malami’s aide, Mr Mohammed Doka, shared on the former AGF’s Facebook page on January 7, the planned arrest of the legal practitioner was confirmed.
The post, the latest on the Facebook page as of Tuesday morning, said the former minister’s camp had been “reliably informed of plans by government security agencies to rearrest him immediately upon his release, despite being granted bail by a court of competent jurisdiction.”
“This development is deeply troubling and raises grave concerns about due process, the rule of law, and personal safety,” the statement added, describing the allegations informing the planned arrest as “trumped-up charges”.
Mr Malami’s arrest on Monday began the third phase of his ongoing detention by various agencies since December 8, 2025.
The EFCC detained him from 8 December 2025 to 30 December 2025, when the Federal High Court in Abuja where he and his family members face money laundering charges transferred him to the Correctional Centre in Kuje, Abuja, following his arraignment.
The trial court granted him bail on 7 January but only for him to be rearrested by the SSS upon his release after meeting the bail conditions on Monday.
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