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On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, an incident between KFC represented by the manager at their outlet in the Murtala Mohammed Airport and the son of the former Ogun state governor, Adebola Daniels, broke into the limelight. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) acted swiftly and shut down the branch barely a day later on Thursday, March 28, 2024. The incident has sparked public reaction and criticism. Here’s everything we know about the situation.
What went down between KFC and Debola Daniels?
The issue between Debola Daniels and KFC stemmed from an incident where KFC denied access to Adebola Daniel, the son of former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel, who uses a wheelchair. Adebola Daniel shared his experience of being asked to leave the KFC premises at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos because of KFC’s “No wheelchairs allowed,” policy. He described this experience as humiliating and discriminative towards people with disabilities.
In his open message to KFC, Debola asks if he is not human enough to eat at the restaurant.
Debola Daniel via X
What reaction did this get?
This incident prompted a reaction from the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, who announced the shutdown of the KFC outlet following an investigation that confirmed the allegations of discrimination against Adebola Daniel by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at FAAN. The only penalty on the list was a public apology.
Some individuals took to Twitter to disagree with this penalty, stating that an apology would not cut it as KFC violated the law through their actions.
What does KFC have to say about this?
Taking to their Twitter account, KFC released a statement about the incident reinforcing the management’s stand against bias and discrimination and assuring the public that they are training their staff to be more inclusive and servicing to guests regardless of their status and ability.
While Nigerians await KFC’s public apology as directed by FAAN, you can join the conversation on our WhatsApp channel here.
On December 7, 2022, Reuters opened a new can of worms about the Nigerian Army — the mass abortion programme for victims of Boko Haram.
With the testimony of 33 victims, five health workers and nine security personnel alongside military documents as evidence, there’s a record that the military has managed to abort 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls since 2013.
Investigators found that most of the abortions were conducted without the women’s consent or even their prior knowledge. Some of them got abortion-inducing pills or injections that were supposedly medications to boost their health or combat diseases.
How did the Nigerian Army react?
As usual, the Nigerian Army didn’t own up to the act and blatantly denied the accusation. The military defense chief, General Lucky Irabor, even mentioned that he’ll “not waste his energy on such things.”
Sadly, this isn’t the first time the military would be accused of heinous crimes. We’ve made a sad list of the various sins of the Nigerian Army since the end of the last military government in 1999.
The unlawful detention and torture of 10,000 people
Amnesty Internationalreported that at least 10,000 victims — many of them children — died in military detention and thousands more were arrested from 2009 to 2020 in the Nigerian Army’s fight against terrorists. This mostly happened due to the massive displacement of people who escaped from jihadist groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP).
Another Amnesty Internationalreport indicted the Nigerian Army of the maltreatment of female victims of the jihadists from 2016 to 2018. Soldiers subjected the women to a horrible trade by barter system — sex or rape for food and other basic amenities.
Destruction of villages during raids
In January 2020, the Nigerian Army displaced over 400 people by burning their villages in their search for Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State. This forced many villagers into Internally Displaced Camps (IDP).
This destructive behaviour isn’t limited to the North. When rioters killed a military commander during a peacekeeping mission in Cross River State in 2022, soldiers retaliated by burning down houses in the community. Their attack caused the death of 10 villagers.
A history of massacres
The Nigerian Army is regularly involved in the killings and massacres of Nigerians that it’s become a trademark. Here are some of the most gruesome we’ve seen so far:
Odi massacre, 1999
On November 20, 1999, the Nigerian military invaded and killed hundreds of civilians in Odi town in Bayelsa State. President Olusegun Obasanjo reportedly ordered the attack in response to the killing of 12 policemen and an ambush of soldiers by a militia that used Odi as its cover.
Baga massacre, 2013
On April 16, 2013, 200 civilians were killed and over 2,000 houses were destroyed in Baga, Borno State. The military blamed Boko Haram insurgents for the massacre. However, Baga residents said angry soldiers raided the town in retaliation for the killing of their colleague.
Zaria massacre, 2015
On December 12, 2015, the Nigerian Army killed hundreds of Shia Muslims who were members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN). The military accused the sect of blocking the path of the then chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai.
More than 300 IMN members died during the military’s crackdown. Soldiers tried to cover up the massacre by burying the bodies in shallow graves. The commanding officer in charge of the operation, Adeniyi Oyebade, and other senior army officers faced a judicial panel’s indictment in 2016.
Rann bombing, 2017
On January 17, 2017, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jet bombed an IDP camp near the Cameroonian border in Rann, Borno State. 115 people, including six Red Cross aid workers, died and more than 100 people were injured.
Irabor, who ordered the airstrike, called the bombing a “disturbing mistake.” He said he’d ordered the strike on the location due to intel that Boko Haram militants were gathering there. President Buhari’s spokesperson also called it a “regrettable operational mistake.”
According to the Igbo Civil Society Coalition (ICSO), the Nigerian Army killed more than 180 people and injured more than 200 others in the Army’s “Operation Python Dance 2” in 2017.
The Lekki Toll Gate massacre, 2020
On the night of October 20, 2020, members of the Nigerian Army attacked unarmed EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos.
As usual, the Nigerian Army first denied the shooting, and even called viral video evidence “photoshopped”. But officials later admitted to a judicial panel that soldiers deployed to the toll gate had live and blank bullets. Despite the panel’s conclusion that soldiers killed at least 11 protesters, the Nigerian Army refused to take responsibility.
Nigeria has a diverse range of security agencies that perform very different roles. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) handles domestic issues, the Nigerian Army maintains Nigeria’s territorial integrity and the Amotekun is into animal prints or something.
Too much skin
Despite their operational differences, they all have the same goal to ensure the safety of Nigeria and Nigerians. But another thing most Nigerian security agencies have in common is a reputation for human rights abuse and gross misconduct.
And while much of this brutal streak is directed against civilians, there are occasional incidents of officers of these agencies turning on each other. One of such occasions reared its ugly head again on April 3rd, 2022, in Lagos traffic of all places.
This story doesn’t end well for at least one person.
What happened?
A group of soldiers were stuck in traffic just like it happens to everyone in Lagos. When they investigated what was holding them up, they realised a group of police officers were holding up their lane to pass vehicles in another lane. And because they’re soldiers, they thought they needed to address the slight, so they confronted the police officers. Expectedly, a shouting match started between the two groups.
This is the point where the story of what went down deviates into more than one version, depending on who you ask.
The bullet brushed the ear of one of the soldiers and caused enough damage to send him to the hospital. His mates didn’t like this, so they descended on the shooter and beat him to death.
His name was Inspector Monday Orukpe, and he’s survived by a wife and four children.
The police version
The soldiers, numbering about 30, attacked the five police officers on traffic duty for holding up their lane.
The soldiers beat up the team leader and kidnapped two inspectors and their AK-47 rifles. And when they tried to snatch another inspector, he fired into the air, forcing the soldiers to retreat.
The retreating soldiers turned their attention to torturing the kidnapped inspectors. Inspector Orukpe didn’t survive the injuries the soldiers inflicted on him and died. The second inspector, Igbafe Ojo, is currently being treated for his injuries.
The Lagos State Police Command has called out the Army’s claim of an injured soldier as a lie and demanded the return of the two AK-47 rifles and three magazines the soldiers stole.
So this is the state of affairs right now:
There’s a history of bad blood
The clash between soldiers and police officers in Lagos continues a string of bad blood incidents between officers of both security agencies in Nigeria.
For example, when a team of policemen arrested a wanted kidnapper, Bala “Wadume” Hamisu, in Taraba in 2019, a team of soldiers attacked them. The soldiers killed three policemen and two civilians and liberated the suspect.
The government indicted 10 soldiers involved in the attack but withdrew charges against them to allow the Army to court-martial them first. Their dismissal from the Army remains a waiting game three years later, despite protests from the police.
What will happen to the Lagos case?
The Army has already set up a board of inquiry to investigate the incident, promising to punish anyone found guilty of misconduct. But if the history of how these things play out is anything to go by, the police will be lucky to get justice for its brutalised officers.
The clash illustrates why security agencies have to consider serious reforms for the conduct of their officers, both with one another and with civilians.
In a tribute to Inspector Orukpe, the Police Command’s spokesperson, Ben Hundeyin, said, “You absolutely didn’t have to die.”
And that is as true for the officer as it is for every victim of police brutality in Nigeria.
Citizen is a column that explains how the government’s policies fucks citizens and how we can unfuck ourselves.
The Nigerian military has a well-documented history of killing unarmed civilians. Listed below are five times the Nigerian military has killed unarmed civilians.
1. Baga Massacre, 2013
On 16 April 2013, 200 civilians were killed and over 2,000 houses were destroyed, with many other people injured in the village of Baga, Borno State, Nigeria.
Refugees, civilian officials and human rights organisations accused the Nigerian military of carrying out the massacre, even though the military blamed the massacre on Boko Haram insurgents.
Baga residents said the town was raided by angry soldiers in “retaliation” for the killing of a soldier. Another resident of the town stated that the destruction of lives and property in the town was triggered by a letter from Boko Haram to the Joint Task Force (JTF), which announced that they would chase the military out of Baga and environs.
According to the resident, “the threat letter was deemed to be provocative by the military. It equally sent jitters to us because some soldiers threatened that if we allow anything funny to happen here, we (the locals) would pay the price.”
2. Giwa Barracks Detentions, 2016
Giwa barracks is a military detention centre located in Northeastern Nigeria, near Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. NYTimes reported that over 150 people were killed in 2016 alone after they were illegally detained at the barracks by the Nigerian military.
Amnesty International reports that over 1,200 civilians were detained in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions at the Giwa barracks in 2016; at least 120 of them were children and 12 children died between February and May 2016.
One witness told Amnesty International that they saw the bodies of eight dead children including a five-month-old, two one-year-olds, a two-year-old, a three-year-old, a four-year-old and two five-year-olds.
3. Rann Bombing, 2017
At about 9 a.m. on 17 January 2017, the Nigerian Air Force Jet “mistakenly” bombed an internally displaced person (IDP) camp near the Cameroonian border in Rann, Borno State. The bombings killed at least 115 people including six Red Cross aid workers, with more than 100 people injured.
Major General Irabor, who ordered the airstrike, called the bombing a “disturbing mistake.” He said he had ordered the airstrike on the location because they had intel on Boko Haram militants gathering there. President Buhari’s spokesperson also called it a “regrettable operational mistake.”
BREAKING: At least 52 killed today after bombing by Nigerian Army in a displaced camp in Rann. MSF teams providing first aid to 120 wounded pic.twitter.com/gjFPWkOOeU
In February 2017, NYTimes reported that over 80 men in a Maiduguri village were shot to death after they were forced to strip their clothes and lie face down. The attacks looked as if it was carried out by Boko Haram gunmen.
However, villagers and other witnesses like Babagana said the killings were carried out by the Nigerian military. According to Falmata, a 20-year-old resident, the military opened fire on the residents after they failed to identify the Boko Haram members among them. This story was corroborated by other witnesses.
There are also accounts of how the Nigerian military dumped up to 60 corpses daily at the Maiduguri hospital, since as far as 2013.
The soldiers forced men to remove their shirts to reveal any weapons they might be hiding, after which the soldiers told the residents to point out the Boko Haram members among themselves.
The soldiers killed two men who stepped out of their houses, after which they turned their weapons on the crowd, killing 13 more men. The soldiers grabbed a container of fuel, poured it on rags and set fire to all the grass huts before leaving.
Zainaba, another resident, said she she lost six relatives that day.
6. Operation Python Dance 2, 2017
According to the Igbo Civil Society Coalition (ICSO), a coalition of civil society organisations, activists and human rights groups, the Nigerian Army killed more than 180 people and injured more than 200 others in the Army’s “Operation Python Dance 2,” which took place between 8 September and 14th October 2017.
According to a statistical breakdown of the killings, 105 deaths were recorded in the Afara-Ukwu palace massacre, 20 deaths in Isiala-Ngwa, and 55 deaths in the Aba/Asa-Ogwe area.
I keep remembering the massacre in Aba during operation python dance in 2017. 💔💔💔💔
The civil society organisation had put the death toll at 150 at an earlier report, only to later settle at over 180 deaths.
We hope you’ve learned a thing or two about how to unfuck yourself when the Nigerian government moves mad. Check back every weekday for more Zikoko Citizen explainers.
On Tuesday, news broke that 10-year old Jamilu Aliyu was chained with goats and forced to eat animal feed for two years, soon after his mother died. He was rescued after neighbours discovered the gory sight and spread the video footage. The boy was rescued by the Kebbi State government, due largely to the intervention of the International Federation of Women Lawyers and the National Human Rights Commission.
What is particularly important here is that Nigeria has a notorious history of child abuse, child maltreatment, child violence, child marriage, child sexual violence and/or child prostitution. UNICEF Nigeria estimates that 6 out of every Nigerian child experience some sort of child violence. 1 in 4 Nigerian girl child experiences sexual violence while 23 million Nigerian children are married off as illegal brides yearly – the largest such number in Africa.
It is clear that there is a pervasive case of child abuse in Nigeria, rooted in social norms and the use of violence in not whatever form.
WHAT MUST BE DONE?
The Child Rights Act was passed into law by the National Assembly in 2003, but has not been domesticated into law by, at 11 states – Bauchi, Yobe, Sokoto, Adamawa, Borno, Zamfara, Gombe, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa and Kano. A situation which makes the law ineffective on a national level. Therefore, we propose that the National Ministry of Women Affairs must begin immediate advocacy of the passage of this law in the eleven Northern states. Until this is done, we can’t even begin the discussion about child abuse in Nigeria.
Last week, Nigeria was shocked with a disturbing report that secondary school students in Kano had been raped by some unknown men.
How could this happen? Who let it happen? We have so many questions about everything but these are the biggest ones….
1. Why does the Nigerian press seem to struggle with the word “rape in this case?
We’ve read “sodomy” a few times but apart from Premium Times, has anyone used the word “rape” to describe what happened to the boys?
2. Is it inconceivable that victims were raped by senior students?
Why are the authorities insisting that the rapists came from outside the school?
3. Are the students getting medical attention?
Premium Times reports that the school is preventing the victims from receiving care outside the school.
4. Is this an isolated incident or an epidemic?
Has this happened before in this school? And are students being raped in secondary schools across Nigeria?
5. Will the perpetrators be caught and prosecuted?
Our history in this department is not very great. Especially since the proprietor of the school reportedly denies the incident.
6. If your child, sibling or relative were a student of that school, what would you do?
