Nigerian senate

Guns in Nigeria: A disaster waiting to happen?

Between 2020 to 2024, several bills and pleas have reached the Nigerian Senate regarding the use of firearms. The most recent bill came from Senator Ned Nwoko in January 2024. His bill called for the introduction of a law allowing civilians in Nigeria to own and carry firearms for self-defence stating insecurity as a major reason.

The requirements necessary for owning these firearms as proposed by Senator Nwoko included references from medical doctors, endorsement from local government officials, certification from traditional leaders, and confirmation by the Divisional Police Officer to verify the absence of criminal involvement among others. While this bill has passed its first reading and garnered strong support from other prominent figures, recent events paint this bill as a bad idea.

On Saturday, March 30 2024, the bodies of three dead and four injured children were recovered after a gunpowder explosion in Taraba state. The Commissioner of Police, Taraba State Command, CP David Iloyanomon confirmed the incident happened in Didango Geita, a community in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State.

What’s the full story?

The seven victims had reportedly gone to help on a rice farm belonging to the grandfather of one of the deceased. Things took a different turn when an explosion was heard at the site. The eyewitness who reported the event, Mallam Audu Danjuma, said the villagers broke into a panic thinking it was an IED explosion and contacted the police.

However, CP David Iloyonomon refuted this claim stating it was a gunpowder explosion from a Dane gun triggered by the children. According to him, the anti-bomb unit has carried out a thorough investigation and confirmed this. The Police commissioner further explained that a bombing or dynamite explosion would have blasted the children’s bodies beyond recognition, leaving no survivors. The positioning of the children’s bodies and pellets of gunpowder found at the scene also supports the police’s findings. This paints a clear picture of what happened and takes away the possibility of an IED explosion or an assailant.

The deceased children, all below the age of 12, were identified as Miracle Danjuma, Liyacheyan Bitrus, and Kefas Bitrus. The injured children, Joseph Danjuma, Leah Aluda, Godbless Hassan, and Christian Hassan, are receiving treatment at the state’s specialist hospital in Jalingo, the state capital.

This brings to question whether firearms are a solution to Nigeria’s insecurity problems or the beginning of many possible problems with accidents like this being one of them. Can the Senate trust Nigerians to only use guns for self-defence and to keep them far away from children or should we potentially expect more cases like this?

Raymond Temituro

April 1, 2024

Citizen

Accident, death, Guns, Nigeria, Nigerian senate, Nigerians, Politics, violence
The Class of 2015 Governors Who Want to Retire As Senators

There’s something about being a public office holder in Nigeria that’s addictive. It’s why resignations are rare, and some people can spend 30 years trying to be president.

But the constitution makes it impossible for politicians to last in certain posts forever. For example, a governor cannot serve more than two terms. You simply have to pack your load and leave for the next guy.

But some Nigerian governors that have no intention of just retiring to a quiet life have always considered the Senate a consolatory retirement plan. It’s perfect because it’s the most prestigious legislative chamber and more importantly, you can remain in the seat as long as you can keep winning elections every four years. And you don’t even have to do much when you win.

The Senate is already home to over a dozen former governors cashing checks, and there’s a new batch of about-to-become former governors who hope to join them by the time the 2023 general elections are over. Find them below:

Aminu Tambuwal, 56

Aminu Tambuwal has been the governor of Sokoto State since 2015. He was a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) when he won his first term in 2015, but moved to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before he won re-election in 2019. With two consecutive terms about to be concluded, he contested for the PDP’s ticket for the 2023 presidential election but withdrew for the eventual winner, Atiku Abubakar.

Tambuwal later picked up the ticket to contest the Sokoto South senatorial district election in 2023. Unlike many others on this list, he’s not a stranger to the National Assembly. He was a member of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2015 and even served as House Speaker between 2011 and 2015.

Samuel Ortom, 61

Like Tambuwal, Ortom won his first term as Benue State governor as a member of the APC and second term as a PDP member. Before 2015, he served as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment. He’s now won the PDP’s ticket unchallenged to contest for the Benue North-West senatorial district seat in 2023.

Dave Umahi, 58

Dave Umahi first entered the Ebonyi State Government House as a deputy governor in 2011 before he won the 2015 governorship election. He won re-election for a second term in 2019 and is now looking for a new challenge as his tenure nears its end. He first contested for the presidential ticket of the APC and finished in sixth place but he’s now APC’s candidate to contest in the Ebonyi South senatorial district election in 2023.

Okezie Ikpeazu, 57

Okezie Ikpeazu is PDP’s candidate for the Abia South senatorial district election. Abia State’s last two governors — Orji Uzor Kalu and Theodore Orji — are current senators, so Ikpeazu is only following a familiar trend here.

ALSO READ: An Abacha in Agbada Is Trying to Return to Power

Darius Ishaku, 67

Darius Ishaku was Nigeria’s Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs before he became Taraba State governor in 2015. He won’t be withdrawing to a private life when his second term expires in 2023 and has his sights on the Senate. The governor has already picked up the PDP’s ticket to contest in the Taraba South senatorial district election.

Abubakar Sani Bello, 54

Abubakar Sani Bello is also not interested in taking a break when his eight-year reign as the governor of Niger State ends in 2023. He wants to represent Niger North senatorial district at the National Assembly if he wins the general election.

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, 58

The governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, is eyeing a homecoming to the National Assembly if he wins the Enugu North senatorial district election as a PDP candidate in 2023. Before he was elected governor in 2015, he’d served 12 years at the House of Representatives, representing Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency of Enugu State between 2003 and 2015.

Simon Lalong, 59

The governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, is yet another former lawmaker who became an executive governor and is hungry to make a return to lawmaking with a step up to the Senate.

Lalong is a former Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly where he served two terms between 1999 and 2007. He now hopes to become the senator representing Plateau South senatorial district by winning the election next year as an APC candidate.

ALSO READ: These Politicians’ Kids Are Taking Over from Their Parents

Samson Toromade

June 29, 2022

Citizen

2015, Aminu Tambuwal, Darius Ishaku, Dave Umahi, Governor, Nigerian senate, Samuel Ortom, Simon Lalong
How Senate President Ahmad Lawan Is Getting Served Political Breakfast

Nigeria’s Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, is every Nigerian politician’s prayer point. He worked as a civil servant and later as a lecturer for well over a decade. Then he clinched political office for the first time in 1999 as a representative of Bade/Jakusko Constituency of Yobe State in the federal House of Representatives. He’s not left the National Assembly since then.

The man has spent 23 years in the corridors of Nigeria’s parliament. There are millions of Nigerians eligible to vote next year who weren’t even born 23 years ago. But Lawan used all that time to rise from a lower chamber lawmaker to a senator, a senate leader and, finally, his current position as senate president.

Why is Lawan’s story relevant now? Well, because his luck seems about to run out.

A game of eggs (not really)

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is usually sound advice — whether you’re a poultry farmer or a Nigerian politician. There’s a trend of Nigerian politicians trying out for two different positions during the same election cycle. For example, in Nigeria, a first-term governor can contest for the presidency, lose it but somehow still find a way to pick up a governorship ticket for a second term in office.

What would usually happen is that a placeholder candidate would “win” the ticket and wait for the real owner to come and reclaim it if they lose the other election. It’s a game Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, played in the recent primary elections. Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, also did this when he lost the presidential primary election in 2018 but still picked up a senatorial ticket before the 2019 elections.

Lawan’s ~~perfect~~ plan

When Ahmad Lawan joined the race for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the contest already had its favourites. So it was no surprise that by the time the election was done, he only finished in the fourth position with 152 delegate votes.

This was the point where Lawan would shrug off defeat and simply march over to pick up his consolatory senatorial ticket and live happily ever after in the National Assembly. Except this is where things get rocky.

ALSO READ: Lessons We Learnt from APC Presidential Primaries

Deus ex Machina

When the APC conducted the primary election for the Yobe North senatorial district that Lawan was unable to compete in, a certain Bashir Machina won the ticket unopposed.

This guy.

Since Lawan’s presidential loss, the inevitable chatter about him replacing Machina on the senatorial ballot has become a news feature. And Machina’s response to that has been a media campaign to resist the powers and principalities that can make that a reality. He’s written to the APC’s leadership that he has no intention to step down and done TV interviews to basically say:

Machina won his first election in 1992 as a lawmaker in the federal House of Representatives. This means he’s technically Lawan’s legislative egbon and not a random rollover that can be bullied. Machina is even interested in becoming the Senate President, and who can begrudge him for that? We imagine he feels like this:

How will this end?

Machina may appear to be in the driving seat of this game, but there’s still time for things to change. July 15th, 2022 is the deadline for parties to replace candidates and submit names to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This gives a lot of room for drama to play out. Like his brisk presidential campaign, Ahmad Lawan has maintained silence over the tug of war, so it’s difficult to know where his head is at.

Lawan’s game format was tested and trusted. He wasn’t the first to do it and get away with it. His only error was not accounting for Bashir Machina. And what that means is one of Nigeria’s longest-serving lawmaker may be on the verge of unplanned retirement.

ALSO READ: Who Are the Candidates for the 2023 Presidential Election?

Samson Toromade

June 17, 2022

Citizen

2023 Elections, Ahmad Lawan, Bashir Machina, Nigerian senate
Nigerian Senate Removes Gender Restrictions On Rape Cases

The Nigerian Senate, on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, passed for the third reading a bill that will ensure that convicted kidnappers are sentenced to life in prison.

This bill, sponsored by Senator Oluremi Tinubu, representing Lagos Central, is an amendment to the Criminal Code Act Cap.C38, 2004.

The bill explains that it is necessary to review the law due to frequent kidnapping cases across states of the federation, which have claimed multiple lives and have scarred survivors and their families. It is, therefore, important to ensure that perpetrators of the crime are punished appropriately.

Kidnapping is seen as an act of terrorism by Nigeria’s Terrorism Act 2011, and recommends 10 years of jail time for any individual found guilty.

However, if this new bill is signed into law by President Buhari, every convicted kidnapper will spend the rest of their lives in prison.

In addition, the bill also touches on the cases of rape and other sexual offences. It seeks to remove the statute of limitation on defilement and remove gender restrictions in rape and sexual assault offences.

#ProgressReport @NGRSenate has passed a bill removing statute of limitation on rape and including boys in the definition of rape.https://t.co/yDY3sbC08c
— Mirabel Centre(SARC) (@MirabelCentreNG) July 27, 2020

What this means is that the bill recognises that both men and women could be raped.

Amendment to Section 357 of the principal Acts replaces “woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent”, with “any person, without consent, or with consent.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Senate had earlier passed an anti-sexual harassment bill aimed at protecting students against sexual harassment by lecturers. Read more about it here.

Toheeb Lanlehin

July 27, 2020

Citizen

end rape, Kidnapping, Nigerian senate
10 Biggest Political Scandals Of The 2010s

Politics in Nigeria is so dramatic so we decided to pick out from the pool of mayhem and shenanigans that happened throughout the decade to bring y’all the award winning performance of the nation’s politicking sagas.

Trust me, it was pretty hard trying to figure out which of the many dramas that occurred throughout the 2010s should make this list, but here are some of the more interesting ones:

1) Dino Melaye On The Dimeji Bankole Impeachment Saga (2010):

Although we are not giving any prizes, Dino Melaye is our favorite and most entertaining politician of the decade; he’s been a trouble maker and a trendsetter in politics for as long as he’s been a politician.

Going as far back as when Dimeji Bankole was the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2010, Dino was one of the reps that caused quite a raucous at the house when a motion was raised to impeach Bankole, who was seated calmly, watching chaos unfold right in front of him.

2) Pandemonium In Rivers State Assembly (2013):

Rivers state has always been a hot region but the intensity of the heat was brought to the attention of Nigerians when a free-for-all pandemonium ensued in the state’s senate that left a man’s head and jaw broken and the place in an uproar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM9P9nxNMA8&has_verified=1

3) Senators Showing Off Their Climbing Skills (2014):

Somehow, senators made the police force stationed in the 7th National Assembly so mad, they got locked out of the Senate house and had to climb a gate to get through; after hours of agitated discussions, persuasions and pleading.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SRsvk5vbkA

4) GEJ & iPhone 5 Legbegbe (2014):

Former president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, threw a lavish wedding ceremony for his daughter but many Nigerians couldn’t get over the fact that the alleged iPhone 5 souvenirs were quite extravagant, especially given the fact that Nigeria was still reeling from the shock of Chibok girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram.

5) Oluremi Tinubu vs Dino Melaye (2016):

Dino is everything nobody really likes even though he makes up for it with his singing and theatrics. He proved himself to be a misogynist when he told Senator Remi Tinubu that he would “beat up and impregnate her on the Senate floor and nothing would be done about it”.

This was as a result of a series of clashes and altercations between them, mostly because of his (and Bukola Saraki’s) defection to PDP from APC at the time. Watch Dino trying to defend himself for something so inexcusable:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaf3sxgvn6c

6) Senators Soliciting Prostitutes In America (2016):

Three Nigerian senators embarrassed the life out of us by their scandalous habits, wandering hands and indecent proposals. Samuel Ikon, Mohammed Gololo and Mark Gbillah went on a business trip ( the International Visitor Leadership Program) to Cleveland, USA, with their meandering ways and got called out for harassing their hotel housekeeper and looking for prostitutes.

Just look at their mugshot.

7) Lothario Buka Abbah Sex Scandal (2017):

Former Nigerian Senator Buka Abbah Ibrahim was caught with his pants down, literally and nobody found it palatable at all.

8) Senator Omo-Agege Kidnapping The Mace (2018):

Former Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, now Deputy Senate President, walked into a senate session with thugs to get away with the mace, disrupting activities in the senate on that fateful day. His actions left many aghast, and even more so when he became the Deputy President of the 9th Senate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OStFIHPD42w&has_verified=1

9) Fragile Fayose (2018):

Oh you really thought Dino Melaye was the only drama king in Nigerian politics? Nah, of course not. The former governor of Ekiti state, Peter Fayose, pulled a close second to that role while he was in office. Just take a look at the video below, where Fayose complained of his broken neck–while turning it–to see what I mean.

10) That time when Senator Abbo assaulted a woman in a sex shop (2019):

Let’s take a moment to forget the fact that Senator Elisha Abbo was spotted in a sex toy shop and totally focus on the fact that he was cocky enough to slap a woman there, thinking he would get away with it. And that’s something we will never forget.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH2Rj4j7Mq0

Honorable Mention– Dino The Musician (2016):

Dino again? Recall when I stated that he was a trendsetter? Let’s focus on his famous musical videos that got everyone talking for a longtime.

I wonder what Yahaya Bello would have to say now if he re-watches the diss video Dino Melaye made for him.

https://youtu.be/pA6DhStBFPY

If we missed out any messy scandal you think should’ve made this list, add it in the comments! 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

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We tell you the most important things that happened in Nigeria, during the week, in a way that won’t bore you to death.

Gabriella Opara

November 20, 2019

Citizen, General

nigerian politicians, Nigerian senate, Senator Dino Melaye, senators fight
The Nigerian Senate Has Passed A Bill Prohibiting Discrimination Against People With Disabilities

Finally, the Nigerian Senate gets something right and we’re so pleased with them.
On July 13, members of the Nigerian senate finally approved the ‘Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities (Prohibition) Bill’ after its third and final reading.

This is a huge milestone considering the fact that people with disabilities have been fighting for the passing of this bill since 2007.

Announcing via his Twitter page, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, explained how the bill will finally put an end to all forms of abuse against people with disabilities.

#PromiseKept @NGRSenate's Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities Bill will curb the abuse of Nigerians with disabilities
— Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki (@bukolasaraki) July 13, 2016

It’s good to know Nigerian Senators aren’t totally blind to the need for equal treatment of a group of people. We hope they revisit and finally pass the Gender Equality bill soon.

Maryam

July 14, 2016

Gist

Nigeria, Nigerian senate, Nigerians