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Adequate preparation, awareness key to disaster risk reduction – NEMA

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The Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed, says adequate preparation and creation of awareness are key to reducing disaster risks in Nigeria.

Ahmed, represented by NEMA South-West Coordinator, Mr Saheed Akiode, ssid this during a workshop on Stakeholders Consultation on Development of a National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategic Action Plan 2023-2030 for Nigeria on Tuesday in Ibadan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised by NEMA in collaboration with United Nation Development Programme (UNDP).

Ahmed said that management of disaster risks should be anchored on preparedness, mitigation, risk reduction and adaptation.

He said that there must be a shift from focus on distribution of relief materials to victims of disaster and start thinking of ways to mitigate, reduce and prevent the occurrence of disaster in Nigeria.

Ahmed said there was the need to assist government to create more awareness and report cases that could likely become a disaster in order to respond and prevent it.

The director-general said the recent escalation and growing frequency and severity of disasters in the forms of banditry, boat mishaps, building collapse, climate change among others, have made it imperative to develop the Nigeria disaster risk management plan.

“Today’s event becomes even more pertinent in consideration of the high level of vulnerability and fragility of the countries covered by the Sahel Resilience Project within Africa South of the Sahara.

“It is on record that the high level vulnerability of this countries is driven by fragile economy, environmental degradation, extreme weather conditions, low level of income and insecurity posed by terrorism and political volatility,” he said.

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Ahmed said that working together with multiple development actors under the Sahel Resilience Project would help the countries of the region to collectively improve their resilience in consideration of trans-boundary nature of disaster events.

“For us in Nigeria, the Sahel Resilience Project is expected to support the renewed hope agenda of the Federal Government especially in the areas of poverty eradication, food security and inclusivity,” he said.

In his remarks, the project’s National Consultant, Prof. Andrew Obafemi, said that the workshop was organised to develop Nigeria national disaster risk and align it with the Sendai framework.

Obafemi, a professor of Geography, Geoinformation and Environmental Management, University of Port Harcourt, said that the outcome of the workshop would help put Nigeria on a roadmap in managing her disaster issues.

He said that Nigerians should be able to identify the risks they are exposed to in their respective area,s in order to call the attention of government to them, so as to limit and prevent the disaster from happening.

In his remarks, Mr Sunday Amama,the National Project Management and Coordination Specialist for UNDP Sahel Resilience Project in Nigeria, said almost half of Nigeria population faced multidimensional poverty due to flood and other man-made disasters.

Amama said that Nigeria throughout the years had faced 440 disasters leading to tragic lost of lives and economic, adding that the financial aftermath of 2012 and 2022 flood which affected about 12 million people was staggering.

He said that sound disaster risk management at all levels was key to building the resilience of communities and economies to those shocks.

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“Our shared objective with NEMA is to develop a new disaster risk reduction strategy for Nigeria that aligns with the African Union’s programme of Action and regional efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness and response capacities in West Africa and the Sahel region.

“A successful disaster risk reduction strategy for Nigeria with clear goals and timeframe will allow government and stakeholders to articulate their intentions and actions in a coordinated manner to protect the population against current and future disaster risk,” Amama said.

He commended Sweden government, UNDP and UN family and partners for their commitment to sustainable interventions in Nigeria.

Speaking about the workshop, a participant, Dr Bukola Ayinla, Director, Technology and Strategy, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, said the project came at a critical time.

Ayinla said that it was important for the country to look for ways to reduce disaster in Nigeria and not only responding to it.

She called on relevant authorities to implement the outcome of the workshop in order to reduce disaster risk in Nigeria.

Another participant at the workshop, a Disaster Management expert, Mr Kolawole Hamzat, commended NEMA and UNDP for building capacity of stakeholders in the South-West on disaster risk reduction with the workshop.

Hamzat, from the Centre for Disaster Risk and Crisis Reduction, Ibadan, said that he had learnt a lot of new things from the workshop and that the knowledge gained would be replicated and put into use in his organisation. (NAN)

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Zamfara Lawyers Support Summons Of Governor Lawal Over Assembly Crisis

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May 5, 2025

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The Zamfara State Lawyer Forum has endorsed the Nigerian House of Representatives’ decision to summon Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal and leaders of the state’s House of Assembly, amid a deepening crisis within the legislature and escalating insecurity across the northwestern state.

The forum, a prominent legal advocacy group, described the summons as a constitutionally valid exercise of legislative oversight, citing Sections 88 and 89 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, which empower the National Assembly to investigate matters of public interest and summon relevant officials.

Barrister Aisha Muhammed, the forum’s chairperson, said in a statement on Sunday that the House’s action was “legally valid, constitutionally supported, and deeply necessary” to uphold democratic governance and the rule of law.

She argued that Governor Lawal and state assembly leaders must answer questions regarding the suspension of seven elected assembly members and the controversial declaration of a lawmaker’s seat vacant—actions she said raised “grave constitutional questions” and potentially breached democratic norms.

“Governors and assembly leaders must not invoke immunity as a shield against legitimate oversight,” Muhammed said, referencing Section 308 of the Constitution, which grants immunity from judicial processes but does not exempt officials from non-coercive legislative inquiries.

“Accountability is the lifeblood of constitutional democracy. No public office holder, no matter how highly placed, is above the people’s right to transparency.”

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions issued the summons on Friday, directing Governor Lawal, his Benue counterpart Hyacinth Alia, and their respective state assembly leaders to appear before it on 8 May.

The move follows a petition by the Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law, a civil rights group, highlighting worsening insecurity and legislative dysfunction in both states.

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Zamfara has been plagued by rampant banditry, with recent attacks claiming dozens of lives, including six community protection guards and four vigilantes in Anka Local Government Area on 22 March, and 20 gold miners in Maru Local Government Area on 24 April.

The state’s legislative crisis, marked by factionalism and alleged executive interference, has further compounded governance challenges.

Muhammed criticised Governor Lawal’s apparent acquiescence to the assembly’s controversial actions, calling for “legal and moral scrutiny”.

She stressed that the National Assembly’s intervention was not only lawful but obligatory to preserve constitutional order and address public grievances.

“The key question is not whether the Governor or the Speaker can be summoned, but [what] they have [to say in response to] questions to answer,” she said.

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JUST IN: Many Feared Dead as Bandits Attack Bauchi Communities

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3 hours ago

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May 5, 2025

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Armed men suspected to be bandits launched a deadly attack on Saturday night, killing several vigilante members and civilians in a coordinated assault on three villages in Gwana District, Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

The Nation gathered that the affected communities—Mansur, Digare, Sabuwar Sara, and Yalo—were ambushed while residents were asleep.

Most of the victims were members of local vigilante groups from Gwana and Duguri Districts, who had been safeguarding their communities from repeated attacks along the volatile borders of Gombe, Plateau, and Taraba States.

Sources reported that the assailants, heavily armed and ruthless, opened fire indiscriminately, catching the villages off guard in the middle of the night.

This latest attack is part of a troubling pattern of violence in the region, which has included killings, cattle rustling, and growing insecurity.

It has drawn the attention of Governor Bala Mohammed and top security officials, who have visited the area for assessments.

 

The Bauchi State Police Command confirmed the incident but has yet to provide an official death toll.

Police Commissioner Sani-Omolori Aliyu, during a visit to the affected areas, described the assault as “utterly reprehensible” and a significant threat to public safety.

He ordered the immediate deployment of tactical teams and vowed a sustained manhunt for the attackers.

Police spokesperson Ahmed Wakil, in a statement on Monday, said the ambush occurred during a routine patrol by local hunters along the Bauchi–Plateau forest corridor.

The confrontation resulted in casualties on both sides, including fleeing civilians and community defenders.

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Rivers crisis: National Assembly urges Supreme Court to dismiss PDP suit, seeks N1bn

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3 hours ago

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May 5, 2025

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The National Assembly has urged the Supreme Court of Nigeria to dismiss the suit filed by 11 governors from the Peoples Democratic Party, challenging the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

In its response, it contended that the suit was procedurally flawed and lacked merit.

It further argued that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit and should award N1 billion in costs against the plaintiffs for filing what it termed a frivolous and speculative suit.

In a preliminary objection, the National Assembly argued that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case, particularly against it, “the second defendant”.

Declaring that it holds a memorandum of conditional appearance, the National Assembly argued that due process was not followed in instituting the suit, emphasising that the plaintiffs failed to issue the statutorily required three-month pre-action notice to the Clerk of the National Assembly, as mandated under Section 21 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017.

It stated that “a person who has a cause of action against a Legislative House shall serve a three months’ notice to the office of the Clerk of the Legislative House disclosing the cause of action and reliefs sought”.

Additionally, NASS argued that the plaintiffs did not secure resolutions from their respective State Houses of Assembly, a prerequisite for approaching the Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction provisions outlined in the Supreme Court (Original Jurisdiction) Act, 2002.

‘No Hand In Rivers Crisis’
Citing alleged threats referenced in the plaintiffs’ suit, which borders on a statement attributed to the Attorney-General during a press briefing, NASS noted that since the threat did not emanate from them or its officers, the suit had no business with them.

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“Considering the affidavit in support and the threats alleged, which did not come from the second defendant, there is no cause of action against it. This is a suit relating to an alleged threatened declaration or proclamation of a state of emergency in the plaintiffs’ states by the Honourable Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

“This is allegedly a result of the statement of the first defendant in a press briefing held March 19, 2025, wherein he is said to have stated that after Rivers State, ..it can be anybody’s turn tomorrow….’ None of the alleged threat or statement is alluded to the second defendant or any of its officers,” it argued.

The 11 PDP governors had approached the Supreme Court to raise questions on what authority the President had to suspend a democratically elected state institution and replace it with an unelected one.

The plaintiffs in the suit are the governors of Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa states.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Assembly were listed as the first and second defendants, respectively, in the suit.

The states in the suit asked the apex court to determine six constitutional questions, including whether the President of Nigeria can lawfully suspend or interfere with the offices of a governor and deputy governor and replace them with an unelected appointee under the guise of a state of emergency proclamation.

‘Due Process Not Followed’
But the National Assembly further contended, “With the objection amongst others submitted, due process of instituting the action in the suit was not followed by the plaintiffs before taking this steps against the second defendants as the plaintiffs failed to issue the requisite three months pre-action notice to the Clerk of the National Assembly and took no steps to obtain the resolutions of the Houses of Assembly of each of the states to enable the plaintiffs each join to approach this busy Court pursuant to the provision of the Supreme Court (Original Jurisdiction) Act 2002 on the matters”.

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NASS further asserted that the plaintiffs were attempting to use the Supreme Court to dictate how it exercised its constitutional role, particularly regarding the use of voice votes to ratify states of emergency under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution.

The objection described the suit as speculative and an abuse of court process.

NASS added, “The second defendant/applicant, having observed the several deficiencies in the suit of the plaintiffs which go contrary to the provisions of the laws and the jurisdiction of the court, raises an objection and submits that the 11 states (plaintiffs) approached the court wrongly and in abuse of court process.”

Further in its objection, predicated on six grounds, the second defendant contended that the plaintiffs’ suit lacked a cause of action.

It stated that the plaintiffs lack locus standi to proceed against the second defendant on the issues raised in the suit.

The National Assembly also argued that the plaintiffs failed to comply with due process as stipulated under Section 2, Schedule 2 of the Supreme Court (Additional Original Jurisdiction) Act, 2002.

A legal officer in the Directorate of Legal Services at the National Assembly, Godswill Onyegbu, in an affidavit supporting the notice of preliminary objection deposed, argued that due process was not followed in instituting the suit.

Onyegbu maintained that no dispute exists between the plaintiffs and either the Government of Nigeria or the second defendant (NASS).

‘State Assemblies’ Resolutions Required’
“The plaintiffs did not obtain the required resolutions from the Houses of Assembly in their respective states to authorise the suit under the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction. There is no cause of action against the second defendant, as no threat emanated from the second defendant’s office,” he said.

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He added that the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi to institute this suit as none of the plaintiffs had shown that it has suffered anything far and above any other persons or people of Rivers State.

“There are no disputes involving questions of law or fact upon which the existence or extent of a legal right depends between the parties. The plaintiffs have not established any legal rights against the second defendant to warrant equitable relief such as a perpetual injunction,” the lawyer added.

In addition to requesting the dismissal of the suit, Onyegbu called for costs of N1 billion to be awarded jointly and severally against the plaintiffs in the interest of justice.

He further stated, “That the plaintiffs’ states’ houses of assembly did not pass any resolution by a simple majority of the members present and sitting at the time of the resolution authorising the plaintiffs to institute this action.

“That the plaintiffs have not established any legal rights against the second defendant to enjoy the equitable remedy of perpetual injunction.

“That it is in the best interest of justice for the court to dismiss or strike out this suit against the second defendant with a cost of N1 billion only, jointly and severally against the plaintiffs”.

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