Rufai oseni speaking at the University of Sussex Brighton

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INEC hasn’t published voters and Nigerians are told to go for elections No b juju be that

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Nigeria’s Biggest Problems: Democracy, Leadership and Accountability | P... piped.video/4ffMoF2W2DY?si=kGWU… via @YouTube

Nigeria’s Biggest Problems: Democracy, Leadership and Accountability | P... piped.video/4ffMoF2W2DY?si=0SBf… via @YouTube

Nigeria’s Biggest Problems: Democracy, Leadership and Accountability | P... piped.video/4ffMoF2W2DY?si=yT5_… via @YouTube

Nourah Ba, whose name is reported as Mariama Ba, is a social-media influencer. Her TikTok: @nourahreflexion⁠ Seneweb reported on 14 October that she had been placed in pretrial detention in Dakar on charges involving insults, remarks contrary to public decency, and alleged forgery and use of forged administrative documents. These are charges, not a conviction. According to reporting on her questioning, she acknowledged one offensive publication, said she had reacted to insults from people she described as supporters of politician Tahirou Sarr, and apologised. She disputed another publication, alleging that it had been altered. The wider concern Warnings about hostility towards Fulani communities predate her arrest: • In April 2024, Senegal’s audiovisual regulator, the CNRA, warned broadcasters against airing statements by Tahirou Sarr that could incite hatred, discrimination and hostility towards communities. The media ethics body, CORED, also raised concerns. • In July 2026, magistrate Ibrahima Hamidou Dème warned about the stigmatisation of Fulani people, particularly those labelled “Peul Fouta.” He described rhetoric blaming the targeted community for pressure on schools and hospitals, commercial competition and demographic change. He also warned that Senegalese citizens were having their nationality questioned because of their family origins. • On 15 October, Dème accused the authorities of applying double standards in their response to xenophobic speech. His statement, translated from French: “I condemn in the strongest terms the double standards of our administrative and judicial authorities, who allow hate speech and xenophobia from so-called nationalists to flourish, even though such conduct may constitute criminal offences, while punishing those who react to it. Hatred and xenophobia are a scourge we must fight without compromise. The law must apply to everyone, without favouritism or discrimination.” Why this deserves attention The question worth investigating is whether hate-speech enforcement protects targeted communities consistently, and whether an individual prosecution is being used to stigmatise an entire community. Fulani identity is an ethnicity, not a nationality. Fulani people should not automatically be framed as foreigners in Senegal. Reports conflict on Nourah Ba’s nationality. Early coverage described her as Senegalese and born in Nguidilé; later coverage described her as Guinean and alleged irregularities in her documents. Her nationality and the document allegations need verification through her lawyer and official records. Accountability for an individual’s remarks should never become justification for hostility towards an entire community. Sources Seneweb: detention and reported charges, 14 October⁠ DMedia: her reported explanation and apology, 12 October⁠ Dakaractu: Dème’s warning about anti-Fulani stigmatisation, 14 July⁠ Seneweb: Dème’s statement on double standards, 15 October⁠ Reported CNRA warning, April 2024⁠ SenePlus: opinion piece on selective outrage, 16 October⁠

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Nigeria sha

A gathering marking the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos was reportedly disrupted by tear gas on Tuesday, with governorship candidates of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) among those present.

Greetings, Rufai. I watched your station’s session with Mr Mike Igini some minutes ago. Voters are always being encouraged to remain at the polling stations to defend their votes. But tell me: which voter will have the courage to remain at his/her polling unit when at the counting stage police invade the unit, shoot tear-gas to disperse the voters and carry away the ballot boxes to God-knows-where? As regards the results that were reported for this polling unit, your guess is as good as mine. This happened somewhere in Rivers State during the 2023 elections. (A Concerned Rivers State Voter)

Six Years After #EndSARS, CAPPA Demands Unreserved Apology, Justice, Reparations for Victims   Six years after the violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations in Nigeria, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called on the Federal and Lagos State Governments to tender an unreserved public apology for the Lekki Toll Gate massacre, alongside full official acknowledgement and redress for killings, injuries, and related abuses committed nationwide during the #EndSARS protests.   Marking the sixth anniversary of the October 20, 2020, shootings, the organisation maintained that the Nigerian state had to directly confront this legacy of bloodshed through independent prosecutions, comprehensive reparations, and structural police reforms, urging political parties and aspirants to make these non-negotiable commitments central to their platforms ahead of the 2027 general elections.   The organisation observed that the enduring tragedy of #EndSARS lay in the bitter irony that a civic movement organised to resist police terror was crushed by the very state violence it sought to dismantle.   The #EndSARS protests began as a nationwide outcry against systemic police brutality, especially the abuses of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Public outrage boiled over on October 3, 2020, after a viral video showed SARS operatives shooting a young man outside Wetland Hotel in Ughelli, Delta State, and driving off in his car. The footage quickly pushed anger from social media onto the streets, transforming the demonstrations into a broad movement demanding accountability and respect for human rights.   In her remarks, Zikora Ibeh, CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director, stated that a peaceful protest against police brutality was answered with bullets, and that the state compounded that violence by disputing the suffering of its victims. She maintained that an unreserved apology had to begin with government accepting responsibility, naming the wrongs committed, and bringing those responsible to justice.   CAPPA recalled that the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry, in its comprehensive 309-page report, had characterised the crackdown as a “massacre in context,” directly indicting the Nigerian Army and police for the deaths and severe injuries of peaceful demonstrators. The organisation rebuked state authorities for denying the truth and dodging accountability, noting that the Federal Government outrightly dismissed the panel’s findings, while the Lagos State Government issued an insensitive administrative White Paper disputing the casualty records.   CAPPA further highlighted the landmark July 2024 judgment of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, which found the Federal Republic of Nigeria liable for violating protesters’ fundamental rights to freedom of expression, assembly, association, and freedom from torture, ordering financial compensation for victims alongside fresh, independent investigations. CAPPA demanded the prompt, complete implementation of the regional court’s ruling and a transparent public report on compliance.   The urgency of judicial accountability was further underscored by the conclusion of the post-mortem examination of 20-year-old journalist Pelumi Onifade. Onifade was attacked and arrested by personnel of the Lagos State Task Force on October 24, 2020, while covering protest-related events at the Ministry of Agriculture Abattoir complex in Oko-Oba, Agege. Just four days earlier, on October 20, 2020, he had filmed political figure Abiodun Bolarinwa firing live rounds at unarmed #EndSARS demonstrators in the Abule Egba area of Lagos.   The official autopsy confirmed that Onifade died from a fatal gunshot wound to his lower torso. Although this medical finding was documented in late 2020, it was suppressed until its formal presentation before the coroner’s court in 2026. CAPPA demanded conclusive criminal proceedings and the immediate prosecution of the Task Force personnel

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