The United Nations has called on Nigerian and Chadian authorities to launch independent investigations into recent military airstrikes that reportedly claimed civilian lives in northern Nigeria.

Speaking at a press briefing in New York on Wednesday, UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said the global body shares concerns raised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, over reports of civilian casualties linked to the incidents.

According to reports, a Nigerian military airstrike on a market in Zamfara State on May 10 allegedly left at least 100 civilians dead. In a separate incident, military operations reportedly carried out by Chadian forces were said to have killed dozens of fishermen in northwestern Nigeria, further intensifying humanitarian concerns in the region.

Haq urged both governments to conduct swift, transparent, and impartial investigations into the allegations, stressing the need for accountability.

“Those responsible for any violations must be held accountable, and all necessary measures should be taken to ensure the protection of civilians during military operations,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters has rejected reports suggesting civilian casualties occurred during a recent joint military operation in Zamfara State.

Speaking on the operation, Maj.-Gen. Michael Onoja said troops targeted terrorist leaders in Tumfa village, located in Shinkafi Local Government Area of the state.

He maintained that casualty figures circulating in some reports remain unverified and inconsistent with official military assessments.

Onoja reiterated that the Armed Forces of Nigeria remain committed to professionalism, accountability, and safeguarding civilian lives while conducting security operations.

The development has renewed concerns over the humanitarian impact of military actions in conflict-prone areas and calls for stricter measures to prevent civilian harm.

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The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), alongside media stakeholders, civil society organisations, and human rights advocates, has raised concerns over increasing attacks on journalists and shrinking press freedom across West Africa.

The concerns were raised during the 2026 World Press Freedom Day event held in Abuja and organised by CJID in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, and other development partners.

Speaking at the event themed, “Shaping a Future at Peace: Promoting Press Freedom for Human Rights, Development, and Security,” participants warned that growing hostility toward journalists threatens democracy, accountability, human rights protection, and regional stability.

According to data released by CJID, no fewer than 1,877 attacks against journalists and media practitioners were documented across five West African countries between 1986 and 2026.

The report further revealed that 59 journalists lost their lives within the period, with Nigeria recording 28 deaths, the highest among the countries surveyed.

CJID also disclosed that the Federal Capital Territory recorded 175 attacks on journalists and media professionals, while 13 incidents have already been documented across West Africa in 2026 alone, including two cases from Nigeria.

Stakeholders at the event described the figures as disturbing, warning that persistent attacks on journalists continue to weaken democratic institutions and civic freedoms across the region.

Representing the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, government officials reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to democratic governance, media development, and protection of citizens’ rights.

The minister noted that journalism is undergoing rapid transformation due to artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and changing communication patterns, stressing the importance of responsible adaptation within the media industry.

According to him, the government remains open to constructive engagement with media organisations to strengthen democratic participation and promote peaceful coexistence.

“Through responsible journalism and commitment to democratic values, Nigeria can continue to build a more informed and peaceful society,” he stated.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Tony Ojukwu, represented at the programme, described press freedom as a fundamental pillar of democracy and sustainable peace.

He expressed concern over increasing reports of arbitrary arrests, cyber attacks, censorship, intimidation, digital surveillance, and institutional repression targeting journalists globally.

According to him, despite constitutional guarantees protecting freedom of expression in Nigeria, journalists still face harassment from security agencies, state actors, and other individuals.

“We continue to receive complaints relating to attacks on journalists, shrinking civic space, intimidation, and the suppression of critical reporting,” he said.

Ojukwu also criticised the misuse of laws such as the Cybercrimes Act to silence journalists and suppress dissenting opinions, warning that such actions undermine constitutional democracy and public trust.

He stressed that Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and press freedom, while Nigeria is equally bound by international human rights treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The programme also featured the official launch of the Press Attack Tracker (PAT West Africa), a regional platform designed to monitor and document attacks against journalists and media organisations.

CJID Executive Director, Akintunde Babatunde, said the platform would strengthen accountability, improve data collection, and support advocacy efforts aimed at protecting journalists operating in hostile environments.

The event further included a panel discussion on the role of investigative journalism in promoting accountability, human rights, and nation-building.

Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, urged journalists to remain committed to investigative reporting and continue exposing governance failures and human rights violations.

He also called for attacks on journalists to attract stronger national and international responses to ensure accountability for perpetrators.

Director of Corporate Affairs and External Linkages at the NHRC, Fatimah Mohammed, encouraged journalists facing rights violations to seek redress through the commission.

Senior Programme Officer at AFRICMIL, Godwin Onyeacholem, blamed weak legal protections at state levels for the silence surrounding many cases of attacks against journalists.

The event also featured testimonies from journalists who had faced persecution while carrying out professional assignments.

One of the journalists, Matthew Ojoduma, narrated how he spent about nine months in detention in the Benin Republic after being accused of espionage during a documentary production trip across West Africa.

Ojoduma said security operatives allegedly detained him after discovering a mini drone and camera equipment in his possession.

He described the prison conditions as overcrowded and inhumane, alleging that detainees frequently collapsed due to poor living conditions.

According to him, he later used artificial intelligence tools to draft letters that eventually attracted intervention and contributed to his release.

The World Press Freedom Day programme also featured training sessions on trauma-informed and dignity-centred reporting for journalists covering conflict, violence, and human rights issues.

One of the sessions was facilitated by Managing Editor at HumAngle, Hauwa Shaggi Nuhu, who emphasised ethical storytelling and the protection of vulnerable individuals during reporting.

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Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has raised concerns over the conduct of security operatives during a recent protest against alleged illegal demolitions and forced evictions in the Makoko waterfront area of Lagos State, accusing the police of deploying expired tear gas canisters on demonstrators.

Falana spoke at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, where he visited protesters who sustained injuries during the demonstration organised by activists Hassan Taiwo, popularly known as Soweto, and Dele Frank. The protest was aimed at drawing the attention of the Lagos State government to demolitions affecting waterfront communities.

The demonstration was initially peaceful but later turned chaotic after police operatives reportedly fired tear gas at close range, leading to injuries among protesters. The incident has drawn criticism from human rights organisations and civil society groups.

Reacting to the injuries observed at the hospital, Falana described the police action as unconstitutional and dangerous, stating that the nature of the injuries raised questions about the safety of the tear gas canisters used.

In over four decades of participating in protests across the country, Falana said he had never seen tear gas cause such severe injuries, adding that the effects observed were unusual and alarming.

At LASUTH, a burns and plastic surgery nurse, Adedeji Hassan, briefed Falana on the condition of one of the injured protesters, Kafayat Muftaudeen. He disclosed that Muftaudeen sustained a serious leg injury but was fit to be discharged and would continue treatment through regular wound dressing and weekly hospital visits before undergoing skin grafting.

Falana stressed that the 1999 Constitution guarantees Nigerians the right to peaceful assembly and expression, noting that protest organisers are only required to notify the police, not seek permission. He added that the Police Establishment Act places a duty on the police to provide protection during lawful protests.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State government has defended the demolition of structures in parts of Makoko, stating that the exercise was carried out to protect lives and prevent potential disasters.

Speaking at a joint ministerial press briefing in Alausa, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said many of the wooden buildings affected were erected directly beneath high-tension power lines, posing serious risks to occupants.

Also speaking, the Governor’s Special Adviser on E-GIS and Urban Development, Babatunde Olajide, explained that the demolition formed part of a long-term safety and redevelopment plan. He added that only structures within high-tension corridors were removed and assured that displaced residents would be compensated following ongoing enumeration.

The Lagos State House of Assembly has also summoned leaders and stakeholders from Makoko and adjoining waterfront communities to a meeting following petitions submitted over the demolition and eviction of residents. The engagement is expected to provide a platform for dialogue and resolution.

In a separate reaction, the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights condemned the alleged use of force against protesters and called for independent investigations into reported killings and demolitions linked to enforcement actions across Lagos State.

The group said peaceful protest remains a constitutional right and urged authorities to pursue justice, compensation, and restoration for affected communities.

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PFN President Urges Tinubu to Work With Trump to End Christian Killing

The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Wale Oke, has called on President Bola Tinubu to collaborate with U.S. President Donald Trump in addressing what he described as an ongoing genocide against Christians in Nigeria.

Speaking to journalists in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday, Oke said the scale of attacks on Christian communities across northern and central Nigeria could no longer be denied.

“There is Christian genocide in Nigeria. There is no other name to call it. No Christian group is attacking Muslims. The patience of the church is being stretched,” he stated.

The cleric cited incidents such as the killing of Deborah Samuel, the abduction of Leah Sharibu and the Chibok girls, and multiple assaults in Benue, Taraba, Southern Kaduna, Owo, Niger, and Plateau States as evidence of widespread violence targeting Christians.

He explained that the perpetrators were radical groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP, not the Muslim community, adding that their violent campaigns had cost hundreds of innocent lives, including pastors and worshippers.

Oke commended President Trump for his outspokenness on the issue, recalling that he previously listed Nigeria among countries of concern over religious persecution. However, he stressed that diplomatic cooperation — not confrontation — remained the best path forward.

“President Tinubu should ask for the cooperation of President Trump instead of opposing him. The President should root out radical groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP. Work together so Nigerians can live in peace,” he said.

He urged the Tinubu administration to take decisive action to protect citizens regardless of faith, noting that while the current government inherited the insecurity challenges, it must not allow them to persist.

“Government should not play politics with this matter. It is a cancer that needs urgent attention,” Oke added.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu is currently holding consultations with religious leaders following Trump’s recent threat of possible military action over alleged human rights abuses in Nigeria.

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Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has secured a sweeping victory in the country’s general election, winning 97.66 per cent of the vote, according to official results released on Saturday.

The announcement by the electoral commission comes amid violent protests and reports of widespread unrest following the controversial poll.

Opposition party Chadema claimed hundreds of people were killed by security forces after demonstrations broke out on election day.

The party’s presidential candidate was barred from contesting and remains on trial for treason.

Rights groups accused Suluhu’s administration of carrying out a “wave of terror” ahead of the vote, citing incidents of abductions, intimidation, and media repression.

Despite heavy security, protesters clashed with police across several regions, leading to an internet blackout and a nationwide curfew.

A source in Dar es Salaam told AFP that fatalities were “in the hundreds,” though the government denied using “excessive force.”

Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo told Al Jazeera that “no official figures” were available on casualties, while insisting that the situation was under control.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern over the violence and urged restraint and respect for human rights.

Suluhu, who first became president in 2021 following the death of John Magufuli, is expected to be sworn in later on Saturday for a new term

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Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has condemned the recent demolition of buildings in Oworonshoki, Lagos, describing the action as a violation of the Constitution and a subsisting court order.

Speaking on Arise Television on Friday, Falana said the demolitions, which took place at midnight last Saturday, ignored a restraining order issued by the Lagos State High Court. He noted that the order had been duly served on relevant government agencies before the operation began.

“The court granted an order stopping further demolitions until the matter is heard. By Friday, certified copies were served, yet by Saturday night, bulldozers invaded Oworonshoki,” Falana said.

“When I contacted an official, he told me, ‘We are going to do it, and heaven will not fall.’ That shows total contempt for the rule of law.”

Falana cited Section 43 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees every Nigerian the right to own property anywhere in the country, as well as Article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which upholds similar protections.

He argued that no governor or minister has the authority to order demolitions without a court ruling, stressing that only a competent court or legally constituted tribunal can authorise such actions.

“No executive officer can unilaterally declare a property illegal and demolish it. Due process must be followed,” he said.

The Lagos State Government, however, denied violating any court order. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said the operation targeted illegal structures on drainage channels and road setbacks as part of the state’s urban renewal and flood prevention efforts.

Omotoso maintained that the exercise was aimed at restoring environmental integrity and that the government would not willfully disobey a valid court order.

The demolitions, which affected the Coker and Ojulari communities, occurred hours after the government had promised to compensate displaced residents.

Legal experts have since urged the state to balance its urban development initiatives with citizens’ constitutional rights to property and fair hearing.

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Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has accused the Lagos State Government of demolishing over 100 properties in Oworonsoki despite a valid court order halting the exercise.

Justice Adegboyega Balogun of the Lagos High Court had last Thursday granted an interim injunction restraining the government, its agents, and contractors from further demolitions or creating third-party interests in parts of the Itesiwaju Ajumoni CDA, including Ojileru Street, Ososa Extension, and Toluwalase Street.

Despite the ruling, Falana said the government went ahead with the demolitions, displacing several families. “In flagrant breach of the subsisting order, the defendants mobilised over 50 armed policemen and thugs, who fired teargas through the night to disperse protesters before commencing a fresh demolition,” he stated.

He described the action as a “sad reminder” of the 1986 Supreme Court case Military Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu, where the court condemned government defiance of judicial authority even under military rule.

Quoting the late Justice Obaseki, Falana reiterated that no government should resort to self-help when a matter is before a court, saying, “In a nation governed by the rule of law, self-help by force must be abandoned.”

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Six National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members have sued the Anambra State Government for ₦1 billion over alleged assault and unlawful detention by the state vigilante group, Agunechemba.

The corps members — Jennifer Elohor, Greatness Oyeh, Eze Ikenna, Anighoro Godspower, Feyisara Amore, and Chimenum Wonodi, filed the suit at the Federal High Court, Awka.

They cited a viral August video showing armed vigilantes storming their lodge, beating them, and accusing them of being internet fraudsters. One victim, Elohor, was reportedly stripped naked despite showing her NYSC ID.

Through their lawyer, Cyrus Onu, they listed the state government, Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the Attorney-General, and the vigilante group as respondents.

They are seeking ₦1 billion in damages and a public apology in national newspapers for the alleged violation of their fundamental rights.

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A popular shopping complex, EDA Plaza, located in the Jabi area of Abuja, has been shut down following a police operation to disperse protesters demanding the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

The protest, which began earlier on Monday, turned chaotic when police officers fired multiple rounds of tear gas to disperse demonstrators who had gathered in parts of the city. Several protesters ran into EDA Plaza to escape the gas, prompting officers to fire tear gas into the building.

Traders, customers, and journalists fled in panic as smoke filled the premises. As of press time, the plaza remained sealed off, with police patrol vehicles stationed around the area.

Earlier, protesters under the #ReleaseNnamdiKanuNow campaign had converged on various parts of Abuja, including Maitama and Utako, demanding Kanu’s release in compliance with the 2022 Court of Appeal judgment that discharged and acquitted him.

Police operatives had first dispersed the group around the Transcorp Hilton area using tear gas canisters, causing panic among commuters and traders. The protesters later regrouped in Utako, chanting solidarity songs and displaying banners before being dispersed again by armed officers.

The demonstrators, comprising civil rights activists and members of pro-democracy groups, say their campaign is aimed at urging the Federal Government to respect court orders and release Kanu unconditionally.

Source: Punch

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Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has strongly criticized the demolition of shops and private properties by government authorities across various parts of the country, describing the actions as “unjustifiable,” “inhumane,” and emblematic of a governance approach that lacks empathy in a time of deepening economic hardship.

In a statement issued Monday via his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, the former Anambra State governor condemned what he termed the “willful destruction” of citizens’ livelihoods without due notice or adherence to legal process. Obi warned that such actions not only violate the rights of affected individuals but also threaten Nigeria’s broader economic and social stability.

“The recent demolition of citizens’ structures and the destruction of their goods and merchandise remain condemnable,” he stated. “At a time when the government is supposed to be lifting citizens out of poverty, it is instead plunging them deeper into hardship.”

Obi noted that many of the demolished shops and buildings housed merchandise and assets worth billions of naira, representing years of toil, entrepreneurship, and life savings for countless Nigerians. He questioned the rationale behind such demolitions, asking whether they serve any genuine public interest or merely reflect “arbitrary and disproportionate exercises of power.”

Without mincing words, Obi placed responsibility on the current administration’s leadership approach, arguing that within just 29 months, the government has exacerbated poverty and insecurity, instead of alleviating them. “These demolitions destroy livelihoods, undermine businesses, and threaten the economic security of hardworking citizens,” he said.

He urged government officials at all levels to adopt policies guided by empathy, rule of law, and long-term economic thinking, rather than reactive enforcement actions that displace vulnerable populations. “Every citizen has the right to build a life through honest work, and that right must never be trampled,” he wrote.

Obi further cautioned that such actions send damaging signals to both local and international investors, who may perceive Nigeria as an unpredictable environment where property rights are not guaranteed. “If we fail to stand against such injustices, we risk undermining the very foundations of economic growth and social stability,” he concluded.

The remarks come amid growing public outcry over widespread demolitions in major cities, often linked to urban renewal or land disputes, but which critics argue are carried out without transparency, adequate compensation, or proper legal procedures.

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