News

Ipas Nigeria demands legal reform, supportive care for women, girls…Says unsafe abortion preventable

Published

4 months ago

March 11, 2026

A nonprofit group, Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation has called on government and all stakeholders to ensure a more supportive environment that empowers women and girls in the country, to make informed decisions about their lives and health.

The Country Director of Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation, Dr. Lucky Palmer, in a press statement to commemorate the International Women’s Day called for reform of outdated laws in the country to protect women’s access to safe abortion care and equip healthcare workers with adequate training to deliver safe and high-quality services.

He said, “In alignment with this year’s theme, ‘Give to Gain,’ it is critical that women and girls are given the opportunity to make safe abortion choices, because when we give access to safe care, we gain reduced maternal deaths.”

He noted that safe abortion, when provided by trained healthcare professionals or self-managed with prescribed medication, is extremely safe.

He lamented that due to persistent myths, restrictive laws, moral and religious stigma, and limited access to services, abortion remains unsafe for many women in Nigeria. Unsafe abortion contributes to at least 13% of maternal mortality nationally.

Palmer said evidence also shows that when abortion care is delivered safely, it is 14 times safer than carrying a pregnancy to term, yet unsafe abortion continues to be a silent killer, driven by stigma, shame, legal restrictions, and limited access to quality care.

“The pervasive incidence of rape and incest creates even more devastating outcomes for survivors, especially due to the stigma surrounding pregnancies resulting from rape.

“Research by Ipas Nigeria shows that 76% of women and girls aged 15–49 have experienced sexual violence, and 3 out of 25 survivors surveyed became pregnant as a result of rape. These women and girls are often forced into unsafe alternatives or required to carry unwanted, trauma inducing pregnancies.”

“Our law is over 150 years old, a colonial law. We have effectively handcuffed women’s ability to make better decisions by attaching stigma and shame to abortion care instead of empathy. This International Women’s Day, we must commit to giving women a safe environment to make informed choices by ensuring accurate information, providing safe abortion care and creating laws that protect abortion access”, he said

News

Edo cracks down on cultists, kidnappers

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

The Exclusives

Monday Okpebholo

Edo State Government has established a Special Criminal Court to expedite the prosecution of cultists, kidnappers and other criminal offenders as part of efforts to tackle rising insecurity in the state.

The Chief Registrar of the Edo State Judiciary, Benson Osawaru, disclosed on Friday that the court was established at the request of Governor Monday Okpebholo.

According to Osawaru, the Special Criminal Court will handle cases relating to cultism, kidnapping and other matters that may be assigned by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Daniel Okungbowa.

He said the initiative was aimed at ensuring speedy dispensation of justice and curbing the growing wave of cult-related violence and abductions across the state.

“The move is expected to address the rising cases of cult-related violence and kidnappings by ensuring quick prosecution of offenders and serving as a deterrent to criminal elements,” Osawaru stated.

Edo State has in recent months witnessed a surge in violent crimes, particularly incidents of kidnapping and cult clashes in several communities.
Meanwhile, Governor Okpebholo has reiterated his administration’s commitment to eliminating kidnapping, banditry and other forms of criminality from the state.

Speaking at the flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) local government election campaign for the Edo Central Senatorial District at the Uromi Town Hall in the Esan North-East Local Government Area, the governor assured residents that decisive measures were being taken to restore security and public confidence.

He said efforts were underway to create a safe environment that would enable farmers displaced by insecurity to return to their farmlands without fear.

The governor stressed that criminal elements terrorising communities would be made to face the full weight of the law.
“Governors are ready to fight insecurity across the nation. The perpetrators will be exposed, and they will run away from the country. In Edo State, there will be security, and our farmers will be able to return to their farms,” he said.
Okpebholo added that his administration would not allow kidnappers and bandits to find refuge in the state.

“I am determined to ensure that kidnappers and bandits do not find a haven in Edo State. Our decisive action against criminals will serve as a deterrent to others,” he said.

The governor further declared that tough measures against convicted criminals would discourage others from engaging in crime.

“I am serious about the fight against insecurity. By the time we execute one, two, three and more of these criminals, others will run away from Edo State,” he stated.

News

Why insecurity persists in the north, by Nasarawa governor

Published

3 days ago

June 26, 2026

The Exclusives

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has identified some of the reasons for the incidences of insecurity and out-of-school crisis in the northern part of Nigeria.

Speaking at a Summit on enhancing human capital development in Northern Nigeria in Abuja, Sule said the Almajiri system is “the single largest structural contributor” to Nigeria’s education emergency.

The Almajiri is a traditional system of Islamic education prevalent in northern Nigeria, where young boys leave their families to study the Quran under the guidance of religious teachers (Mallams). Originally a respected scholarship tradition, it has devolved into a socio-economic crisis, leaving millions of out-of-school children vulnerable to destitution and exploitation.

The country has an estimated 18.3 million out-of-school children, and recent data shows Almajiri children make up roughly 72% to 81% of that total, concentrated in the North.

He, therefore, urged the National Assembly to permanently outlaw the Almajiri system.
“Many minors recruited into banditry graduated from the Almajiri system,” Sule said.

Nasarawa accounts for about 430,000 out-of-school children.

At the event, the governor recalled the 2020 mass repatriation of Almajiri children by Nasarawa and Kaduna states but said enforcement alone isn’t enough without alternatives.

He is proposing a total ban on the Almajiri system, replaced with mandatory formal education and skills acquisition.
Sule is seeking total collaboration of the Northern intelligentsia, the political class, and the traditional system.

He urged Northern leaders to turn summit discussions into actionable draft bills, arguing that “policy changes are the only way to defeat regional poverty.”