20 April 2020 Cases of police brutality in African countries such as Nigeria that imposed lockdowns are on the rise. There are fears this could lead to non-compliance to government issued stay-at-home and social distancing guidelines. Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Kenya are some of the countries that security agencies have used brutal means to keep people off the streets. …

19 April 2020 The powerful chief of staff to Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari has died after contracting the novel coronavirus, the presidency said Saturday.  In a statement, the Nigerian presidential office said it “regrets to announce the passage” of Abba Kyari, who acted as gatekeeper to the leader of Africa’s most populous nation. “The deceased had tested positive to the ravaging Covid-19, and …

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17 April 2020 National Human Rights Commission says it received ‘105 complaints of rights violations by security forces’ in 24 states. At least 18 people in Nigeria have been killed by security forces during the enforcement of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, a figure higher than the documented toll inflicted by the disease, the country’s human rights body …

16 April 2020 The malam said: ‘there is no corona!’We also say: ‘there is no corona!’ A video of crowds shouting this refrain circulated on Nigerian social media in late March. The “malam” or teacher they were referring to is Shaykh Sani Yahaya Jingir, an Islamic scholar based in Jos, Plateau State, in Nigeria’s religiously and ethnically diverse Middle Belt. He is …

15 April 2020 Extended lockdown threatens livelihoods of millions Nigeria’s federal and state governments should ensure the rights to food, shelter, and other basic necessities for people losing jobs or income during the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic assistance that the government has announced in response to the virus has exposed inadequacies in Nigeria’s social protection systems and risks excluding the country’s …

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14 April 2020 Many Nigerians seem to be of the opinion that the country has dodged a bullet in terms of the devastation the coronavirus is wreaking across Europe and the United States. Such a position is misguided, going by the comments of Carlos Lopes, Associate Fellow, Africa Programme, Chatham House. Lopes was speaking during a video Q&A session about …

12 April 2020 The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has urged the country’s authorities to release its already severely ailing leader Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky given the risks he faces from continued imprisonment amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus. The IMN made the plea in a statement addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the local officials in the north-central Kaduna …

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