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Nigerian journalists attacked, threatened while covering Bayelsa, Kogi selections
Nigerian authorities should investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the harassment of journalists working to cover the November 16 gubernatorial and federal assembly elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Armed men threatened and harassed reporters, security forces barred journalists from entering electoral buildings, and demonstrators threw stones at reporters trying to cover the elections, according to news reports and journalists who spoke to CPJ.
The elections in these two states followed nationwide elections in February, which were also marred by violence against journalists, as CPJ reported at the time.
“Journalists play an indispensable role in the conduct of credible elections and should never be the subject of threats, violence, or harassment,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, from Washington, D.C. “Nigerian authorities must investigate all allegations made by journalists about interference in their work covering the November 16 elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.”
In Kogi state, Chinedu Asadu, a reporter with the privately owned The Cable online newspaper, told CPJ in a phone call that police officers seized his cell phone for 15 minutes when he attempted to take photos of a politician giving money to women waiting to cast their votes. After police returned his phone, Asadu said another officer made threatening comments, and he feared the officer would harm him, so he left the polling place.
Lolafunke Ogunlolu, a journalist with the privately owned Africa Independent Television broadcaster, told CPJ in a phone call that a group of armed men threatened to beat her after they saw her film them assaulting a woman at a polling station in Aiyetorogbede, Kogi state.
Ogunlolu said the men, whose identities she could not determine, demanded she delete all the pictures and videos she took of them. Ogunlolu said one man was about to hit her and take her phone when another stopped him after recognizing Ogunlolu as a reporter with the station.
Two journalists with the privately owned Splash FM radio station, Tobi Kusimo and David Bello, told CPJ in phone conversations that a group of demonstrators in Aiyetoro Gbede, a town in Kogi state, threw stones at their van when they tried to interview a polling officer. The journalists said they fled after demonstrators broke their rear windshield and otherwise damaged their vehicle, and appeared angry enough to kill them.
“If we had waited for two additional seconds, only God knows what would have happened,” Bello told CPJ.
In a separate case, Sam Egwu, a journalist with the privately owned newspaper The Nation, and Sunday Amachi, a reporter with the government-owned Kogi State Radio broadcaster, told CPJ via phone that a group of demonstrators in Anyigba, in Kogi state, surrounded their car while they drove to a polling place and threw stones at their vehicle.
“In fact, they destroyed our vehicle. It was a miracle we left that place unhurt,” said Egwu.
Egwu and Amachi told CPJ that protesters alleging election interference barricaded all exit routes and surrounded their car. Protesters climbed on their car in an attempt to force the journalists out, but the demonstrators dispersed after security forces fired their weapons, Egwu said.
In Bayelsa state, four unidentified individuals wielding canes and bottles intercepted Adejumor Kabir, a reporter with the Premium Times newspaper, while he was traveling to the main office of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, he told CPJ via phone. The individuals forced his driver to leave, and drove Kabir to an isolated area in Opolo, in Yenagoa, the state capital, where they interrogated him for two hours, he told CPJ. Kabir said his abductors had mistaken him for a government official and, after questioning and accusing him of manipulating election results, they released him.
Kabir then traveled to the Independent National Electoral Commission office to cover the collation of the results, but police blocked him and other reporters from entering the building, even though they identified themselves as journalists, Kabir said. He said the officers told the journalists that they were working on orders from above not to admit members of the press.
CPJ’s calls and text messages to Oluwole Ozassi-Uzi, the Independent National Electoral Commission spokesperson, went unanswered. The head of voter education in Bayelsa State, Wilfred Ifogah, told journalists that security officials “misunderstood INEC instructions” when they bared reporters from entering the commission’s office, according to a report by Premium Times.
In a text message to CPJ, Nigerian police spokesperson Frank Mba said he was not aware of any assaults on journalists and said, “The safety and wellbeing of journalists and media practitioners generally was of paramount importance to the Nigeria Police Force.”
The House of Representative member representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency, Oyo State, Engr. Aderemi Oseni has felicitated with Barrister Akeem Agbaje, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on his birthday.
Oseni, who also chairs the House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), in a statement by his media aide, Idowu Ayodele, described the celebrant as a man of integrity and an accomplished legal practitioner whose contributions to politics and governance in the state remain exemplary.
He commended the APC stalwart for his unwavering commitment to democratic ideals and party development, adding that his leadership qualities and dedication to service had earned him respect across political and professional circles.
“Barrister Akeem Agbaje is a brother and friend whose wisdom, integrity, and passion for public service stand out. He has remained one of the pillars of support for our great party and has consistently championed policies that uplift the people,” Oseni said.
The lawmaker lauded Agbaje’s efforts in mentoring young professionals and supporting initiatives that promote education and youth development, noting that his impact extended beyond politics.
Oseni prayed for his continued success, good health, and prosperity.
Nigeria’s Net Foreign Exchange Reserve (NFER) reached $23.11 billion by the end of 2024, marking the highest level in over three years. This significant rise reflects improved external liquidity, reduced short-term obligations, and renewed investor confidence.
According to a statement from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the latest figure represents a remarkable increase from $3.99 billion at the close of 2023, $8.19 billion in 2022, and $14.59 billion in 2021.
NFER provides a more accurate measure of the country’s foreign exchange buffers by adjusting gross reserves to account for near-term liabilities such as FX swaps and forward contracts. Alongside this, Nigeria’s gross external reserves also grew to $40.19 billion from $33.22 billion at the end of 2023.
The CBN attributed this reserve expansion to strategic measures aimed at reducing short-term foreign exchange liabilities, notably swaps and forward obligations. The central bank also credited the improvement to policy actions designed to rebuild confidence in the FX market and enhance reserve buffers, bolstered by increased foreign exchange inflows from non-oil sources.
“This improvement in our net reserves is not accidental; it is the outcome of deliberate policy choices aimed at rebuilding confidence, reducing vulnerabilities, and laying the foundation for long-term stability,” stated CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso. “We remain focused on sustaining this progress through transparency, discipline, and market-driven reforms.”
Despite seasonal and transitional adjustments in the first quarter of 2025, including significant interest payments on foreign-denominated debt, the CBN noted that the underlying fundamentals remain strong. The bank expects reserves to continue strengthening over the second quarter of the year.
Looking ahead, the CBN anticipates a steady increase in reserves, supported by improved oil production levels and a more favourable export environment. These factors are expected to enhance non-oil FX earnings and diversify external inflows.
“The CBN remains committed to prudent reserve management, transparent reporting, and macroeconomic policies that support a stable exchange rate, attract investment, and build long-term resilience,” the statement concluded.
President Bola Tinubu has approved a major shake-up in the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mallam Mele Kyari.
In a statement released in the early hours of Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Tinubu announced the removal of all board members who were appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
The newly constituted 11-member board will be led by Engineer Bashir Ojulari as the new GCEO, while Ahmadu Kida takes over as Non-Executive Chairman.
Also appointed to the board is Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Ajiya as Chief Financial Officer in November 2023. The board includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones. They are:
Bello Rabiu (North West)
Yusuf Usman (North East)
Babs Omotowa (North Central), former Managing Director of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)
Austin Avuru (South-South)
David Ige (South-West)
Henry Obih (South-East).
Additionally, Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry, while Aminu Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The appointments take effect from 2 April 2025.
President Tinubu invoked Section 59, Subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) to justify the board’s restructuring, emphasising the need to enhance operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, boost local content, drive economic growth, and advance gas commercialisation and diversification.
He also mandated the new board to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC’s operations and joint venture assets to align with value-maximisation objectives.
Since assuming office in 2023, President Tinubu has pushed reforms aimed at attracting investments into Nigeria’s oil sector. In 2024, NNPC reported $17 billion in new investments. The administration now targets $30 billion in investments by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
Furthermore, the government aims to increase crude oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030. Gas production is also projected to rise to eight billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.
Similarly, the new board has been tasked with increasing NNPC’s share of refined crude oil output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
The new NNPC Board Chairman, Ahmadu Kida, hails from Borno State. A graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he earned a civil engineering degree in 1984 and later obtained a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP) in Paris.
Kida began his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria before joining Total Exploration and Production in 1985. He rose to become Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015 and, in 2024, served as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Beyond the oil sector, Kida is a former basketball player and served as President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Engineer Bashir Ojulari, the newly appointed GCEO, hails from Kwara State. Before this appointment, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. He recently led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in acquiring the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in a landmark $2.4 billion transaction.
Ojulari is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He began his career at Elf Aquitaine as Nigeria’s first petroleum process engineer before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria in 1991. Over the years, he held key roles in Europe and the Middle East as a petroleum engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager. In 2015, he became the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). He has also served as chairman and board trustee member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
President Tinubu expressed appreciation to the outgoing board members for their contributions to NNPC Limited, particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which resumed petroleum production after prolonged shutdowns.
He wished them success in their future endeavours.
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