Nigerian Newspapers
Can domestic servants be considered as security threats?
The increasing number of married women who engage in paid jobs in the last few decades has heightened the demand for domestic servants in several Nigerian homes.
Research has shown that live-in domestic servants are found in over two-thirds Nigerian homes but the character of many of the house helps is often questionable.
On a global level, a recent report of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) indicates that not less than 52 million people across the world work as domestic workers, while only 10 per cent of them are actually protected by extant labour laws.
The report also states that in 2012, 72 per cent of the population of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is engaged in vulnerable employment, which includes domestic service, mostly undertaken by minors and women.
In major Nigerian cities, especially Lagos and Abuja, the demand for domestic servants such as house maids, cooks and security guards is quite high because of the long hours of work which keep most couples out late.
Observers note that the compelling need for households to hire domestic servants has, in recent times, given many unscrupulous elements in the society the leeway to foment trouble in various homes.
They argue that the upsurge of domestic servants with questionable character has somewhat worsened the insecurity pervading the country.
The observers note that in some cases, the inability to secure the services of trustworthy house helps has forced several women to quit their white-collar jobs to take care of the family.
On several occasions, media reports have cited some instances in which security guards would recommend housemaids or cooks for their bosses, as part of a calculated plot to carry out some heinous acts.
For instance, Mrs Kike Anibaba, a civil servant in Abuja, recalled that her gardener introduced to her a teenage girl who, as he claimed, was his close relation.
“But unfortunately within two months, the gardener connived with her, robbed my shop of expensive goods and ran away,’’ she said.
Besides, there was a news report in January about a 20-year-old domestic servant, Akan Solomon, who was arrested in Lagos for conniving with robbers to steal a car belonging to his boss.
Moreover, there was a recent case involving Freedom Maddy, a house help, who stole the jewellery of her boss in collaboration with some unscrupulous elements. The incident was widely reported in the media.
The cases appear limitless but one particular case which elicits the concern of many people relates to one housemaid who was arrested along with an accomplice for killing her boss, a restaurateur, who lived alone.
The maid reportedly killed the woman in her house and threw her into a nearby well with a generator, while giving neighbours an impression that the woman had travelled.
In spite of the widespread public perception that domestic servants are often maltreated, analysts insist that hiring questionable characters as house helps could be extremely dangerous.
Supporting such viewpoints, Mrs Toriola Ajimobi, a bank worker, recalled that she once had a housemaid who she treated as her own daughter.
“However, within a few months, she stole my clothes and money and ran away,’’ she said.
Also, Mr Yusuf Hassan, a trader, alleged that his house help, in spite of his generosity to her, once attempted to kidnap one of his triplets.
“When she was arrested, she claimed that she was manipulated by the devil to commit the crime,’’ he said.
Besides, Mrs Evelyn Anjorin, a mother of three, said that she had to leave her job and stay at home after her housemaid burgled her room.
However, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, the Chairman, Federation of Informal Workers Union of Nigeria, stressed that the nefarious activities of some domestic servants could be one of the fallout of the house helps’ ill-treatment.
“The maltreatment of some of the domestic servants may be the reason why they take revenge by perpetrating evil on their bosses,’’ he said.
Nevertheless, he bemoaned the criminal acts of some domestic servants such as robbery or kidnapping, stressing that their ill-treatment could not be an excuse to commit a crime.
Analysts, however, attribute the rising wave of misdemeanor among domestic servants to the faulty method of recruiting house helps without due regard for specific guidelines
For instance, a Beninoise, Mrs Josephine Ayo, said that she could assist people to get trustworthy maids from Togo and Benin Republic for a fee.
All the same, available records on human trafficking indicate that more than 60 per cent of domestic servants in the South-West geopolitical zone of the country are recruited from Togo or Benin Republic.
A major question, therefore, centres around putting measures in place to forestall a situation in which domestic servants constitute major security threats to the households where they work.
However, Mr Joseph Famakin, the Lagos Zonal Commander of National Agency for Prosecution of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP), advised the public to register their domestic servants with the police.
He, nonetheless, underscored the need for such domestic servants, whose ages must be above 18 years, to have impeccable character.
Famakin, who frowned at a situation where minors were engaged as domestic servants, reiterated that the registration of domestic workers would reduce the incidence of crime in homes, while making it easier for the authorities to apprehend child traffickers.
All the same, Mrs Bisi Bright, the Coordinator of Live-Well Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, underscored the need for the government to intervene in the situation
She urged the government at all levels to put in place a system where only registered employment agents would be involved in the domestic servants’ recruitment business.
Bright also recommended that such registered agents should be saddled with responsibility of screening, interviewing and employing domestic servants, whose ages should be above 18 years, in collaboration with NAPTIP and the police.
She said that the arrangement would also provide a channel for house helps to lodge complaints about their employers whenever the need arose.
In spite of the proposals, Mrs Patricia Amadin, the Deputy Spokesperson for Lagos State Police Command, said that employers of domestic servants should, in the interim, strive to ascertain the background and credibility of persons they wanted to employ.
Amadin stressed that while some of the house helps behaved well, records had shown that most of them aided and abetted criminals such as robbers and kidnappers.
The police officer urged the public to always ascertain the identification and background of persons they wanted to hire as house helps so as to lessen the criminal activities of unscrupulous domestic servants. (NANFeatures)
Oluwatoyin Olokun News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
Kamaru Usman has raked in a mammoth £1.1million, about N584.2 million after his impressive knockout victory over Jorge Masvidal on Saturday night, Sportivation.com.ng reports.
The Nigerian Nightmare has been handsomely rewarded for his stunning performance and he was the best-paid fighter on the card which was witnessed by 15, 000 fans in Florida.
According to Daily Mail, Usman earned £538,000 to show up, £459,000 pay-per-view bonus, a £43,000 sponsorship bonus and a well deserved £35,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Jorge Masvidal also earned £358,000 to show, £186,000 in pay-per-view money and a £28,000 sponsorship bonus.
This is the biggest payday of Usman’s career so far and the Welterweight champion also benefited from the fact that Masvidal is also a top draw for the fans.
Kamaru Usman is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler.
Sourced From: Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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