By George Mgbeleke

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) commends President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for transmitting the proposed National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Bill 2026 to the National Assembly, describing the initiative as a major step towards strengthening Nigeria’s fight against illicit drugs and drug trafficking cartels.
HURIWA also commends the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemu(SAN) for advancing the proposed legal reforms and praises NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), for demonstrating purposeful and charismatic leadership in the agency’s campaign against drug barons and trafficking networks.

HURIWA says the proposed legislation offers Nigeria an opportunity to strengthen the NDLEA’s institutional capacity, expand its legal powers and equip the agency to confront suspected drug traffickers more effectively.
The association states that drug barons and trafficking cartels pose a serious threat to public safety, national security and the future of Nigerian youths. It therefore urges the Federal Government to strengthen the legal and institutional framework required to dismantle their networks.
HURIWA notes that the proposed review of the existing NDLEA Act and the Indian Hemp Act could address gaps in the country’s drug-control laws and provide a more consolidated framework for enforcing drug-related offences.

The Rights group urges the Senate and the House of Representatives to treat the NDLEA Bill 2026 as a matter of urgent national importance and expedite its consideration and passage.
HURIWA states that the National Assembly must not allow unnecessary delays to weaken the momentum generated by the President’s legislative initiative.

The prominent civil society organisation calls on lawmakers across party lines to support the proposed reform and create a stronger legal foundation for the NDLEA to investigate suspected drug-related crimes, disrupt trafficking networks and bring offenders to justice in accordance with the law.
“HURIWA commends President Tinubu for taking this important legislative step, praises the Attorney-General of the Federation for supporting the legal reform process, and applauds Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa for his leadership in the fight against illicit drugs.
“We urge the National Assembly to act swiftly, pass the bill and enable the President to assent to it. Nigeria cannot afford to leave its anti-drug enforcement institutions without the strongest practical legal framework necessary to confront powerful drug barons and trafficking cartels,” the association says.

HURIWA stresses that stronger laws must go hand in hand with adequate funding, modern investigative equipment, effective inter-agency cooperation and strict respect for due process and fundamental human rights.

The Rights group also urges the Federal Government to sustain public education, drug-prevention programmes, treatment and rehabilitation services to complement enforcement efforts.

HURIWA maintains that the proposed reform should produce tangible results, including stronger action against trafficking networks, improved enforcement and better protection for young Nigerians from the dangers of illicit substances.

The association therefore charges the National Assembly to prioritise the bill and demonstrate the political will required to strengthen Nigeria’s campaign against drug trafficking.

By George Mgbeleke

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount initiative, describing it as a deceptive publicity stunt that insults millions of Nigerians crushed by soaring fuel prices and the rising cost of living.
HURIWA said the government cannot claim to be offering relief to Nigerians while petrol still sells for ₦1,370 per litre, a price far beyond the reach of many struggling households, commercial drivers and small businesses.
The association accused the government of attempting to manufacture an impression of compassion through a token discount while ordinary Nigerians continue to bear the consequences of punishing energy costs.
“A ₦66 discount on petrol selling at ₦1,370 per litre is no economic relief. It is a cruel joke on Nigerians who are struggling to survive,” HURIWA said.
The rights group argued that a government genuinely concerned about the suffering of citizens would pursue substantial and accessible price reductions instead of celebrating a marginal cut that leaves petrol unaffordable for millions.
HURIWA maintained that any petrol price above ₦500 per litre remains far beyond what many low-income Nigerians can reasonably afford, insisting that the advertised discount does little to address the scale of the country’s economic hardship.
The association also questioned the decision to make the discount accessible through NNPCL’s mobile application, warning that the digital requirement could exclude motorists who lack reliable internet access, compatible smartphones or the technical ability to navigate the platform.
“Must a struggling commercial driver download an application before accessing a government-announced discount? How many drivers have the resources, digital skills and reliable internet access required to participate?
“Why should access to relief be turned into another hurdle for people already battling high transport costs, expensive food and dwindling earnings?” HURIWA asked.
The association said the government must explain why a discount presented as a public relief measure should depend on access to a digital platform rather than being reflected transparently and directly at the pump.
HURIWA’s criticism follows NNPCL’s reduction of its petrol price in Abuja to ₦1,370 per litre on Monday, after raising it to ₦1,405 at the weekend. Today, fuel us sold @ N1,400 per litre.
A market survey showed that NNPCL filling stations in Berger, Wuse Zone 6 and Wuse Zone 4 were selling petrol at the reduced rate, representing a ₦35-per-litre cut from the weekend price.
The development comes amid the company’s ₦66-per-litre discount initiative, which motorists can access through its recently introduced mobile application.
The Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, had also proposed a fixed petrol price of ₦1,350 per litre at NNPCL filling stations, triggering debate over whether the arrangement amounted to a return to fuel subsidy.
Oyedele and the Presidency have rejected that interpretation, describing the proposed measure as a discount rather than a subsidy.
But HURIWA said the argument over what to call the initiative must not distract from the central question: whether ordinary Nigerians can actually afford the price they are being asked to pay.
“Nigerians do not need clever labels, political packaging or another publicity campaign. They need petrol prices that reflect the desperate economic reality of millions of citizens. A discount that leaves the product beyond their reach is not meaningful relief,” the association said.
HURIWA accused the government of trying to project responsiveness without delivering relief on a scale commensurate with the hardship facing the population.
It urged the Federal Government to stop presenting marginal price adjustments as major achievements and instead pursue practical measures capable of reducing transport costs, easing pressure on food prices and improving the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians.
The association said the success of any relief policy should be measured by its actual impact on citizens’ pockets, not by government announcements or promotional campaigns.
“The question is not whether the government has announced a discount. The question is whether a struggling Nigerian can afford to buy petrol after the discount. Until that question receives an honest answer, the government’s claims of relief will remain unconvincing,” HURIWA said.

By Chief Chekwas Okorie
A dangerous trend has reared its ugly head in the Southeast geopolitical zone recently. The desperate struggle for political power through conquest instead of the ballot box according to the tenets of democracy and the laws of Nigeria in the build-up to the 2027 general elections is raging with ferocious speed in Igboland.
I wish to recall that on the 12th of March 2026, I released an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which l captioned, “Halt the brewing anarchy in Nigeria”. In that letter, I drew the attention of the president to events in Nigeria, especially by state and non-state actors, that could cause the breakdown of law and order. I appealed to President Tinubu to take decisive steps to halt the trend. Obviously, my patriotic intervention did not seem to make any impression on the president.
It was not long ago that an Islamic cleric called Sheik Sani Yahaya Jingir, in a most arrogant and inciting outburst in a public event in Kano, declared that all Nigerians who did not want the Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket of President Tinubu and his vice president should leave the country. He claimed that Muslims owned Nigeria. This hate speech was not only outrageous but unprovoked as the president and vice president were already in the last lap of their four-year tenure without any protest from any part of the country as a result of their faith.
Neither the federal government nor any of its security agencies publicly condemned Sheik Jingir’s obviously subversive open declaration. Based on what appeared as government acquiescence to the irresponsibility of Sheik Jingir, more and more actors in the political space have become emboldened to go haywire. The list is long. The government seems highly selective in its interventions, if any.
Now, this ugly trend is beginning to envelope the entire Southeast. It is no longer safe for members of the opposition parties to hold public gatherings or rallies anywhere in the geopolitical zone without being attacked by heavily armed thugs. These attacks last for hours, resulting in severe injuries and loss of lives. In most of these incidents, the security agencies appear helpless. No arrests are ever recorded, at least to be able to trace their sponsors.
Most Southeast governments have imposed outrageous fees for campaign billboards running into hundreds of millions of naira for a single billboard. This is the reason billboards are hardly visible across the Southeast. Members of the opposition parties have also responded by pulling down the billboards of the ruling parties wherever they appeared. This is a recipe for anarchy.
I call on Governor Hope Uzodimma, the governor of Imo State and the Chairman of the Southeast Governors Forum, to convene an emergency and extraordinary meeting of the Southeast Governors as a matter of utmost urgency to nip in the bud the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Igboland.
No matter how the Federal Government of Nigeria may downplay the situation in the North, the painful truth is that wars are raging in the Northwest and Northeast sectors. In spite of the assistance of the United States of America, the wars have not abetted.
Our present Southeast governors will be held accountable if Igboland becomes another war zone. Fifty-six years after the end of the fratricidal war in the former Eastern Region, the scars and destruction of that war are still festering and unaddressed.
The colonial army could not conquer Ndigbo. Ndigbo survived the war of annihilation waged against us.
Igbo votes for the 2027 elections can never be obtained by conquest.
Ndigbo must remain vigilant and defend their franchise as we are known to do from creation.
Igbo kwenu!!!

Chief Chekwas Okorie
Chairman, Igbo Agenda Dialogue, IAD.