Civil rights advocacy group: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, a brilliant young lawyer and rising anchor on Arise TV. Her untimely demise is a stark reminder of the systemic failures that plague our nation. The story of her death is a harrowing one, and it is a damning indictment of the systems that are supposed to protect and serve us, citing Section 14. (2)(b) of the Nigerian constitution, which states that, the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.

Somto’s death is a wound that cuts deeply into the conscience of our nation. Hoodlums invaded her apartment, killing the security man who stood his ground. In fear and desperation, Somto leapt from her storey-building to escape the violence, sustaining injuries in the process. She was rushed to a hospital in Maitama, Abuja, where she was met with bureaucratic indifference. The hospital insisted on a police report before treatment, and in that cruel wait, as life ebbed away, Nigeria killed her.

In the media statement by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, HURIWA condemns in the strongest terms the negligence of the hospital staff, which undoubtedly contributed to her death. The hospital’s insistence on a police report before treatment is a clear indication of the systemic rot that pervades our healthcare system.

Many deaths, according to reports, have occurred due to the lack of presentation of a police report by victims. It is a system that elevates procedure above humanity, and it is a system that needs to be changed. The Chief Medical Director of Maitama hospital should be held accountable and sacked immediately for the glaring incompetence that led to Somto’s demise.

Furthermore, we express outrage at the police’s failure to provide assistance when invited to take Somto to the hospital, citing lack of fuel. This is an unacceptable dereliction of duty, and those responsible should face consequences. The police’s failure to respond effectively in emergencies is a clear indication of the need for reform and restructuring. We call on IGP, Inspector General Kayode Egbetokun and demand that the government takes immediate action to address these issues and ensure that law enforcement agencies are equipped to respond effectively in emergencies.

Somto’s death is not just a tragedy; it’s a symptom of a broader systemic rot. It is a rot that pervades our healthcare system, our law enforcement agencies, and our government. It is a rot that needs to be addressed, and it is a rot that needs to be changed. We demand that the government take immediate action to address these issues and ensure that hospitals prioritize saving lives over procedure. Moreover, there is a binding law that obliged hospitals and doctors to treat even victims of gunshot injuries without waiting for police report.

HURIWA joins the nation in mourning the loss of this gifted daughter, lawyer, and journalist. Somto was a brilliant, passionate, and dedicated broadcaster at AriseTV, whose professionalism and poise endeared her to colleagues and viewers alike. Her memory should serve as a rallying point for Nigerian journalists to uphold the values she lived by integrity, excellence, and service to society.

We cannot continue to live in a society where human life is cheap and where institutions fail to protect and serve us. We demand better, and we demand change.

As we reflect on Somto’s life and legacy, we are reminded of the countless individuals who have lost their lives due to systemic failures and institutional neglect. We are reminded of the need for a healthcare system that prioritizes saving lives over procedure. We are reminded of the need for law enforcement agencies that are equipped to respond effectively in emergencies.

HURIWA reiterates our demand for justice and accountability in Somto’s case. We demand that the government take immediate action to address the systemic failures that led to her death. We demand that the hospital and law enforcement agencies take responsibility for their actions.

May Somto’s memory be a blessing to us all, and may her legacy inspire us to build a better Nigeria for all.

Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko
National Coordinator,
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA)
September 30, 2025

FORUM FOR CHILD RIGHTS PROMOTION (FORCHI) is calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to urgently set aside at least ten percent of all budgetary releases to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and the Ministry of Women and Social Development specifically for the protection of children’s rights. This dedicated fund should cover the distribution of relief materials, provision of food relief, and payment of educational costs for Nigeria’s most vulnerable children, especially those in orphanage homes and children who are out of school.

Given the recent announcement that over N330 billion has been disbursed as cash transfers to poor Nigerians, Mr. Wale Edun, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, noting that the intervention is part of President Bola Tinubu’s strategy to cushion the impact of subsidy removal and exchange rate reforms on the poorest Nigerians.

According to Mr. Wale Ebun, about 19.7 million poor and vulnerable households — representing more than 70 million individuals — are captured in the National Social Register. The cash transfers, funded from an $800 million World Bank facility, are being disbursed to 15 million households.

“So far, 8.5 million households have received at least one tranche of ₦25,000. Some have received two or three payments. The remaining 7 million households will be paid before the end of the year,” Edun said.

In Nigeria, around 70 million children face multiple deprivations due to insufficient and inefficient public spending. Over the past seven years, Nigeria’s allocation of federal funds to the health and education sectors as a percentage of the overall budget has dropped, dipping below the benchmarks set by the Abuja and Incheon declarations. The health sector funding now falls below 15% and the education sector receives less than the recommended 15-20% allocation.

FORUM FOR CHILD RIGHTS PROMOTION (FORCHI) calls on the Federal Government to exhibit transparency and accountability in its recent claim of disbursing N330 billion to poor Nigerians through the National Social Safety-net Coordinating Office. This transparent approach will restore public confidence and provide the integrity and credibility that the current relief distribution system desperately lacks.

While this initiative is commendable, we believe that a significant portion of these funds should be allocated to support vulnerable children in Nigeria, particularly those in orphanage homes and those who are out of school. Children are the future of our nation, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they are protected and provided with the necessary support to thrive.

We believe it is both necessary if 10% of these humongous cash are actually delivered to orphanages that are registered in all states of Nigeria and governed by accredited social welfare practitioners, then it would be easier for the federal government to publish the list of beneficiaries, thereby lending credibility and integrity to the system, which is currently lacking in the distribution of cash reliefs to poor families in Nigeria.

FORUM FOR CHILD RIGHTS PROMOTION (FORCHI) urges the Federal Government to ensure that the rights and needs of the Nigerian child are not sidelined. The future of our nation rests on how well we protect, educate, and provide for our children today. The time to act is now.

Stacey Ukaobasi O,
Executive Director

FORUM FOR CHILD RIGHTS PROMOTION (FORCHI).
September 24th, 2025.

Charges INEC to take steps to ensure electoral integrity and equal opportunities for all political parties

With a firm belief that Nigeria is now suffering from a political leadership that is willingly distracted by the groundswell of media and billboard campaigns by the loyalties and extremists in All Progressives Congress, an appeal has gone to the president to order the immediate halt to the premature campaigns for the 2027 presidential election.

Making the above appeal is the prominent pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA), which regretted that even after President Tinubu had four months ago expressed disapproval for the massive campaigns for his re-election, supporters, favour-seekers, sycophants and bootlickers have even upgraded their media campaign for the re-election of President Tinubu nearly two years to the next poll.

HURIWA said these activities directly breach the extant electoral laws just as HURIWA observed that the President himself had asserted that it is patently illegal to engage in premature electoral campaigns.

The rights group said it is as if the directive of the president made by this special adviser on strategy and information, Mr. Bayo Onanuga was just a smokescreen to present an impression of a president who knows that early campaigning violates the extant electoral laws of the land, HURIWA however informed president Tinubu that most streets in the state capital across the Federation and FCT are dotted and decorated with the 2027 presidential campaign fliers of President Tinubu who is the incumbent president.

HURIWA recalled that last April 2025, the presidency disowned billboards and other material promoting the 2027 campaign for President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima nationwide.

“We urgently call on individuals and groups funding this 2027 political campaign through the ongoing deployment of materials in billboards nationwide, to cease immediately,” it stated in a media release endorsed by special presidential adviser on information and strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.

HURIWA further recalled that President Tinubu argued rightly that premature campaign can undermine the integrity of the electoral process and create unfair advantages. The president said: ” As law-abiding leaders, President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, do not support any action that undermines our institutions and the electoral process, ” Onanuga said.

Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, the national coordinator of HURIWA, said whereas it was commendable that the president warned against these violations of the electoral law banning premature electoral campaigns, it was however shocking that he, the president has yet to give a clear directive to the relevant law enforcement agencies to clamp down on the groups and prominent individuals funding the premature media and bill-board campaigns for the re-election of president Tinubu in 2027.

HURIWA has therefore asked the President to openly order the heads of the Nigeria Police Force as the critical agency of internal law enforcement to enforce the command of President Tinubu to stop early or illegal premature electoral campaigns just as the Rights group suggested that the sponsors be given few days deadline to pull down the billboards from across the streets of capitals of states of the Federation and strategically, those that have been used massively to deface the beauty of FCT streets.

“We know the enormous executive powers that the president wields regarding the command and control of the armed forces of Nigeria, as stipulated by the constitution of Nigeria, which is the grundnorm. What we are yet to understand is why the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the president of the federation would condemn lawless actions of his identified loyalists who are not ghosts but known prominent citizens, that law enforcement authority including the independent national electoral commission (INEC) have yet to enforce the law nor has the INEC categorically petitioned the police to stop the lawless tendencies of political sycophants supporting the re-election of president Tinubu. The NPF need not wait for any kind of petition to enforce the electoral Act because their inaction in this specific case, emphatically conveys the impression that President Tinubu is not against the premature campaigns being orchestrated by the members of his political party: APC”.

HURIWA said the President should immediately do the needful so as not to set a dangerous and anti-democratic precedence in which case political party controlling federal might would look the other way and permit the flagrant disregard for the rule of law and more specifically the extant provisions of the Electoral Act of the Federation. “Mr. President, please be a statesman and a President for all who respects the due process of the law and ask the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, to pull down the billboards and campaign fliers for 2027 presidential poll, the displays of which are in direct disregard of the rule of law.”

Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko,
NATIONAL COORDINATOR,
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA)
26TH AUGUST, 2025.