Coronavirus was always going to come to Nigeria. If a viral disease originates from China, the world’s most populous country, then Nigeria, the seventh most populous is surely a potential destination given the intricate interconnectedness of nations. It was always a matter of when rather than whether. On Friday, the first case was confirmed, meaning we had more than two [...]
'Fisayo Soyombo
ON THE GO
I’ve been observing with keen interest the National Assembly’s recent efforts to solidify President Muhammadu Buhari’s offer of Nigeria-Delta-like amnesty to ‘repentant’ Boko Haram members. Buhari first made the offer in March 2018 while receiving the 107 of the 111 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Dapchi, Yobe State, two months earlier. The following month, the military established a rehabilitation [...]
Quite a lot of political neutrals have been sympathetic to David Lyon, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa State. Lyon had completed the rehearsal for his Valentine’s Day swearing-in as Governor when the Supreme Court invalidated his participation in the election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to swear [...]
I am not one the biggest fans of the motorcycle as a means of transportation. I wasn’t always an antagonist; it all started in 2010. My friend was on a bike that collided with a danfo in the Ikorodu area of Lagos. It wouldn’t have been too bad if that was where it ended, but after she tumbled off the [...]
Investigative journalist ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO spent two weeks in detention — five days in a Police cell and eight as an inmate in Ikoyi Prison — to track corruption in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, beginning from the moment of arrest by the Police to the point of release from prison. To experience the workings of the system in its raw state, [...]
Victims! The spot of ‘victims’ in my headline was sealed six months ago by one of the senior officers of Pedro Police Station, Shomolu, Lagos. It was Friday July 19, 2019, the night I was released from Ikoyi Prison at the end of my undercover investigation on corruption in Nigeria’s criminal justice system only to be abducted by Pedro policemen. [...]
After altering his looks and taking psychiatric lessons every day for one week, investigative journalist ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO went undercover for three weeks in November, including 10 straight days on ward admission, as a patient of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, one of the nation’s most historic mental rehabilitation centres. His report unveils the decrepit state of hospital facilities, gross [...]
After altering his looks and taking psychiatric lessons every day for one week, investigative journalist ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO went under cover for three weeks in November, including 10 straight days on ward admission, as a patient of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, one of the nation’s most historic mental rehabilitation centres. His report unveils the decrepit state of hospital facilities, [...]
Investigative journalist ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO spent two weeks in detention — five days in a Police cell and eight as an inmate in Ikoyi Prison — to track corruption in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, beginning from the moment of arrest by the Police to the point of release by the prison. To experience the workings of the system in its raw [...]
Investigative journalist ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO spent two weeks in detention — five days in a Police cell and eight as an inmate in Ikoyi Prison — to track corruption in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, beginning from the moment of arrest by the Police to the point of release by the prison. To experience the workings of the system in its raw [...]
Investigative journalist ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO spent two weeks in detention — five days in a Police cell and eight as an inmate in Ikoyi Prison — to track corruption in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, beginning from the moment of arrest by the Police to the point of release from prison. To experience the workings of the system in its raw state, [...]
Anyone who followed the national new minimum wage negotiations between the organised Labour and the Federal Government at the peak in November 2018 would have known, as they say in Nigerian street lingo, that it would “end in tears”. While receiving the report of the Tripartite Committee on New Minimum Wage from the Chairman, Amal Pepple, on November 7, 2018, [...]
In August 2018, one month after I ‘moved’ into a rented apartment, Ikeja Electric sent me a power consumption bill in excess of N22,000. This was daylight robbery; I knew there was no chance I’d consumed a quarter of that — because even though the house was mine, it also wasn’t. What Ikeja Electric didn’t know was that it was [...]
There are many things I wanted to write about from last week, but I can’t, otherwise I’ll end up in jail. Since the Department of State Services (DSS) charged Omoyele Sowore, Publisher of SaharaReporters, to court for “insulting” President Muhammadu Buhari, among other allegations, the message from the presidency has been loud and clear enough: insult the President, go to [...]
I have a distant acquaintanceship with Seun Onigbinde, meaning, if I wanted to, I could have privately congratulated him on his appointment as Technical Adviser (Budget & Planning) to the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning. My congratulations to Onigbinde will be public, via this critical piece. If he accepts it in good faith, he would have successfully [...]
For the first time ever, Nigeria-based Nigerians gave a violent response to the killing and maiming of their countrymen in South Africa. South African enterprises, the most unfortunate being food retailer Shoprite and telco MTN, were targeted, leading to the destruction of property and obstruction of trade. In some instances, innocent Nigerian shoppers and business owners were affected. The attacks [...]
Advertisement
Advertisement
