L-R: Project Manager, Pink Food Bank Foundation, Stephen Oluwadara; one of the beneficiaries of the product donation, Mrs. Abosode Shakunle; Group Corporate Communications and Events Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Limited, makers of Indomie Instant Noodles, Temitope Ashiwaju; another beneficiary, Mrs. Grace Akinleye, and Volunteer/Assistant Project Manager, Pink Food Bank Foundation, Olusanya Ose at the second Indomie product donations and distribution of free meals to the less privileged in the Cardoso area of Ajegunle, Ajeromi Ifelodun LGA, Lagos, in partnership with Pink Food Bank Foundation on Saturday April 6, 2024.

Dufil Prima Foods Limited, makers of Indomie Instant Noodles has once again reaffirmed its mission to help in easing the burden on vulnerable Nigerians as occasioned by the present economic challenge. The company restated this when it visited the Ajegunle area on Saturday April 6 for the second time in two weeks to distribute free meals and cartons of its popular product, Indomie Instant Noodles to the less privileged in that part of Ajeromi Ifelodun LGA, Lagos. The beneficiaries were mostly women, the elderly, and children.

It would be recalled that the brand had earlier visited the area on March 26 where it offered free meals to pupils and students in four schools within the area, namely Dexzel School on Baale Street, Dream Stead School on Babatunde Street, Waves of Impact School on Barra Street, and Dabet School on Kirikiri Road. It had also given out free cartons of its product to residents of the community.

Speaking at the product donation, done in partnership with the Pink Food Bank Foundation, the Group Corporate Communications and Events Manager, Dufil Prima Foods LTD, Temitope Ashiwaju, restated the brand’s determination to reach out to, and feed two million indigent families living across the country.

“We have made commitment to feed two million Nigerians with our intervention nationwide. We are going round communities to feed our people, and to also give cartons of our products to people in the communities. We have been to several of these communities, so this is not the first that we are starting with, and it will not also be the last”, Ashiwaju said.

“Everything that you have seen that is happening here we are doing it all over the country. So, it’s not as if it’s peculiar to people living in Ajegunle alone. We have so many other places that we have visited, and thousands of people that we have given our products to and they are quite excited”, he said, pointing out the geographical spread of the initiative which, he added, is aimed at complementing government’s efforts to alleviate hunger.

Ashiwaju expressed the belief that the present economic situation would improve soon. I am certain that in no time the economic situation would improve because I know what it is when you have to think about what you have to eat and think about the children as well. It is a difficult time, and we know that tough times don’t last but tough people will do. That’s our prayer at Dufil Prima Foods Ltd”,­ he said.

He commended the Pink Food Bank Foundation team led by its Project Manager, Stephen Oluwadara, for being worthy partners in Indomie’s quest to put smiles on the faces of vulnerable Nigerians and raise their hopes for the future. He also applauded beneficiaries for the orderly way they conducted themselves during the distribution exercise.

One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Janet Emmanuel expressed her delight and gratitude at the gesture from Dufil Prima Foods. “I’m very happy and grateful for this gift from Indomie. I love to eat Indomie but the current economic situation has depleted my finances. So, this donation will go a long way in helping me and my family.”

The undersigned media ORGANISATIONS, media associations and professional bodies as well as civil society organisations wish to express our deep concern and strong condemnation regarding the recent unlawful arrest, detention, brutalisation and torture of Mr. Segun Olatunji, Editor of FirstNews newspapers by military personnel in response to stories published by the media outlet.

We hereby demand a speedy, public, transparent and independent investigation into this act of barbarism displayed by military personnel as well as the brazen disregard for the Constitution and the Government’s obligations under relevant domestic laws and international instruments.

We further demand that all persons within and outside the military who are found to have been connected with this unacceptable violation of the rights of the journalist and the Constitution, including those who effected Mr. Olatunji’s arrest, detention and torture, those who directly commanded them, and those who ordered or instigated the action, should be prosecuted before the appropriate court and punished to the full extent of the Law.

The Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), who commands the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye, reportedly ordered the operation that culminated in Mr. Olatunji’s abduction, torture, and detention while the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, to whom the CDI reports, was also reportedly aware of the operation but joined the CDI to claim for days that the journalist was not in their custody. They need to be held accountable for their roles in the matter.

Armed men wearing military uniforms and who introduced themselves as military personnel from the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Air Force and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), led by a military officer who also introduced himself as Colonel Lawal, invaded Mr. Olatunji’s home in a Lagos suburb on March 15, 2024, seized Olatunji’s mobile phone, handcuffed and bundled him in one of their vehicles and flown, blindfolded to Abuja where he was kept in an underground cell for 14 days.

Stripped to his boxers, legs manacled, hands in cuffs, kept incommunicado and not informed of his offence or the reason for his arrest nor of his rights as required by Law, as guaranteed under the Constitution, Olatunji was only released on March 29, 2024.

He was repeatedly interrogated about stories published by FirstNews in the absence of a legal practitioner of his choice because he was not given the opportunity to consult a lawyer. His mobile phone was also unlawfully searched in an effort by his abductors to ascertain the sources of the stories published by the news outlet.

Given the above, we unequivocally condemn this gestapo-like, unlawful and unconstitutional treatment of a journalist under a constitutional democracy simply for doing his job and therefore demand that:

* The Federal Government conducts a speedy, public, transparent and independent investigation into the incident in order identify all persons within and outside the military who were connected with the violation of Mr. Olatunji’s rights;

* There should be full accountability for all those responsible. Therefore, all persons within and outside the military who are found to have been connected with the incident, including those who effected Mr. Olatunji’s arrest, detention and torture, those who directly commanded them, and those who ordered or instigated the action, should be prosecuted before the appropriate court;

* In accordance with Section 35(6) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Federal Government should pay Mr. Olatunji substantial compensation and issue a public apology to him for the unlawful and unconstitutional violation of his rights as well as the inhuman and degrading treatment to which he was subjected; and

* The Federal Government should make an unequivocal public commitment to respect and defend the rights and freedoms of journalists and other media practitioners to carry out their professional duties in a safe and conducive environment in accordance with Sections 22 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and advise all law enforcement, security, intelligence, military and other agencies accordingly.

* Advised any member of the public, dissatisfied or feel the content in a news medium directly affects or involves him or her unfairly, to approach the National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC) (The National Media Ombudsman) for redress, rather than engage in self-help

Should the Federal Government fail to respond positively to all these demands within 14 days from today, the undersigned media associations and professional bodies as well as civil society organisations will pursue all available mechanisms at the national, regional and international levels to ensure compliance with our demands.

• Mallam Kabiru A. Yusuf

President, Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) / President, Nigerian Press Organisations (NPO)

• Yemisi Bamgbose

Executive Secretary, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON)

Eze Anaba, President, Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE)

• Comrade Chris Isiguzo

National President, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ)

• Maureen Chigbo

President, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP)

• Musikilu Mojeed

President, International Press Institute, Nigeria Chapter (IPI Nigeria)

• Edetaen Ojo

Executive Director, Media Rights Agenda (MRA)

• Lanre Arogundade

Executive Director, International Press Centre (IPC)

• Adetokunbo Mumuni

Director, Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP)

L-R: City Adviser, Lagos, C40 Cities, Maximus Ugwuoke; Representative of the Honourable Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Lagos State, Adepeju Balogun-Awe; Representative of the Honourable Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Lagos State, and General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Dr. Babatunde Ajayi; Comedian, Content Creator and social media influencer, Maryam Apaokagi, (aka Taaooma); Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Olakunle Rotimi Akodu; and Deputy Director, Head of Climate Change and Environmental Planning Department, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Lagos, Bankole Michael Omoniyi, at the unveiling  of ‘Taaooma’ as the official campaign influencer for Lagos Youth Climate Campaign held in Lagos.

In order to implement wholistically its Climate Action Plan, which was launched in July 2021, the Lagos State Government, in collaboration with C40 Cities and with support from the United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), has launched the ‘Lagos Youth Climate Campaign.’

The initiative started with a climate change workshop deliberately organised to involve the youth segment of the society in the fight to restore the environment and engage this important segment of society to tackle the climate crisis.

The event also witnessed the unveiling of popular comedienne, content creator and social media influencer, Maryam Apaokagi (aka Taaooma), as one of the social media influencers who will drive the State’s climate action plan of the ‘Lagos Youth Climate Campaign.’

Speaking at the workshop themed “Lagos Youth United for Climate Action, the Honourable Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, who was represented by the General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Dr. Babatunde Ajayi, praised the youth for championing the cause. He thanked Taaooma for supporting this effort.

“Globally, youths are known to be very disruptive. The youths are champions of any revolution. Any idea that you intend to propagate, and you want to get traction you must take it to the youths.”

The Commissioner noted that new media will be used more to drive the key messaging and awareness of the climate crisis campaign. “Every kind of communication that is necessary to propagate this agenda will be deployed. There will be skits, infographics, and a lot of other things will be used all in a bid to ensure that we have proper climate action and be deliberate in reaching the bedrock of our society”.

He opined that Lagos State, across board, is very inclined to making sure that these messages are passed across by propagating inter-agency integration. “More than ever, the current administration led by the Governor of Lagos State Babajide Sanwo-Olu is keen on ensuring very efficient climate change action for Lagos. We have started, and we are focused on achieving it all” he said.

In his comment, the Special Adviser on Environment, Olakunle Rotimi Akodu, said the ‘T.H.E.M.E.S Plus’ Agenda is focused strategically on the youths saying, Mr. Governor realised the need to focus more on the youths in his second term and that is why the ‘Plus’ was introduced into the agenda.

With the ‘Plus’ of course we now have ‘social inclusion’, ‘gender equality’ and ‘the Youth’ as priority. And so, Taaooma is very popular among the youths, she has good records and comes clean with her contents, no scandals. She is a social media giant, and we trust her ability to carry the youth along. We considered she deserves to drive the policy for us,”. Akodu emphasised.

On his part, the Lagos City Adviser, C40 Cities, Maximus Ugwuoke, highlighted the significance of the partnership with Lagos State Government. “Lagos as part of our C40 Cities network is showing the light to other cities all across Nigeria on how to prioritize climate action and that essentially is part of the reasons why we have continued to partner with Lagos”.

“We have supported Lagos to develop a climate action plan that is aligned with the Paris Agreement, and we have continued supporting with its Implementation through the generous support of our funders FCDO, through the Urban Climate Action Programme, because you will understand that it is not enough to develop a plan without implementation. Thus, C40 is supporting Lagos in implementing actions around energy, waste, and of course mainstreaming because if you are familiar with Lagos environment you will know that waste management, energy and transportation are the emission hotspots so, we are supporting them to make sure that they implement action to reduce greenhouse gas carbon emissions through those sources”. We are also supporting the city to mainstream climate action through a strategy and action plan aimed at bringing all MDAs together to ensure that climate action is embedded and prioritized in their policies, plans and budgetary allocations.

The youth programme for example is part of the strategy to engage the youths into taking proactive actions to address the issue of the climate emergency in Lagos.”

Lagos is a pioneer member of C40 Cities, a global network of the world’s leading cities that are united in action to confront the issues of the climate crisis and sustainable environmental practices demonstrating its leadership and commitment to climate change and a sustainable environment, which aligns with the ‘T.H.E.M.E.S Plus’ Agenda of Lagos State.

About C40 Cities 

C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities working to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis and create a future where everyone, everywhere, can thrive. Mayors of C40 cities are committed to using a science-based and people-focused approach to help the world limit global heating to 1.5°C and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities. We work alongside a broad coalition of representatives from labour, business, the youth climate movement and civil society to support mayors to halve emissions by 2030 and help phase out fossil use while increasing urban climate resilience and equity.

The current co-chairs of C40 are Mayor Sadiq Khan of London, United Kingdom, and Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, Sierra Leone; three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board. C40’s work is made possible by our three strategic funders: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Realdania.