Tag Archives: Bites

Baby Traffickers Thriving In Nigeria As Recession Bites- Report

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As 16-year-old Maria strained under the anguish of labor in southeastern Nigeria, a midwife repeatedly slapped her across the face – but the real ordeal began minutes after birth.

“The nurse took my child away to be washed. She never brought her back,” the teenager said, gazing down at her feet.

Maria said she learned her newborn daughter had been given up for adoption for which she received 20,000 naira ($65.79) – the same price as a 50 kilogram bag of rice.

And Maria is far from alone.

A Thomson Reuters Foundation investigative team spoke to more than 10 Nigerian women duped into giving up their newborns to strangers in houses known as “baby factories” in the past two years or offered babies whose origins were unknown.

Five women did not want to be interviewed, despite the guarantee of anonymity, fearing for their own safety with criminal gangs involved in the baby trade, while two men spoke of being paid to act as “studs” to get women pregnant.

Although statistics are hard to come by, campaigners say the sale of newborns is widespread – and they fear the illegal trade is becoming more prevalent with Nigeria heading into recession this year amid ongoing political turbulence.

“The government is too overstretched by other issues to focus on baby trafficking,” said Arinze Orakwue, head of public enlightenment at the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

Record numbers of baby factories were raided or closed down in the southeastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo this year, NAPTIP said.

A total of 14 were discovered in the first nine months of 2016, up from six in 2015 and 10 in 2014, the data showed.

But despite the growing number of raids, the scam exploiting couples desperate for a baby and young, pregnant, single women continues with newborns sold for up to $5,000 in Africa’s most populous nation where most people live on less than $2 a day.

Cultural barriers are also a factor in the West African nation, with teenage girls fearing they will be publicly shamed by strict fathers or partners over unwanted pregnancies if they do not give up their children, experts say.

“In southeastern Nigeria a woman is deemed a failure if she fails to conceive. But it is also taboo for a teenager to fall pregnant out of wedlock,” said Orakwue.

Maria said in the home in Imo state where she gave birth pregnant teenagers were welcomed by a maternal nurse who liked to be called “mama” but went on to sell the babies they delivered.

“(After I gave birth) somebody told me that mama collected big money from people before giving them other people’s babies,” Maria told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in the grounds of a school compound in her village.

“I do not know where my baby is now,” said Maria, using a false name for her own protection.

A lot of the trade is carried out in Nigeria but authorities suspect babies are also sold to people from Europe and the United States because many foreigners continue to seek infants there despite the controversy around Nigerian adoptions.

Read More: reuters

Banks To Close Branches As Recession Bites Hard

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A number of Deposit Money Banks in the country will close many of what they described as unprofitable branches as the economic recession continues to bite harder, investigation by our correspondent has shown.

It was similarly gathered that most of the banks would lay off hundreds of workers between now and December.

The revelation came barely 24 hours after Unity Bank Plc laid off about 300 workers, more than the 220 that was mentioned last week.

Diamond Bank Plc, Ecobank and Skye Bank Plc had earlier in the year sacked over 3,000 members of their workforce.

It was learnt that following the economic downturn in the country, a number of bank branches could no longer justify their existence as cost analysis had shown that the financial institutions were spending more on salaries and overheads than the income from the branches.

Some top bank executives, who confirmed the development to our correspondent under the condition of anonymity on Monday, said some lenders might be forced to relieve more workers of their duties before the end of this year.

An executive director in one of the banks that recently asked some of its workers to go said, “We have laid off some of our staff members but that it still not enough. Many branches are just existing for the sake of being there. They are not generating enough income. What they are bringing in is far less than what the bank is incurring as costs on them.

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http://punchng.com/banks-close-branches-recession-bites-hard/

Airlines May Ground Flights As Fuel Scarcity Bites Harder- Report

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Airline operators have urged passengers to expect more delays or cancelled flights as the scarcity of aviation fuel, known as Jet A1, bites harder, adding that scheduled operations may stop altogether, unless more fuel is delivered in the next few days.

Since last week, domestic airlines have faced severe challenges sourcing aviation fuel for their scheduled flights.

It was gathered yesterday that Total, a major supplier of the product, imported two ships of aviation fuel, but was directed to wait until the ships with petrol were discharged. The consequence is that the scarcity of aviation fuel would linger for some time.

In response to the scarcity, foreign airlines have devised means of fuelling their aircraft outside Nigeria and only top up on arrival in the country.

It was learnt that as a result of this, many passengers might not be accompanied on their flights by their luggage, as the foreign airlines are forced to drop the luggage in order to carry more fuel, much to yhe displeasure of passengers when they arrive their destinations.

 “BA takes fuel from London and sometimes they stop in Malta so to avoid refuelling in Nigeria, even though they have a supply contract.

“The other day, Air France came to Abuja and met with Total. They normally take about 60,000 litres, but they asked for 20,000 litres, which is like a top up. That is what most foreign airlines are doing now,” an inside source said.

Another challenge the airlines are facing is the delay in trucking the product from Apapa, which could last for hours and when it arrives the airport, airlines would wait for another two hours for the product to settle so that contaminants would not get into the aircraft tanks.

Credit: Thisday

Python Bites Boy While He Sleeps

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A little boy has been bitten and attacked by a python while asleep at home in the Australian town of Macksville.

Six-year-old Tyler Thurgood screamed with fear as the three-metre carpet python curled itself around him bit him several times on his face and hand.

Mum Tamara described how she ran into the boy’s room and tore the snake from her child.

“It was like a nightmare,” she told the Nambucca Heads, the local newspaper for the New South Wales town.

“It was a terrifying scream and I didn’t know what had happened – I certainly didn’t think it involved a snake.

“I have no idea how it even got into the house.

“I tried to pull Tyler from the bed but he didn’t come with me … I had to roll him, then pull.

“I saw his face and the blood and his eyes were still closed so I don’t think he was fully awake.

“I tried to check him over but he wouldn’t let me touch him anywhere.”

Relatives arrived at the home soon after and killed the snake, while Ms Thurgood took her son to hospital – he was released the same day.

“Tyler doesn’t remember anything – which is the best part,” Tamara said.

“He was only complaining about his finger hurting. He tapped his head on the way to hospital and he asked me why he was bleeding.

“He wouldn’t know that a snake had bitten him if we hadn’t told him or if people hadn’t been talking about it.”

A local reptile handler said it was the first time he had heard of such an incident, despite having worked with snakes for more than 10 years.

Another expert said it was possible the python had gone for the child, not realising how big he really was.

Credit: Yahoo

Fuel Scarcity Bites Harder Despite N407bn Subsidy Payment

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Fuel queues continue to mount in many parts of the country despite the recent payment of N407 billion subsidy claims to marketers.
The queues are worsening in Abuja, Kano and many states, both in the north and south of the country.
Nigerians intending to travel home for the Christmas and New Year celebrations have started to voice concerns about the lingering fuel shortages.
In states like Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Nasarawa, River, Enugu and Niger, petrol is sold above the government regulated price of N87 per litre.
The federal government had last week released N407 billion as subsidy to oil marketers. Before the payment, the marketers attributed the scarcity to non-release of the fund but there has been no respite for motorists as the long queues continue in most filling stations, indicating that Nigerians may spend the Christmas searching for petrol.
In Abuja, there were long queues of vehicles yesterday at the Conoil and Total filling stations opposite the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) headquarters at the Central Area, leading to obstruction of traffic. Similar scenes were observed at all other fuel stations that dispensed the product within Abuja city centre and suburbs.