The Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill scaled through its second reading at the Senate on January 30, 2008 with most Senators expressing their support for the proposed Law. At the commencement of proceedings, Senator Teslim Folarin, the Senate Leader, introduced the Bill on the floor of the Senate and asked that Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), the lead sponsor of the Bill be allowed to lead the debates on the Bill.

The New York based freedom of expression group, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has written to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua urging him to probe and unravel the deaths and disappearances of five Nigerian journalists since 1986. The letter signed by CPJ’s Executive Director, Joel Simon, listed Godwin Agbroko, Omololu Falobi, Bagauda Kaltho, Chinedu Offoaro, and Dele Giwa as the cases it wants the President to get the police to unravel.

In a recent publication, a member of the Nigerian Senate and Committee Chairperson on Women and Youth, Senator Eme Ufot Ekaette, admitted that she has presented to the National Assembly for discussion and eventual ratification into law a Bill against indecent dressing in the country. She spoke to the press recently noting that indecent dressing amongst Nigerians has continued to promote all manner of vices in the society. She claims that the Bill she is proposing will address issues of indecency and immorality and that she aims for the preservation of cultural norms and values.

A few days after villagers in Kedere in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region noticed oil seeping from the pipe that runs beside the village, a few boys from the village went out with shovels, dug pits a few feet deep, scooped the oil into the ground and burned it, finally covering it with sand. “During the dry season, it looks nice,” Anyakwee Nsirimovu, director of the Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Port Harcourt, told IRIN, describing the simple process which he said is a common spill clean-up tactic in the region.

Reporters Without Borders notes that Sam Asowata, the chairman of the board of the Abuja-based independent weekly Fresh Facts, was released on 29 January, two days after being arrested over an article accusing the governor of the southeastern state of Akwa Ibom of corruption. The state of Akwa Ibom said it was withdrawing its libel suit “to reinforce relations with the media.” Essien Ewoh, Fresh Facts’ distributor in Akwa Ibom, is still held. He was arrested on 24 January.

Edem Children Foundation (ECF) is a Child’s Rights NGO working in Southern Nigeria. Our work focuses on reducing violence against children and young people, reducing the incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS on orphans and vulnerable children, as well as mother-to-child empowerment opportunities. Application Period: January 14th to March 14th, 2008. Duration of Volunteerism: 3 to 6 months

Tiophelis spends his days running. He won't say exactly where, but, like hundreds of other boys and men in the creeks of Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region, he is constantly on the move for fear of attacks by the Nigerian military. The soft-spoken boy’s voice cracks over the phone - Tiophelis refuses to meet in person. He is a militant, a member of one of countless groups that claim to be fighting for freedom from poverty, underdevelopment, and political oppression for the people in the Niger Delta region.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has said he supports ending immunity from prosecution for top political office holders in one of the world's most corrupt countries, although he has given no timetable to do so. Nigeria's 1999 constitution, written under military rule just before a transition to democracy, grants immunity to the president and vice president of Africa's biggest oil exporter, as well as the 36 state governors, while they are in office.

The Network of People living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) is the umbrella body that coordinates and administers all organizations, associations and support groups of persons living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. NEPWHAN is inviting applications from qualified candidates for the position of Project Accountant. All applications must be received by the 27th of January.

The TUC General Council, expresses shock and outrage at the brutal murder of Mr Alhaji Saula Saka, Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on 6 January 2008. Our information is that Mr Saka was shot at his home in Iyana Ipaja on the evening of 6 January 2008 by four men and that he succumbed to his injuries at the Lagos State University Hospital in Ikeja at 9.30pm. Mr Saka's brother is of the view that his death was directly linked to his trade union leadership.

This is the full report of the conference “Promoting Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Nigeria” which held on the 21 November, 2007 at the University of Calabar Hotel and Conference Centre, Calabar, Nigeria. The conference was organized by the Community Research and Development Centre (CREDC), with support from the Global Greengrants Funds (GGF) and the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) to create awareness on renewable energy and energy efficiency in Nigeria; and to enhance stakeholders’ capacity to advocate for renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The success of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme which aims to provide free education to every child in Nigeria caused the number of primary school leavers to more than double in 2007, creating a backlog that the secondary education system is struggling to cope with. Over 49,000 children in the northern Nigeria city of Kano who completed primary school in 2006 and wish to attend secondary school may not be admitted due to a severe shortage of trained teachers and classrooms.

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) is a civil society organisation that is committed to good governance, human rights promotion and development in the West Africa sub-region. The Centre notes with concern dangerous signals emanating from the Presidency as it relates to the steady and continuous decline of the fight against corruption in Nigeria. Since the inauguration of the government of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on 29 May 2007, the administration has consistently proclaimed the respect for the rule of law and due process as its anchor point.

Recently, I was involved in getting prosecuted a man who raped a ten-year-old girl in Imo state in Southern Nigeria. In the course of this, I visited several police stations in Southeastern Nigeria where I met, interacted and encountered various police officers. And I must say that I was deeply shocked and disappointed by what I saw-by what I noticed going on at the police stations in the name of police work.

"The Federal Government policy to stop gas flaring commences on Jan. 1, 2008, and any company which flares gas after that time would be shut down." This was the strong warning from the Nigerian government in October last year to multinational oil companies operating in the country. Gas flaring continued in 2008 in defiance of the Nigerian government’s warning that the act would not be tolerated in the new year.

Nigerian anti-corruption agents have issued an arrest warrant for an eighth former governor. Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State is accused of stealing more than $24m (£12m) through three front companies. Seven other governors have so far been charged with corruption by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Amnesty International has revealed that secret executions have taken place in Nigeria’s prisons. Despite the country’s recent assurances that no one has been executed there “in years”, Amnesty International has uncovered evidence of at least seven executions in the last two years. It is feared that more may have taken place.

Umaru Yar'Adua has been in charge of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and biggest oil producer, for six months and is already struggling against endemic corruption and political infighting. Most observers agree that Yar'Adua, a Muslim from northern Nigeria, is well-intentioned and more sincere than his predecessor, military man Olusegun Obasanjo. They also agree that he lacks the clout and decisiveness of Obasanjo

At least six people have been killed and 30 critically injured since clashes between Muslim and Christian communities in the north-central Nigerian city of Bauchi broke out on 11 December, Red Cross workers and residents said. Some 3,000 people have fled their homes in the area of the fighting, witnesses said. The government has ordered a 9pm to 6am curfew and closed the local university, which has often been the site of violent clashes.

In a welcome centre in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, a small finger traces the words of an English text book; a young voice struggles to pronounce the words. Ruth is 13 years old and only in grade 3. But for her, this is a major achievement. At the age of five, Ruth was trafficked from her village in southern Nigeria to Gabon, further south on the Gulf of Guinea. For years of her life, she never attended school.