The Women in Energy Network (WIEN) on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, outlined a bold, future-focused agenda at a pre-AGM media briefing in Lagos, placing emphasis on building a sustainable talent pipeline, reshaping policy conversations, and redefining the role of women across Nigeria’s rapidly evolving energy value chain.
Ahead of its 2025 Annual General Meeting scheduled for November 25, WIEN’s leadership highlighted how the organisation is shifting from simply creating opportunities for women to actively engineering pathways that connect young girls, early-career professionals, and senior executives into a cohesive ecosystem of advancement.
L-R: Alternate Chair, WIEN 2025 Electoral Committee, Mrs. Nneka Obi; President, Mrs. Eyono Fatayi-Williams; Executive Secretary, Mrs. Asanimo Omezei; and Vice President, Upstream, Mrs. Ifeoma Ukabiala, at the Pre-2025 AGM Media Parley on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, in Lagos
WIEN President, Eyono Fatayi-Williams, said the network’s growth – now surpassing 1,008 lifetime members – signals not only expanded reach but a deepening commitment to structural influence.
“We’re no longer just participating in the energy sector – we are shaping it,” she told journalists. “From policy tables to international stages, WIEN has become a strategic voice advocating for the future of Nigeria’s energy workforce.”
A significant theme emerging from the briefing was WIEN’s intentional focus on the full talent spectrum, beginning with STEM education in primary and secondary schools.
WIEN Executive Secretary, Asanimo Omezi, outlined how the network is cultivating tomorrow’s female engineers, having reached more than 500 girls in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Rivers State through hands-on STEM initiatives, mentorship engagements, and NLNG-supported outreach.
“Our philosophy is simple: if girls don’t enter STEM early, they don’t enter the energy workforce at all,” Omezi said.
The organisation is now developing a coordinated STEM impact framework – designed to align what schools need, what corporations can support, and what the sector demands by 2026.
Beyond STEM, WIEN expanded opportunities for emerging professionals with the WINs IWD Career Fair in Lagos and Port Harcourt, linking young women and collegiate members to employers such as Aradel Holdings and major regulatory bodies.
Corporate engagement also deepened, with WIEN welcoming TotalEnergies as its first International Oil Company member – a signal that gender inclusion is becoming a priority for top-tier industry players.
Another strategic front where WIEN is asserting influence is national policy engagement.
The network contributed at the NCDMB Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum, where discussions on Nigeria’s energy transition, local content strategy, and regulatory bottlenecks are increasingly shaping the sector’s direction.
WIEN’s role, Fatayi-Williams noted, is “not to observe policies – but to help inform them.”
The network also introduced the ETE Taxation Platform to help women-led energy businesses improve compliance – a barrier that often limits growth and access to opportunities.
Through strengthened structuring and the creation of sub-sector committees, WIEN is tailoring support to the realities of each energy segment.
WIEN Vice President (Upstream), Ifeoma Ukabiala, emphasised that while midstream and downstream sectors are seeing gradual improvements in female representation, upstream still requires deliberate, sector-wide effort.
“Upstream roles demand visibility, confidence, and sponsorship,” she said. “Women don’t just need opportunities – they need champions advocating for them in spaces they are not yet present.”
She called for mindset shifts among both men and women, stressing that confidence and sponsorship often determine who advances.
The Intergenerational Rescue Foundation (IRF) has called for innovation to tackle Nigeria’s rising food crisis.
The foundation made the call at Agroween 2025: Agroween Recognition Awards (ARA) 2025; Food, Agriculture, and Innovation Festival, held on Tuesday, November 25, in Lagos.
Hunger and worsening food insecurity dominated discussions as the convener and experts called for urgent, community-driven and innovative solutions.
Dignitaries at the Agroween Recognition Awards (ARA) 2025
Mrs. Bimbola Aghahowa, IRF Chief Operating Officer, said hunger had become one of the world’s most pressing development challenges, with socioeconomic pressures often blamed on individuals instead of deeper governance failures and structural inequalities.
She cited FAO data showing 690 million people were hungry globally in 2020, adding that Nigeria remains among the worst affected, with about 50 million citizens facing severe food insecurity.
Aghahowa said hunger levels reached about 30 per cent in Lagos and as high as 40–50 per cent in parts of northern Nigeria.
She stressed the need for stronger collaboration among citizens, institutions and government.
She noted that the COVID-19 pandemic showed how quickly a health crisis could escalate into hunger, inspiring community interventions such as Agroween’s research-driven programmes and its “Food Not for Sale” food-rights framework.
According to her, Agroween promotes food as a universal human right rather than a commodity, running food pantries, composting workshops, research projects and its Rent-A-Lot farming scheme to strengthen community access and resilience.
Delivering a keynote address, Prof. Vide Adedayo, called for a radical shift in Nigeria’s food-production approach, insisting that traditional farming methods alone cannot meet rising demand or withstand climate and economic pressures.
Adedayo said food security requires availability, affordability, safety and access, warning that fragmented policies, climate shocks, low innovation, insecurity, labour shortages and post-harvest waste continue worsening Nigeria’s food system outcomes.
She noted that Nigeria wastes between 40 and 50 per cent of its produced food, even as millions struggle with hunger.
She added that agricultural exports from Nigeria suffer frequent rejection due to poor safety standards.
She urged Nigeria to embrace innovation such as digital tools, renewable energy, precision farming, indigenous knowledge systems and circular-economy practices to strengthen resilience and prepare for future population growth.
In his welcome address, Prof. Samuel Adejoh, Head of Social Work, UNILAG, said food insecurity is also a social-justice and national-security issue requiring long-term community empowerment and policy reforms.
Adejoh said Africa accounts for nearly one-third of global food-insecure persons, with Nigeria recording over 120 million food-insecure citizens and millions experiencing acute hunger across rural and urban communities.
He urged social workers, institutions and development partners to build innovative models that strengthen livelihoods, empower households and reduce dependency on relief-based interventions.
Stakeholders at a panel session agreed that Nigeria must adopt sustainable practices, strengthen collaboration and prioritise food equity to ensure that no citizen goes hungry in the face of mounting socioeconomic and climate pressures.
They reaffirmed commitment to building a just food system where innovation drives access, community participation improves resilience, and food is ultimately available not for sale, but for all Nigerians.
The climax of the event was the Agroween Recognition Award given to Prof. Desmond Majekodunmi, Prof. Vide Adedayo and Mrs. Funke Egbemode, to mention but a few.
The event also had compost training and workshop for students from various secondary schools.
The NNPC/Heirs Energies OML 17 Joint Venture (JV) has achieved what looks like a major breakthrough with the innovative, rigless recompletion of a key non-associated gas well in OML 17. This pioneering intervention – said to be the first of its kind in Nigeria – has doubled the JV’s gas output to a peak of 135 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d), delivering a significant boost to domestic gas supply and strengthening the nation’s energy security.
This significant production increase has transformed power generation across the eastern network. Transcorp PLC – TransAfam Power, one of Nigeria’s leading power generation plants, has quadrupled its output, rising from an average of 50 megawatts to more than 180 megawatts, with peaks of 200 megawatts.
Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Energies, Mr. Osa Igiehon
Other power plants also supplied by the network, including First Independent Power Limited (FIPL) and Geometric Power, have also recorded more stable operations and higher generation.
In total, the power plants now receiving gas from the Joint Venture have seen combined output surge from around 100 megawatts to more than 350 megawatts. This increased power generation provides enough energy to power hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses – reducing blackouts, supporting hospitals, and schools, and keeping factories, small enterprises, and critical infrastructure running.
The operation has already drawn high-level recognition. Mrs Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, wrote to Heirs Energies CEO Osa Igiehon: “I congratulate the entire Heirs Energies team on this remarkable achievement, which is a testament to the strength of Nigerian engineering expertise and the value of persistent technical innovation.”
She added: “Please be assured of my continued support as you expand your operation across the energy sector, unlocking additional oil and gas resources to power homes, industries and commercial activities nationwide.”
The Well at the centre of this success had previously been shut in due to excessive water production. Rather than drilling a new well or undertaking a conventional workover, Heirs Energies engineered a rigless through-tubing recompletion into an untapped reservoir interval. Completed safely, in record time, and at just 15% of the cost of drilling a new Well, the operation sets a new standard for rigless solutions in Nigeria’s upstream sector.
Udy Ntia, Executive Vice President, Upstream, NNPC Ltd, said: “This innovative intervention demonstrates NNPC’s strong commitment to unlocking the nation’s gas resources in support of national development. The performance of the NNPC/Heirs Energies OML 17 Joint Venture shows the power of partnership, disciplined execution, and innovation in driving substantial value for Nigeria.”
Seyi Omotowa, Chief Upstream Investment Officer, NUIMS, added: “This project reflects NUIMS’ strategic focus on safe, efficient, and value-driven upstream operations. It is a model for the type of innovative solutions required to optimise Nigeria’s hydrocarbon assets.”
The NNPC/Heirs Energies OML 17 Joint Venture continues to advance gas-focused, innovation-driven developments, aiming to expand domestic gas supply, strengthen electricity generation, build local capacity, and support broader economic and industrial growth. This latest success reinforces the JV’s commitment to delivering energy that powers homes, industries, and national prosperity.
Osa Igiehon, Chief Executive Officer, Heirs Energies, said: “This milestone is another testament to Heirs Energies’ leading capabilities in managing brownfields. The ingenuity, thoroughness, and resilience of our 100% Nigerian workforce made this possible. We remain committed to supporting Nigeria’s gas-to-power agenda through innovation-led, responsible, and performance-driven upstream operations.”
Heirs Energies Limited describes itself as “Africa’s leading indigenous-owned integrated energy company, committed to meeting Africa’s unique energy needs while aligning with global sustainability goals”.
The Fourth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade of Tobacco Products has concluded with a series of decisions to strengthen measures on international cooperation.
The Protocol was developed in response to the global issue of illegal trade in tobacco products. Independent estimates suggest that illicit trade accounts for some 11% of the global tobacco market, and that its elimination could bolster global tax revenues by around $47.4 billion annually.
Representatives from 60 Parties participated in the deliberations from November 24 to 26, 2025, in Geneva. Topics included measures to strengthen the implementation of international cooperation in combating illicit trade, mechanisms of assistance and mobilisation of financial resources to support implementation of the Protocol, licensing, and measures to control the supply chain of tobacco products.
Andrew Black, Acting Head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC
“The Protocol is more than a treaty – it is a framework for coordinated action that equips Parties with tools to slam the door on illicit trade,” said Andrew Black, Acting Head of the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
“Illicit trade in tobacco products is not a victimless crime. It robs governments of vital resources, undermines public health, and erodes the foundations of sustainable development. It fuels corruption, money laundering and organised crime. we cannot allow those who profit from illicit trade in tobacco to escape justice.”
“We are thankful to all the Parties for their cooperation and collaboration during the MOP negotiations.”
Parties adopted a decision that calls on the Convention Secretariat to undertake, in coordination with the World Customs Organisation and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, an exercise to map existing data on seizures of tobacco, tobacco products and manufacturing equipment. This will be used to inform decision-making on tackling illicit trade.
Parties agreed to set up a working group on evidence-based research, and to promote exchange of experiences of control measures, best practices, related case studies, technology and capacity building.
A second working group was established to identify good practice, and to prepare a report on effective mechanisms for strengthening assistance and cooperation on investigation and prosecution of offences.
A decision was also adopted inviting Parties to intensify efforts to monitor and collect licence fees; these may be levied and used to support the effective administration and enforcement of the licensing system, or for public health or other related activities. Parties were also urged to cooperate with each other and through competent international and regional organisations to provide training, technical assistance and cooperation in implementation of licensing-related measures.
Finally, it was announced that Vanuatu is the latest country to join the Protocol, becoming its 71st Party.
The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is an international treaty adopted under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). It was adopted by consensus on November 12, 2012, at the Fifth session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
The Protocol builds upon and complements Article 15 of the WHO FCTC, which addresses means of countering illicit trade in tobacco products – a key aspect of a comprehensive tobacco control policy.
Stakeholders in peace-building, humanitarian, and development sectors in Sokoto State have stressed the urgent need to integrate climate-sensitive approaches into conflict resolution strategies.
The stakeholders agreed on the strategy during the inaugural meeting of Sokoto State Project Steering Committee for the Powering Peace through Climate Action II (PPCA) Project on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, in Sokoto.
The initiative is being led by International Alert Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation, with financial and technical support from Irish Aid.
Participants at the inaugural meeting of Sokoto State Project Steering Committee for the Powering Peace through Climate Action II (PPCA) Project
Participants noted that climate-sensitive conflict approaches prioritised understanding the links between climate change and conflict, enabling policymakers to address both issues effectively and prevent escalation in vulnerable communities.
They added that adopting climate-sensitive adaptation strategies could mitigate climate-related conflicts, promote sustainable peace, enhance development, and strengthen resilience in communities most affected by climate impacts.
The District Head of Gagi, Alhaji Sani Umar-Jabbi, emphasised the importance of a joint strategy addressing climate and conflict challenges at national, state, and community levels for a coordinated response.
Umar-Jabbi urged conflict-sensitive policymaking that recognised the root causes of conflict and responded proactively, noting that climate change exacerbated gender-based violence, poverty, social decay, and declining educational standards.
The Special Adviser to Gov. Ahmad Aliyu on donor agencies, Malam Shehu Gwaranyo, commended International Alert for the project and reiterated the state government’s commitment to addressing climate change as a global challenge.
Gwaranyo stressed that tackling climate impacts required coordinated action by government, civil society, international partners, and citizens to achieve lasting solutions and sustainable development outcomes.
Senior Project Officer for International Alert, Mr. Sanusi Audu, said the meeting united stakeholders to discuss insecurity challenges facing Sokoto, highlighting that climate change was drying grazing areas, reducing farming productivity, and threatening food security.
Audu explained that reduced resources created competition among occupational groups, such as herders and farmers, escalating conflicts across the country, which were mostly resource-based in nature.
He added that addressing insecurity without considering climate drivers would allow underlying issues to fester, making climate-sensitive approaches essential for long-term peace, stability, and sustainable development in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd. have strengthened collaboration to boost the security of the nation’s critical oil and gas infrastructure.
This followed a courtesy visit by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Bayo Ojulari, in Abuja.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, in Abuja.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Aneke (left), with the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Bayo Ojulari
Aneke said that securing pipelines, flow stations, offshore platforms and other key assets was vital to Nigeria’s economic stability and central to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the NAF remained committed to supporting NNPC to curb oil theft, protect investments and enhance national revenue.
The CAS said improved synergy among security agencies had already reduced oil theft, adding that the Air Force was scaling up its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations to detect and counter emerging threats.
He also highlighted NAF’s strengthened maritime security posture, noting that aligning operations with NNPC’s priorities would ensure uninterrupted energy supply and increased production.
Aneke reaffirmed the NAF’s resolve to support NNPC in protecting national resources and tackling criminal networks undermining the country’s energy sector.
Responding, Ojulari commended the NAF for its sustained support, saying the renewed partnership was crucial to boosting energy security, stabilising production and improving the safety of industry operations.
He assured that NNPC would expand cooperation with the Air Force in intelligence sharing, joint planning and the deployment of modern security technology across vulnerable assets.
At dawn in early October, in Itasin, Ogun State, Neye Afolabi set out for his farm, just a short walk from his home. But before he could begin tending his crops, a herd of elephants emerged from the forest and trampled through his farmland.
“I could not work on my farm this morning because of elephants,” he said. “I ran away and was watching them from afar. I waited for about an hour, hoping that they would leave so I could do my day’s work. They did not leave. Instead, they were busy destroying it and eating my crops.”
Many residents of Itasin, a rural community in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, have either had their farms destroyed, been physically attacked, or narrowly escaped encounters with elephants that wander in from the nearby forest reserve. The conflict is largely driven by illegal farming and commercial logging inside the reserve, which has pushed some elephants into surrounding communities and disrupted the habitat for those that remain.
A camera trap photo of an African Forest Elephant at the Omo Forest in Ogun State, Nigeria. Photo credit: World Conservation Society (WCS) Nigeria
Established in 1925, Omo Forest became Nigeria’s first United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserve in 1977. It is a rainforest home to rare and endangered species, including an estimated 100 African forest elephants, white-throated guenons, 125 bird species, and more than 200 tree species, along with various butterfly populations. Satellite data from the University of Maryland shows that the forest lost more than 7 per cent of its tree cover between 2001 and 2018.
On July 28, Yaya Musa Kalamu, a resident of the area, was killed by an elephant while felling trees for commercial purposes inside the forest.
Conservation workers recall that on May 13, 2018, a group of 15 elephants migrated from the Omo Forest Reserve to the Itasin community. The movement, they say, was driven by continuous illegal logging and farming-related deforestation within the reserve, a period that coincided with documented tree-cover fragmentation.
“That year, the loggers invaded the core of the elephant zone, and they were forced to migrate,” said Emmanuel Olabode, project manager for the Elephant Initiative, a project of the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF) in partnership with the Ogun State government.
Onyebu Titus, the chief forest guard who has worked with the NCF for 35 years, told Dataphyte that he tracked the migrating elephants until they crossed the Lagos-Ore Expressway.
“They caused a momentary traffic jam on both sides of the expressway. Travellers could not believe their eyes that elephants could be seen around here,” Mr Titus said.
These elephants found a home in the Itasin community forest and were gentle-natured. They would casually walk into the community, eating plantains and backyard farm crops.
Farming and Logging in Omo Forest
With a size of 130,600 hectares, the Omo Forest serves a dual mandate: it is licensed for commercial logging and elephant conservation. But there are no clearly defined boundaries, putting the elephant zone at risk of invasion and illegal activities.
“We have a proposed size for the reserve, but I can’t disclose it yet because the government has not approved it,” he said. “Once it is approved, enforcement will be easier, and our relationship with the villagers will improve. They will clearly know which areas are strictly off-limits for farming and logging. Without a documented boundary, enforcing protection is very difficult.”
In response to Dataphyte’s request for comment, Ogun State Commissioner for Forestry, Taiwo Oludotun, said the state remains committed to conservation, which he suggests is focused on the 50 thousand hectares-large conservation zone.
“The area in question is known to all stakeholders (Farmers, Baales and all community members) as a no logging, no farming and no hunting zone,” said Commissioner Oludotun. “Such activities are illegal, and the government has always frowned on anyone who perpetrates such illegal activities in the forest reserve.”
Acknowledging the challenges of enforcement, he added, “Many illegal farms and structures have been demolished, and offenders have been prosecuted and convicted. We have repeatedly issued public notices in newspapers and on the radio advising illegal farmers and settlers to vacate the conservation area. Cocoa farming is strictly prohibited in our forest reserves.”
In the hard-to-reach parts of the forest, several settlements, motivated purely by cocoa farming fortunes, have sprung up. Even with government-erected signposts reading “No hunting, grazing, farming, logging,” farmers comfortably carry out their trade with the knowledge of the same government.
Dataphyte learnt that each farmer has an identity card recognised by the Ministry of Forestry. These farmers come from different states to farm in the forest. By December of each year, they would hire security guards to secure their settlements and travel back to their various states and return on January 23 to continue their business. There were also allegations of farmers paying huge sums to some government officials to lease portions of the forest for cocoa farming.
When asked for comment, the forestry commissioner confirmed it, saying it was not a license for farming but for security reasons. He added that no reports of official bribery had been reported to him. “The identity cards with the residents of Omo Forest reserve did not legalise farming and logging in the conservation area, but rather to enable the ministry to have a database of those residing in the forest reserve so that criminal elements or bandits do not hide in the forest to perpetrate criminal acts,” said Mr Oludotun.
“I am not aware of any official who received a bribe from farmers to lease land in Omo Forest Reserve. The fellow conducting this exercise may wish to present those individuals who have received or taken bribes from farmers for land leasing.”
While in the forest, Dataphyte observed that numerous footpaths connected to countless farmlands, starting from Omo Bridge 2, a settlement led by Ajayi Adeshina, the Baale of the settlement.
Many of the farms were located far from immediate sight as they were in the middle of forest trees. In some cases, Dataphyte saw cocoa and plantain farms located within the elephant sanctuary.
“Each farmer has an ID card known to the government. We admit this is an elephant forest and we are the ones invading their house,” Muniru Akinleye, a farmer and Oluode of Eseke, told Dataphyte.
“They [elephants] frequently eat and destroy our crops. For me, I no longer have maize and yams; elephants have consumed them. Even on my cocoa farm, they come there and eat it. But I know some will be spared, and I will harvest them at the end of the day. I saw an elephant on my farm recently, and I quickly jumped on my motorcycle and returned to the village. So, yes, they feed on our farms.
“But we cannot really do anything. We cannot complain to the authorities. Elephants are government property; we are citizens. If we complain, the government will take the elephants’ side, and they might order our evacuation. For this not to happen, our coping mechanism is silence and managing what is left of our farms to sustain our families.”
What is considered the elephant zone is a very tiny portion of the forest, and it is situated somewhere in the extreme side of the forest, according to an old map sighted by Dataphyte. The entire forest straddles two local government areas: the Ijebu East Local Government Area on the front, starting from the Lagos-Ore Expressway, and goes beyond the region called J4 (supposedly meaning Jungle 4); and then the Ijebu North Local Government Area, which begins shortly after the elephant zone.
So those local council areas serve as two areas of operations for two groups of loggers. According to NCF officials, those in the Ijebu East area do not really operate close to the zone, but those in the Ijebu North. Given that elephants walk and play around, the sounds of chainsaws and other logging-associated disturbances could disturb elephants without discrimination.
In an interview on October 1, Modinat Alaga, whose mother, Mulikatu Rasheed Alaga, is a logger in Akorede Camp, denied that loggers routinely invaded the protected zone.
“For instance, my mother has her own government-allocated logging arena, and she doesn’t go beyond it. She only operates in places allocated to her, and she has a valid license. She has a “propatin”, a sort of hammer used to mark her wood, and government guards will also mark them too,” Modinat Alaga told Dataphyte.
“Yearly, we pay N5,000 or more to renew the license with the government. The government doesn’t allocate the elephant zone to any logger, and nobody dares go there. There is the government zone, and there is the elephant zone. My mother could operate here [around the village, which is a stone’s throw from the elephant zone] because it’s within the permissible logging area. For our farms, we don’t budge when elephants destroy them,” Ms Alaga explained.
Ms Alaga added that loggers pay the government for reforestation. While touring the conservation forest, Dataphyte observed a few small portions of land where young teak trees were growing. According to the chief ranger, the communities were responsible for them.
The NCF also regularly regrows trees where necessary. Project manager Olabode said, “In our nursery plantation, we have over 20,000 seedlings waiting to be replanted. We do this regularly because reforestation is a continuous agenda for us.”
Itasin Community’s Nightmare
The displaced elephants were resettled in Itasin, a rural conclave on the northern side of the Sagamu–Benin Expressway and situated about 10 kilometres away from the Omo Forest. In the early days of their arrival, residents said that the elephants were moving freely in the community, looking for food, and would return to the forest.
“Their sight was adventurous to us,” said Sanwo Odugbemi, an elderly resident of the community.
“We did feel threatened by their presence. They would eat plantains, pawpaw and crops within sight. They are the reason why you cannot see pawpaw anywhere in our neighbourhoods again.”
According to Sanariu Abimbola, an indigene of Itasin, Oba Felix Adegbesan, the immediate-past Onitasin of Itasin, protected the forest and ensured that trees were only cut down once in a while when someone needed them for a personal housing project or the community needed them for a collective project.
Logging was not a practice. But Dataphyte learnt that after the death of Oba Adegbesan in June 2024, residents and their alien partners began logging at a commercial scale.
This logging began threatening the elephant habitat, and hostility between the wildlife and community members started to grow.
“I can confirm that commercial logging occurs in the forest, and it could be contributing to elephants’ hostile behaviour,” Mr Odugbemi said. “The government has asked that we report any logging activity to them. But in truth, what will the loggers be living on if the government bans their trade here?”
Following the attack on Musa Kalamu, reports described him as a farmer. But Dataphyte’s findings confirmed he was a logger and was on duty when the elephants killed him.
Mr. Afolabi, the young man earlier mentioned, said he was the one whom Akorede Yaya, the deceased’s son, ran into after the attack.
“The news swiftly spread, and we mobilised to the scene. On getting there, we saw that the elephants were more than one, and they refused to leave,” Mr Afolabi recounted. “We could not move closer to them. The attacking one angrily used its tusk to fling the man away. He was still alive, but his internal organs had been disembowelled. He died on the way to the hospital because we could not get a vehicle to carry him on time, and the hospital is far.”
When asked why the media narrative described the deceased victim as a farmer rather than a logger, Mr. Abimbola said, “It may be the residents’ tactics of shaping their information flow to ensure that the true nature of the activities in the forest is concealed.”
Mr. Odugbemi and four other residents present when Dataphyte was interviewing them collectively said they wanted the government to “come and capture and return the elephants to Omo Forest because their presence in our community benefits no one”.
But for Mr Abimbola, “The elephants could bring positive attention to our community and put it on the global map. So, rather than return them, we should start planting other crops, such as pepper, that they cannot eat. That way, we can co-exist with them peacefully.”
In his response, Commissioner Oludotun said there was no plan of relocating or airlifting the elephants from Itasin forest, and “that is why the landscape management approach was adopted. This is because when forest elephants are airlifted, unlike savanna elephants, they do develop complications due to stress and die, thus wasting the resources incurred in the air lifting exercise”.
In response to Musa Kalamu’s killing, the commissioner said that the community forest was a designated wildlife conservation area, especially for elephants.
Itasin residents rejected Commissioner Oludotun’s statement that the forest was a conservation zone. While in the community, Dataphyte saw nothing to confirm the official designation claim. Unlike the Omo Forest, the Itasin forest had no forest guards, no signposts, or any other distinguishing markings to suggest it had been converted to a forest reserve.
Responding to a question on this matter, the commissioner informed Dataphyte that Governor Dapo Abiodun had approved the designation of the forest as a protected wildlife sanctuary in April 2023, and a gazette was being prepared to this effect.
“The Bureau of Land in the state has produced a provisional map of the area, and efforts are ongoing to publish the gazette in this regard. As a follow-up to this, the ministry has engaged conservation non-governmental organisations to work with community members in the area for sensitisation and enlightenment, along with government officials to prevent human and elephant conflict,” said the commissioner.
“In one of our engagements with community members, they were made to see the provisional map of the wildlife sanctuary, and this abated their fears, and they were assured of the government’s commitment to the process, and they were quite happy with the process.”
By Sodeeq Atanda
This story was produced as part of Dataphyte Foundation’s Biodiversity Media Initiative project, with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network
Publisher of Political Economy and immediate past Vice President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Mr. Ken Ugbechie, has warned that Nigeria’s rising “disposal culture” is accelerating the nation’s electronic waste burden, even as he urged the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) to significantly increase its budget for public enlightenment and media outreach.
Speaking at the 2025 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue organised by ITREALMS Media group, with the theme “Nigeria: Recycle Your E-Waste It’s Critical”, Ugbechie described e-waste as a “crucial national emergency,” stressing that Nigerians must be made to understand the economic value hidden in discarded electronic devices.
Publisher, Political Economist Magazine and immediate past Vice President, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Mr. Ken Ugbechie, speaking during the 2025 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue with the theme: Nigeria: Recycle Your E-Waste It’s Critical in Lagos recently.
“The global value of e-waste is about $58 billion. Every piece of e-waste is cash. This thing you are throwing away, this thing you see as refuse, has value. And when you put value to something, you don’t trash it,” he said.
Ugbechie criticised Nigeria’s deepening “show-off” and disposable consumption habits, pointing out that many consumers replace devices not out of necessity but to appear trendy.
“We are stupendously extravagant as a people. You buy a phone today, two months later you throw it away to buy another just to show you are in town. Manufacturers exploit this behaviour and know exactly where to dump inferior products,” he noted.
He warned that this behavioural pattern not only encourages reckless disposal but also incentivises the importation of substandard electronics into the Nigerian market.
Ugbechie further highlighted the severe health dangers associated with unmanaged e-waste, noting that toxic substances such as mercury and lead seep into the soil and water systems.
“E-waste is carcinogenic. When these substances wash into our environment, they enter our lungs and skin. That is why cancer and related diseases are rising, especially among the younger population,” he said.
He called on government agencies to professionalise e-waste handling and ensure harmful materials do not continue to contaminate the environment.
While acknowledging NESREA’s regulatory mandate, Ugbechie insisted that the agency must expand its public awareness efforts and create a structured ecosystem of collectors and recyclers.
“NESREA has to create different layers of people who can pick up e-waste. But most importantly, there must be continuous enlightenment. The behavioural pattern of the people is what drives this crisis,” he said.
Ugbechie ended with a call: “NESREA needs to increase its budget for media and publicity. Without massive enlightenment, this crisis will continue.”
The 2025 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue continued to spotlight the urgent need for coordinated national action, stronger regulation, and sustained environmental education to curb Nigeria’s fast-worsening e-waste problem.
This year’s dialogue was supported by the ALTON, NCC, IXPN, NLNG, NESREA and EPRON while students from several schools were in attendance including ReapVille Schools, St Joachim College, Upland College and Stigal Int’l Schools, among other stakeholders.
South Africa’s new largest rhino keeper, Wicus Diedericks, has taken his fight for legal rhino horn trade onto a national platform, using the courts to argue that rhino conservation will collapse without it.
With 430 rhinos under his care, he now stands as the world’s biggest private rhino owner following the exit of former leader John Hume, who recently sold his 2,000 rhinos to African Parks to escape the “millions of dollars” in annual protection costs that pushed him to the edge of bankruptcy.
In an interview this month, Rockwood Conservation Founder Diedericks confirmed that looking after rhinos without selling their horns to generate income to protect them from poachers is unsustainable. Like Hume, he is currently looking after rhinos that “don’t pay their way”.
South Africa’s new largest rhino keeper, Wicus Diedericks
To protect himself from financial ruin, he applied for permission to trade the horns from rhinos in his conservation breeding operation and won.
In a landmark November 1, 2025, judgment, the Kimberley High Court ruled that: “In circumstance where the Management Authority is satisfied that the rhino horn comes from a white rhinoceros that was bred for conservation purposes, the Management Authority shall, upon application, issue a permit/certificate to that effect.”
It was the first successful ruling of its kind in South Africa, and it opened a long-blocked door for hundreds of private rhino owners.
“I’m about to trade in my rhino horn, but there are questions,” said the world’s new largest rhino keeper.
The biggest breakthrough for him was the court’s confirmation that the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Article 7(5) is part of South Africa’s domestic law and that “therefore my conservation breeding facility will qualify for export permits if we want to export rhino horn.”
But the victory was short-lived. The Northern Cape Province’s Member of the Executive Council for Environment, the same authority that previously refused to grant Diedericks rhino horn trade permits, filed an appeal, halting his ability to sell his legally harvested and stockpiled horns.
Rhino horn is a renewable resource and can be traded sustainably because it regrows naturally, after being painlessly trimmed or harvested.
“It literally took me years, like five years, to get to this point (High Court ruling permitting him to trade),” he said. “A lot of hours and money went into this.”
Diedericks said many people do not realise that “most of the rhinos in South Africa are now in the hands of private owners or private reserves.”
This shift in ownership, he warned, means that rhino conservation must be sustainable, or else private owners will be forced to give up their rhinos if they cannot fund their protection.
Without the rhino horn trade income, the consequences will be devastating.
Without government permission to trade legally in rhino horn, South Africa’s rhino populations may decline drastically as custodians abandon the practice and opt for less risky conservation and socio-economic enterprises.
Diedericks confirmed that “there is a growing number of people quitting rhino-keeping” because of escalating risks and costs.
To make matters worse, the government is reportedly struggling to protect rhinos from poachers in its protected areas, such as the iconic Kruger National Park.
“Kruger lost more than 80% of the rhinos in the last 10 years,” he said.
In sharp contrast, privately owned rhino ranches have been quietly successful and now own about two-thirds of the country’s rhino population.
South Africa has the world’s largest rhino population. This means the majority of the world’s rhinos are owned by South Africa’s private rhino custodians. This is a little-known conservation success.
“On private reserves, the numbers have been steadily increasing because there’s better security,” said Diedericks.
But this success brings a “question about funding” because “70% of all the rhinos in South Africa are now on private reserves.”
Private rhino owners don’t receive any financial assistance from government, for rhino conservation.
“Private rhino owners don’t get any state subsidies; we don’t get any support from donors or NGOs or anything,” he said.
“That’s why I lodged the permit application, because we know that a rhino horn is worth something. If we could sell rhino horns, at least we could pay for rhino conservation.”
Meanwhile, Diedericks has rejected the idea that rhino owners are trying to get rich.
“I will barely break even, even if I sell rhino horn regularly.”
Right now, he keeps his 430 white rhinos afloat by subsidising them from other income.
“I have been subsidising it [his rhino conservation initiative], but I cannot sustain it in the long run. And rhinos deserve more,” said Diedericks.
He currently pays more than US$1.5 million annually, including anti-poaching and other costs.
His journey began on a farm, with a love of wildlife and a decision to “rewild” land originally used for cattle farming. He bought his first rhino in 2013.
Two poaching incidents on his rhino ranch hardened his resolve.
“That sparked me to say I’m definitely not going to lose this fight against rhino poaching,” he said.
His family supports him, but even that has limits.
“If it’s not sustainable, you cannot continue with it,” said Diedericks. “You know, that’s why John Hume eventually decided to sell his operation, because it wasn’t sustainable.”
What might Diedericks do if he is ultimately blocked from his newfound hope created by the Kimberley High Court judgment?
His answer is blunt.
“I wouldn’t have any option but to sell the operation, to sell the rhinos, to get rid of them. That’s the reality of most private reserves that own rhinos.”
On CITES’ relevance to wildlife and rhino conservation, he is equally direct.
“Unfortunately, I think it has been captured by a lot of NGOs and the animal rights crowd. At this stage, it is not good for conservation. The rhino can pay for its protection and survival. Therefore, we should not deny them that opportunity.”
The warning could not be clearer:
If private rhino owners cannot trade rhino horn legally to finance protection, they will abandon rhino-keeping.
If they do, South Africa will lose most of its rhinos. And when South Africa’s rhinos fall, the world’s rhino population will fall with them.
It remains to be seen when CITES and rhino-owning countries will start making decisions that promote rhino conservation.
Regional stakeholders adopted a strategic framework to combat foot-and-mouth disease, one of the most persistent threats to livestock production, food security, and trade across Eastern Africa.
Representatives from the African Union’s Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the East African Community, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Organisation for Animal Health, the United Nations Environment Programme, GALVmed, national chief veterinary officers, FMD focal points, wildlife authorities and technical experts gathered in Nairobi for a two-day consultation and validation workshop.
Cattle ranching
The Strategic Framework for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Eastern Africa 2026-2035 aims to harmonise regional control measures for a disease that continues to cause widespread outbreaks, significant economic losses and constrained market access.
Dr. Huyam Salih, director of AU-IBAR, said livestock underpin food and nutrition security for hundreds of millions of people, yet transboundary animal diseases such as FMD drain billions of dollars from Sub-Saharan Africa each year.
“No single country can manage FMD independently,” Salih said, calling for deeper regional coordination, harmonisation and joint action to address surveillance gaps, strengthen early detection and ensure rapid response.
The framework responds to commitments under Agenda 2063, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme 2026–2035, the Livestock Development Strategy for Africa and the Animal Health Strategy for Africa.
The strategy was developed through extensive consultation, including inputs from the Eastern Africa FMD Roadmap Meeting held in Dar es Salaam in 2024. Delegates identified weaknesses including inadequate vaccination coverage, limited laboratory capabilities for serotyping and vaccine matching, fragmented movement control, and insufficient political commitment and financing for sustained FMD control.
The extensive mobility of pastoral herds, porous borders and limited surveillance and laboratory capacity complicate containment efforts across the region.
The framework rests on three pillars: knowledge and evidence, capacity building, and coordination and cooperation.
The knowledge pillar establishes regional information-sharing platforms, conducts research and improves tools for risk assessment, economic analysis and epidemiological understanding.
The capacity building pillar provides regionally tailored training and sources essential equipment for surveillance, vaccination, diagnostics, programme management and public-private partnership models.
The coordination pillar harmonises regional protocols, strengthens early warning systems, enhances rapid response and facilitates affordable vaccine access through bulk procurement and strengthened laboratory networks.
The pillars aim to support countries in progressing along the Progressive Control Pathway for FMD and achieving more secure, efficient livestock systems with improved trade performance.
Participants engaged in structured group work to analyse the draft document, identify gaps and propose improvements. Country groups recommended strengthening regional strain monitoring, developing cross-border agreements for sample shipment, institutionalising biosecurity practices in markets and abattoirs, and reinforcing communication strategies to maintain political will.
Salih said AU-IBAR will support member states and regional economic communities in translating the framework into concrete action. She noted that the rollout of ARIS3 would enhance disease reporting and situational awareness.
The region now moves toward developing an implementation plan, mobilising resources and establishing governance mechanisms to guide the strategy between 2026 and 2035.
FMD is routinely ranked among the top three priority diseases by governments and livestock keepers in Eastern Africa.
The disease affects cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.
The 12 Eastern Africa FMD Roadmap countries include Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
