Northern Youth Council Lauds Appointment of Junaidu as Investment Tribunal Chairman

…Assures President of Continuous Support Ahead of 2023

The Northern Youth Council for Asiwaju (NYCA) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the appointment of Barrister Aminu Junaidu as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Investment and Securities Tribunal.

The appointment, effective from September 18, 2025, has been described as a strategic move to strengthen Nigeria’s capital market and boost investor confidence.

Junaidu, a former Attorney-General of Zamfara State, is set to serve a five-year term in this critical role.

The NYCA highlighted that Junaidu’s selection reflects the President’s commitment to appointing highly qualified individuals to sensitive government positions.

As a seasoned technocrat with extensive legal and administrative experience, Junaidu is expected to bring professionalism and integrity to the tribunal.

The organisation believes this appointment will significantly advance the Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at fostering economic growth and stability.

The Investment and Securities Tribunal plays a pivotal role in resolving disputes within Nigeria’s capital market, ensuring that investors’ grievances are addressed promptly and fairly.

Junaidu’s leadership is anticipated to enhance the tribunal’s efficiency, further solidifying Nigeria’s position as a safe and attractive destination for investments.

Comrade Usman Usman, President of the NYCA, stated, “We wholeheartedly applaud President Tinubu for this well-thought-out appointment.

“The selection of Barrister Aminu Junaidu is another evidence of the detailed research and diligence of the President’s team in identifying one of the finest minds from Northern Nigeria to lead a sensitive agency like the Investment and Securities Tribunal.

“This decision reflects the administration’s dedication to competence and excellence.”

He added, “Junaidu is a seasoned technocrat whose expertise will undoubtedly add immense value to the Renewed Hope Agenda. His appointment is a clear signal that the President prioritizes merit in building a prosperous Nigeria.

“We assure Mr. President of our unwavering support as he continues to make decisions that propel our nation forward.”

The NYCA emphasised that Junaidu’s extensive experience in law and governance makes him uniquely suited for the role.

As a former Attorney-General, the group said he demonstrated a commitment to justice and fairness, qualities that are essential for leading the tribunal.

His appointment is seen as a boost to the confidence of both local and international investors in Nigeria’s capital market.

Junaidu’s five-year tenure is expected to usher in reforms that will streamline dispute resolution processes within the tribunal.

The NYCA believes this appointment aligns with the broader goal of fostering economic resilience.

With Junaidu at the helm, the NYCA is confident that the agency will play a pivotal role in attracting more investments, thereby contributing to job creation and economic growth.

The organisation urged all stakeholders to support Junaidu in his new role.

Comrade Usman Usman further remarked, “Barrister Junaidu’s appointment is a masterstroke by President Tinubu.

“His impeccable credentials and deep understanding of legal and financial systems make him the right choice to lead the Investment and Securities Tribunal.

“We are confident that his leadership will strengthen investor confidence and enhance Nigeria’s standing in the global financial community.”

He continued, “The Northern Youth Council for Asiwaju remains steadfast in its support for President Tinubu’s transformative agenda.

“We call on all Nigerians to rally behind this administration and its appointees, like Junaidu, who are poised to deliver on the promise of a renewed Nigeria.

“Our commitment to the President’s vision for 2023 and beyond is unshakable.”

The NYCA also noted that Junaidu’s appointment is a source of pride for Northern Nigeria, as it showcases the region’s pool of talented and capable professionals.

The organisation believes his leadership will inspire young Nigerians to strive for excellence in their respective fields.

Arewa Youth Council for Peace Welcomes UK GGRI Report on Zamfara

…asks Gov Lawal to apologise to citizens over poor governance

The Arewa Youth Council for Peace (AYCP) has thrown its full weight behind the Good Governance Rating Index (GGRI) midterm report, which branded Zamfara State, under Governor Dauda Lawal, as Nigeria’s most deplorable governance failure from 2023 to 2025.

The UK-based organisation’s scathing assessment exposed Lawal’s administration as a catastrophic betrayal of Zamfara’s people, ranking it dead last in health, education, infrastructure, security, and transparency.

The AYCP calls this report a “long-overdue indictment of a governor who has turned Zamfara into a living nightmare.”

The GGRI report laid bare the apocalyptic state of Zamfara, where armed banditry and mass kidnappings have surged under Lawal’s watch, despite billions siphoned off as security votes.

Over 60% of rural children are denied education, rotting in crumbling schools, while health facilities—starved of funds—have made Zamfara a death trap for mothers and infants, with maternal mortality rates among Nigeria’s worst.

The report accuses Lawal of squandering public trust on a cesspool of corruption, political cronyism, and zero developmental vision, leaving roads impassable, workers unpaid, and poverty skyrocketing.

In a statement signed by Comrade Usman Yusuf, AYCP condemned Lawal’s leadership as a “monumental disgrace,” noting that his 2023 campaign promises of security and prosperity were nothing but hollow lies.

The GGRI’s findings, backed by audits, citizen feedback, and field surveys, reveal a state in freefall, where government agents are complicit in fueling insecurity and public funds vanish into the governor’s patronage networks.

This governance collapse, the AYCP warns, is a ticking time bomb for Nigeria’s stability, with Zamfara’s misery threatening to destabilise the entire North-West.

Yusuf added: “Dauda Lawal is a calamity in human form, a governor who has plundered Zamfara’s hopes and left its people to drown in poverty and bloodshed.

“He must fall on his knees, beg for forgiveness, and resign immediately for plunging our state into this abyss of despair. His corrupt, incompetent regime is a stain on Zamfara’s soul—bandits rule our lands, children beg instead of learn, and mothers die needlessly because of his greed and failure.

“Come 2027, Lawal will face the wrath of Zamfara’s youth at the polls. We will drag his name through the mud of his own making, ensuring he is remembered as the architect of our suffering.

“The GGRI report is our battle cry—Lawal’s days are numbered, and we will hound him out of office for his crimes against our people.

The GGRI reports also revealed that security budgets are shrouded in secrecy, with no accountability for funds meant to curb banditry, has deepened public fury.

Reports of government agents colluding with criminals have only added fuel to the fire, with citizens accusing Lawal of turning Zamfara into a “bandit’s paradise” while ordinary families live in fear.

The AYCP President stated: “Dauda Lawal is not just a failed governor—he is a thief of Zamfara’s dreams, a coward hiding behind empty promises while our people bleed.

“His resignation is not negotiable; he must quit now or be chased out in disgrace. Every crumbling school, every dying mother, every kidnapped child is a mark of his shame.

“We will make sure Zamfara rejects him in 2027, burying his political career in the rubble of his own failures.” ”

“We demand transparency, accountability, and justice. Lawal will face the people’s judgment—no amount of political maneuvering will save him from the storm coming his way.

“We stand with every Zamfaran suffering under Lawal’s tyranny. The GGRI report has unmasked him as a fraud, and we will rally our people to demand justice.

“From Gusau to the smallest village, we will fight until Lawal is gone, his cronies exposed, and Zamfara is free from his chokehold. This is our pledge: Lawal will fall, and we will rise!”

Yes, We (Africans) Seek Justice Without Borders.

By George O. Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com

“Why Africa Must Lead the Call for Universal Accountability.”

On September 30, 2025, a military court in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, sentenced former president Joseph Kabila to death in absentia for treason and war crimes. This ruling sent shockwaves across Africa and the world, as Kabila, who ruled the DRC from 2001 to 2019, has long been accused of profiting from Congo’s bloody resource wars, overseeing massacres and entrenching corruption that left millions dead or displaced. For many Congolese victims, the ruling was a delayed but symbolic form of justice. Yet, it also raises a much larger and uncomfortable question: why is justice so often selective? Why are African leaders punished while Western leaders who committed atrocities walk freely?

The world cannot applaud Kabila’s sentence and simultaneously ignore the crimes of those whose decisions destroyed nations, unleashed wars and killed millions outside Africa. If justice is to be meaningful, it must be universal, not geographical.

Selective Justice: The African Dilemma.
Across Africa, leaders like Charles Taylor of Liberia and Hissène Habré of Chad have faced justice. Taylor is serving 50 years in a British prison for aiding war crimes in Sierra Leone. Habré died in prison after being convicted for atrocities in Chad. Omar al-Bashir of Sudan was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide in Darfur. Now, Kabila has been sentenced in the DRC.

On one hand, these trials prove that impunity is no longer absolute. On the other, they reveal a painful hypocrisy: the wheels of international justice grind fastest when the accused is African.

When the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002, it was hailed as the dawn of global justice. Yet in over two decades, almost all of its prosecutions have been against Africans. Meanwhile, leaders from powerful nations who launched illegal wars, bombed civilians or backed occupations have never faced an indictment. Justice, it seems, has a passport and it is not African.

The Crimes of the Powerful: Bush, Blair, Netanyahu.
Consider George W. Bush and Tony Blair, who in 2003 launched the Iraq War on false claims of weapons of mass destruction. The invasion caused the deaths of over 500,000 Iraqis (according to Brown University’s Costs of War project), displaced millions and destabilized the entire Middle East. The war was not sanctioned by the UN, making it a clear violation of international law. Yet Bush now paints portraits in Texas and Blair collects speaking fees, while Iraq lies shattered.

Or take Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s long-serving prime minister. Under his watch, Israeli forces have overseen repeated bombardments of Gaza, including the current campaign in which thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed. The UN and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Israel of disproportionate force, collective punishment and potential war crimes. Yet Netanyahu is not in The Hague; he is still welcomed in Western capitals as a “PARTNER in DEMOCRACY.”

The question burns: if Kabila deserves a death sentence for enabling war crimes in Congo, do Bush, Blair and Netanyahu not deserve at least a trial for the rivers of blood on their hands? Or is justice only enforceable when the accused is African or from a weaker continent?

Africa’s Burden and Opportunity.
Africa has been the testing ground for global justice, but it must now become the vanguard of a new movement: justice without borders. If Congo can put its former president on trial, then African states can demand the same standard for Western leaders whose crimes have left scars across continents.

The call should begin at the African Union (AU). Too often, the AU has condemned the ICC for “TARGETING AFRICANS” while failing to articulate an alternative vision of justice. That time is over. Instead of rejecting accountability, Africa must expand it.

Let the AU declare: No leader, whether African, European, American or Asian, is above the law. Let Africa push for reforms at the UN Security Council and the ICC, ensuring that the principle of universal jurisdiction is enforced not selectively applied.

Justice as a Global Right.
International law already provides the tools. The Nuremberg Principles, drafted after World War II, state clearly that individuals (including heads of state) can be held criminally responsible for crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression. The principle of universal jurisdiction allows any state to prosecute such crimes, regardless of where they occurred. Spain once tried this against Chile’s dictator Augusto Pinochet. Why can’t Africa try the same with Bush, Blair or Netanyahu?

Some may argue that the politics of power make this impossible. After all, America, Britain and Israel wield enormous influence. But history shows that moral courage can topple even empires. The anti-apartheid struggle, led by Africans but supported globally, forced South Africa to its knees. Why should the fight for global accountability be any different?

A Justice Manifesto for the 21st Century.
What Africa must demand is not vengeance, but consistency. If justice is to have meaning, it cannot be the privilege of the weak and the punishment of the poor. It must apply equally to all who abuse power.

If Joseph Kabila faces death for crimes in Congo, then George W. Bush must answer for Iraq.

If Charles Taylor sits in a British cell, then Tony Blair must stand in The Hague.

If Omar al-Bashir is indicted for Darfur, then Benjamin Netanyahu must be indicted for Gaza.

Anything less is not justice; it is legalized hypocrisy.

The Moral Power of Africa’s Voice.
The irony is sharp: Africa, long painted as the continent of impunity, now has an opportunity to be the continent of universal accountability. Kabila’s sentence may mark a turning point. By holding one of its own to account, Congo has opened the door for Africa to say to the world: we will not accept double standards.

As Desmond Tutu once said: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Africa can no longer be neutral. It must be radical in demanding justice not just for Africans, but for Iraqis, Palestinians, Afghans, Yemenis, Libyans and all victims of imperial violence.

Final Thoughts: Justice Must Have No Passport.
Joseph Kabila’s sentencing may be historic, but it will be meaningless if justice remains selective. True justice must have no borders, no passports, no colors. Africa must lead this charge, not as a victim of double standards, but as the champion of equality before the law.

If the world is serious about ending impunity, then it must confront this uncomfortable truth: Kabila is guilty, but so too are Bush, Blair, Netanyahu and others who bathe their hands in the blood of innocents. Until they face accountability, the promise of “NEVER AGAIN” will remain the biggest lie of the 21st century.