Nigeria is currently at a digital war following the exposure of abortion-related content in a Junior Secondary School (JSS3) science textbook, which has caused intense debate over the country’s educational system, moral values, and how financial hardship is influencing reproductive decisions.

The controversy started with a viral post on X (formerly Twitter) after user Alex Onyia shared excerpts from the Classic Basic Science and Technology for Junior Secondary School Three textbook.

The material in question explains the procedures and reasons for abortion and shows a detailed explanation of surgical abortion methods, including Dilation and Curettage (D&C) and Dilation and Evacuation (D&E), which immediately went viral.

Page 135 of the book partly reads, “There are two types of surgical abortion. Dilation and curettage (D & C): The cervix is dilated (opened and expanded) and a special instrument is used to scrape or scoop some linings and other materials in the uterus. D&C, also called vacuum aspiration, is used when the pregnancy is under 15 weeks.

“Dilation Evacuation (D & E): This involves dilating the cervix and using narrow forceps to evacuate the embryo that has formed bones. It is more difficult and requires more techniques than a simple D & C. It is used for 15-24 weeks old pregnancy.”

In his post, Onyia, however, accused the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) of exposing children to inappropriate and harmful content.

“This book is teaching JSS3 students in Nigerian schools how to do abortion with clear images. Parents, wake up and save your children. NERDC approved this!” he wrote. “Corruption is not just about stealing money, it destroys our coming generation!”

The post has now quickly gathered a nationwide debate, with netizens flooding social media platforms with opinions, both in support and opposition to the textbook content.

For some, the inclusion of such detailed abortion procedures in a textbook for teenagers was a shocking violation of moral and cultural values.

Critics like @Danosquare decried what they called the infiltration of Western ideologies into Nigeria’s education system.”This is real evil, many people in Nigeria are actually ignorant of these wickedness from the West. If you talk, they’ll tag it CONSPIRACY THEORIES. Thank you Alex for raising this alarm.”

Mary Ekemezie, tweeting under the handle @MaryEkemezie, expressed her concern that parents were not paying close enough attention to the content being taught to their children.

Ekemezie described the situation as “one of the fall out of copying blindly from the West and depending on donor funding, and staffing the NERDC and the Nigerian Education with men and women who cannot see how bad books and corrupt content destroy the heritage of our nation.”

She added that she cannot help but weep, stating that “while parents are laser-focused on food the real tragedy will be losing your child to abortion and your sons being sterile because they choose vasectomy, before they even understood what that really meant. Wake up, before it is too late.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the argument, some individuals defended the educational approach taken by the textbook.

Twitter users like @asquarebubble argued that teaching about abortion in a structured, academic environment does not encourage students to perform abortions but instead educates them about real-world issues they may encounter.

The user tweeted, “The illegality of illicit abortion doesn’t mean it can’t be taught in schools. Students aren’t being shown how to do it or participate in it, but learning the concept.It’s like lessons on sex, drug abuse, or crime—you don’t want them learning it outside a structured environment.”

While @LightskinMania views the situation as “the particular form of idiocy on the internet that infuriates me the most. Peddling rubbish narratives that affect human lives greatly because of a science textbook. The scale of anti-intellectualism in this country is probably why we’re not making it.”

The textbook, published by Thursmay Publishers and authored by M. Abdussalam, F.A Ibekwe, D.E Akintelure, and B.B Akintelure, is widely used in Nigerian schools and bears the approval stamp of the NERDC.

NERDC, among others, is responsible for overseeing the development and approval of educational materials, ensuring they align with national standards.

While some critics who side with Onyia call for a thorough review of the educational materials currently in use, with the argument that some content may be out of touch with Nigerian values and realities, others, like @Nwaulari, say, “Whoever is in charge of NERDC should be sacked immediately.”

Others even stated that the Nigerian education curriculum is borrowed; @Sir_Kings08 added “Our curriculum and everything is borrowed, so our school texts will naturally negate or contradict our values and heritage. Proprietors pride in adding “American”, “British” or “Canadian” to names of schs. Plus, a little bribe and no one has to waste time proofreading textbooks.”

Nigeria’s Criminal Code And Penal Code

Among other nations, like the United States, Nigeria has a strict legal framework around abortion. Abortion laws in Nigeria are highly restrictive, differing slightly between the northern and southern parts of the country.

The Penal Code, which mostly applies to northern states, allows abortion only to save the life of the mother and carries severe penalties for anyone found guilty of performing or procuring an illegal abortion. The maximum penalty for causing a miscarriage is 14 years in prison, while performing an abortion without the woman’s consent can result in life imprisonment.

In Section 232 of the Penal Code reads, “Whoever voluntarily causes a woman with child to miscarry shall, if such miscarriage be not caused in good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the woman, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to fourteen years or with fine or with both.”

Section 235 says, “Whoever before the birth of any child does any act with the intention of thereby preventing that child from being born alive or causing it to die after its birth and does by such act prevent that child from being born alive or causes it to die after its birth, shall, if such act be not caused in good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the mother, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to fourteen years or with fine or with both.”

Section 236 also stated, “Whoever does any act in such circumstances that, if he thereby caused death he would be guilty of culpable homicide, and does by such act cause the death of a quick unborn child, shall be punished with imprisonment for life or for a less term and shall also be liable to fine.”

Meanwhile, in other Nigerian states, governed by the Criminal Code, similar penalties apply. A person attempting to procure a miscarriage could face up to 14 years in prison, and any woman attempting to abort her own pregnancy can face up to seven years. Supplying drugs or instruments for an illegal abortion is also punishable by up to three years in prison.

Despite these harsh legal penalties, unsafe abortions remain a serious issue in Nigeria, largely due to limited access to legal abortion services and inadequate family planning resources.

According to a study by Boniface A. Oye-Adeniran and co., as many as 53 million pregnancies are estimated to be terminated by induced abortion each year worldwide, while in Nigeria an estimated 610,000 abortions are performed annually.

While the National Library of Medicine, in a study conducted in 80% of politicians and policy-makers interviewed admitted that unsafe abortion is a major cause of maternal mortality but only 20% favoured the amendment of the existing law.

The intersection of abortion education and Nigeria’s economic crisis has intensified public discourse, with some arguing that the government’s inability to alleviate poverty is forcing people to consider desperate measures, including unsafe abortions.

Nigeria for years has been dealing with rising inflation, which has severely impacted living conditions and family planning decisions. In August 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the national average cost of a healthy diet had surged to N1,255 per adult per day, with Lagos, Ogun, and Rivers States recording the highest costs. Inflation reached 32.15% in August 2024, and food inflation spiked to 37.52%.

These economic difficulties have led some Nigerians to reassess their family planning choices, and abortion, though largely illegal, has become part of the conversation.

A Lagos resident, simply identified as Morenike, stated that she hardly sees on the street of Lagos now that the current financial hardship is influencing reproductive decisions.

“With the current high cost of living, people can barely afford to feed themselves, let alone bring a child into the world,” Morenike said. “I hardly see pregnant women on the streets these days; it’s so rare. The economic strain is just too much.”

Meanwhile, another Eko resident, identified as Itunu, stated that abortion is not hygienic and could create a mass practice that will not only shorten the lives of ignorant young ladies but will only increase the moral standard between the youths.

Itunu shared, “On abortion, I won’t support its encouragement; there are other ways to prevent having unwanted babies, such as family planning for those who are married, and abstinence which should be encouraged even more.

“Abortion is not hygienic and could create a mass practice which will not only shorten the lives of ignorant young ladies but will only increase the moral standard between the youths.”

As of the time of filing this report, neither the NERDC nor the Ministry of Education had responded to the situation.

The election petition tribunal for the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release all the materials used for the election.

The chairman of the tribunal, Justice W.I. Kpochi, granted the order in an exparte motion filed by the candidate of the party, Asue Ighodalo, and the party.

The exparte motion with suit number EPT/ED/GOV/01M/2024 and dated September 27, 2024, was filed by Rotimi O. Ogunseso, SAN, with Seun Olusuyi’s counsel to the applicants.

The petition and affidavit were sworn to by Osasere Adagbonyin.

Secretary of the tribunal Mauzu Ibrahim Bagudu ordered INEC to produce all election materials.

In the petition, the applicants prayed the court to order INEC to produce and hand over the comprehensive list of all the Electoral materials available in its custody for inspections.

The documents listed by the applicants and granted by the tribunal are all forms EC8A, forms EC8B, forms EC8C, forms EC8D, forms EC8E, forms EC25B, and forms EC25B(i) used at the election.

Also granted are all forms EC40A, EC40C, EC40G and EC40G (i) used at the gubernatorial election

The court also ordered INEC to make all the polling unit Results, Forms EC8A uploaded to its IREV portal from the poling unit, list of accredited agents of all the political parties that participated in the gubernatorial election.

The tribunal ordered INEC to produce and make available to the applicants’ records and a list of polling units where election results were not uploaded to the INEC IREV portal as of 22nd September 2024 when the results of the election and return of winners were announced.

It also directed that records of the posting of INEC ad-hoc staff for the 4519 polling units, the number of Permanent Voters Cards, and PVCs collected in each polling unit should be made available to the applicants.

Meanwhile, the PDP has served INEC the certified true copy of the tribunal’s order.

Kogi State governor Usman Ododo on Monday approved the N72,500 minimum wage for workers in the state civil service and local government.

The approved N72,500 minimum wage for state workers is N2,500 higher than the approval in July by the Federal Government for workers in both private and public sectors.

Ododo who gave the approval while receiving a report from the Kogi state minimum wage implementation committee headed by the Head of Civil Service in the state, Elijah Avenemi, said he was more committed to the overall welfare of all cadres of workers.

The governor gave tax relief to workers for one year.

Ododo noted that being a labour leader and a civil servant before going into partisan politics, he knew what the civil servants were going through.

He called on the workers to cooperate with his administration and give him all the necessary support to succeed, assuring them of prompt payment of their salaries.

Presenting the committee report, Evinemi commended the members for a seamless negotiation before the agreement.

He lauded the governor for creating an enabling environment to conclude the exercise in good time, saying that the governor has set the pace for other governors.

Earlier, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Gabriel Amari who spoke on behalf of the organized labour in the state, commended the governor for all his efforts and described Ododo as the best workers’ friendly governor in the state has ever had.

The NLC chairman, who expressed joy over the seamless efforts at which the implementation committee arrived at the new minimum wage, said some states in the federation were yet to set up implementation committees.

He promised that the workers would be more committed to their duties and continue to cooperate with the governor.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Labour matters, Comrade Onuh Edoka, commended the governor for his generosity and commitment to the welfare of Workers in the state.

Edoka, the immediate past chairman of the NLC in the state, noted that the state has never had a seamless negotiation like under Ododo.

He called on Kogi workers to be more committed to their duties, assuring that the state government under the governor will prioritise their welfare.

A former Senator, Dino Melaye, has been acquitted in the twelfth and final case against him by the Federal Government.

This lengthy legal battle began six years ago.

According to him, Justice Sylvanus Oriji delivered the verdict at the FCT High Court in Maitama, clearing Melaye of two charges of providing false information concerning an alleged assassination attempt on his life in 2017.

This legal saga began in February 2018 when Melaye faced accusations of falsely implicating Edward Onoja, the then-chief of Staff, to Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello in the assassination plot.

Taking to social media platform X on Monday to celebrate the verdict, Melaye expressed his gratitude towards his legal team and emphasised his unwavering faith in divine justice.

“I take life as it comes, but in all the vicissitudes of life, I trust in God only. He is always with the just,” he stated.

In his post, he also noted, “Justice served after six years. Justice delayed is never justice denied. God alone be praised. SEN. DINO MELAYE 12 – FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND IGP 0. 12 CASES ALL WON BY GOD.”

The initial case regarding the alleged assassination attempt saw delays, including the unfortunate passing of Justice Aromeh Benson Akogu, the judge overseeing the matter, during a cross-over service on December 31, 2017.

The Attorney General’s Office formally charged Melaye on January 31, 2018, claiming his allegations were unfounded, stemming from an investigation into the supposed assassination attempt at his hometown in Ayetoro-Gbede, Kogi State.

He pleaded not guilty on March 1, 2018.

Some other alleged assassination attempts
Again, in July 2018, Melaye accused the Kogi State police command of attempting to kill him.

He made this accusation in response to claims that his security details had shot at policemen conducting ‘stop and search’ operations in Mopa.

In March 2019, Melaye again alleged a conspiracy against his life by the Kogi State government, which the state authorities denied.

Details later

Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun has declared Monday, Oct. 7, a public holiday for public and private school teachers in the state to commemorate World Teachers Day.

This is contained in a statement by the state’s Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr Kolapo Alimi.

The statement quoted Adeleke as saying that the holiday was to acknowledge the teachers’ invaluable contributions to the growth of the education sector, not only in the state and Nigeria but the world at large

“I heartily congratulate all teachers worldwide and, in particular, in my dear state, Osun, on the celebration of the annual World Teachers’ Day,  marked on Oct. 5.

 “While it gladdens my heart and that of my administration to declare a public holiday throughout the state, I admonish all teachers to use the one-day public holiday to review the past and present of the state and envision the future development of the education sector in the area.

“I am using this opportunity for the umpteenth time to assure you that my administration will continue to do everything morally and officially possible to put smiles on your faces to make you happy and fulfilled as purveyors of knowledge in the state,” the governor said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State has declared Monday, 7 October, a public holiday to commemorate the 2024 World Teachers’ Day.

This is contained in a statement on Sunday by the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu.

She said the gesture was a mark of appreciation for the state’s teachers, recognising their vital contributions to advancing human progress through quality teaching and nurturing young minds.

According to Modibbo-Kawu, the holiday is intended for teachers in both the public and private sectors.

“The Governor expressed his commendation for the teachers’ dedication and wished them a blessed holiday.

“This move demonstrates the Kwara State Government’s commitment to valuing its educators and acknowledging their impact on the community.

“By declaring a public holiday, the Governor aims to show appreciation for the teachers’ hard work and dedication to shaping the state’s future generations.”

The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, says the recent increase in corps members’ allowance has not been implemented due to funds.

The Wawe had reported how the Federal Government approved the increment of corps members’ monthly allowance from N33,000 to N77,000, effective from July 2024.

The increment, according to a statement by the NYSC on its official Facebook page, was contained in a letter from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, dated September 25, 2024 and signed by the Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta.

But despite the official announcement, the increment did not reflect on corps members’ September monthly allowance as they received N33,000 instead of the approved N77,000.

But speaking to the BBC Hausa service, the NYSC DG explained that although there was approval for the increment, government was yet to release funds to the scheme for the implementation of the new allowance.

He said, “Not only the corps members, even our staff members’ salary has been increased about four to five months ago, but it has not been implemented yet. But we are hopeful that the new pay will be implemented soon, but the funds have not been released to us yet.

“The information we have did not specify when the new allowance will be paid, but we were assured that their monthly allowance has been increased from 29th July 2024.”