News
Federal Government on Friday said there can be no evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine until the airports in the European country, which is under attack by Russia, are reopened.
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in the early hours of Thursday, had ordered an invasion of Ukraine.
The invasion was marked with shelling and rocket attacks on several Ukrainian major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, leading to dozens of deaths.
The invasion, which has continued, has created widespread panic and seen many fleeing Ukraine.
Countries such as India, South Africa, among others had announced the facilitation of the evacuation of their nationals from Ukraine to neighbouring Poland by setting up offices at the Ukrainian-Polish borders.
According to the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry, there are no fewer than 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine, majority of who are students.
Ukraine is a choice destination for many Nigerian students, especially those in medical-related fields, because it is cheaper compared with other western countries.
National Association of Nigerian Students in Ukraine had sent out a Save Our Soul message to President Muhammadu Buhari seeking immediate evacuation from Ukraine.
On Friday, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the Federal Government was concerned about the safety of the 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine.
“The advice we were getting is that we should not panic. The embassy was in touch with the students telling them to take reasonable precautions,” Onyeama said.
The foreign affairs minister spoke in Abuja after having separate meetings with the Ukrainian ambassador to Nigeria, Kirdoda Valerii, and his Russian counterpart, Alexei Shebarshin.
Onyeama disclosed that during his meeting with the Russian envoy, he discussed the possibility of Nigeria getting her citizens out of Ukraine but the Russian envoy told him there might be risk involved.
According to him, Shebarshin, however, said Russia was mindful of the civilians from foreign countries and would take all the necessary measures to ensure their security.
“He was a lot more sanguine, optimistic that no harm will come to them, but we cannot take any risks,” the minister quoted Shebarshin to have said.
However, Onyeama said he made it clear to the Russian envoy that the Federal Government of Nigeria would not condone the violation of the territorial integrity of a United Nations member state with which Nigeria has diplomatic relations.
Onyema said he told Shebarshin that Nigeria was urging Russia to revert to the status quo before the military action on Ukraine and to prioritise diplomacy and dialogue.
“This is really the position of the government. And also, that we have 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine and we are very concerned about what we are hearing and what we are seeing, regarding missiles and bombs about the safety of our Nigerian citizens over there, that we would like to be able to evacuate them.
“This would be communicated to his headquarters and that obviously, they consider Nigeria a friendly country and Nigerians; and that they would do nothing to harm Nigerians and assured me that their action is targeted at military installations and that they are not about to start attacking civilian areas and so forth,” Onyeama said.
On his meeting with the Ukrainian envoy, Onyeama said he told Valerii that Nigeria has over 5,000 students and citizens in the country and was very concerned about their safety and welfare.
“And we certainly want the cooperation of the Government of Ukraine to do whatever is possible to ensure their safety and security and to also seek advice as to how the evacuation can be facilitated,” he said.
He quoted the Ukrainian envoy to have said the evacuation of Nigerians in the European country, whose airspace had been shut down following Russia’s invasion, was not possible for now.
Valerii, however, said the Ukrainian government had given safety tips and instructions to residents, adding that there was no discrimination between Ukrainians and foreigners in the safety measures.
Onyeama quoted the Ukrainian envoy to have stated that, “Right now, we are in a very difficult situation, but we are fighting against the aggression and we believe that we will all win.
“Ukrainian Government does not differentiate between people on the basis of their nationality and that is the best effort to protect everybody.
“Currently, the evacuation of Nigerian students is not possible because it is not safe to fly in the sky of Ukraine. As soon as it is safe to fly on the sky of Ukraine, we will join the Embassy of Nigeria in Ukraine and jointly with the Nigerian Government, we will arrange for the evacuation of Nigerian students.”
Valerii expressed gratitude to the Federal Government and people of Nigeria for their support.
Fleeing Nigerian students stranded at Poland border
Nigerians in students fleeing the conflict in Ukraine have been denied access to Poland and are currently stranded at Yarviv, a border town in Ukraine.
It was gathered that Polish immigration officials are demanding that all Nigerians who wish to enter must possess visas and authorisation letters which the students have been unable to provide as the Nigerian embassy in Poland has yet to intervene.
The students had headed for the Polish border due to the shutting of Ukraine’s airspace. However, after being denied access to Poland, many of the students are now considering returning to Kyiv, which is now under attack.
Punch
Ahead of the 2023 elections, a community leader and Stalwart of the Peoples'Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Toyin Amuzu, TA has declared his intention to contest for the position of the House of Representatives, to represent Abeokuta South Federal Constituency at the National Assembly in Abuja.
His intention was officially declared at his political root, in ward 8 Erunbe, Abeokuta where his supporters and party loyalists came out enmasse to embrace him.
Chief Toyin Amuzu said, he is convinced that Nigeria can be better if we all decide to work together and put in worthy people to represent them at various political positions.
He said, "having consulted across boards, with the massive support and encouragement of our people, leaders, family, friends and fans, I am putting myself forward to serve and put the people first while I contest to represent Abeokuta South Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, in Abuja come 2023".
Chief Amuzu, stated that there is call for great concern as the Nation seems to be going backwards, stressing that, "if given the opportunity he will Iegislate to improve on Education, Health, Economic Empowerment, rights of citizens, legal and Social statuses among other needs to improve the lives of the people".
"One major move is to legislate on social security for the people. I will also recommend community services for minor crimes to decongest prisons."
According to him, all these are based on the desire to make meaningful impacts and developmental contributions to both humanity and my constituency as we try to cover the major flanks of Sustainable Development Goals.
The State Treasurer of the PDP, Alhaji Bola Taiwo who was full of praises for Chief Toyin Amuzu encouraged the gathering to go out to register in the on-going Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC registration to be able to get their voters cards.
He said this is the only way by which they can vote in credible candidates like Chief Amuzu who has been doing well for both the people and various communities.
The Chairman of the ward, Mr Segun Sodeinde who could not hide his surprise at the large turn-out of people found it hard controlling the crowd as they continue to sing and dance, to the admiration of those present.
Mr Sodeinde in his words said, Chief Toyin Amuzu is a great ambassador of the ward who has been supporting various communities with genuine intentions to better the lots of the people.
He urged everybody to support Chief Toyin Amuzu who has shown great leadership, selflessness, patriotism and love for the people.
Justice Hakeem Oshodi of the Lagos High Court in Ikeja, on Friday, sentenced Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike (alias Evans) and two others Uche Amadi, and Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu to life imprisonment for kidnapping a businessman, Donatus Dunu.
Evans and five other defendants — Uche Amadi, Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu, Ogechi Uchechukwu, Chilaka Ifeanyi and Victor Aduba— were arraigned in August 2017 for kidnapping Dunu, who is the Managing Director of Maydon Pharmaceuticals Ltd. on February 14, 2017, and collecting 223,000 Euros as ransom from his family.
Delivering judgment in the case, Justice Oshodi held that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the charge against the three convicts beyond a reasonable doubt.
He concluded that the evidence tendered before the court especially the videos evidence collaborated the guilty of the convicts.
Justice Oshodi, however, discharged and acquitted Ogechi Uchechukw and two former soldiers of the Nigerian Army, Chilaka Ifeanyi and Victor Aduba for lack of sufficient evidence linking them to the crime.
He noted the allocutors of the defence counsel Olarewaju Ajanaku and H.O. Ajibola that the convicts are first time offenders, remorseful and learnt their lesson.
But disagreed with the defence lawyers that the convicts have shown remorse.
He held that they are unrepentant and comfortably lied to the court.
The trial judge also noted the submission of thẹ former DPP, Ms Titi Shitta-Bey that in view of the gravity of the offence and that kidnapping has been on the rise, that maximun sentence bẹ imposed to serve as deterrence to others.
Judgement
Justice Oshodi held that the defendants have not shown any remorse going by the video shown in court.
He said: “I believe a lesson must be taught to serve as deterrence to others.
“The Law is the Law. Section 411 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State (ACJL) 2015 must be applied to send the right message to the public that crime does not pay.
“Under the section 411 of the law on which the convicts were arraigned, the penalty for the offence of kidnapping is life imprisonment and the law does not give the court any discretion in the matter.
“I hereby sentenced the three convicts, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike, Uche Amadi and Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu to life inprisonment.”
Evans’s counsel, Victor Opara (SAN), while making his final oral submission, in December 21, had asked the court to discharge and acquit him of the two-count charge before it, saying there was no direct evidence linking Evans to the alleged crimes.
But, prosecution counsel, Adebayo Haroun, urged the court to convict the defendants as charged, saying there was circumstantial evidence linking them as well as confessional statements and video recordings of the accused.
Evans and several other alleged accomplices are also facing two charges before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of an Ikeja Special Offences Court and another two charges before Justice Adedayo Akintoye of the High Court in Igbosere.
Lagos State Government on Friday said it had approached the Supreme Court for clarification on the settlement of a judgment delivered by the apex court on the ownership of the Shangisha/Magodo land.
Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, in a statement on Friday, said there was a serious division among the judgment creditors, representatives of the Shangisha Landlords Association, as to who had the right to represent the association.
In the statement, titled, ‘Update on settlement of Supreme Court judgment on Shangisha/Magodo,’ Omotoso said following the intervention of the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, officials of the state government and representatives of the association held a series of meetings.
He added that both parties explored the possibility of complying with the court judgment.
Omotoso said, “At the said meetings two issues arose: there was a serious division among the judgment creditors as to who controlled or had the right to represent the association; and the demand by the judgment creditors that a single global Certificate of Occupancy should be issued.
Punch
There is heavy security presence at the secretariat of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun ahead of the party’s primary election today (Saturday).
The security presence may not be unconnected to the clashes that have been recorded in parts of the state over leadership crisis.
There are currently two factions of the APC in Osun — the Ilerioluwa Group is the faction loyal to Gboyega Oyetola, the governor, while The Osun Progressives (TOP) has the backing of Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior and former governor of the state.
Both factions have been at loggerheads over control of the state chapter of the party.
On Monday, Aregbesola expressed his support for the governorship bid of Moshood Adeoti, a former secretary to the state government (SSG), while Oyetola is seeking reelection.
The Osun governorship election is scheduled to hold on July 16, 2022.
The Cable
Some 17 people died after a fuel tanker and commuter bus collided in Ogun state on Friday, the Federal Road Safety Corps said.
Spokesperson Bisi Kazeem said the crash happened around 5:00 a.m. on Friday and that the number of fatalities may vary.
"There was a head-on collision that resulted in fire," Kazeem told Reuters. "Efforts are ongoing to remove the charred bodies as well as the crashed vehicles."
Nigeria is facing fuel shortages caused by imports of sub-standard petrol. This has angered motorists, who have been spending hours in lines to fill their tanks while some public transport owners have taken advantage to hike fares.
State oil firm NNPC said this week that over 2.3 billion litres of petrol is scheduled for delivery by the end of the month as it struggles to solve the shortages.
Congested roads in Africa's most populous nation are poorly maintained, and riven with gullies and potholes large enough to swallow cars. Accidents are frequent, particularly at night with vehicles poorly-lit, although the death toll is rarely so high.
Reuters
Nigeria’s internet users dipped by 7.99 percent to 141.9 million — as telecoms operators lost 12.3 million data subscribers in 2021.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said this in its telecoms data released on Monday.
TheCable had reported how restrictions on sales of SIM cards stifled the telecoms sector in 2021 — coupled with the ongoing national identification number (NIN) and SIM integration exercise.
In 2020, the federal government directed Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to audit the subscriber registration database.
The directive instructed mobile network operators to suspend the sale, registration and activation of new SIM cards.
The controversial policy denied new entrants into the country access to purchase mobile lines while existing users who want to retrieve their lost lines were not allowed access.
It was lifted in April.
According to NBS, a total of 141,971,560 subscribers were active on the internet in the fourth quarter of 2021, as against 154,301,195 in the same period of 2020, representing a 7.99 percent decrease in internet subscriptions year-on-year.
“In Q4 2021, a total of 195,463,898 subscribers were active on voice as against 204,601,313 in Q4 2020. This represents a 4.47 percent decrease in voice subscriptions Year-on-Year. Quarter-on-Quarter growth was 2.42 percent,” the report reads.
“A total of 141,971,560 subscribers were active on the internet as against 154,301,195 in Q4 2020. This represents a 7.99 percent decrease in internet subscriptions Year-on-Year.
“Lagos State had the highest number of subscribers in terms of active voice per state in Q4 2021, followed by Kano State and Ogun State, while Bayelsa and Ebonyi states had the least number of subscribers. However, MTN had the highest share of subscriptions in Q2, Q3, and Q4 2021.”
Checks by TheCable Index showed that internet subscribers in the state dipped by 1.23 million in one year.
In Katsina and Kano states, subscribers also dipped by 1.21 million and 1.15 million year-on-year, respectively. Zamfara (888,817), Sokoto (676,259) and Ogun state (574,727) also recorded declines.
Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, had said the internet subscribers that deserted the telcos within one year are mostly criminals.
“The over 12 million that have dropped are mostly criminals that cannot come out to regularise their numbers,” the minister had said.
The Cable
Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abba Kyari and four other police officers have been arrested by the Nigerian Police for allegations of tampering with narcotic exhibits, official corruption and sundry unprofessional infractions.
This was disclosed in a statement received by Nigerian Newstrack, indicting officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA and issued by the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
The concerned officers include the suspended Head of the Intelligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kyari who was earlier declared wanted by the NDLEA over alleged drug links, ACP Sunday Ubuah, ASP Bawa James, ASP John Umoru (at large), Inspr. Simon Agrigba and John Nuhu.
According to the statement, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba has ordered the immediate transfer of the Case to NDLEA, charging the agency to Investigate indicted officers.
The statement reads that, "the Nigeria Police Force has arrested DCP Abba Kyari and four other police officers for their involvement in an alleged case of criminal conspiracy, discreditable, unethical, and unprofessional conduct, official corruption and tampering with exhibits in a case of illicit drug trafficking involving a perpetual transnational drug cartel. The arrest of the officers was sequel to pieces of information received from the leadership of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on 10th February, 2022."
"In line with standard administrative procedure of the Force, the Inspector General of Police ordered a high-level, discreet, and in-house investigation into the allegations. The interim investigations report revealed that two (2) international drug couriers identified as Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus, both males, were arrested at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu on the 19th of January, 2022 upon their arrival from Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight ET917. The arrest led to the recovery of substantial quantity of powdery substance suspected to be cocaine from the two narcotic couriers. The operation which was intelligence-driven, was undertaken by a Unit of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT)."
"Although the case and the two suspects were subsequently transferred to the NDLEA on the 25th January, 2022, the findings of the in-house investigation ordered by the Inspector General of Police established reasonable grounds for strong suspicion that the IRT officers involved in the operation could have been involved in some underhand and unprofessional dealings as well as official corruption which compromised ethical standards in their dealings with the suspects and exhibits recovered."
"Beyond this, the Police investigation also established that the international narcotics cartel involved in this case have strong ties with some officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu who are on their payrol. The two arrested drug couriers confirmed that the modus is for the transnational drug barons to conspire with the NDLEA officers on duty and send them their pre-boarding photographs for identification, seamless clearance, and unhindered passage out of the airport with the narcotics being trafficked."
The Nigerian Newstrack in the statement gathered that "the two arrested drug couriers also confirmed that they have been enjoying this relationship with the NDLEA officers at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport since 2021 and had in this instant case of 19th January, 2022, been identified and cleared by the NDLEA officers as customary, having received their pre-departure photographs and other details prior to their arrival in Enugu, and were on their way out with the narcotics when they were apprehended by the Police."
"The Police investigations report also indicted DCP Abba Kyari, who had been on suspension for his alleged involvement in a different fraud case being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), for complicity in the allegation of official corruption, tampering with narcotics exhibit and sundry unprofessional conducts that negate the standard administrative and investigative protocols of the Force as well as extant criminal laws. It is to be emphasised that DCP Abba Kyari’s involvement in these allegation occurred while his suspension from service was subsisting."
"On the strength of the findings of the in-house Police Investigation Panel, the Inspector-General of Police has ordered the immediate arrest and transfer of all the indicted police officers to the NDLEA authorities for conclusive investigation, while appropriate disciplinary actions are also being initiated against them by the Force leadership. They have all been, accordingly, handed over today 14th February, 2022 to the NDLEA authorities."
"In so doing, the Inspector General of Police has also formally requested that the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency should ensure the identification, arrest and investigation of the Agency’s officers who have also been found to be colluding with the international drug cartel involved in this case towards advancing the anti-narcotics agenda of the federal Government."
"The Inspector General of Police assures the public of his administration’s commitment to upholding the tenets and values of policing in line with the agenda of ethical regeneration, restoration of professional standard, enhancement of the anti-corruption drive, respect for the rule of law and inter-agency collaboration in the drive to stabilise the internal security order of the country."
A commercial motorcyclist, identified as Ashimiu Lawal has been shot dead along Leme area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The deceased, was found dead in a pool of his blood without his motorcycle.
It was gathered that Lawal was shot by some unknown persons, as his body was discovered at the early hours of Sunday.
According to information gathered, a relative of the deceased, Akintunde Sanni, who confirmed the incident, said the deceased went out to work when he was attacked by his assailants.
Sanni explained that somebody who could identify the deceased, had broken the news to him.
He added that the police had evacuated the corpse on Sunday morning.
“Somebody who knows Ashimiu ran to my house this morning to inform me of the incident. He was shot and his okada was taken away by his killers. We don’t know how or when it happened, but we discovered the body this morning. It is a painful thing. Our brother’s body has been deposited at the morgue by a patrol team of the police,” Sanni said.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident, saying, “It was a case of armed robbery.”
Oyeyemi added that “the police have commenced investigation to unravel those behind his death.”
Daily post
Barely few weeks when 4 teenagers were arrested burning human head, a 43-year-old Kehinde Oladimeji and his wife, Adejumoke Raji (35 years) have been arrested by the Ogun State police command for being in possession of fresh human parts in Abeokuta.
The couple, who are residents of 72, MKO Abiola way Leme Abeokuta, were arrested on Saturday after a report was lodged at Kemta Police station.
The Baale of Leme community, Chief Moshood Ogunwolu, had reported to the police that one Pastor Adisa Olanrewaju, who is a co-tenant with the couple, informed him of offensive odour oozing out of his neighbour’s room.
Acting on the complaint, the DPO of Kemta division, CSP Adeniyi Adekunle, was said to have led his detectives to the scene.
On searching the room, a plastic bowl containing fresh different parts of human being was discovered in the room, and the couple were promptly arrested, the Ogun State police image maker, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said on Saturday.
“On interrogation, the suspects confessed they were herbalists and that the human parts comprising of hands, breasts and other parts were given to them by one Michael who they claimed resided in Adatan area of Abeokuta. All efforts to locate the said Michael proved abortive as the suspects could not locate his house,” Oyeyemi stated.
He explained that a dismembered body of an unknown person was discovered last week around Leme area of Abeokuta.
However, Oyeyemi explained that it could not confirm yet whether or not the parts is that of the found body.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the homicide section, vowing that anyone who is directly or indirectly involved in the crime would be brought to book.
Recently, three teenagers were arrested for beheading and burning the head of a girl for money ritual.
More...
There was pandemonium in the Enugu State capital on Thursday as gunmen attacked a police checkpoint and killed three policemen.
The hoodlums were also said to have shot a point-of-sale operator in the leg.
While making away with the operator’s money, they reportedly abducted a woman around the area.
The incident, which happened around 1.20pm at a police checkpoint near Ulumalinda Estate, Maryland, in the Enugu South Local Government Area of the state, paralyzed economic activities in the state capital.
An eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that the hoodlums operated for close to 30 minutes without a challenge despite multiple police and military checkpoints around the state capital.
He said, “The hoodlums shot for nearly 30 minutes. About five poles away from the checkpoint they attacked was another police checkpoint. But immediately the shooting started, the policemen fled.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the incident.
He said, “Details are sketchy, but a manhunt has been launched for the attackers.”
Punch
Two policemen and a civilian have been confirmed dead after armed robbers attacked a bullion van conveying money from a bank on Iwo Road to the Idi Ape area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
It was gathered that one of the hoodlums was also killed during a shootout with the police.
The incident happened around 1.35pm on Thursday in the Idi Ape area, where the robbers reportedly waylaid the bullion van.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that the bullion van was heading towards the Gate area of Ibadan when the armed hoodlums, who were in a Toyota Sienna, overtook the van and opened fire on the occupants and the police escorts.
One of the victims reportedly killed was an Okada rider who was oblivious of the mission of the occupants of the Sienna.
The commercial motorcyclist, who was said to be in a hurry, reportedly attempted to overtake the hoodlums’ vehicle when he was shot dead by the robbers.
But some residents also said the escorts engaged the robbers in a shootout, adding that the hoodlums outnumbered the operatives and killed two of them.
Some motorists, who were unlucky to be at the scene, reportedly sustained gunshot injuries.
A man, who was driven in a sport utility vehicle, was said to have been hit by a bullet in the upper arm and was rushed to a hospital after the robbers left.
A resident, who identified himself as Waheed Adegoke, said the robbers carted away huge sums of money from the bullion van.
He said, “The armed robbers attacked a bullion van conveying money from a bank to another one at Idi Ape. It happened at a junction close to the traffic light.
“Some lives were lost, including innocent persons. I saw two policemen on the ground after the armed robbers left. Two of them died and one was seriously wounded. Some persons were also injured in their vehicles and those who managed to escape from their vehicles hid inside the drainage.
“There was blood everywhere and people were weeping, as residents trooped out to rush the victims to hospitals.”
Another resident, who refused to disclose his name, told our correspondent that the incident caused the road to be deserted, as motorists and motorcyclists fled the area.
He said, “I was coming from the Gate area when the incident happened. I had to hide somewhere safe until the shooting was over. Some of us moved to the scene to rescue the victims and some who were still in their vehicles were asked to be driven to hospitals for treatment.
“There were spent bullets on the road and persons were killed. I saw two policemen on the ground shot and they had apparently died.”
He added that some policemen from the area command at Testing Ground, Iwo Road, about one kilometre from the scene, later arrived.
Some videos obtained by our correspondent showed vehicles that were shot with shattered windscreens; there were bullets and blood on the road.
Some injured victims were also seen, including two policemen who were later picked by sympathisers and taken to a hospital.
The state Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko, while speaking to journalists after the incident, described the attack as a coordinated one.
Later, the CP, in a statement made available to our correspondent, confirmed that three persons, including two policemen, were killed.
Onadeko said, “Today, Thursday, February 10, 2022, around 1.45pm, a group of masked armed robbers about 10 in number, trailed, targeted and attacked a bullion van around the traffic light area, Idi-Ape Junction, Agodi, Ibadan.
“The armed robbers engaged the police officers escorting the bullion van and in the process, an undisclosed amount of money was carted away.
“In a swift response, the police equally neutralised one of the armed robbers, while some were believed to have escaped with multiple gunshot injuries.
“Consequently, a civilian onlooker was hit by a stray bullet and died at the scene, while two police officers later died in the hospital as a result of gunshot injuries. Four others, including two police officers, are responding to treatment.
“The citizenry are hereby enjoined not to panic as efforts are in top gear to track down and apprehend the criminal gang.”
Punch
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that it would cease feeding commercial banks with hefty foreign exchange (forex) before year end, urging them to source forex themselves to operate.
This was as the Bankers Committee unveiled the “Race to $200 billion in FX Repatriation” programme (RT200 FX), an initiative that aggregates a set of policies, plans and projects for non-oil exports that will enable Nigeria rake in $200 billion in foreign exchange, exclusively from non-oil exports, over the next three to five years.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, made the disclosures in Abuja at a media briefing on Thursday.
According to him, “the era is coming to an end when because your customers need $100 million demand for FX or $200 million and you want to pack all the dollar and pass it to the CBN to give you dollar. It is coming to an end. Before or latest end of this year, we will end it. Don’t come to CBN for FX again. Go and generate your own export proceeds. Fund those who want generate export proceeds.
“When those proceeds come, we will fund them at five per cent for you. When those proceeds come, they will earn rebates that’s how we can help you. FX import-export is their bread and butter. “Build your foreign exchange from your export customers to generate FX to fund your import customers. That is the best I can do to help them. Run your race for your profitability and make your shareholders happy”, Emefiele said.
On the RT200 programme, he said it is not intended to be a silver bullet to all Nigeria’s problems in the export segment, but a first step meant to ensure that the apex bank carries out its mandate more effectively and efficiently in order to guarantee the preservation of the scarce foreign reserves, and the stability of the Naira.
“It is only by boosting productive and earning capacity of this economy that we can truly preserve the long-term value of our currency, as well as the stability of our exchange rate”, he said.
Emefiele further said that the apex bank’s cocktail of economic interventions was responsible for the rather swift recovery of the economy after being jolted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“These policies and measures also led to a significant improvement in diaspora inflow from an average of $6 million per week in December 2020 to an average of over US$100 million per week by January 2022.
Sun
Thousands of telecommunication subscribers nationwide seeking to retrieve their lost Subscriber Identity Module cards or acquire new lines temporarily have been left stranded, following a technical glitch in the National Identity Management Commission portal that has grounded SIM-related services.
The affected NIMC portal enables telecom firms, Nigerian Immigration Service, banks and other organisations to verify the National Identity Number of their customers before attending to them, in line with the Federal Government’s directive.
Following the directive by the Nigerian Communications Commission for the inclusion of NIN in the requirements for all new and existing SIM cards, telecom firms are required to synchronise their SIM registration portals with the NIMC portal in order to verify the details of their subscribers.
Downtime enters sixth day, MTN, Glo, Airtel, 9mobile suspend SIM replacement/acquisition
The downtime experienced over the past five days by the NIMC portal has made it almost impossible for telecom firms to sell new SIM cards or retrieve lost lines.
According to a source at MTN who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to speak on the matter, the downtime in the NIMC network which occurred late on Tuesday has brought SIM-related services to a halt.
The source said, “NIMC made it compulsory that before we can register a customer, we have to verify their NIN. The agency gave us a back route to its server. We connect to the server to verify NIN. When we verify, it will bring the record of the customer (the information the customer gave to NIMC while registering for NIN). We have to confirm the information the customer gave NIMC against what we have. There’s a way we connect to the NIMC server. It is that server that has been down since Wednesday.
“Before now, we didn’t need NIN to do this. We just use the customer’s valid ID card and SIM pack. If the customer does not have that, a sworn affidavit is okay. However, the introduction of NIN has changed that.”
Speaking on how the development might affect the company’s revenue, the official said, “We have registration stores (centres) that attend to hundreds of customers on a daily basis. In my service centre, we attend to not less than 200 customers in a day. We can’t really estimate the amount we are losing. Sometimes, after retrieving their lines, some customers can buy as much as N30,000 airtime. Some can buy as much as N5,000 airtime. So, any day we don’t do business, one service centre can lose up to hundreds of thousands of naira.”
When our correspondents visited some service centres of the telcos, officials and customers narrated their ordeals.
When one of our correspondents paid a visit to a Glo retail outlet in Lagos, a myriad of frustrated subscribers could be seen inside and outside the premises of the service centre.
Some of the subscribers told our correspondent that they had visited the outlet for days on end but they were not attended to due to the NIMC portal glitch.
“Seriously I don’t understand, and I called them to ask if everything was okay before I came here. I came the other day and they told me the same thing,” a disgruntled subscriber said after being told SIM-related services was yet to be restored due to the NIMC server glitch.
In a chat with one of our correspondents, a top official at a Glo retail outlet, who also pleaded anonymity, confirmed that with the new directive by the NCC, all telcos are compulsorily required to verify the NIN details of subscribers before registering their new SIM cards.
“The problem is with the NIMC server. Their server is down; we can’t connect with it. We don’t know when it will be back. All the telecoms (companies) have network but because of NIN verification, we can’t work. It is a Federal Government directive: without NIN, we can’t do anything. Even if you want to buy SIM and register, without NIN, you can’t do it.”
In the same vein, subscribers were seen at an Airtel office lamenting their inability to retrieve their GSM lines despite repeated attempts to do so during the week.
A subscriber, who identified himself as Tochukwu, said, “This is my second time here and they have been saying the same thing, that they don’t have network. They’re saying it’s because of this NIN something. It’s quite disappointing because after today which is Saturday, I won’t have chance to do this again.”
A member of staff at the Airtel office, who did not want to be named, said the NIMC portal downtime had grounded SIM-related services of telcos across the country.
“You cannot get a new SIM until next week because there is no network. It’s not all network. It is this NIN something. It’s because we have to use your NIN to register the SIM. It affects all the telecommunications (companies),” he said.
NIMC, telcos, other stakeholders meet
As the problem lingered, it was gathered that NIMC officials held a meeting with telcos and other stakeholders over the development.
It was learnt that NIMC advised telcos to temporarily revert to the vNIN platform until it is able to sort out its technical difficulties.
A top official privy to the development said, “NIMC confirms its service is still down and it doesn’t have an estimated turnaround time from its service provider. Hence, it is looking for alternatives to restore services over the weekend. However, NIMC has proposed that we use vNIN in the interim which the industry kicked against based on technical readiness and process issues.”
However, the meeting held with NIMC resolved that telcos must uphold certain rules while the glitch lingers.
It said, “New registration and SIM swap without a prior verified NIN and linked to our Know Your Customer will not be allowed until full service is restored.
“SIM swap for a previously verified NIN that has been linked to our (telcoms) Know Your Customer will be allowed to proceed based on when approval letter is received from NCC today (Friday).
“New SIM registration (additional SIM for an existing subscriber with a previously verified NIN and linked to our (telcoms) Know Your Customer) will be allowed to proceed based on when approval letter is received from NCC today (Friday).”
As of the time of filing this report, it could not be verified if the approval has been received or not.
According to some telcos’ officials, there is a feeling of discontent among operators due to the technical readiness and bottlenecks that would be required to make the temporary switch to the vNIN.
It was gathered that the telcos had kicked against it when it was suggested initially.
It is understood that the vNIN, which involves generating tokens, is riddled with technical concerns which the telcos are not prepared to commit resources to, particularly given the fact that the switch to the vNIN platform will only be on a temporary basis until the NIMC server glitch is resolved.
“Nobody is prepared for that one (tokenisation). It was supposed to start in January, but they (telcos) were not ready. Now they’re trying to push tokens. It’s possible they deliberately collapsed this one so they can push people to tokens. I don’t know why they do that. There has been no proper training (in how to use the token system),” a top official of a telecom firm said.
Also, officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service told our correspondents on condition of anonymity that passport application process was delayed in some passport offices because the NIN verification process was stalled.
They said some passport capturing appointments might have to be rebooked over the development.
“The glitch at the NIMC portal affected passport application process during the week. There was a need to verify applicants NINs. This could not be done. It started since late on Tuesday,” an immigration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
Also, top officials of some banks said the development affected account opening during the past week as applicants who had NIN as their only means of identification could not be attended to.
“Banks have various portals for verifying IDs. Those with NINs could not be attended to because the portal was down,” an official of FCMB said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the development.
When contacted, NIMC spokesperson, Kayode Adegoke, who preferred to revert via SMS, had not responded to text messages as at the time of filing this report.
However, a public statement issued by the NIMC late on Saturday linked the problem to a downtime as a result of a “maintenance service.”
However, checks with some of the telcos reveal that prior information about this maintenance was not communicated to them.
NIN verification service down due to maintenance, says NIMC
In a statement, NIMC said its NIN verification service was down due to maintenance being executed by its service provider.
The statement was titled ‘NIMC NIN verification service temporarily unavailable.”
It read, “The National Identity Management Commission wishes to inform the general public that its NIN Verification Service is temporarily unavailable due to the maintenance service being carried out by one of the Commission’s network service providers.
“NIMC wants to assure the public that verification and authentication services would be restored once the maintenance is concluded.
“The commission apologises for any inconveniences this might cause our esteemed customers, and all hands are on deck to ensure speedy restoration. Meanwhile, the public can make use of the alternative tokenisation verification platform.”
President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, said the association was aware of the NIMC server downtime and had been duly informed that the situation was being handled.
He said, “I learnt it’s a network issue. It’s something they’re looking at. I called two operators, especially the regulatory officials and they said they were working on it and that it would soon be restored. It’s rather unfortunate, but what do you do? I’m sure NCC knows about it.
“What I’ve not done is to talk to the NCC, and that is because the operators have said it’s an issue they are addressing. I want to go to Alausa tomorrow to find out what is happening apart from what the operators have told me.”
Punch