Radio Biafra: How Govt.
successfully shutdown station
By IKENNA NWOSU
 |
| Emeka Mba DG NBC |
The Federal Government through its agency Nigeria
Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) said it worked with security operatives to track
down, neutralize and confiscate transmitter equipment from several locations
which was used by the operators of Radio Biafra to illegally transmit over the
country’s airwaves.
It also successfully removed it from the satellite, and also assured it is working to block the transmission of the station via the Internet, while appreciated the concern expressed by Nigerians over the seditious activities of the illegal station.
In statement by the NBC Director General, Emeka Mba, he said the activities of the illegal station was made worse as they were using frequency agile transmitters through which they hop from one frequency to another. So once you block them in one frequency, they move to another.
He noted that his agency was able to achieve the feat when they upgraded their capacity to follow and block them wherever they were transmitting adding that the station was transmitting through 104.7 FM Enugu and later moved to 102.1 FM Enugu, but they were able to jammed it at long last.
He assured: “The national Broadcasting Commission, has effectively neutralized the illegal broadcasts from the seditious pirate radio station that has recently shattered the peace in parts of the southeast of Nigeria with unsavory hate messages.”
According to Mba, the blocking of the station became a matter of urgent concern when they started appropriating FM frequencies in various cities across the southeast and it became for them an urgent national security matter. “We had to trace them though they were using more sophisticated equipment.”
“To be honest it was difficult dealing with them because they are on satellite and while we are able to neutralize the terrestrial frequencies on the FM band. Satellite is very a different thing, and they are outside Nigeria where you have different protocols with how you deal with this issue” he stated.
The illegal radio station was operated by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is said to be resident in the United Kingdom (UK), and its activities became a source of concern to the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, as a result of the station’s pejorative reference to the president as terrorist-in-Chief and other derogatory names. The station also metaphorically used the word “zoo” or “zoological republic” in describing the generality of Nigerian who are not pathetic to the Biafran cause.
It also successfully removed it from the satellite, and also assured it is working to block the transmission of the station via the Internet, while appreciated the concern expressed by Nigerians over the seditious activities of the illegal station.
In statement by the NBC Director General, Emeka Mba, he said the activities of the illegal station was made worse as they were using frequency agile transmitters through which they hop from one frequency to another. So once you block them in one frequency, they move to another.
He noted that his agency was able to achieve the feat when they upgraded their capacity to follow and block them wherever they were transmitting adding that the station was transmitting through 104.7 FM Enugu and later moved to 102.1 FM Enugu, but they were able to jammed it at long last.
He assured: “The national Broadcasting Commission, has effectively neutralized the illegal broadcasts from the seditious pirate radio station that has recently shattered the peace in parts of the southeast of Nigeria with unsavory hate messages.”
According to Mba, the blocking of the station became a matter of urgent concern when they started appropriating FM frequencies in various cities across the southeast and it became for them an urgent national security matter. “We had to trace them though they were using more sophisticated equipment.”
“To be honest it was difficult dealing with them because they are on satellite and while we are able to neutralize the terrestrial frequencies on the FM band. Satellite is very a different thing, and they are outside Nigeria where you have different protocols with how you deal with this issue” he stated.
The illegal radio station was operated by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is said to be resident in the United Kingdom (UK), and its activities became a source of concern to the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, as a result of the station’s pejorative reference to the president as terrorist-in-Chief and other derogatory names. The station also metaphorically used the word “zoo” or “zoological republic” in describing the generality of Nigerian who are not pathetic to the Biafran cause.
Boko Haram: 8000 civilians killed
By SUCCESS UCHIME
By SUCCESS UCHIME
 |
| President Buhari |
Despite concerted efforts made by the government
to stem the menace of the Boko Haram insurgence, their activities have become
increasingly deadly and is one of the critical challenges facing the new
administration.
In a statement by the Washington Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), Sarah Margon, she noted that an estimated 8,000 civilians are believed to have been killed since 2010, 400 of them since Buhari’s inauguration on May 29, 2015.
She said that nearly one million people have been displaced, and that there is abundant evidence that Boko Haram forces have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to her, Boko Haram has targeted civilians in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad, abducted hundreds of women and girls, and forcibly conscripted young men and boys, and destroyed villages, towns, and schools.
She also stated: “In responding to Boko Haram, Nigerian government security forces have been implicated in grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, including incommunicado detention, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances. The Nigerian police are also credibly implicated in several highly publicized extrajudicial killings of Boko Haram members or suspects.”
Margon, said that almost no one has been held to account for human rights crimes, and that on July 13, Buhari replaced the national security adviser, the chief of defense staff, and the military service chiefs “American President, Barrack Obama should press on Nigerian President, Muhamadu Buhari to immediately suspend any member of Nigeria’s security forces, including senior officers, for whom there is credible evidence of involvement in serious human rights abuses, and hold them to account in fair trials.
In a statement by the Washington Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), Sarah Margon, she noted that an estimated 8,000 civilians are believed to have been killed since 2010, 400 of them since Buhari’s inauguration on May 29, 2015.
She said that nearly one million people have been displaced, and that there is abundant evidence that Boko Haram forces have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to her, Boko Haram has targeted civilians in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad, abducted hundreds of women and girls, and forcibly conscripted young men and boys, and destroyed villages, towns, and schools.
She also stated: “In responding to Boko Haram, Nigerian government security forces have been implicated in grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, including incommunicado detention, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances. The Nigerian police are also credibly implicated in several highly publicized extrajudicial killings of Boko Haram members or suspects.”
Margon, said that almost no one has been held to account for human rights crimes, and that on July 13, Buhari replaced the national security adviser, the chief of defense staff, and the military service chiefs “American President, Barrack Obama should press on Nigerian President, Muhamadu Buhari to immediately suspend any member of Nigeria’s security forces, including senior officers, for whom there is credible evidence of involvement in serious human rights abuses, and hold them to account in fair trials.
Central Bank’s kick-starts cashless policy
charges
By OGONNA UMEH
By OGONNA UMEH
 |
| Godwin Emefiele CBN Gov. |
The Apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released guidelines for it cashless policy charges which is now in operation nationwide since July.
In statement by the bank, it noted that charges currently apply to cash withdrawals transaction that exceed the daily cumulative limits in six states of the federation, which include, Abia Anambra, Kano, Lagos, Ogun, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It noted that individual customers will attract daily cumulative cash withdrawals limit of N500, 000, with 3% charges on excess above daily cash withdrawal limits. While corporate customers will attract N3, 000,000 daily cumulative cash withdrawals limit, with 5% charges in excess above daily cash withdrawal limits.
According to the statement, the charges will apply to all cash withdrawal transactions within the banks irrespective of the channels through which they were carried out adding that for the purposes of determining the cumulative daily limit, multiple accounts of an account holder will be treated as one.
“The policy excludes accounts operated by Embassies, Diplomatic Mission, Multilateral Agencies, Aid Donor Agencies, Micro Finance Banks and Primary Mortgage Institutions. The exemption also applies to non-cash transactions carried out through secure and convenient alternative channels like Automate Teller Machine (ATM), Point of Sale (POS), Mobile Banking, Online Banking, among others” it also stated.
Experts argue that the new policy on cash-based transactions (withdrawals) in banks, will help reduce, not eliminate the amount of physical cash (coins and notes) circulating in the economy, and that it will also encourage more electronic-based transactions (payments for goods, services, transfers, etc.)
They believe that the move is worthwhile as financial analysts have always argued that it is essential to reduce the amount of physical cash in the economy, and also encourage more electronic-based transactions. This they said will help drive development and modernization of the country’s payment system in line with its vision 2020 goal of being amongst the top 20 economies by the year 2020.
In addition, the cash policy aims to curb some of the negative consequences associated with the high usage of physical cash in the economy, which include: high cost of cash, high risk of using cash, and high subsidy, informal economy, and inefficiency and corruption in the country.
It is believed that a variety of benefits are expected to be derived by various stakeholders from an increased utilization of e-payment systems. For bank customers, these include increased convenience; more service options; reduced risk of cash-related crimes; cheaper access to (out-of-branch) banking services, access to credit and financial inclusion.
For corporations, it will guarantee faster access to capital; reduced revenue leakage; and reduced cash handling costs, while for the Government, it will bring about increased tax collections, greater financial inclusion and increased economic development.
Buhari
tasked on non-indigenes
Our reporter
Our reporter
 |
| Buhari |
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on
President Muhammadu Buhari to end the divisive state and local government
policies that discriminate against non-indigenes in the country. That
Government has failed to address the root causes of inter-communal violence
which include state and local government policies that exacerbate divisions by
discriminating against members of ethnic groups they classify as
“non-indigenes” – people who cannot trace their ancestry to what are said to be
the original inhabitants of an area.
The call is contained in a recent report by the Rights group adding that the government should sponsor legislation to expressly bar all federal, state, and local government institutions from such an unlawful act.
According to Mausi Segun, Nigeria researcher at the Rights Watch, Buhari promised to address the violence, corruption, and injustice that Nigeria’s citizens face each and every day adding that if the people’s hopes are not to be dashed, President Buhari and his government should quickly turn his promises into concrete action and take steps to improve human rights.
He pointed out that despite Nigeria’s tremendous oil wealth, corruption and weak governance have driven a wide gap between the ruling elite and the population, leaving poverty, malnutrition, and mortality rates among the worst in the world. These problems are most acute in the north – the country’s poorest region – but also in the resource-rich Niger Delta, where widespread poverty and unemployment, exacerbated by environmental degradation and corruption, have created discontent and facilitated the growth of extremist groups.
“Buhari campaigned on an anti-corruption platform saying that he would fight its scourge in public office and ensure the removal of the constitutional immunity clause that protects the president and governors from criminal investigation and prosecution” he stated.
Segun further called on Buhari to take immediate steps to strengthen oversight and watchdog institutions such as the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to permit them to function without interference or partiality.
He said that the new Nigerian government is expected to request increased international support for its counteroffensive operations against Boko Haram and for its security forces more generally. Given the security forces’ well-documented human rights abuses, donor governments should be very cautious in how they respond and should set clear conditions for helping with security sector reform, such as suspending, investigating, and holding to account senior military officers for whom there is credible evidence of involvement in serious human rights abuses.
“Buhari needs to end the cycle of violence and take bold action to ensure the judiciary investigates and prosecutes anyone implicated in serious human rights abuses, whether Boko Haram fighters or the military and police. He should start a new chapter in the northeast, and ensure that Nigerian security forces respect domestic law, human rights, and international humanitarian law in all their operations” Segun further stated.
He noted that violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is another pressing problem for the incoming president and that several thousand people – both Muslims and Christians – have died in inter-communal violence in the past six years fuelled by competition for power and access to land between nomadic and farming communities. “Mobs have killed many of their victims based simply on their ethnic or religious identity.”
Segun observed that Nigerian authorities have rarely prosecuted those responsible, including the police or military who have been implicated in serious abuses adding that security forces killed at least 28 people when they attacked the Langtang and Wase communities following the killings of six soldiers a few days earlier.
The call is contained in a recent report by the Rights group adding that the government should sponsor legislation to expressly bar all federal, state, and local government institutions from such an unlawful act.
According to Mausi Segun, Nigeria researcher at the Rights Watch, Buhari promised to address the violence, corruption, and injustice that Nigeria’s citizens face each and every day adding that if the people’s hopes are not to be dashed, President Buhari and his government should quickly turn his promises into concrete action and take steps to improve human rights.
He pointed out that despite Nigeria’s tremendous oil wealth, corruption and weak governance have driven a wide gap between the ruling elite and the population, leaving poverty, malnutrition, and mortality rates among the worst in the world. These problems are most acute in the north – the country’s poorest region – but also in the resource-rich Niger Delta, where widespread poverty and unemployment, exacerbated by environmental degradation and corruption, have created discontent and facilitated the growth of extremist groups.
“Buhari campaigned on an anti-corruption platform saying that he would fight its scourge in public office and ensure the removal of the constitutional immunity clause that protects the president and governors from criminal investigation and prosecution” he stated.
Segun further called on Buhari to take immediate steps to strengthen oversight and watchdog institutions such as the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to permit them to function without interference or partiality.
He said that the new Nigerian government is expected to request increased international support for its counteroffensive operations against Boko Haram and for its security forces more generally. Given the security forces’ well-documented human rights abuses, donor governments should be very cautious in how they respond and should set clear conditions for helping with security sector reform, such as suspending, investigating, and holding to account senior military officers for whom there is credible evidence of involvement in serious human rights abuses.
“Buhari needs to end the cycle of violence and take bold action to ensure the judiciary investigates and prosecutes anyone implicated in serious human rights abuses, whether Boko Haram fighters or the military and police. He should start a new chapter in the northeast, and ensure that Nigerian security forces respect domestic law, human rights, and international humanitarian law in all their operations” Segun further stated.
He noted that violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is another pressing problem for the incoming president and that several thousand people – both Muslims and Christians – have died in inter-communal violence in the past six years fuelled by competition for power and access to land between nomadic and farming communities. “Mobs have killed many of their victims based simply on their ethnic or religious identity.”
Segun observed that Nigerian authorities have rarely prosecuted those responsible, including the police or military who have been implicated in serious abuses adding that security forces killed at least 28 people when they attacked the Langtang and Wase communities following the killings of six soldiers a few days earlier.
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