FG Must Take Extraordinary Measures To Address Benue Killings - Peter Obi

 Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi has reacted to the recent killings in Benue State, IGBERETV reports.

According to report, no fewer than 400 persons have died in three weeks following unabated killings by suspected herders in Benue State.

Obi wrote on his Twitter handle;

“I am deeply saddened by reports of the visceral violence and gruesome killing of the internally displaced people (IDPs) in Benue state and other parts of Benue, and the kidnapping of dozens of people in Wanzamai village in Zamfara.

“Such bloodletting is unconscionable, and stands condemned. Government and all stakeholders must take extraordinary measures to address this menace that is impacting negatively on our existence as a nation.

“My deepest condolences to the families and friends of all those affected. May their souls rest in peace. For those kidnapped, my earnest prayer is for their safety and quick rescue. - PO”

https://twitter.com/PeterObi/status/1644995359645507590?t=Tcukm1KfDfYpp-dO2FQBUA&s=19

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Kennedy Wandera, Voice Of America Journalist Reports About Tinubu's US Drug Case

In court papers, @PeterObi, Nigeria's Labour party candidate in Feb 25 presidential poll, pleads that Bola Ahmed Tinubu, now President-elect, was not qualified to contest because he had been fined $460,000 for "narcotics trafficking" in 1993 by the U.S District Court, Illinois.

The court ordered “that the funds in the amount of $460,000 in account in the name of Bola Tinubu represents proceeds of narcotics or were involved in financial transactions in violation of 18 U.S.C ss 1956 and 1957 and therefore these funds are forfeited to the United States.”

https://twitter.com/KennedyWandera_/status/1645356045290618885?t=kcu0ol8eu5ku2sEgD2nEQg&s=19

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How I Knew That Leaked Phone Call Between Obi & Oyedepo Was Fake – Chuks Akunna

A veteran Nigerian journalist, and political affairs commentator, Chuks Akunna has described the purportedly leaked phone conversation between Peter Obi and Bishop David Oyedepo as fake, IGBERETV reports.

During an interview on Africa Independent Television’s ‘Kaakaki’ program, Akunna highlighted that, as a journalist, he knew that certain phone calls are not made on open, unencrypted platforms. He believes that Obi and Oyedepo would not be careless enough to have such a conversation in such a manner.

Akunna further argued that the hurried manner in which the conversation was patched together indicated that it could be a deep fake. 

Akunna pointed out that the alleged conversation had several discrepancies, including the inclusion of the ringtone of the dialed call, which is not a standard feature in recording applications. He stated that recording applications usually commence recording when the conversation begins and not during the ringing phase of a call, and this inconsistency raised doubts about the authenticity of the leaked audio.

He criticized the media house that first published the audio tape for not adhering to journalistic standards and acting hastily without conducting thorough checks. 

https://igberetvnews.com/1442801/knew-leaked-phone-call-obi-oyedepo-fake-chuks-akunna/

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We Paid ₦2M Cash To Kidnappers As Ransom During Cash Scarcity - Adamu Hayatu

Twitter user, Adamu Hayatu, has revealed how they sourced for two million naira cash to pay as ransom to kidnappers to free his cousin during the cash scarcity.

He was replying to Prof Ashafa who wrote:

Kidnapping for ransome has returned after being on sabbatical with the Naira Redesign & cashless policy. A former Dep. Gov of Nasarawa was a victim, so too were many more.

https://twitter.com/ProfAMAshafa/status/1645400771272273922?s=20

Countering him, Adamu Hayatu said:

We had to source for N1m mints and N1m old notes to get my cousin out during the peak of the naira confiscation crisis.

Dead this talk of cashless prevented kidnapping yen yen yen, please.

https://twitter.com/AHayatu/status/1645401960751693827?s=08

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Daily Loud Reports Tinubu's US Drug Case

In 1993, Bola Ahmed Tinubu surrendered $460,000 to the U.S. government after a Chicago court found the income came from packing and shipping heroin.

https://twitter.com/DailyLoud/status/1645509892961185795?t=Yysah8E9u_mL4tsSpgKy_g&s=19

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FG Bars Online Banks From Accessing Customers’ Photos, Contacts

Loan apps on Play Store will lose their ability to access their users’ contacts or photos from May 31, 2023.

This came as the Federal Government said it would enforce the latest policy by Google, saying the action was consistent with the Nigerian authorities’ move to curtail the invasion of customers’ privacy by loan app firms.

The Federal Government had in recent time taken major decisions aimed at tackling the violation of customers’ privacy by loan apps. Notably, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission had recently registered 170 loan apps out of the 200 operating in the country.

Google, in its April 2023 policy updates, said the new policy update would provide respite for loan app users in Nigeria and other places that have become accustomed to crude loan retrieval methods employed by a majority of loan apps.


Google said, “Policy preview (effective May 31, 2023): This article previews changes included in our April 2023 policy updates.

“We are updating our personal loans policy to state that apps aiming to provide or facilitate personal loans may not access user contacts or photos.

“We are introducing additional requirements for personal loan apps targeting users in Pakistan. Personal loan apps in Pakistan must submit country-specific licensing documentation to prove their ability to provide or facilitate personal loans.”

This new policy is coming after the firm announced updates to its Developer Programme Policy, mandating digital money lenders in Nigeria, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Kenya to conform to regulatory rules or be taken down by January 31.

According to the firm, only digital money lenders that have adhered to and completed the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending, 2022 (as may be amended from time to time) by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and obtain a verifiable approval letter from the FCCPC will be allowed on Play Store in Nigeria.

Commenting on the new policy to The PUNCH, the Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera, stated that it was a welcome development and shows that Google was institutionalising its regulatory policy.

He said, “It is a welcome development effort and is consistent with the position the FCCPC has taken and what we are enforcing.

“Google is now institutionalising our regulatory effort as a policy, which is very welcome. It is certainly important for proper regulatory oversight of the industry, and we commend Google for taking a position that is consistent with our position as regulators.”

He added, “Recall that we took this position earlier and what has happened is that Google has looked at the regulatory landscape, looked at the regulatory priorities, and is supporting those priorities by institutionalizing those regulatory priorities and position.”

The FCCPC recently stated that it has approved 173 digital lending applications to operate in the country. 119 of these got full approvals while 54 got conditional approvals. This move became necessary after loan apps started harassing Nigerians by sending defaming messages to their contacts, and more.

The commission’s ‘Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022’ is an attempt to regulate the digital lending space and make registration and approval a prerequisite for companies seeking to operate in the space.

Although, Google’s policy states that it does not “allow apps that promote personal loans that require repayment in full in 60 days or less from the date the loan is issued,” many loan apps in the country do not adhere to it, exposing many Nigerians to confidential data leak.

Speaking recently on Arise TV on how the recent registration drive of the commission will protect the privacy of Nigerians, Irukera stated, “We also want to restrain what kind of information they are able to pull off people’s phones and what they are able to do with that information, especially with respect to making contact with people on the contact list, and their loan recovery practices; the kind of language the times they call, what kind of things they say.”

Source: https://punchng.com/FG-bars-online-banks-from-accessing-customers-photos-contacts

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Kukah: Nigerians Are Frustrated By Election Outcome | Justice Seems Impossible

Matthew Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, says Nigerians are frustrated by the outcome of the 2023 election and also believe that justice has eluded them.

In a statement on Sunday, Kukah described Nigerians as men and women returning from a funeral with forlorn looks.

The cleric condemned the violence that trailed the elections, saying it cannot be accepted as the new ladder to power.

“Nigerians are so collectively frustrated that it is almost impossible to convince them that they can find justice,” Kukah said.

“Everywhere you turn today, Nigerians look forlorn, disconsolate, lugubrious, and despondent. Our swagger is gone. We look like men and women returning from a funeral, murmuring discontentment in hushed tones. It is therefore not surprising that even the victors are blowing a muted trumpet.

“Unpleasant as this may sound, this blood that they have shed could be seen as blood of the birth of a new Nigeria. It can become the blood of our new birth, our redemption. However, we cannot accept that violence and bloodshed are the normal route to power. Because like the blood of Abel, the blood of those who have been murdered continues to cry out to heaven seeking for justice ( Gen. 4:10).”

The bishop empathised with aggrieved citizens and asked them not to give up in the quest for justice but to align their hopes with the celebration of Easter.

“Though we are tempted with the drudgery of fatigue and despondency, unlike the apostles in the garden of Gethsemane, we should be ready to wait in patience for one hour or more (Mt. 26:40),” Kukah said.

“Our dream is merely in suspense, a punctuation mark in the book of our unfinished greatness. Let us see this as a detour, a diversion. We still have our roadmap in our hands. It is time to return to the highway so as to choose a road less travelled, a road of hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and hope. The ugliness of yesterday must not define us. We must finish this journey together. We shall neither relent, slow down nor give up.

“The resurrection is a promise that despite the seeming hopelessness, God’s plans cannot be frustrated. Those who position themselves at night with stones to guard the entrance of the tomb will find themselves confounded at dawn by an empty tomb. A new Nigeria will emerge from the tombs of our seeming helplessness.”

‘DON’T LET YOUR ANGER HOLD YOU PRISONER’
Speaking to aggrieved Nigerians, Kukah asked them not to show their anger through violence but to transform it to a motivation to seek justice.

“Yes, we are all angry and we all want justice. Yes, we have the right to be angry and we should be angry. But, angry about what, angry with whom and justice for whom? St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the angelic doctor of the church, said: ‘He who is not angry when there is a just cause for anger is immoral because anger looks to the good of justice. If you can live with injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust’,”Kukah said.

“This is why the urgent task before us is to restore the dignity of the Nigerian nation and her citizens. Nigerians have for too long been beaten by the rain and the sun of injustice.”

https://www.thecable.ng/kukah-nigerians-are-frustrated-by-election-outcome-justice-seems-impossible/amp

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