Call masking: No lifting of ban, remain offense insists Maida – ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has insisted that call masking remained a crime punishable in the nation’s telecommunications space, reports ITREALMS.

The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida disclosed this to ITREALMS on Thursday at a media parley which coincided with his 100 days in office held in Lagos.

Call masking is a telephone feature that displays a designated phone number on outbound calls; Callers could only see the caller ID that you set and not your actual phone number or extension.

Responding to ITREALMS question, EVC Maida said that as far as he knows, call masking ban has not been lifted.

This, he maintained, remained a crime and criminal offenses have some deterrent actions.

Also speaking, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Engr. Ubale Ahmed Maska reiterated the EVC position, declaring that “it remained a criminal offense to operate call masking in the country.”

He also revealed that some measures are being put in place to ensure such perpetrators are tracked and punished.

In addition, he disclosed that NCC has recently completed installation of some equipment to aid the Commission in tracking masked calls and eventually break the perpetrators to book.

The latest installations, he said, would avail NCC more surveillance, emphasising that punishment will be meted to offenders.

Further, the EVC reeled out his strategic plans to be anchored on four pillars including, collaboration, data-centric, compliance and digitalisation of processes.

As said by Maida, the importance of collaboration cannot be over-emphasised given the fact that telecommunications binds every other sectors of the economy.

NCC under his watch, he said would ensure data-centric engagement so as to ensure that data drives and used to project the work of the commission, as such that industry data collection is paramount in its service delivery, while focus on critical stakeholders, namely the consumers, licensees and the government.

Maida, who was also accompanied by the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr. Adeleke Morounfolu Adewolu, some directors, deputy directors, heads of units as well as, Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Muoka, anticipated all the licensees of NCC to comply with the rules of the game towards making the sector the defacto engine-room of the modern economies.

Pointing out that network reliability will be encouraged to empower consumers to have a better connectivity and move away from multiple SIM usage.

Efforts, he said, would be geared towards making data more affordable, thereby advancing the general security to improve end-user experience.

He warned that there will be consequences for using SIM for frauds in the country and NCC will tighten any loose end to make sure this is achieved.

Whereas, he said that NCC will leverage digitalisation to work processes more friendly to the eco-system including subscribers and investors.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

POLFAN hails lifting of ban on 42 importation items - ITREALMS

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The Port Logistics and Forwarders Association of Nigeria (POLFAN) has hailed the recent actions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in delisting 42 banned items for Foreign Exchange, reports ITREALMS.

The National President of the Board of Trustees of POLFAN, Chief Chima Innocent Osuji stated this recently in Lagos while briefing Port Stakeholders on recent developments in the Maritime and Shipping landscape of the country.

FG advised to emulate India: 'Ban import of computer hardware' - ITREALMS

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The current Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) led by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have been advised to emulate India government which recently imposed restrictions on import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers and ultra-small computers and servers with immediate effect, reports ITREALMS.

This, they said is in the spirit of product nationalism whereby countries deliberately promote patronage of home-made products and services to boost local productivity, create more jobs, encourage proficiency, and discourage capital flight.

Police ban on phone search & Corporal Kadiri’s virality - ITREALMS

Telecoms Clinic@ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

Preamble:
About January 2016, Nigerians wake up soon after the new year rave to herald a circular from the Office of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in Nigeria, banning the men and women of the Police Force from searching mobile phones of civilians without warrant. This also means that it has become illegal for the rank and file of Nigeria Police to attempt to access the phones of Nigerians.

According to the Compliant Response Unit (CRU) in a news bulletin with reference number: CZ:4570/X/FHQ/CRU/VOL.1/1 signed by Officer in-charge of CRU, Force Headquarters, Abuja, then, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Abayomi Shogunle, entitled “Inspector-General of Police Prohibits Officers from Illegal Accessing of Personal Mobile Phones” available to 
ITREALMS quoted IGP Solomon Arase as having warned Police officers who are in the habit of indiscriminate checking of personal information on mobile phones of members of the public to stop such practices with immediate effect.

FG demands Facebook ban on IPOB, check subversive YouTube channels - ITREALMS

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The Federal Government has demanded that Facebook ban the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), from using its platform, reports ITREALMS.

This is coming as FG seeks to collaborate with Google to curb the excesses of subversive YouTube channels which it claimed are used to spread hate and disinformation against the country.

Business case against proposed two-Wheeler ban - ITREALMS

Commentary@ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!


Transportation, the movement of people and goods from one place to another, is a significant driver of human progress. In Nigeria, the three key means of transportation are road, air, and water. 

Road transport however dominates the means of transportation, especially in urban and suburban areas. Reports indicate that road transport makes up about 90 per cent of the movement of goods and passengers in the country.

Twitter ban ruling against FG: ISOC Nigeria applauds ECOWAS court, CSOs - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Internet Society (ISOC) Nigeria chapter, has commended the ECOWAS Court of Justice on its ruling over the ban on Twitter and warned the Federal Government never to repeat such action against the citizenry, reports ITREALMS.

President, ISOC Nigeria, Mr. Caleb Ogundale gave this commendation in a reaction to the court judgment on Friday, July 14, 2022,
with ITREALMS.

Coalition writes Wike, others over ban lifting on public gathering, mosque, churches, invitation to spread COVID-19 – ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC) has written to Nigerian governors who lifted bans on public gathering, markets, mosques and churches in their states over the on-going lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus or COVID-19, reports ITREALMS.
As at press time, ITREALMS gathered that the governors of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, his counterparts in Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello; Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN; and Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari; have lifted bans on public gathering, markets, mosques and churches to name a few.

HSRC in an open letter available to ITREALMS endorsed by its Co-chairs on COVID-19 Response Task Team, Deacon Mike Egboh and Dr. Chizoba Wonodi, said they received with shock, concern and fear, the lifting of bans on some gatherings including Friday prayers and Easter services, by some states.

They also commended some states on lockdown especially the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos among others describing it as welcome development, stressing the importance of containing the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), and avoiding the high number of deaths that might follow and the disastrous effects on the health system and economy, as we are seeing with countries like US, Italy, Spain, UK, amongst others.

HSRC with its membership of over 100 non-governmental actors, working to improve health care and development across every state in Nigeria, recognizes and respects the importance of worship and religious celebrations to Nigerians.

“We acknowledge and value the role of religious leaders and faith-based organizations in providing spiritual support through faith for their followers in a healthy and safe environment,” they said.

Further, HSRC appreciated the socio-economic difficulties being faced by people over the lockdown across the country.

“Unfortunately, options are limited for now in the best ways to fight the spread. Scientific evidence and experience from developed and developing countries reinforce that avoiding crowd, physical distancing, handwashing and respiratory hygiene are still the best ways to prevent the spread and associated deaths. With the high number of people living in poverty, high prevalence of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes (underlying diseases) and very weak health systems, it will be catastrophic if the virus spreads widely in Nigeria.

“Data from the WHO and Johns Hopkins shows that 1.6 million people have tested positive and more than 95 thousand have died from COVID-19 between December 2019 to April 9, 2020. While majority of infections and deaths have been in developed countries, both infections and deaths are also rising in Africa. Cases in Nigeria have multiplied from one to 288 in six weeks with seven deaths. Number of states with established cases have risen from one to 17 within the same period.

“Trends from other countries showed that without drastic measures such as maintaining lockdowns and distancing, the numbers can easily rise exponentially over a short time. Between February 27 and March 27, the US went from 54 to 100,522 cases while Italy went from 593 to 66,414 in one month!

“Because our testing is grossly inadequate, the true numbers of cases in Nigeria may be hidden. It is highly likely that community spread is happening because up to 85% of the infected may be asymptomatic yet capable of transmitting the virus. Our containment is still in the nascent stage, this is not the time to relax our guard. The couple of weeks are very critical in containing an upsurge in the number of confirmed cases.

“As the Health Sector Reform Coalition of Nigeria, we:

A. Implore our governors to cancel all plans or reverse the directives to lift the ban on religious and other gatherings until the NCDC and Federal Ministry of Health advise otherwise – No matter the pressure, this is not the time for populism.

B. Call on the federal government and state governments to increase the delivery of economic mitigation packages to households and individuals that are in need, to reduce the pressure on people to go out for their daily living.

C. Ask all Nigerians to PLEASE continue to listen to the advice of health experts represented by NCDC and WHO at this critical time. Nothing is more important than staying alive.

Furthermore, we need to remind ourselves of the following:

i. COVID-19 (Coronavirus) does not go to sleep at night, market days, Fridays or Sundays

ii. Infected people without any symptoms can still transmit the virus

iii. Over 2500 infections in France was linked to a single religious gathering while about 230 infections in South Korea were linked to a religious group where members continued gathering

iv. Crowd gathering should be avoided, and at all time maintain at least 2 m or 6 feet or two arm’s length of distance between people

v. Religious and faith institutions are encouraged to explore means of conducting faith activities remotely/virtually (as long as required) and provide psychosocial and mental health support and resilience

vi. Cloth face masks might help reduce the spread by those who are infected but does not fully protect healthy people from getting infected, so continue to practice hand washing, respiratory hygiene, physical distancing and crowd avoidance even when wearing a face mask

vii. Clean/disinfectant surfaces such as doorknobs, handles, to remove the virus

viii. Actively promote attitudes and behaviours to uphold the dignity and rights of all people, and counter all forms stigma and discrimination associated with the virus

ix. Even if you have good immunity, you can spread it to children, the elderly and other family members who are vulnerable and more likely to die from COVID-19

x. States that currently have zero recorded cases are still not safe and closing state borders is not enough.

“As the custodian of power in the state, necessity is placed on the governors to make the right decision that will protect the citizens. This is the time to make that difficult sacrifice to protect our future. Our governors and other political leaders should be seen to be leading,” HSRC maintained, urging “Nigerian, please stay at home and stay alive!!!”

Chuks Egbune/DoP

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INEC lifts ban on electoral campaigns till Thursday - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has changed its mind by lifting the ban on electoral campaigns for the 2019 general elections, reports ITREALMS.

INEC on Monday after a prolonged meeting, said it reviewed earlier position and lifted the ban, following the postponement of the presidential elections last Saturday morning.

A press statement endorsed by National Commissioner Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, and made available to ITREALMS, INEC said campaigns should resume immediately and end by midnight on Thursday.

The statement read in part:

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) met on Monday 18th February 2019 and reviewed its preparations for the 2019 General Elections rc-scheduled for Saturday. 23rd February 2019 for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections and Saturday. 9th March 2019 for Governorship, State Assembly and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections.

“It would be recalled that at the briefing held on Saturday. 16th February 2019 at the Abuja International Conference Centre (AICC). the Commission gave reasons for re-scheduling the polls and released a new Schedule of Activities leading up to the elections.

“The Commission has also worked out in detail. concrete steps to be taken to ensure that election materials arrive at the polling units in good time for prompt commencement of the polls on Saturday. 23rd February 2019. An update will be provided by the Commission at a press conference on Tuesday. 19th February at the Abuja International Conference Centre by 3pm.

“1n the meantime. after consultations with political parties. the Commission has approved that campaigns by parties and candidates can resume forthwith to end by midnight of Thursday, 21st February 2019.

“Media organisations are at liberty to accept, publish. broadcast and circulate campaign materials up till midnight of Thursday. 21st February 2019. Political Parties and their candidates are enjoined to abide by the extant laws governing campaigns.

“The Commission wishes to thank all Nigerians for their understanding regarding the rescheduling of the elections. We appeal to stakeholders to be dispassionate and circumspect in their comments. The Commission is focusing on the elections to be held on 23rd February and 9th March to ensure that they are free. fair and credible. We urge all Nigerians to participate fully in the elections. notwithstanding the disappointment." 

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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Lai Mohammed denies ‘ban’ on Nigerian films, music video made abroad

ITRealms:

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has denied pronouncing ban on all music videos and films to be produced in abroad for Nigeria market, reports ITRealms.

                                       

''I didn't say that henceforth, all music videos and films will be produced in Nigeria, or that the production of music videos or films outside Nigeria will be banned,” he asserted.

The Special Assistant (SA) to Hon. Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Segun Adeyemi in a press statement made available to ITRealms, Wednesday in Lagos, quoted the Lia Mohammed denying the above story perception making a round on social media.

“All I said was that if a programme is designated as a Nigerian (local) content programme, we will amend the Code to ensure that it is produced in Nigeria,'' he said, adding, ''On that, there is no going back.''

He insisted that any programme consumed by Nigerians must be produced in Nigeria, stressing that the government's decision on any programme meant for Nigerians must be produced in Nigeria, was not to develop the economy of other countries at the expense of the Nigerian economy.

The  nation’s Creative Industry, he said, has potential of creating 1 million jobs in three years would not be realized if jobs meant for Nigerians are being exported to other countries under the guise of producing, in other countries, programmes to be consumed in Nigeria.

The Minister recalled how his office was bombarded with calls from concerned Nigerians when the last edition of the ''Big Brother Naija'' was produced in South Africa, saying he subsequently directed the National Broadcasting Commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the controversy.

''Following the findings, we decided to amend the relevant sections of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code to prevent a repeat of that development. We are now in the process of doing that, so that anyone who intends to produce a reality show or similar programmes for Nigerians cannot take the production of such shows outside Nigeria.

''Nigerians are a very proud and resourceful people, and we are sure that no Nigerian will be against a decision to prevent the jobs that can be done in Nigeria by Nigerians from being exported to other countries,'' he said.

In a related development, Alhaji Mohammed has said the Broadcasting Code is also being amended to help develop the local football league.

''This (amendment) is not just about the Creative Industry. We are also going to ensure that the NBC Code is amended in a manner that if any company in Nigeria today invests a million dollars in promoting or supporting any (football) team or league outside Nigeria, I want the Broadcasting Code to be amended to the effect that it will not allow that programme to be aired unless that company supports the Nigerian League with a percentage that will not be less than 30 per cent of what was spent.

''This is because we cannot continue to develop the economies of the other parts of the world from the sweat of Nigerians and at the expense of the Nigerian economy,'' the Minister said.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Airplane laptop bomb triggers ban on electronics by US, UK

ITRealms:

The fear of laptop bomb has triggered off the electronics ban onboard airplanes entering the United States of America (USA) and lately United Kingdom (UK), reports ITRealms.

The new rules, ITRealms gathered has been confirmed by US Department of Homeland Security and UK authorities’ ban, both linked to suspected plans by terrorist groups based on intelligence report.

Britain, according to PA, has taken the dramatic move to ban laptop computers and tablets from the cabins of planes flying to the UK from six countries, amid fears of a new terror threat.

The move affecting thousands of passengers coming from six predominantly-Muslim countries mirrors a similar measure imposed by the US, citing an attempt by the Islamist al-Shabaab group to bring down a jet in Somalia using a laptop bomb.

The British Government’s decision follows the receipt of specific intelligence reports, according to security sources.

Downing Street officials refused to discuss any specific terrorist plot, but action hitting 15 airlines with the extra restrictions was taken after Theresa May met aviation experts on Tuesday morning.

Ministers said they understood the “frustration” the extra measures would cause passengers but said they are working with the industry to minimise the impact.

A No 10 spokesman said: “The safety and security of the travelling public is our highest priority.

“That is why we keep our aviation security under constant review and put in place measures we believe are necessary, effective and proportionate.”

•             Emirates confirms laptops, Kindles and iPads banned from US flights

•             Trump's new rules on electronic devices 'a Muslim ban by 1,000 cuts'

•             US bans passengers from carrying electronic devices on 12 airlines

The six countries affected are: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. Devices measuring more than 16cm in length, 9.3cm in width, or 1.5cm depth will be banned from the cabin and need to be placed into hold luggage and checked-in before going through security.

Also, Downing Street said the measure was effective immediately, but would not give details as to why the decision had been taken now. No 10 did say UK security services have been “in close touch” with their US counterparts during the decision to implement the ban.

The US electronics measure, announced late on Monday, affected nine airlines flying from 10 specific airports in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar and the UAE, including Dubai, the world’s busiest airport for international travellers.

An incident last year appears to have caused particular alarm, after al-Shabaab smuggled an explosive-filled laptop on a flight out of Mogadishu. The explosion was small, but the bomb was particularly placed by the extremist so as to blow a hole in the side of the passenger cabin.

Experts said that if the plane was at a higher altitude, the small blast in the passenger area could have triggered a bigger explosion due to the pressurised cabin and caused the jet to crash.

Nonye Dom with additional report from Independent /GEE

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Pix: Shutters image

Customs lifts ban on rice importation, import duty

ITRealms:

The Federal Government, through the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has lifted restrictions on the importation of rice and import duty, reports ITRealms.

The spokesperson of the Nigeria Customs Service, Wale Adeniyi, affirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the Comptroller-General of NCS, Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd) as announcing the removed of the ban on importation of rice.

He also told NAN that the import duty payment at land borders has been reintroduced.

Ali said, imports through land borders by rice traders would attract the prevailing import duty of 10 per cent with 60 per cent levy.

“Over the years importation has been restricted to the seaports because border authorities have found it difficult to effectively monitor and control importation of rice,” NAN quoted him as saying. 

Nonye Dom/GEE with agency report.

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Ban galore for Samsung Galaxy Note 7 by airlines

ITRealms:

In what started like a minute ban by the United Arab Emirate (UAE) General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Samsung Note 7 either on carry-on bags or on check-in luggages, the mobile device is receiving more bans from airline operators globally, ITRealms reports.

As at the time of filing this report, over five major trans-continental airlines have placed ban on Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

This is coming as Samsung Electronics has recalled some 2.7 million units of its Galaxy Note 7 discovered to be have been on sale with faulty batteries which caused some handsets to explode during charging.

The ban, ITRealms gathered was hastened by the fire-prone discovered in the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 especially at the point of charging the batteries.

GCAA in the notice of ban stated it has banned operating, charging and carrying in bags the Samsung Note 7 on board national carriers’ flights.

Although it has not been formally banned in Nigeria, but since the ban commenced a ew days ago, airlines and air safety agencies around the world have cautioned both airline operators and passengers against using this particular device on flights.

ITRealms gathered that last Friday, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urged Note 7 owners to stop using them by way of powering same device down and stop charging or using the device entirely.

CPSC alleged that the Lithium-ion batteries pack a lot of power into a small package and when these batteries overheat and burst, the results could be serious.

This consumer warning, ITRealms learnt was based on recent reports involving lithium-ion batteries in certain Note7 devices that have resulted in fires. CPSC stressed that these incidents have occurred while charging and during normal use, which has led the Commission to call for consumers to power down their Note7s.

CPSC and Samsung are working cooperatively to formally announce an official recall of the devices, as soon as possible. CPSC is working quickly to determine whether a replacement Galaxy Note7 is an acceptable remedy for Samsung or their phone carriers to provide to consumers.  

“We advise all consumers to report product safety incidents involving lithium-ion batteries in smartphones to us (CPSC) via www.SaferProducts.gov,” the official statement made available to ITRealms urged.

Further, Dubai's Emirates Airline, the largest Middle East carrier, said it will comply with immediately effect with the directive of GCAA, noting that this measure was to avoid the possibility of these devices' batteries causing fires.

Similarly, the United Arab Emirates-based Etihad Airways, has momentarily placed a ban on the use of the Galaxy Note 7 phones on board its flights, and the UAE also has two low-cost airlines, flydubai and Air Arabia that fly international routes.

In addition, the Australia's Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Australia have raised redflags on Samsung Galaxy Note 7s on their flights.

This is coming as the US and Japanese aviation authorities have urged passengers not to turn on or charge the large-screen phones on aircraft, whereas the US Federal Aviation Administration warned passengers not to stow the device in checked-in baggage.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Ghana: Penplusbytes says 'No' to social media ban

ITRealms:

The Penplusbtye, an Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based organization situated in Accra, the capital of Ghana, has called on the Police Administration in the country not to ban social media in the forthcoming elections, reports ITRealms.

The Executive Director of Penplusbtye, Mr. Kwami  Ahiabenu II, made this call in the sidelines of a social accountability forum held in Accra, urged the Police Administration to consider setting up a social media monitoring centre, instead of total ban on social media activities on election day.

A Ghana News Agency (GNA) report available to ITRealms, Ahiabenu was quoted as declaring, “A total ban of social media  on election day would increase suspicions and create an information gap that can easily be filled with more misinformation and rumours.”

He also said social media had become a very important ICT tool with most of its contents being very useful to the society, stressing that despite its excesses, social media had contributed to entrenching democracy, especially in most African countries, through monitoring of elections as well as serving as a major source of diverse information in the world over and therefore for Ghana to ban social media on election day would not be too good.

“Many citizens and stakeholders rely on social media to monitor elections, and this give them confidence of knowing what is going on, therefore a ban of it will create problems and jeopardise elections outcome,” Mr Ahiabenu II said.

Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, Vice-Chair of the National Development Planning Commission, who chaired the function said “We shouldn’t move away from social media but we should use it to promote governance and accountability, especially in this election year.”

ITRealms noted that the Social Accountability forum, attended by various stakeholders including heads of civil society organisations, state actors on the social accountability front as well as donor organisations, created synergy and avenue for information sharing while building a concerted advocacy drive to ensure resources allocated for development are used to alleviate poverty and improve the standard of living of citizens at the grassroots.

The overall goal of the platform was to increase the contribution of civil society in promoting accountability and effective public service delivery.

The Social Accountability forum forms part of the implementation of the Penplusbytes’ two-year "Tech Driven Social Accountability for Results" project which is being funded by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa.

It seeks to equip ordinary citizens with usable information via online platforms mashed-up with social media and mobile based platforms to promote their purposeful participation in demanding accountability and responsiveness from decision makers for effective public service delivery.

Nenye Dom/GNA/GEE

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Econet refuses to ban What’s app in Zimbabwe despite govt tactics

ITRealms:

Leading mobile operator in Zimbabwe, Econet Wireless has refused to ban What’s app in the country despite pressures from the government, reports ITRealms.

Econet Chairman, Strive Masiyiwa gave this indication Friday morning when state security agents went to Econet headquarters in Harare, when he refused to become a puppet of President Robert Mugabe. 

ITRealms gathered that ZimEye reported that the government agents wanted Econet to ban WhatsApp platform and secondly, they need names of people who were complaining about Mugabe's dictatorship.   

The report noted that on arrival, the security operatives were referred to Masiyiwa by Econet spokesperson Alfred Nyambira, who in turn spoke to the agents via video call from Denmark.

ZimEye also report that the Econet chairman was precise in his chat with them and was quoted as saying telling them off. 

"... Your Potraz laws cannot be allowed to destroy my business ..." he said, stressing that concerning the issue of phone numbers and details of network users.

“I cannot give you because the international satellite laws state that user privacy is of key importance", said Masiyiwa. 

The unshaken Masiyiwa maintained his stand on the issue of banning WhatsApp.

According him, "My company (Econet Wireless) is going to lose billions of dollars if I agree to ban the social media platform ... so go and arrange with your boss (Mugabe) on how to compensate my money before you talk to me …."

Meanwhile, Econet Wireless has assured Zimbabweans that the security agents from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) lack the capacity to read people’s messages on What’s App, one of the agents was quoted as saying.

Chuks Egbuna/ZimEye/GEE

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Lagos Court favours APC over shortcode litigation, NCC+5 Operators to pay N500m

 ITRealms:

A court sitting in Lagos, Tuesday, March 24, 2015 gave judgement in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over the ban on mobile telecom shortcode – 35350, ITRealms reports.

The court, ITRealms reports also ordered the NCC alongside five mobile operators to pay APC the sum of N500 million as damages.

The APC had on the wake of the ban, draggred NCC and some five mobile operators to court, including MTN Nigeria, Glo, Etisalat, Airtel and Visafone, while NCC reportedly placed the ban because of suspected use of mobile short codes for fundraising Short Messaging Service (SMS) on which NCC said did not pass through due process and amounts to short-changing Nigerians, especially unsuspecting electorates and mobile users.

Also, quoted the Lagos state Governor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), who doubles as the Chairman Buhari-Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Fundraising Committee in Abuja.

He said, the commission’s ban on the party’s mobile fundraising shortcode was a breach of constitutional provisions and amounts to double standards.

He stressed that the party has no other choice than to seek legal redress of the action.

According to him, the directive to shut the platform was contained in a letter dated January 19, with reference number NCC/CAB/GEN/2015 VOL.1/004, which was signed by officials of the NCC.

Consequently, Mr. Justice Ibrahim Buba said the ban lacus standi.

“The directive by the NCC to the telecoms firms is hereby struck out having been made without power and in contravention of the fundamental rights of the applicant (APC)” he declared.

Justice Buba also ordered the payment of N500m as damages to APC.

The NCC or any of the operators joined in the suit have reacted to the judgement.

 

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