Information Sovereignty: Nigerian Press bodies urge FG, NASS to curb big tech dominance - ITREALMS

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Nigeria’s major media and journalism organizations have issued a unified, urgent call to the Federal Government and the National Assembly to protect the Nigerian press from the suffocating dominance of global digital platforms, reports ITREALMS.

This joint appeal, released under the banner of the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), warns of a strategic national threat to the country’s information ecosystem, democratic stability, and economic independence.

Summit: Nigerian judiciary advised to curb misuse of exparte order - ITREALMS

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Nigerian leaders on Wednesday has called for the enthronement of an effective justice sector that would guarantee quality and speedy dispensation of justice in the country.

Leaders who spoke at the opening of a two-day National Summit on Justice include President Bola Tinubu, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN and representatives of the European Union, United Nations office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and others.

Military pledges protection of civilians in conflict, curb human rights abuses - ITREALMS

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The Nigerian military has pledged its readiness to prioritize conflict management and reduce civilian harm in face of the insurgency.

The Commandant National Defence College Nigeria Rear Admiral Murtala Bashir, during a workshop on the protection of civilians in a challenging environment organized by the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC)in collaboration with the Alumni Association of the National Defense College (AANDEC), said violence against civilians is an unintended consequence of conflict however he stated that civilians harm perpetrated by security forces will not be tolerated.

EU urges CSOs to curb money laundering, promote governance - ITREALMS

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The European Union (EU) is strengthening the capacity of over 200 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) across Nigeria, in a bid to curtail the trend of money laundering and promote corporate governance in the country.

The EU-funded initiative under the Agents for Citizens-driven Transformation (ACT) programme is targeted at enhancing the capacity of CSOs on regulatory framework relating to their corporate activities.

Place premium on life to curb suicide, abortions - Chigbogwu

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Celebrated motivational speaker, Mrs. Ifeoma Chigbogwu, has waded into the recent incidences of suicide in Nigeria and urged citizens to place a high value on their lives by avoiding voluntary deaths, reports ITRealms.

Also, she expressed concerns over the termination of the lives of unborn children through voluntary abortions.

In her latest monthly YouTube video message entitled “Why end life that is not yours”, the award-winning author advised those at risk not to succumb to the urges despite challenging circumstances.

Chigbogwu conceded that sad and rough situations, including disappointments in relationships and inability of an accused to state his case in a matter might trigger the conscious choices of suicide and abortion.

She, however, advised her audience that “whether you want to terminate your life or the life of an unborn baby, you are killing yourself or killing a part of yourself.”

The blogger added that “suicide is exit from transcendental reality and a defeatist approach to solving life’s problems.”

Basing her advice on scriptural convictions, Chigbogwu stated that suicide and abortions are infractions against divinity, humanity and self.

“You do not own life, it does not belong to you but to God. It is in God’s hands and you have no right to end it.

“Do not end stories that you are not telling before they are finished. You are just an actor and not the author of life”, the relationship expert advised.

She encouraged sober reflection on the part of those contemplating suicide and abortion and urged them to remain hopeful for better times and seek ways to improve their self-worth.

“Refuse, reject and resist being a loser or a failure”, Chigbogwu said.

Uj. N. Dominic/ED, Ops

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Police look @technology to curb crime

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There are strong indications that the current leadership of the Nigerian Police under the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris is towing the digital route to curb crime and improve the prosecution of crimes in Nigeria.

You will recall that IGP Idris recently launched the Public Complaints Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU) to fight corruption and abuse by police officers.  The PCRRU engages citizens on all social media platforms.

Now, the police has partnered with leading technology firms to develop and deploy an innovative mobile app as well as an enterprise crime management “iPolice-Hawk Eye”.

Hawk Eye, a mobile app that will allow users to report crimes anonymously to the police by video, voice or text. It was developed by Lagos based tech firm Web Asset., which is working with US based tech firms BBGN&K and tech giant Microsoft to develop the system and provide key technologies such as facial recognition and KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) with the active collaboration of the Nigeria Police.

When users report crimes using Hawk Eye App, police patrol vehicles equipped with iPolice Mobile Device Terminals which receives reported crimes, dispatched by command and control center for immediate response to be on hand for quick and efficient response.

With Hawk Eye app citizens are empowered as source of human intelligence in the fight against crimes such as kidnapping, terrorism, robbery, human trafficking etc. The system is expected to enhance the community policing plan recently announced by the government to improve security in the country. The project has been managed by DIG ICT, Foluso Adebanjo of the Nigeria Police Force. All reporting is ANONYMOUS, as the app does not identify nor capture the information of person filing report.

System is now available to citizens in FCT and coming to Lagos in September with roll out planned for other States.

To start using the app, visit the app store to download the Hawk Eye Crime Reporting app for free.Click here to download.

Hawk EyeCrime Reporter is available in English and Native languages.

(English, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and Pidgin).

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Corruption in IT procurement: NITDA partners EFCC

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The National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC) have agreed to join forces to curb corrupt practices in Information Technology (IT) procurement, mostly in Ministries, Department and Agencies of the Federal Government,  reports ITRealms.

The Director-General of NITDA, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to EFCC headquarter in Abuja on Monday.

Pantami said that the alliance has become imperative in the face of the wanton corruption being perpetrated by MDAs especially in the procurement of IT products and services as most of the projects pass through less scrutiny during budget defense at National Assembly because of the expertise required to ascertain the needs and specifications of these IT requirements.

“Many MDAs consider IT projects  as conduit pipes to siphon public funds and I believe partnering with EFCC will bring sanity to the sector and by then the commission will be empowering NITDA in strengthening its regulatory function through which it will also be developing  and promoting the local content in the IT sector,” he said.   

While suggesting the modus operandi of the partnership, Dr Pantami informed that the two organisations could form a working group which would also serve as a desk to deal with sharp practices in the IT procurement, adding that, “EFCC may help in asking MDAs to produce procurement clearance issued by NITDA during their investigations.

He said NITDA as IT regulatory body in the country, the Agency is responsible for subjecting IT product to value-for-money analysis, reduce projects duplication, justify the spending of public funds on IT projects and to advise MDAs on the alternative options of IT products and service with a view of reducing cost especially on sharing of software among themselves. 

   

The DG who believed that the alliance would strengthen the existing relationship between the Agency and the Commission said “supporting NITDA would go a long way in blocking loopholes in IT procurements.”

He commended the EFCC’s Acting chairman for his doggedness, fearlessness and outstanding performance which he has recorded in acting capacity saying the feat  could take some people 20 years to achieve as substantive chairman of the commission.

While assuring him of his prayers and goodwill, Dr Pantami stated that Nigeria needs people like Mr Magu who are fearless and do not think of the consequences of their action to move forward as a nation

  

In his remarks, the Acting Chairman of the Commission, Mr Ibrahim Magu who expressed his   delight over the visit said that  EFCC as Commission “would be complying with NITDA’s request so as to bring some level  of sanity to the procurement of IT products and services among MDAs in Nigeria.

He described the partnership as timely especially now that the Commission is on the process of “completely digitalizing the operation of EFCC” adding that he now has place in NITDA to run to when he gets confuse on  IT projects under investigations.

Describing corruption as a threat to the unity of Nigeria, the EFCC boss maintained that the Commission cannot fight corruption alone without the consensus of all Nigerians,  he pleaded to Nigerians not to  be discouraged on the recent corruption case judgments delivered recently.

Mr Magu stated that the cause of agitations from different quarters in the country today is because of corruptions that has ravaged the nation. “Absolutely there is a political will to fight corruption and this is not in doubt. This is the time to save this country from the shackles of corruption," he added.

The two organisations agreed to nominate three officials each to constitute the working group and the desk with the term of reference of verifying the IT products and services to be procured with public funds.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE 

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Etisalat implements ‘2442 Do-Not-Disturb’ option to curb unsolicited SMS

ITRealms:

Reputed for keeping to the rules, Etisalat Nigeria, has commenced the implementation of the ‘2442 Do-not-Disturb’ (DND) facility on its network which that enables customers to opt-out completely or partially from receiving unsolicited marketing text messages and calls, reports ITRealms.

This follows a directive by the industry regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), engaged network operators to develop effective solutions to address the issue. As a direct result of this regulator-operator engagement, Etisalat has implemented the DND service which is designed to offer subscribers greater choice in determining the type and frequency of messages they receive.

Director, Regulatory and Corporate Social Responsibility,Etisalat Nigeria, Ikenna Ikeme confirmed to ITRealms that DND service is now available on the Etisalat network, using a uniform shortcode, 2442, across all networks for ease of access.

Subscribers on the Etisalat network, can therefore access the DND service by sending ‘STOP’ to 2442; customers can also request for a partial DND service which will allow them to receive only a specified class of messages that are of interest to them such as Sports, Religion, Health, etc.

Ikeme explained that to activate the partial DND service, customers are required to send ‘HELP’ to 2442 to receive information about the available classifications and their activation codes; then send the activation code to 2442 to activate a specific class of messages.

He also highlighted that the company’s enviable record of compliance with regulatory directives and reaffirmed Etisalat’s commitment to enhancing customer experience on its network.

“Our customers remain our priority at Etisalat Nigeria, because we recognize their preferences, not only in terms of the quality of products and services available to them, but also with regard to their experience on our network. Ensuring that the DND service is available on our network is one of the ways in which we continue to enhance our bouquet of services and enrich customer experience on the Etisalat network,” he said.

Mr. Ikeme added that the implementation of the DND service is also intended to encourage mutually responsible operator-customer relationship and sustainability of the telecommunications industry.

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