May-hem: EFCC arrests 193 suspects on Internet fraud in 20 days - ITREALMS

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Since the beginning of the fifth month of 2024, May, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has made a total of 193 arrests related to cyber crimes and internet fraud across various cities in Nigeria, reports ITREALMS.

Also, ITREALMS investigations on the number of convictions by the EFCC in 2021 showed that there were some 35 cases, just as 54 cases were mentioned on cyber crimes, even as cybercrime as compound word appeared 339 in the 174 page document.

Police burst kidnappers hideout in Avu-Ihiagwa forest, arrest 5 suspects - ITREALMS

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Based on credible intelligence, operatives of the Imo State Police Command Special Tactical Unit led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Aboki Danjuma in synergy with some local hunters stormed a suspected kidnapper’s hideout in a forest between Avu and Ihiagwa, on 29/01/2024 and arrested of 5 suspected kidnappers, reports ITREALMS.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Imo State Command, ASP Okoye Henry in a press statement available to ITREALMS gave the names of the suspects as Muazu Awuta, 30 ‘m’ yrs, Abdullahi Abubakar, ‘m’ 32yrs, Ozeru Sabo ‘m’ 25yrs, Saddam Suleiman, ‘m’ 27yrs, Bashir Yahaya, ‘m’, 28yrs all of Jau LGA of Jigawa State.

Covid-19: FG declares 4,370 persons wanted, suspects filling false addresses, phone numbers - ITREALMS

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The Federal Government (FG) has declared some 4,370 persons wanted for Coronavirus-related cases. Reports ITREALMS.

This came as Nigeria, Thursday recorded 65 cases across 8 states, while those who flew into the country lately, filled false information including non-existing addresses and phone numbers respectively.

The Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made these revelations to ITREALMS in Abuja, saying that some 4,370 persons are on high-case tracing by the authorities.

“We have 4,370 people of interest whom we are tracing. We urge those who have had contact with suspected cases to immediately report to the authorities,” he declared.

He urged Nigerians to support the authorities in this regard, stressing that “We are on the verge of reaching the level of community spread.”

This, he said, the country must stop immediately or “we will record exponential cases in the days ahead. There is no better way to say this.”

The Minister also lamented that the government is not getting the kind of cooperation that this moment deserves from Nigerians.

“Many are busy engaging in meaningless criticisms instead of complying with the stipulated directives to keep people safe.

“Some Nigerians who flew into the country from overseas filled wrong addresses and phone numbers in their forms, making it difficult to trace them when the need arises

“Some Nigerians defied orders to stay away from large gatherings while some religious leaders willfully flouted the directives to ensure social distancing.

According to him, the government is doing its best but Nigerians need to do their best too.

“We need the citizens to do their best too. We have now gone past the stage of persuasion. It's time for strong enforcement,” Mohammed said.

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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Expert flays indiscriminate release of 760 Boko Haram suspects

ITRealms:

President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria, Dr. Ona Ekhomu has flayed the recent release of 760 Boko Haram suspects, advising the Federal Government (FG) to exercise extreme caution in the mass release of captured Boko Haram fighters, reports ITRealms.

Ekhomu also said the caution has become necessary for the protection of society from incessant terrorist attacks by ‘inadvertently recycling insurgents into the battlefield’.

Reacting to the recent mass release of 760 Boko Haram suspects by the Joint Intelligence Center of Operation Lafiya Dole, Ekhomu said in a press statement made available to ITRealms that such a release of suspected insurgents should be based upon concrete evidence of repentance and conversion to true Islam which extols peace.

“There must be ample evidence of deradicalization” he warned, describing the release of 760 suspects as rather hasty and ill-advised which tends to worsen the threatscape of the region.

Ekhomu insisted that “The mass release of suspects without rigorous investigation of each suspect would tend to worsen an already fragile security eco-system. The JIC is an intelligence authority and not an investigative agency.”

He pointed out that the Criminal Investigation Department of the Military Provost would have been better placed to conduct these inquiries and make recommendations to the political executive for a final decision” he averred.

Ekhomu, who is the first chartered security professional in Nigeria said that in 2017 a total of 2,603 Boko Haram suspects have been released. Stressing that prior to the latest mass release, the activities of the previously released detainees should have been documented and analyzed to determine the performance of the mass release programme.

“Without such a protocol, then the insurgent release programme would appear to be opaque and arbitrary,” he decried.

Equally, the security analyst called upon the Federal Government to adequately fund the security programmes in the northeast, maintaining that frequent mass release of suspects is based upon the fact that the military authorities are not equipped to indefinitely detain prisoners of war.

“Turning the suspects over to the Borno State government appears to be a way to transfer responsibility away from the military,” he said,

Ehkomu elucidated that “ironically, it’s a nation that fights a war and not its military alone. In other words, other agencies are supposed to play their roles – the Police, the Prosecutors, the Judiciary and the Prisons. It is the general failing of these other agencies of state that is over-burdening the military and resulting in these questionable mass release programs that may have the unintended consequence of prolonging the war in the northeast.”

According to Dr. Ekhomu, the Boko Haram conflict is classified as a 4^th generation warfare, thus its an asymmetric warfare, which Boko Haram’s operational strategy is appropriate messaging to different publics and use of lethal tactics. Captured Boko Haram fighters will quickly assure their captors that they have experienced ideological rebirth as a survival mechanism, even when such assertion is untrue. However, these fighters are free to resume attacks after being handed over to the poorly-resourced Borno State government.

He urged the Federal Government to be acutely aware of the paradigm shift in warfare and formulate prisoner release decisions based upon the realities of 4^th generation warfare, adding that “When a suicide bomber blows himself or herself up in a mosque, it is a win for the insurgents.”

Ekhomu praised the Nigerian military for its bravery and brilliance in battle. However, he lamented that the military was being over-stretched by different internal security threats, and there was no need to prolong the Boko Haram conflict longer than necessary by making faulty decisions.

He called for the building of high security prison facilities in Borno State where suspects can be held for longer periods of time and be exposed to psychologists and moderate imams who can work on their conversion to mainstream Islam prior to their release. 

He said that the decision to release terrorism suspects must be made after careful psychological testing and evaluation by credentialed professionals. 

“That should form the basis for the decision to reintegrate each fighter into civil society. He said that the Borno State Government does not have the capacity to carry out the intricate assessment and evaluation of deradicalization and ideological reorientation of each Boko Haram fighter handed over to them,” he cautioned.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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