Beta Nigerian News Blog

 The Department of State Services (DSS) on Friday said it is not recruiting. Public Relations Officer, DSS National Headquarters, Dr Peter Afunanya, who made this known in a statement, urged the public to be wary of fraudsters. The Department of State Services (DSS) wishes to notify the public that it is not currently recruiting.It also uses this opportunity to reiterate that it does not recruit online, sell job application forms or demand money from prospective employees (when and if it recruits). The public is, by this notice, advised, for the umpteenth time, to be wary of fraudsters who operate fake and misleading websites designed to fleece them,” the statement reads. Afunanya advised interested candidates to make recruitment enquiries from the Service’s Headquarters, Abuja, its State Commands, other Formations nationwide, official website: www.dss.gov.ng and/or the Public Relations Lines (+234 9153391309-10, +234 9088373514).”

 The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission has issued two Full Business Case Certificates of Compliance for new infrastructure projects. The FBCs which were presented to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, were for the concession of the Badagry Deep Seaport and the Floating Dry Dock for NIMASA. The Acting Director-General, ICRC, Mr Michael Ohiani, who presented the certificates, informed the minister that both projects would generate over $2bn for the Federal Government and create over 5,800 jobs. A statement issued on Thursday by the commission quoted Ohiani as saying, “We have the opportunity to present the Full Business Case compliance certificate for the Badagry Deep Seaport and within the concession period it is going to generate over $2bn. For this project, the employment opportunity is over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs. We present this certificate for the benefit of all Nigerians. “We also use this opportunity to present the FBC for the Floating Dry D...

In a bid to ensure adequate security of lives and maximum protection of all critical national assets and infrastructure in the country, the leadership of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has ordered the deployment of 20,000 gallant officers nationwide during the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations. The Corps leadership ordered all zonal and state commandants to beef up security across the country, promising Nigerians a watertight security before, during and after the Eid-el-fitr celebration. The NSCDC boss, in a statement by the Corps director of public relations, DCC Olusola Odumosu, ordered the deployment, charging the men and officers of the Corps to remain valiant and tactically prepared to neutralise the activities of criminals during the festive period and beyond. “The time to be extra vigilant and more security conscious is now, considering the current security situation in the country which calls for more concerted efforts and adequate preparation against sudden attac...

The Department of State Services (DSS), has raised the alarm on what it described as plans by criminal elements to return the country to the pre-2015 era reminiscent of IED attacks on soft and hard targets in parts of the country. This was contained in a Stetement by its spokesman, Peter Afunanya. The Service said though cases of such incidents have already been reported in some areas, the Service has uncovered a ploy by suspected criminal gangs to forge an alliance among themselves with a view to launching further attacks on critical infrastructure and other frequented public places like worship and relaxation centres, especially during and after the holidays and festive celebrations. The objective of the attacks according to the service is to achieve some self-serving interests, as well as cause fear among the citizenry. The Service, however, reiterated its earlier warning that some groups and individuals were plotting to stoke violence in the country. It urged patrons, owners and ma...

The presidency has again accused a Catholic cleric, Bishop Matthew Kukah, of hatred for the Muhammadu Buhari administration and working with the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party to stop the sale of Super Tucano fighter jets to the Nigerian Air Force. Garba Shehu, President Buhari’s spokesperson, disclosed this in a State House press release titled: Predicting Nigeria’s Collapse Is A Perennial Pursuit Of US Think Tanks And Policy Experts. Shehu also said a former US ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, has been “consistently” proven wrong over his predictions that the country will collapse. Reacting to a recent article authored by Campbell, the presidential spokesperson said events have proven the diplomat’s predictions wrong. “In 2005, a US National Intelligence Council paper 'Mapping Sub-Saharan Africa’s Future' floated the idea there could be a military coup in Nigeria. At the time this was hardly an earth-shattering prediction: 2005 was only six years after the re...

  President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the victims of an explosion that rocked an illegal refinery in Imo State and also ordered an intensified clampdown on illegal refining sites across the country. About 100 people were killed on Friday after a fire engulfed an illegal crude oil refining site in the Abaezi forest, in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State. Two days after the tragic incident, President Buhari described the explosion as  a “catastrophe and a national disaster.” In a statement issued on Sunday by his media aide, Garba Shehu, the Commander-in-Chief said the responsibility for the loss of lives and property must squarely lie with the sponsors of the illegal refinery, “who must all be caught and made to face justice”. The President conveyed “the condolences and the full depth and range of the nation’s shock and trauma” to the families of the victims, the Ohaji Egbema community, and the government and people of Imo State. To forestall a reoccurrence of t...

Fresh attempts by Brazil-based drug cartels to smuggle substantial quantities of Cocaine into Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, by concealing the illicit substance in teabags have again been thwarted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. At least, four traffickers involved in the attempts to import and export illicit drugs through the country last week are now in the custody of the agency.  One of them is 33-year-old Pascal Ekene Okolo, an indigene of Ihe in the Ogwu Local Government Area of Enugu State, who was arrested during an inward clearance of a Qatar Airways flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Doha at the arrival hall of the NAIA on April 17. Okolo, who claimed to be in the wine business in Brazil, was arrested with a travelling bag containing different medicinal tea bags, which were used to conceal 4.1kg of Cocaine. On the same day, a Canada-based Nigerian, Anigo Chri...

  The unending pursuit by Bishop Matthew Kukah to stir up controversy that agitates the public is indeed intriguing. It is also questionable that this act of treachery by a so-called clergyman is often ignited during festive periods. This evolving trend and targeted strategy by renowned religious leaders to gain widespread publicity by abusing their platforms should stand condemned. For the umpteenth time, Bishop Mathew Kukah once again used his pulpit to meander into politics and fan the embers of division along ethno-religious lines. Under the auspices of goodwill messages, religious leaders issue statements embedded with false assumptions, inciteful connotations and inflammatory words. A critical analysis of Kukah’s Easter message shows that though it started on a religious note, he dangerously delved into politics, targeting the present administration. This intentional tactic is devoid of any real intent to spread the lessons of the sacred sacrifice of bringing salvation to hum...

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has commenced a raid of mountains in the territory in order to free it from the activities of bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements terrorising the area. The kidnappers, bandits and other criminal elements in the FCT have their enclaves built around the mountains in Abuja, especially in border communities. According to Ben Igwe, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Charge of Operations, the raid would continue until all criminal elements are chased out of the FCT. The Command, acting on intelligence, raided mountains and destroyed the hideouts of kidnappers in the Kwali Area Council of the FCT, among others to ensure sanity for people to go about in search of their legitimate means of livelihood. The mountains in Yangoje and Old Chukuku in the Kwali Area Council have so far been cleared of criminal hideouts by the police as part of its activities to free the area of criminal elements. Dailypost

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have foiled attempts by Brazil-based drug cartels to smuggle large consignments of cocaine into Nigeria through three major international airports in Port Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos, leading to the arrest of seven traffickers, dailypost reports. Femi Babafemi, spokesman of NDLEA, in a statement on Sunday, explained that three of the suspects were apprehended onboard a Qatar airline flight from Doha to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the inward screening of the passengers. He further explained that a total of 24.96 kilogrammes of cocaine was discovered with three suspects who departed Sao Paulo, Brazil, on board the same Qatar flight, en-route Doha to Abuja and Port Harcourt. According to the statement, the first suspect, 51-year-old Udogwu Johnson claimed that he agreed to traffic the drug for a fee of N1m when he was arrested with 5.48kg of cocaine concealed in lotion plastic bottles sealed with candle wax. Ezekwueme V...

A northern youth platform, National Youth Inclusive in Governance Organisation (NYIGO) has urged the political class to engage youths as agents of progress in the country, and not tools of violence and destruction, political corruption and misdemeanor. The group added that the elite should endeavor to mentor youths on political education and employment opportunities which will ultimately serve as a succession plan for them to take over the affairs of governance when the time comes. Convener of the group, Mr Yusuf Sheriff Banki, during a press conference yesterday in Bauchi, said with over 60 percent of the country’s voting population dominated by young eligible voters, it is critical to give them their rightful place in the political space. Banki, who disclosed that they have  began an mobilisation across the length and breadth of the country against youth exploitation ahead of 2023 general elections, expressed delight that the exercise will clear a road map for another journey in ...

 The Federal Government has rejected the 2021 annual World Press Freedom Index which listed Nigeria as a country not conducive to the practice of journalism. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, while speaking in Abuja, said the Nigerian press remained among the most vibrant and freest in the world. Nigeria, which was listed 120 in the World Press Freedom characterisation, earned a reputation as one of West Africa’s most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists, who are often spied on, attacked, arbitrarily arrested or even killed. The Special Assistant to the President, Media, Office of the Minister of Information and Culture Segun Adeyemi, in a statement issued in Abuja, said Mohammed announced the rejection when he received the executive members of the Nigerian chapter of the International Press Institute (IPI) on a courtesy visit to his office. Adeyemi said the President of IPI Nigeria, Mr Muskilu Mojeed, who led the executive members on the vi...

By Suleiman Kassim Increasing criticism by major stakeholders in the country including religious and traditional leaders on the state of the nation is becoming appalling. In a seeming quest to add a voice to the many vituperations on security challenges facing the country, the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Saád Abubakar III recently asserted that a “government that cannot protect lives and property lacks justification to remain in office”. Unashamedly, the Sultan, by his actions and comments, has remained a staunch opposition member whose partisan disposition is no longer hidden. With large followership, he is a religious leader whose words are revered and should never be seen as biased or taking sides. Is this not suggestive of a call for regime change? Is this not an invitation to anarchy? It is embarrassing to the Sultanate Council that instead of uniting the people, he is dividing and causing discordance. Should someone who bears Eminence as part of his title not really be decoro...

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday said millions of mobile telephone lines barred by telecom operators will not be unblocked until their owners’ National Identity Numbers (NINs) are linked. Over 72.77 million active telecommunication subscribers had recently barred from making calls on their SIMs, following a directive from the Federal Government to telecommunication companies. However, NCC on Tuesday said the information had become necessary in view of a viral untrue web link being circulated on social media and on some websites. “The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) wishes to officially inform telecoms consumers, whose Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards are barred from making calls, that affected SIMs will not be unbarred by the service providers until they are linked with the National Identification Numbers (NINs) of the SIM holders,” the statement said. According to the commission, the link and the accompanying narrative represented patent misinform...

  The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has appealed to host communities to assist in the fight against vandalism of the nation’s  collective power assets, by reporting suspicious activities around its operations to its offices or to security operatives. The managing director/chief executive officer, TCN, Engr. Dr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz made the appeal yesterday, when he led other management staff to undertake an on-the-spot assessment of the vandalised tower 104, along Odukpani/Ikot Ekpene 330kV transmission line in Oku Iboku Community, Itu local government area of Akwa Ibom state. Recall that the minister of Power, Aliyu Abubakar, had disclosed that vandals were responsible for a disruption of the transmission tower between Akwa Ibom and Cross River states last Friday. The development led to the collapse of the country’s electricity grid twice within three hours, at about 6:30 pm on Friday and crashed again at about 8:30 pm. The grid, has collapsed about half a dozen time...

  Popular media personality, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu has expressed concern over the lingering insecurity as the 2023 election draws near. With aspirants declaring intention to run for the office of the President in 2023, Ebuka has taken to social media demanding their solution to insecurity. According to him, the likes of Yemi Osinbajo, Rotimi Amaechi, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and all the other 2023 presidential aspirants must tell Nigerians their precise and practicable plan to tackle insecurity. His tweet read: “They’re all going to need to give us a CLEAR AND PRACTICABLE plan to tackle insecurity.” This is coming a few hours after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo declared to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. Osinbajo in his declaration speech, on Monday, promised to radically tackle insecurity, a promise that stirred reactions online, as Nigerians wondered if he would do anything different from his principal. Presently, under the All Progressives Congress, APC, Yemi Osinbajo, R...