Nation
Okada Ban: Lagos Police Impound 140 Motorcycles, Arrest 16 Passengers
As the Lagos State Government commenced the enforcement of the ban on the operation of motorcycle (okada) riders in the state, the State Police Command has seized 140 motorcycles and arrested 16 passengers and riders.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who disclosed this, said 94 of the motorcycles were impounded by the police, while others were seized by men of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Enforcement Agency.
“There was over 90 per cent compliance, but some motorcyclists still came out and we arrested and charged them to a mobile court.
“Sixteen passengers and motorcyclists were arrested; the majority of the motorcyclists did not carry passengers and some of the motorcyclists abandoned their motorcycles after sighting policemen,” he explained.
The state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had on May 18, 2022, announced the ban on okada riders at a meeting with the state Commissioner of Police, Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers at the State House in Alausa.
The governor banned operations of motorcycles otherwise known as okada in six local government areas including Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Surulere, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, and Apapa areas of the state.
The ban, which took effect from Wednesday, June 1, followed the killing of a sound engineer, David Imoh, in the Lekki area of the state.
The Tide learnt that in Surulere and Eti Osa LGAs, there was high level of compliance as there was no Okada rider within the vicinities patrolled by the policemen.
The same level of compliance was recorded at Lekki Phase 1 as bikes were not working in the area.
The Tide, however, gathered that the ban on okada is beginning to have a toll on residents as many commuters were stranded, while motorists hiked the transport fares.
The Director, Press and Public Affairs, Lagos State Task Force, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, said there was no resistance from the okada riders during the enforcement operation.
“Task force officers are everywhere in the affected areas; another team has just been deployed to Abule-Egba,” he said.
It was learnt that the police patrolled the six affected councils on Tuesday, a day to the ban, to warn those who wanted to defy the state directive.
The patrol team comprised of the police, Army, Navy, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Rapid Response Squad, task force and other security agencies.
The General Manager of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Ifalade Oyekan, said the government’s action was justified.
“The government cannot fold its arms as the menace of okada riders increase on a daily basis,” he was quoted as saying in a statement on the state government’s website.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, said the ban was in the interest of all residents and visitors.
He said, “It is backed up by security and safety concerns. In the first quarter of the year, we had 1,712 accidents in Lagos State and 45 per cent of them were from okada riding. We discovered that youths aged 30 to 39 ride okadas because they want a faster means of livelihoods and they do not want to work. The chicken was feeding on something ever before corn arrived. Lagos State is the smallest state in Nigeria with the highest population of people, size and landmass, so why can’t people survive without okadas?
“You have to be alive before thinking about what to feed on and earning a living. We believe that there are decent ways of earning a living, like the government providing land so that bike men can farm or otherwise, they can go to the Lagos State Trust Fund to seek funds. Commuters should rely on other means of transportation instead of okadas”.
Nation
SIM-NIN: Subscribers Kick Against Today’s Deadline, Demand Extension
The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers has requested that the Nigerian Communications Commission extend the deadline scheduled for the disconnection of telephone lines not linked to National Identification Numbers beyond Friday, March 29, 2024.
The subscribers’ body argued that telco agents were failing to capture all necessary information needed for verification, just as it also cited difficulties in uploading the captured data on the National Identity Management Commission’s server.
The President of NATCOMS, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, told The Tide’s source last Wednesday that NCC needed to order telcos not to disconnect telephone lines, considering the ongoing difficulties faced by subscribers.
The telecom regulator had insisted that there would be no changes to the deadline for the next phase of disconnection
The disconnection process was rolled out in stages, with the second phase scheduled for March 29, 2024, following the initial phase that occurred on February 28, 2024.
The third phase is slated to commence on April 15, 2024, as previously announced.
Earlier, the Director of Public Publicity at the NCC, Reuben Mouka, told The PUNCH, “We issued a publication that you can refer to. We specified certain deadlines and stipulated that subscribers who do not comply with the directive would be barred. And that has not changed.”
The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers has requested that the Nigerian Communications Commission extend the deadline scheduled for the disconnection of telephone lines not linked to National Identification Numbers beyond Friday, March 29, 2024.
The subscribers’ body argued that telco agents were failing to capture all necessary information needed for verification, just as it also cited difficulties in uploading the captured data on the National Identity Management Commission’s server.
The President of NATCOMS, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, told the source on Wednesday that the NCC needed to order telcos not to disconnect telephone lines, considering the ongoing difficulties faced by subscribers.
The telecom regulator had insisted that there would be no changes to the deadline for the next phase of disconnection
The disconnection process was rolled out in stages, with the second phase scheduled for March 29, 2024, following the initial phase that occurred on February 28, 2024.
The third phase is slated to commence on April 15, 2024, as previously announced.
Earlier, the Director of Public Publicity at the NCC, Reuben Mouka, told the source, “We issued a publication that you can refer to. We specified certain deadlines and stipulated that subscribers who do not comply with the directive would be barred. And that has not changed.”
At the last deadline on February 28, 2024, about 40 million lines that were not linked to NIN were barred.
The NATCOM president said before the first deadline, subscribers had appealed to the NCC for a one-month extension.
However, the NCC explained that there was no issue as the process was designed to occur in phases.
According to the president, the Operator’s Consumer Centre stands as the primary location for consumers to complete their registration fully, with data provided there being verifiable.
However, the president noted that telecom agents were bypassing crucial information during the registration process, resulting in incomplete registrations of subscribers.
“For example, during interactions with telecom representatives, some agents fail to collect all required the information from subscribers.
“If a subscriber cannot provide certain details, agents often leave the registration incomplete. Consequently, these incomplete registrations are deemed unverifiable,” he said.
Further, Ogunbanjo noted that NIMC also shares responsibility in this process.
He said the challenges often arise when telecom companies attempt to upload collected data on NIMC’s server, owing to network issues.
“These network difficulties, beyond the control of subscribers, hinder the timely completion of the registration process,” he said.
“NIMC’s inadequate network infrastructure exacerbates the problem. While they intend to accept data uploads, technical issues prevent them from doing so effectively.
“We urge the NCC to address NIMC’s shortcomings, improve their services, and acknowledge that meeting the deadline will be challenging given the current issues,” the president added.
NIMC is a statutory Nigerian organisation that operates the country’s national identity management systems.
NIMC’s enrollment figures as of December 31, 2023, stand at over 104.16 million unique records.
About 530,345 Nigerians in Diaspora have gotten NINs. 59.12 million male and 45.04 million female Nigerians have NINs.
When The PUNCH reached out to NIMC for comments on technical glitches, the Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke, clarifies that the commission’s server has consistently remained operational, debunking reports suggesting otherwise.
He emphasizes that the NIMC’s services are fully functional and accessible to all users
“Our server has never been down. You can go to the various NIN centres and confirm.
Adegoke further explained the process for subscribers to link their NIN to their SIM cards,
“These individuals only need to submit their NIN and complete the verification process through their respective telcos providers.
He encouraged those who have not yet obtained their NIN to visit any NIMC centre for enrollment.
Adegoke assured Nigerians that upon enrollment, individuals can expect their NIN to be available within three hours.
However, for those requiring corrections, such as rectifying date of birth errors, the process may take up to 72 hours.
Last week, the National Identity Management Commission and the NCC issued a joint statement unveiling a strategic partnership aimed at simplifying the NIN-SIM linkage procedures for telecommunications subscribers nationwide.
Both agencies reaffirmed their dedication to enhancing the processes involved and improving efficiency regarding the NIN and SIM card linkage initiative.
They acknowledge the importance of this initiative in bolstering security measures and enhancing service delivery across the country.
The SIM-NIN linkage initiative is a crucial step towards improving the integrity of subscriber data and enhancing security measures within the telecommunications industry.
The NIN-SIM linkage policy was initially introduced by the Nigerian government in December 2020. This directive requires all telephone line users in Nigeria to associate their SIM cards with their NIN.
In December of the previous year, the NCC issued a directive stipulating that all telecommunications operators in Nigeria, including major providers like MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, among others, must enforce complete network barring on all phone lines for which subscribers have not provided their NINs by February 28, 2024.
Barely two weeks ago, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project issued a warning to take legal action against the NCC if it does not revoke the directive instructing network providers to block the phone lines of individuals who have not linked their SIM cards to their NINs.
Nation
Reps Query N15bn Payment To Remita
The House of Representatives’ Public Accounts Committee has queried the N15billion payment made to Remita from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for two years.
This is just as the committee accused the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks of complicity in the sharing of the N15billion remittance.
The committee’s Chairman, Bamidele Salam, made the allegation at the resumed investigative hearing on revenue leakages in Abuja yesterday.
Remita is a payment solution that helps individuals and businesses make and receive payments, pay bills, and manage their finances.
The round table: Delta Bloodbath: Senate Meets Service Chiefs As Troops Comb Creeks.
Salam said that the Remita payment from the OAGF from 2016 to 2018 was questionable, adding that the OAGF paid the money without agreement or contract.
“The money is an illegal payment. There was no budget provision. So, where did they source the money from?” the chairman queried.
“If someone pays N150,000 as a Remita, you will pay 7.5 per cent Value-Added Tax in addition to it.
Salam said that the Remita payment from the OAGF from 2016 to 2018 was questionable, adding that the OAGF paid the money without agreement or contract.
“Ordinarily, that whole sum of VAT ought to go to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, but what they are doing in this transaction is that they will now add that VAT to the N150.000.
“They will add it up, gather the money together, and take it to the CBN,” he claimed.
He said, “System Spec and Remitta, both collecting revenue for the Federal Government, will share 50 per cent, while the banks and the CBN will also have their share.”
He said that by the time the committee finished its reconciliation, “I am very sure that hundreds of billions of naira will be the VAT component that was not remitted to FIRS.”
Salam stated that each bank ought to take the money and directly remit it to FIRS.
“Now, Remita is saying that each of those collecting the money will come and calculate the money that has been shared into shreds. Now, how do we track this kind of money? “he asked.
The Director, Banking Services, CBN, Mr.Ahmed Abdullahi, said it was necessary to source for an alternative way of remitting revenue, adding that Remita and System Spec were selected because they had been rendering similar services to banks.
The Chief Accountant, Treasury Single Account Department, Oyewole Adewale, representing the Accountant-General of the Federation, accused the CBN of not honouring its letters to reconcile the revenue accrued to the country through the Treasury Single Account.
He noted that the OAGF had developed a system where all revenue generated by the Ministries of Departments and Agencies of Government could now be monitored with little or no interference.
The Director, Remita Payment Services Ltd, Aderemi Atanda, while reading the summary of the TSA collection record, maintained that 10, 20, and 50 per cent were shared among CBN, commercial banks, and Remitta respectively.
Collections, he noted, often vary, saying, “In 2015.
Nation
Nigeria Needs Community-Driven Police, Not State Police -Shekarau
Former Governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, has said that the country needs to adopt community-driven police rather than establish state police.
Shekarau noted that it would be more effective in addressing the current security challenges in the country.
The former minister of education spoke in Akure at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) during the launch of a book titled ‘The Psychology of Growing Old: A Personal Experience for both Young and Old,’ written by Sehinde Arogbafa.
Shekarau argued that community police would be better controlled than state police as well as devoid of political and religious leaders’ influence.
He the involvement of communities in state policing would enhance trust, cooperation, and collaboration between the police and the citizens.
Shekarau argued that community police would be better controlled than state police as well as devoid of political and religious leaders’ influence.
He the involvement of communities in state policing would enhance trust, cooperation, and collaboration between the police and the citizens.
“I’ve been an advocate of community policing. It is different from what is being paraded as state police. Community policing means community watch.
“There is hardly any community in Nigeria that does not have what we call the vigilante group. All we need to do is the government should organise them, the government should own is up, and the government should promulgate a law.
“If I may give you an example of Kano, I’m sure you must have had experience with the Hisbah Guards; that is community watch. We set up a committee of 12 elders in every ward to do the selection of 20 responsible and respected young men for the Hisbah Guards. And we recruited them and mandated that the local government take charge of them. We’re paying them allowances. And they know everybody in the community.
“Within one to two years in Kano State, ask anybody; we don’t have any vices, no drugs, nothing in all the communities because that is community watch.
“We have over 10,000 Hisbah Guards in Kano; I did not nominate a single one; not a single party leader nominated one. It was all the elders in the community. The government created a law; we didn’t leave it in a vacuum. The number one assignment of the Hisbah Guards was to support and complement the work of all the Nigerian armed forces and the police. And they were working with them peacefully.
“Ask anybody in Kano today, and they will tell you that people prefer to report their cases to the Hisbah Guards office rather than even the police stations or even going to court. What we need in Nigeria is community watch, not just when you ask a state to create 2000 to 3000 state police bombarded by party thugs, and you will find out that you are going back to the same intimidation. There will be abuses by political leaders.
“But if you allow the communities to select with the backing of the government, the government will pay them all their allowances, provide vehicles for them, and support them, and there is a chain of command from the state to the local governments, to the wards, and even to the villages.
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