National News

CSJ: Current Insecurity Shows Government May Have Abandoned It’s Constitutional Duty

Published

2 years ago

January 16, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

CSJ: Current Insecurity Shows Government May Have Abandoned It’s Constitutional Duty

By: Michael Mike

Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has lamented that the country’s security situation has degenerated to the extent that it can be categorically stated that the government has abandoned, failed, refused or neglected to enforce its primary and constitutional duty of guaranteeing the security of Nigerians and residents in Nigeria

The Centre, in a statement signed on Tuesday by its Lead Director, Eze Onyekpere said it is regrettable that there is recent upsurge of insecurity exemplified by the late December 2023 killings in Plateau State, incessant killings in Katsina State, 45 passengers kidnapped as gunmen attacked transporters along Otukpo-Enugu Road and the ongoing kidnap and murder of innocent Nigerians in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

CSJ lamented that: “In all the foregoing, Nigerians are yet to hear concrete and reassuring words from the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces or high-level officers of state on the way forward. In FCT, the minister in charge, instead of addressing the challenge seems more interested in continued fueling of a political crisis in his home state, Rivers State.

It recalled that in the last ten years, security has enjoyed the highest allocation in federal budgets to cater for the armada of security agencies maintained at the tax payers expense, adding that: “Budgetary allocations have been proposed and spent on personnel, arms and ammunition, aircrafts and vessels, vehicles, equipment including intelligence gadgets. We are worried at the seeming cluelessness and inability of the security agencies to deploy intelligence to prevent and nip in the bud the insensitive acts of criminal elements who have no regard for human lives. We are further worried that when these crimes have been committed, the security agencies have been unable to investigate, arrest and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

The Centre noted that under Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, GSM SIM card numbers were linked to national identity numbers of Nigerians and the authorities indicated that it would provide a foolproof link and clue to any crimes committed using GSM phones as it will be easy to find the criminals since all identity information is already available with the state, insisting that: “This raises the critical question on why the perpetrators of these high level crimes where GSM phones have been used to make contact are not brought to justice.”

The Centre lamented that: “There have been several mop-up of light arms in the possession of law-abiding citizens and only very few Nigerians have been licensed to carry weapons. Nigerians are made vulnerable because they do not have access to arms to defend themselves and the state that should legally and legitimately defend them has failed in the discharge of this duty.,” stating that: “The critical question is; why take away the arms needed for self-defence if the state is not ready to defend citizens and residents of Nigeria?”

It decried that: “The insecurity is heightened at a time Nigeria has launched a global campaign for foreign investors to come and invest in the country. News of crowdfunding for the purpose of meeting the ransom demands of kidnappers is clearly not the way to attract foreign investors.”

The Centre however made some recommendations, including that the federal government should expeditiously take steps for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution and enactment of new laws for the establishment and activation of State Police; Intelligence should be mainstreamed and prioritized in policing and security work. The activation and routine deployment of the SIM GSM database and inventory for investigations and tracking of criminals is long overdue.

It also recommended for the liberalisation of the processing of gun licenses for responsible law-abiding tax paying citizens for the purpose of self defence; rewarding of hard working and result oriented security and police personnel who diligently discharge their duties and impose sanctions on personnel whose negligence, failure or refusal to act contributes to insecurity and general security lapses, insisting that the financial resources to implement this could come from more prudent management of existing security resources.

The Centre added that Nigerians need to be reassured through concrete security action on the ability of the state to protect lives and property.

CSJ: Current Insecurity Shows Government May Have Abandoned It’s Constitutional Duty

National News

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

Published

5 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

By: Michael Mike

The DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr (Dr) Abisoye Coker-Odusote has approved the promotion of 523 Staff of the Commission.

The promotion, according to a statement on Saturday by the spokesperson of the Commission, Dr. Kayode Adegoke is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Adegoke said: “This is a statutory part of the performance reward system for Staff who sat and met the pre-requisite conditions as spelt out in the Public Service Rules (PSR) in the 2025 promotion exercise.

He disclosed that accordingly, two staff members were promoted to the Director’s cadre (GL 17), and eight staff members moved to the Deputy Director cadre (GL 16) and 35 staff staff members promoted to the Assistant Director cadre (GL 15).

He further disclosed that 35 staff were promoted to the level of Chief Identity Officers (GL 14), with 109 moving to Assistant Chief Identity Officers (GL 13).

Adegoke said 113 officers moved to the rank of Principal Identity Officer (GL 12), while 82 were promoted to Senior Identity Officer ranks (GL 10), and 130 to the rank of Identity Officer 1 ( GL 9).

The DG/CEO congratulated all the promoted staff and charged them to see the promotion as an opportunity to serve the country better. She reiterated zero tolerance for extortion and warned staff to desist from it.

Engr Coker-Odusote, furthermore, encouraged all staff members of the Commission to work harder in the coming year 2026 and ensure the successful implementation of the National Identification Number project. She reiterated her commitment to prioritise staff welfare and ensure the dignity of labour.

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

National News

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

Published

6 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima has congratulated Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Senator Hope Uzodimma, on his 67th birthday, saying his exemplary and progressive leadership within the All Progressives Congress (APC), his state, and the nation at large is worthy of emulation.

He noted that as Chairman of the PGF, an umbrella body of Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Uzodimma has demonstrated exceptional capacity to unite and galvanise the party’s Governors towards achieving a collective vision for Nigeria’s development under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The Vice President on Saturday, described the age of 67 as an important milestone in the life of Uzodimma, noting that the special moment reflects how far the Governor has come, and sets the stage for what lies ahead.

Acknowledging how Uzodimma’s “exemplary leadership as Executive Governor of Imo State continues to inspire confidence and progress,” VP Shettima described the PGF Chairman as a committed servant of Nigeria.

“Your recent appointment by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, as Renewed Hope Ambassador is a well-deserved recognition of your unwavering dedication to the ideals of our administration and your proven ability to articulate and champion the transformative agenda of the Renewed Hope mandate across our nation,” the VP told the Governor.

This singular honour, Senator Shettima said, reflects President Tinubu’s confidence in Governor Uzodimma’s leadership and commitment to national progress.

He observed that the Imo State Governor’s strategic governance, infrastructural achievements, and dedication to the prosperity of his state exemplify the progressive leadership Nigeria needs at this crucial time.

The Vice President prayed the Almighty God to grant Governor Uzodimma continued wisdom, good health, and strength to sustain his “remarkable service to Imo State and Nigeria.”

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

National News

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy

Published

2 days ago

December 12, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy

By: Michael Mike

The Europe Union (EU) is investing an additional €45 million in Nigeria’s digital economy.

The package was signed by the Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela in Brussels.

A statement on Thursday by EU read: “At the EU-Nigeria Digital Open Day, which just took place in Brussels, a €45 million programme completing the EU Digital Economy Package for Nigeria was signed between Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela.

“This investment will further support the cooperation in digital sector between Nigeria and the European Union.”

The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, said: “Global Gateway is about delivering new opportunities, and the EU-Nigerian cooperation in the digital area has a very strong potential to do exactly that. Our approach to digitalisation is based on skills-transfer, open standards, data protection, privacy and security. This way, we make sure that technologies truly enrich human lives. The new package will take our efforts even further by supporting modern e-public services and investing in the skills that will prepare Nigeria’s youth for the digital future.”

The Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani added: The EU–Nigeria digital economy cooperation reflects our shared belief that digital transformation must provide a platform for growth in productivity driven by technology. As part of this, Project Bridge provides a commercially sustainable entry point for European investors and suppliers to participate in deploying an open-access fibre network at scale. Combined with our leadership in Artificial Intelligence, Digital Public Infrastructure and programmes such as 3 million Technical Talents, Nigeria offers European businesses a market where talent, demand and policy alignment converge to support long-term investment and expansion.”

The programme signed on Thursday includes a flagship Global Gateway support to the Project Bridge that aims to deploy 90 000 km of fibre-optic backbone across Nigeria. This project is the country’s most ambitious digital investment supported by loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank and African Development Bank.
The €45 million grant supports the preparation of this strategic project with technical assistance and equipment in three complementary ways: for the detailed fiber optic network design, for local skills development and for the supply chain deployment with the mobilisation of the EU private sector.

The EU programme will also contribute to modernise Nigeria’s public administration through secure, user-friendly digital services. it also involves targeted support for Nigeria’s nationwide digital-skills programme, helping train a new generation of technicians, engineers and IT specialists.

According to the statement, this is essential to create new jobs, because large-scale digital projects can only work if the local workforce can maintain, operate and innovate on these networks.

The objective of the EU-Nigeria Open Digital Day was to facilitate access to information for European investors and suppliers interested in participating in the Nigerian digital ecosystem. The focus was on the Project Bridge, presented as an opportunity for collaborations between the EU tech sector and Nigeria.

With this €1.7 billion flagship project is projected to extend Nigeria’s total fibre to 125 000 km (+70%), making it the third-longest terrestrial fibre-optic infrastructure in Africa, following Egypt and South Africa.

Digitalisation is a priority area for the EU-Nigeria partnership as reflected in the €820 million Digital Economy Package launched in 2022 under the EU Global Gateway strategy. The EU-Nigeria collaboration in this sector spans from connectivity to digital skills, entrepreneurship, service and governance with multiple projects.

Nigeria’s digital economy has potential to create jobs, foster economic growth and open greater democratic space in Africa. Nigeria hosts big companies, and Lagos offers digital and business ecosystem with incubators, access to finance and digital service platforms. It has the biggest e-commerce market in Africa with 87 platforms, employing some 2.9 million people.

It is also leading on the continent on digital and start-ups – of the 8 existing African unicorns, 6 are Nigerian, with impressively dynamic States (Lagos) eager to create an ecosystem that promotes innovation, youth and growth largely led by the digital sector.

Global Gateway is the EU’s positive offer to reduce the worldwide investment disparity and boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems.

The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, EU Member States, and European development finance institutions.

Together, they aim to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027, creating essential links rather than dependencies, and closing the global investment gap.

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy