Finnish police on Thursday released a popular pro-Biafra separatist agitator, Simon Ekpa, hours after he was arrested and grilled.
Authorities had earlier arrested Ekpa as the police escorted the separatist out of his apartment in Lahti.
Ekpa was later released on Thursday evening after the police allegedly arrested him for a suspected crime in Finland.
The Finnish Central Criminal Police confirmed Ekpa’s release on Thursday, according to HS reports.
The police claimed that its operation in Lahti and the subsequent arrest of the pro-Biafra agitator were in connection with an ongoing preliminary investigation.
“The person being questioned today is suspected of a crime. We will return to the title on Friday,” Tommi Reen from the Central Criminal Police told HS during a phone interview.
An official of the Finnish Embassy in Abuja had also confirmed Ekpa’s arrest.
“It is our understanding that he is currently in police custody in Finland,” the official said.
“According to information available to us, the image is verified by Helsingin Sanomat, a Finnish newspaper; in it, Ekpa is seen being escorted out of his home in Lahti by plainclothes Finnish police”, the official volunteered.
Before his eventual arrest on Thursday, Nigerians all over the world have signed a petition appealing to the Finnish government, Nigerian Government and the European Union to arrest Ekpa, the brain behind the sit-at-home order in the South-East.
Ekpa, a self-acclaimed disciple of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in had repeatedly ordered the people of the South-East to observe a sit-at-home and asked them to boycott the country’s general elections billed for Saturday.
His repeated sit-at-home order has been marked by bloodshed and destruction of lives and properties in the region by its enforcers.
United Nations wants Russia to end war in Ukraine
The United Nations voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to demand Russia immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine, marking the one-year anniversary of the war with a call for a “just and lasting” peace.
Ukraine earned strong backing in a non-binding vote that saw 141 of the 193 UN members in support, seven opposed and 32, including China and India abstaining.
Coming on the eve of the first anniversary of the brutal war, support for Kyiv was little-changed from that of last October when 143 countries voted to condemn Russia’s declared annexation of four Ukraine regions.
The vote came after two days of debate during which Kyiv urged the international community to choose “between good and evil.”
The resolution reaffirmed support for Ukraine’s “sovereignty” and “territorial integrity,” rejecting any Russian claims to the parts of the country it occupies.
It also demanded “that the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders,” and called “for a cessation of hostilities.”
Credit: AFP
General Elections: FG unveils committee on cyber attack prevention
President Muhammadu Buhari has unveiled a committee to coordinate the activities of computer security centres in the Information and Communication Technology industry to intercept potential cyber attacks during the 2023 general elections.
The president who was represented by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, stated that the committee will advise the Federal Government on appropriate measures to take to protect the country’s cyberspace and ICT infrastructure from potential attacks, especially during the 2023 general election.
According to him, the committee will be led by the Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Adeolu Akande.
During the inauguration of the committee in Abuja on Thursday, he stated that with the increased role of the ICT in online activities, and its crucial role in the conduct of the 2023 elections, the job of the committee will assist the country in conducting a free, fair, and credible election.
Pantami said, “Our main responsibilities in this committee are more of advisory.
“Firstly, when it comes to intercepting potential attacks that may come to our cyberspace. The committee will coordinate the NCC’s Computer Security Incident Response Team at NCC; the Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team at the National Information Technology development Agency and the Galaxy Backbone’ National Cybersecurity Centre.
“These three centres must work together, complement each other and ensure they intercept any potential attacks on our cyberspace, particularly on our critical infrastructure during the election so that we could either take action or provide necessary advice to the government.”
He further stated that members of the committee which includes, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, and the Director General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Abdullahi, would work round-the-clock from Friday, February 24, 2023, till Monday, February 27, 2023.
CBN has given us substantial cash for elections –INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has taken possession of a “substantial part” of the cash it requested of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid the naira scarcity.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, confirmed receipt of the funds on Thursday during a press conference in Abuja on the commission’s activities two days before the presidential and National Assembly polls.
This comes two weeks after Yakubu on February 7 met with the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to address the need for cash for logistical operations in the conduct of the elections.
“The bulk of the small amount of cash that we have requested from the Central Bank of Nigeria is right now being released to the commission’s offices nationwide,” he said.
“In fact, a substantial part of it has already been received by our offices nationwide and this has greatly facilitated the movement of sensitive materials on wednesday from the branches of the Central Bank to our local government areas.
“We’ll batch them and then move them on Friday to the registration area centres. And then on Saturday early morning, they’ll be moved to the polling units for voting.”
Addressing security concerns surrounding the polls, Yakubu assured all stakeholders of a conducive environment for the electoral process to take place.
FG accuses Discos of rejecting 408MW excess power
Power distribution companies have stepped up the quantum of electricity load allocation that they receive and distribute to consumers across the country, as the latest data from the Federal Government showed a reduction in the amount of unutilised energy by the Discos.
Data released on Thursday by the Federal Government-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria on Daily Discos Load Summary from February 4 to 10, 2023, showed that the cumulatively excess load allocation that was taken and distributed by the Discos during the period was 897MW.
The report, however, indicated that the total quantum of energy that was not utilised during the same period was 407.53MW.
Nigeria’s daily power generation has been hovering between 4,500MW and 5,000MW for some weeks now. As of 6am on Thursday, for instance, it was 4,753.9MW.
Power distributors get around this quantum of electricity from TCN for distribution to customers daily. Some of the Discos accept higher than their maximum load nomination (excess load), while others take less than what they nominate for, depending on various factors.
The 11 Discos captured by the Transmission Company of Nigeria in its latest daily load summary include Abuja, Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt and Yola.
An analysis of data for the 11 Discos indicated that on February 4, seven of the power firms took a cumulative excess load allocation of 97.96MW, while four others could not utilise a total of 63.68MW.
On February 5, six power firms took a total excess load allocation of 91.62MW, while the remaining five failed to utilise 110.73MW.
The next day, being February 6, seven Discos distributed an excess load allocation of 83.92MW, as four others did not take 59.14MW.
TCN said six power distributors accepted a cumulative excess load allocation of 72.95MW on February 7, but noted that a total of 70.49MW was not utilised by five other Discos on the same day.
Further analysis indicated that only two Discos failed to utilise all the load allocation that was allocated to them on February 8, as they could not distribute a total of 25.08MW that day.
However, an excess load of 165.97MW was taken and distributed by nine distribution companies on February 8, according to figures from the transmission company.
The situation improved on February 9, as it was observed that all the 11 Discos collected and distributed excess power, amounting to the tune of 282.26MW on that day. Hence, no quantum of electricity was left unutilised on February 9, 2023.
But this could not be sustained on February 10, as four Discos failed to utilise 78.41MW, while seven other power distributors took a cumulative excess load allocation of 102.33MW.
Officials in the Discos explained that unutilised load by power distributors was often caused by the refusal of some customers to pay their electricity bills, as well as issues bordering on energy theft in some locations.
They stated that Discos preferred not to send power to areas with customers who refuse to pay their electricity bills, as well as locations that were notorious for energy theft, and as such, the energy meant for these areas would be left unutilised.
CREDIT: PUNCH
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