The Economic Community of West African States has revealed plans to unveil the Joint Platform for Advancing Cybersecurity in West Africa. According to the body, the launch is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 12, in Abuja. This was disclosed on Monday via its official X handle (ecowas_cedeao). The initiative is dedicated to strengthening regional cyber diplomacy, protecting critical infrastructure, combating cybercrime, and ensuring data sovereignty. In collaboration with esteemed partners, ECOWAS is organizing this event to mark the official commencement of the ECOWAS Action Plan, which aims to enhance regional cybersecurity capabilities and resilience. “ECOWAS will launch, on Tuesday, 12 September, in Abuja, Nigeria, the Joint Platform for the Advancement of Cybersecurity in West Africa, focusing on regional cyber diplomacy, the protection of critical infrastructures, the fight against cybercrime and data sovereignty,” the post read. Details later…

  A member of the vigilante group at First Marine Gate quarters in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State identified simply as Wilson was shot dead in the early hours of Monday by gunmen. PUNCH Metro gathered that the gunmen engaged the community vigilante group in a gun duel during which some members of the vigilante team fled due to the superior firepower of the attackers. Consequently, one vigilante man, Wilson, was felled by bullets from the invading gunmen. Even though details of the incident are sketchy, the corpse of the deceased, covered with a white cloth, remained by the roadside at the scene of the incident for several hours in the morning while passersby and residents caught a glimpse as of the time of writing this report. The state command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, could not be reached for comments on the incident as of the time of filing this report as texts and calls put to his mobile phone were neither replied nor answered.

  The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) said its findings showed that Noah Kekere, who was arrested for allegedly removing a woman’s kidney in Jos, Plateau State, is not a medical doctor. A Jos-based businessman, Kamal Busari, had accused Dr Kekere of removing his wife’s kidney without his knowledge. The victim, Mrs Kehinde Kamal, in an interview with Daily Trust, said her kidney was discovered missing at Jos University Teaching Hospital following a complaint of abdominal pain. The police said they had launched an investigation into the matter. The chairman, of the Plateau State chapter of NMA, Dr Bapigaan William Audu, said records at their secretariat showed that the suspect is neither a medical doctor nor a member of NMA. He stated this in a telephone interview with Daily Trust Sunday. “What we have at our secretariat and the investigation we have carried out showed that he (Dr Kekere) is not a doctor and not our member. We are going to come out with an informed decision on the matter. We are looking at different aspects of the matter as well as different facts available at the moment. So, I think things will be clearer by Monday or Tuesday,” he said.

  A Royal Navy warship, HMS Trent, arrived in Lagos on Sunday to aid the fight against illegal activities including piracy and illicit trafficking in the sub-region. This is Trent’s second visit to Nigeria, the British High Commission said in a statement. “The visit will help deliver capacity training and support maritime security in the region,” the statement partly read. HMS Trent departed Gibraltar carrying an expert boarding team of UK Royal Marines and a Puma surveillance drone. HMS Trent’s mission is to support West African allies helping countries to develop capability to fight illegal crimes at sea and ensure they can play an effective role in bringing stability to wider West Africa. With around £6 billion of UK trade passing through the region, part of Trent’s tasking is to support stability across the Gulf of Guinea through training to help partner navies take the fight to criminal actors, fostering ties and sharing knowledge, whilst conducting patrols to increase security. HMS Trent’s Commanding Officer, Commander Tim Langford, said, “It is an honour for HMS TRENT to return to Nigeria, an important visit on the Ship’s three month deployment to West Africa. We are excited to work with our partner nations as we strive for a long term solution to maritime insecurity across the region”. “The Royal Navy has a long history of engagement within the region and an enduring partnership with the Armed Forces of Nigeria. My team are really looking forward to the opportunity to work with their Nigerian counterparts and build on the relationships established when we visited Lagos in 2021.” UK Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter said, “This deployment demonstrates how a truly Global Britain is stepping up on the world stage to tackle shared international security challenges. “Nigeria is an important and valued defence partner for the UK in West Africa. Our two countries face many shared threats and we are keen to work with Nigeria to defeat these and to help improve maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.” The deployment contributes to a wider international effort by the Friends of the Gulf of Guinea (FOGG) which supports Gulf of Guinea nations to implement regional maritime security frameworks, bringing stability to a region that has seen international shipping disrupted, seafarers’ lives put in danger, and damage caused to local economies.

  Using heavy equipment and even their bare hands, rescuers in Morocco on Sunday stepped up efforts to find survivors of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 2,100 people and flattened villages. The first foreign rescuers flew in to help after the North African country’s strongest-ever quake killed at least 2,122 people and injured more than 2,400, many seriously, according to official figures updated late on Sunday. Friday’s 6.8-magnitude quake struck 72 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of the tourist hub of Marrakesh, wiping out entire villages in the hills of the Atlas mountains. On Sunday an aftershock of magnitude 4.5 rattled already-traumatised residents in the same region. The mountain village of Tafeghaghte, 60 kilometres from Marrakesh, was almost entirely destroyed, an AFP team reported, with very few buildings still standing. ADVERTISEMENT Amid the debris, civilian rescuers and members of Morocco’s armed forces searched for survivors and the bodies of the dead. AFP saw them recover one body from the ruins of a house. Four others were still buried there, residents said. “Everyone is gone! My heart is broken. I am inconsolable,” cried Zahra Benbrik, 62, who said she had lost 18 relatives, with only the body of her brother still trapped. “I want them to hurry and get him out so I can mourn in peace,” she said. Many houses in remote mountain villages were built from mud bricks. In the village of Amizmiz, near Tafeghaghte, a backhoe dragged away the heaviest pieces of rubble before rescuers dug into the dusty debris with their bare hands to remove a body that appeared to be under a quilt. – The crucial hours – The two villages lie in Al-Haouz province, site of the epicentre, which suffered the most deaths, 1,351, authorities reported. According to Moroccan public television, “more than 18,000 families have been affected” by the quake in Al-Haouz. ADVERTISEMENT Citizens on Sunday rushed to hospitals in Marrakesh to donate blood to help the injured. Spain’s defence ministry said an A400 airlifter took off from Zaragoza with 56 rescuers and four search dogs headed for Marrakesh to “help in the search and rescue of survivors”. “We will send whatever is needed because everyone knows that these first hours are key, especially if there are people buried under rubble,” Defence Minister Margarita Robles told Spanish public television. Many residents of the usually bustling tourist hotspot of Marrakesh spent a second night sleeping on the streets, huddled together under blankets and among bags filled with their belongings. One of them, Fatema Satir, said many stayed outside for fear of their houses collapsing. “There is no help for us,” Satir said. “Our houses have been cracked, others destroyed — like my daughter’s house which was wiped out. We are in a chaotic state.” In the city’s historic Jemaa el-Fna square, about 20 people were huddled on the ground, wrapped in blankets, while others stayed on the lawn of the nearby town hall, its 12th-century ramparts partially collapsed. The kingdom declared three days of national mourning, and a prayer for the quake victims was to be held Sunday in all of the kingdom’s mosques. Morocco’s interior ministry said on Saturday evening that authorities are “mobilised to speed up rescue operations and evacuate the injured.” In addition to Spain, several countries offered aid. French President Emmanuel Macron said his country has mobilised “all technical and security teams to be able to intervene, when the Moroccan authorities deem it useful.” Macron, along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the heads of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, African Union and European Commission, also pledged, in a joint statement, to “mobilise our technical and financial tools and assistance” to help the people of Morocco. – Long recovery ahead – The United States said it also had search-and-rescue teams ready to deploy, and Pope Francis on Sunday again expressed support for those affected by the disaster. “I thank the rescuers and all those who are working to alleviate the suffering of the people,” he said from the Vatican window above St Peter’s Square. Algeria, which has long had tense relations with neighbouring Morocco, opened its airspace, which had been closed for two years, to flights carrying humanitarian aid and evacuating the injured. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country in 2020 established ties with Morocco, offered to send search-and-rescue teams, declaring that “Israel stands by Morocco in its difficult time”. The Red Cross warned that it could take years to repair the damage. “It won’t be a matter of a week or two… We are counting on a response that will take months, if not years,” said Hossam Elsharkawi, its Middle East and North Africa director. The quake was the deadliest in Morocco since a 1960 earthquake destroyed Agadir and killed more than 12,000 people. AFP

  Monday 11 September 2023 States share N1.51trn FAAC allocation in H1 Falling consumption, weak sales threaten FMCG businesses, jobs How Akeredolu’s return will shape 2024 Ondo guber poll You’ve proved critics wrong, Obasanjo tells Adeleke 48 monarchs killed in B’Haram attacks, says Shehu Umahi asks govs to supervise ongoing Federal road projects in states CAN, Catholic bishops decry worsening hardship in Nigeria Police arrest six over murder of DPO in Rivers Abdulsalami: Nigerians Want Changes To Happen Quickly FCT Primary School Teachers Begin Strike Over Unpaid Arrears Seme Customs Impounds 13 Petrol-Laden Tankers, 16 Truck-Loads Of Rice Palliatives will continue until hardship is addressed, says information minister Death toll from Morocco earthquake passes 2,000 Umar Dangiwa: CBN probe will expose fraud under Buhari’s watch ‘We’ll leave nothing hanging’ — Tinubu woos Germany, South Korea, India to invest in Nigeria Tribunal: I Doubt Anything’ll Come Out Of Atiku, Obi’s Appeal, Says Clark INEC Is A Monumental Disgrace, Says Chidoka Biden Commends Tinubu’s ‘Strong Leadership’ As ECOWAS Chair Gbenga Daniel’s Wife, Ogun Govt Trade Words Over Building Demolition At Least 26 Dead, Several Missing In Niger State Boat Mishap Tribunal Upholds PDP Senator’s Election In Kaduna Central Tinubu To Meet UAE Authorities After G-20 Two-Year Transition To Elections ‘Reasonable’ – Gabon PM Summit UK Warship Arrives Nigeria To Support Maritime Security One Killed, Six Kidnapped As Gunmen Attack Houses In Taraba PEPT verdict: Fate of Nigeria hangs in the balance — Catholic Bishops Fresh inflation fears as top firms lose N656 bn to forex market woes Court sacks Imo PDP Reps member, Ugochinyere Lagos retirees get N2bn N’Assembly polls: Tribunals to decide 400 cases, end sittings 13-hour PEPT judgment raises more dust, exposes petitions’ loopholes Ogun, ex-gov Daniel’s wife clash over plaza demolition Truck kills pregnant woman, child hospitalised in Ogun Banks’ bad loans hit N478bn amid economic downturn Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  Amid the lingering controversy over the judgement of the 2023 Presidential Elections Petitions Court (PEPC), the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), says that Nigeria stands on the precipice of uncertainty as the case moves to the Supreme Court. Addressing attendees at the Opening Ceremony of the 2023 Second Plenary Assembly of the CBCN in Abuja on Sunday, President of the Conference, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, voiced concerns over the conduct of the elections, which he said fell short of people’s legitimate expectations and moral and legal standards.   He highlighted the dismissive approach of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) towards the petitions filed by aggrieved contestants. The Catholic Bishops stated: “After hearing their petitions, the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) delivered its ruling in a marathon judgement on 6 September 2023. “The five Justices of the Election Petition Court unanimously dismissed the petitions. According to them, they lacked merit. “Despite the billions of Naira of tax-payers money appropriated for the provision of the VAS technology as a game-changer in our general elections, the Judges in their ruling tried, among other things, to suggest that it was wrong to expect INEC to keep its promise or obey the electoral regulation of transmitting election results electronically in real time from the polling units. “While respecting the views of the Judges, two of petitioners rejected their verdict as lacking in justice and so have decided to head to the Supreme Court to seek justice. “As this case moves to the next level, the fate of the country continues to hang in the balance and the future of democracy in our land stands on the edge of a precipice. “We pray and hope that the Supreme Court Judges will neither bend the law nor seek to satisfy the whims and caprices of any party. We also pray and hope for a day in our nation when all election results will be finally decided at the polling units and not at the Court,” he added. Ugorji further lamented the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria, criticizing the government’s approach to the issue. “In the face of this dismal situation, we cannot get tired of urging government to rise up to its primary responsibility of securing the lives and property of its citizens,” he stressed. The Bishops expressed deep concern over the prevailing state of tension and uncertainty in communities, where residents endure a life of increasing poverty, chronic hunger, hardships, and immense suffering. They highlighted that this dire situation has been further exacerbated by the abrupt and poorly planned removal of fuel subsidy, the floating of the Naira, and the subsequent galloping inflation. The CBCN noted that these factors have significantly affected the prices of essential items such as food and transportation, plunging millions of Nigerians into excruciating economic hardship. According to Archbishop Ugorji, the government’s efforts to alleviate the harsh effects of subsidy removal have not yielded significant results, leaving countless Nigerians to bear the brunt of the ruling class’s actions. He emphasized, “People have continued to live in the state of tension and uncertainty in our communities as they are subjected to a life of deepening poverty, chronic hunger, untold hardship and wanton suffering.” Senator Victor Umeh of Anambra Central Senatorial District echoed Ugorji’s sentiments, urging those in leadership positions to consider the sufferings of the Nigerian people. “Let me speak plainly; our concern is that urgent action needs to be taken. We implore all those in positions of leadership to consider the sufferings of our people, no matter how difficult they may be. Unless compelled, they often overlook these issues. “In the National Assembly, we are committed to supporting initiatives that promote the well-being of Nigerian citizens, despite being gravely misrepresented,” Umeh said.