₦airaland Forum

The government of South Sudan recently issued a social media ban of up to 30 days, following the release of videos showing the purported murders of South Sudanese citizens in the state of El Gezira Sudan.

These videos are said to have been responsible for the rioting and violent retaliatory assaults, around the area.

Last week’s rioting in the country’s capital, Juba, and a few other places led to the murder of roughly 16 Sudanese people.

According to authorities, youths in several cities set fire to various homes.

They looted and damaged stores owned by Sudanese citizens in revenge for what they perceived to be the participation of Sudan’s military and affiliated organizations in the murders in El Gezira.

As a result, on Wednesday, Napoleon Adok, the country’s director general of the National Communications Authority, via a letter to internet service providers, instructed that they implement the ban on Wednesday.

“This is culminating from the recent upheaval in Sudan, that has exposed the South Sudanese population to unprecedented levels of extreme violence through social media posts,” Adok wrote in the letter seen by Reuters.

As per the directive, clients of mobile providers MTN South Sudan and Zain will be unable to access Facebook, TikTok, and a few other social media services for up to 90 days, according to announcements released on Wednesday.

The Sudanese army called the unrest in El Gezira “individual violations.”

“The effect is a bit huge because as an artist, I depend so much on social media,” said Isaac Anthony Lumori, also known as Mc Lumoex, a popular South Sudanese musician and founder of a comedy show.

“My message to the government is to seek an amicable way of solving this issue, especially engaging the government of Sudan to make sure that (their) army does not misbehave to the extent of taking human life,” he told Reuters.

Padipadi:
Make dem use the money well. Very sure our matter has tired China. Dem ho just dey look ya as bk clothes dey can sell anytime. Receive one nuke for stealing firstus tu commentus slot.
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thelegend1:
7 major earthquakes in the past 15 years? That's a major earthquake every 2 years.

Tradepunter2:
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Tradepunter2:
It's the biggest tourist destination in East Asia..... Everyone visits Thailand.... Not china, Korea, Japan, Malaysia or Singapore but Thailand

The Federal Government has allocated approximately N1.4 billion for the rehabilitation of repentant terrorists and the establishment of terrorism trial centres over the past year and a half.

Following former President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill on May 12, 2022, the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) was established.

In December 2022, the government announced plans to build two disarmament, deradicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration centres for former Boko Haram members and other terrorist factions.

Punch reports that Rear Admiral Yem Musa (retd.), the coordinator of the NCTC, confirmed to the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence that N2.4bn would be allocated to these centres as part of the NCTC’s N3.8bn capital projects for 2023.

According to data from the GovSpend platform, between December 2022 and May 2024, the Ministry of Justice expended a total of N1.4bn on these rehabilitation centres and the renovation of facilities for terrorism trials.

This included N612m spent in March 2023 to renovate abandoned structures for terrorism trials and build dormitories for the rehabilitation of repentant terrorists under Operation Safe Corridor.

In 2024, an additional N179m was spent on similar projects, including the procurement of equipment to aid terrorism case prosecutions.

Meanwhile, the NCTC recently announced that it had secured 325 convictions during the Phase 5 and Phase 6 trials at the Kainji Detention Facility. Convictions ranged from the death penalty to life imprisonment, with sentences depending on the severity of the crimes committed.

Despite this, concerns have arisen over the secretive nature of these trials. Security experts and civil society organizations have raised questions about why such trials are conducted behind closed doors, given the gravity of the crimes involved.

Some argue that transparency is critical for public trust, while others believe that secrecy is necessary for security reasons. The government has yet to provide a clear explanation for this approach.

Days after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued an ultimatum mandating banks to ensure cash availability at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and banking halls, many Nigerians still struggle to access cash.

The cash scarcity has pushed Point of Sale (PoS) operators to seek alternative sources of cash, such as markets and fuel stations.

A visit to various bank branches revealed that only a few ATMs were dispensing cash, often with restrictions.

Customers with debit cards from other banks could only withdraw up to ₦10,000, while those using the bank’s cards were allowed a maximum of ₦20,000.

Despite CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso’s assurances on November 29, 2024, to address the unavailability of cash, compliance among banks remains inconsistent.

The issue has persisted since February 2023, forcing bank customers to rely on PoS operators who charge exorbitant fees for cash withdrawals.

Governor Cardoso had vowed that the apex bank would conduct spot checks at Deposit Money Banks and penalize underperforming institutions.

He also encouraged Nigerians to report difficulties with cash withdrawals via designated phone numbers and email addresses provided by the CBN.

“We will not hesitate to impose stringent penalties on banks or financial institutions engaging in malpractices or deliberate sabotage,” Cardoso warned.

Despite these measures, bank customers continue to express frustration. At various ATM locations, many machines were either non-functional or dispensing limited cash.

A Lagos resident told Leadership newspaper, “I went to multiple ATMs, but none were dispensing cash. The situation is very frustrating, especially after the CBN claimed cash was available.”

In some cases, customers were directed to banking halls, where withdrawals were capped at ₦10,000 to ₦50,000, forcing many to seek alternatives.

The scarcity has shifted the burden to PoS operators, who now source cash from unconventional places like markets, fuel stations, and abattoirs.

A PoS operator explained, “Market women prefer cash transactions to avoid issues with fake alerts or failed transfers. We book ahead, transfer money to them, and collect the cash when available. The same applies to fuel stations.”

Another operator noted that operational challenges and the stress of sourcing cash have kept their charges high.

“The banks are no longer reliable. I operate with deposits from customers and cash sourced from traders. It’s the only way to keep my business running,” she said.

Softmirror:
753 duplexes in Abuja comes to mind?! 🥴