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Breaking: Bangladesh Military takes over after PM Hasina resigned

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule of the country ended on Monday as she fled weeks of deadly protests and the military announced it would form an interim government.

Hasina had sought since early July sought to quell nationwide protests against her government, but she fled after a brutal day of unrest on Sunday in which nearly 100 people died.

In a broadcast to the nation on state television, Bangladesh’s army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said on Monday Hasina had resigned and the military would form an interim government.

“The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” Waker said.

“I hope after my speech, the situation will improve.”

Hasina, 76, fled the country by helicopter, a source close to the leader told AFP shortly after protesters had stormed her palace in Dhaka.

The source said she left first by motorcade but then was flown out, without saying her destination.

Jubilant crowds had waved flags, some dancing on top of a tank in the streets on Monday morning before hundreds broke through the gates of Hasina’s official residence.

Bangladesh’s Channel 24 broadcast images of crowds running into the compound, waving to the camera as they celebrated.

Others smashed a statue of Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahma, the country’s independence hero.

Before the protesters had stormed the compound, Hasina’s son urged the country’s security forces to block any takeover.

“Your duty is to keep our people safe and our country safe and to uphold the constitution,” her son, US-based Sajeeb Wazed Joy, said in a post on Facebook.

“It means don’t allow any unelected government to come in power for one minute, it is your duty.”

Security forces had supported Hasina’s government throughout the unrest, which began last month against civil service job quotas then escalated into wider calls for her to stand down.

At least 94 people were killed on Sunday, including 14 police officers, in the deadliest day of the unrest.

Protesters and government supporters countrywide battled each other with sticks and knives, and security forces opened fire.

The day’s violence took the total number of people killed since protests began in early July to at least 300, according to an AFP tally based on police, government officials and doctors at hospitals.

– ‘Final protest’ –

The military declared an emergency in January 2007 after widespread political unrest and installed a military-backed caretaker government for two years.

Hasina then ruled Bangladesh from 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.

Her government was accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including through the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.

Demonstrations began over the reintroduction of a quota scheme that reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups.

The protests escalated despite the scheme having been scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court.

Soldiers and police with armoured vehicles in Dhaka had barricaded routes to Hasina’s office with barbed wire on Monday morning, but vast crowds flooded the streets, tearing down barriers.

The Business Standard newspaper estimated as many as 400,000 protesters were on the streets but it was impossible to verify the figure.

“The time has come for the final protest,” said Asif Mahmud, one of the key leaders in the nationwide civil disobedience campaign.

In several cases, soldiers and police did not intervene to stem Sunday’s protests, unlike during the past month of rallies that repeatedly ended in deadly crackdowns.

In a hugely symbolic rebuke of Hasina, a respected former army chief demanded the government “immediately” withdraw troops and allow protests.

“Those who are responsible for pushing people of this country to a state of such an extreme misery will have to be brought to justice,” ex-army chief General Ikbal Karim Bhuiyan told reporters Sunday.

The anti-government movement had attracted people from across society in the South Asian nation of about 170 million people, including film stars, musicians and singers.

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Dangote reduces N20 from petrol price, sells to marketers at n970/litre

Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Sunday announced a N20 reduction in the ex-refinery price to marketers, with prices moving from N990 to N970 per litre.

The Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of the Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, disclosed the new pricing in a statement, describing the development as a gesture of appreciation to Nigerians and the government for their unwavering support.

With the drop in the price of crude oil, the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) should slightly decrease, given that crude oil is a major determinant of the eventual price of petroleum products.

“As the year comes to an end, this is our way of appreciating the good people of Nigeria for their unwavering support in making the refinery a dream come true. In addition, this is to thank the government for their support, as this will complement the measures put in place to encourage domestic enterprise for our collective well-being,” Chiejina said.

The refinery, which commenced operations earlier this year, has been pivotal in reshaping Nigeria’s downstream petroleum landscape.

Chiejina assured that the Dangote Refinery would continue to maintain stringent quality standards for its products while working to address Nigeria’s fuel supply challenges.

“We are determined to keep ramping up production to meet and surpass our domestic fuel consumption, thus dispelling any fear of a shortfall in supply,” he added.

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Otu begs labour to shelve planned strike over minimum wage

Gov. Bassey Otu of Cross River has appealed to labour unions in the state to shelve their planned industrial action over the implementation of the new minimum wage.

The governor said his administration remained committed to the implementation of the new wage of N70, 000 recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.

The governor made the appeal during the 5th edition of the State Solemn Assembly held Saturday night at U.J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar.

Represented by his deputy, Dr Peter Odey, Otu said his government would continue to prioritise welfare of workers in the state.

It would be recalled that labour unions in the state had on Wednesday issued notice of 2-day warning strike scheduled to commence midnight of Sunday.

The unions attributed the planned action to the breakdown of negotiations between it and the government.

The organised labour threatened that after the warning strike the industrial action would continue with a December 1 panned nationwide strike.

“I appeal to the leadership of organised labor and all affiliates of the NLC (Nigeria Labour Congress) and TUC (Trade Union Congress) to suspend their planned strike.

“I enjoin them to support the government in the quest to improve the lots of our people,’’ Out said.

He urged the people of Cross River to sustain their support and prayers for the administration to achieve its ‘People First’ mantra.

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Nwifuru orders health ministry officials arrest over material diversion

Gov. Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi has ordered the arrest and prosecution of six state Ministry of Health members of staff for allegedly diverting materials meant for the ministry.

Nwifuru in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Dr Monday Uzor, on Sunday, ordered the arrest of one Ndukwe Ayansi and five others over the issue.

The statement indicated that the governor while inspecting projects cited an articulated vehicle loading registers, books and other materials from the warehouse of the Ministry of Health.

“Nwifuru stopped and made inquiries but not satisfied with answers given to him.

“The governor probed further and discovered that patients’ data registers, cards and other documents were being moved into the vehicle.

“He also discovered that all the documents had been sold without government approval,” Uzor said.

The governor, according to him, described the action as sabotage of  government’s efforts at repositioning the health sector.

“You are selling government documents without approval on a Saturday afternoon.

“The state’s hospitals in the rural areas are in need of registers data entry forms and hospital cards.

“Unfortunately, you are selling the ones produced by the government,” he said.

Uzor further said that the suspects had been handed over to the police while investigation continued

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Over half of Nigeria’s cyber attacks target government, finance — Report

A recent research by Positive Technologies, a leader in result-driven cybersecurity, has revealed that over half of cyber attacks in Nigeria target the government sector and financial companies.

This was contained in the firm’s analysis of the current cyber threats on the African continent for 2023–2024.

According to the experts, these attacks are often carried out by organised hacker groups aiming for financial gain and espionage, as well as by hacktivists.

In Africa, government and financial institutions make up 29 cent and 22 cent of all successful attacks on organisations, respectively.

The analysis of messages on the dark web forums confirmed that these sectors attract cybercriminals the most: they account for 19 per cent and 13 percent of all the darknet listings.

Anastasia Bezborodko, an analyst from the International Analytics Group at Positive Technologies, noted: “The share of attacks against the government sector among all attacks on organisations in Africa is twice as much as was found in our previous research. “Most often, government institutions are targeted by APT groups (46 percent) aiming to collect data and perform cyberespionage, as well as by hacktivists (18 percent ).

” Cybercriminals primarily target government institutions in Nigeria (27 percent ), Algeria (17 percent ), Ethiopia (12 percent ), and South Africa (12 percent), according to dark web data.
“Attacks on the financial sector also increased, rising from 18 percent to 22 percent of all successful attacks.

“On the dark web, posts related to Africa’s government sector typically mention free distribution of information (66 percent), while those related to financial institutions focus on selling data and access (64 percent).”

According to Positive Technologies, more than half of the databases related to African countries are distributed for free on the dark web, while access to corporate networks can be bought for an average of $2,970.

One in 10 successful cyberattacks on organisations in the region targeted the industrial sector.
The main goal of these attacks was to disrupt production processes and steal confidential information.

Another 10 percent of attacks targeted telecommunications: cybercriminals are drawn to vast amounts of personal data and customer payment information. In attacks on organisations, criminals most often targeted computers, servers, and network equipment (65 cent).
This points to weak infrastructure protection, such as vulnerabilities.

The report covered the period from Q1 2023 to Q3 2024. network perimeters and poorly configured services that are accessible externally.

Attacks targeting web resources surged from 15 per cent to 27 percent with DDoS attacks accounting for half. Malware was the most common method used in cyberattacks, accounting for 43 percent of attacks on organisations and 53 percent of attacks on individuals. In almost one-third of successful attacks on companies, cybercriminals used ransomware, and in one out of every four attacks, they deployed spyware.

In 18 percent of attacks on organisations, hackers exploited vulnerabilities. The most common result of cyberattacks on organisations (61 percent ) and individuals (53 percent) was hackers accessing confidential information.

Another common issue was disruption of core business operations, which occurred in 18 percent of successful attacks.

According to open-source data, a significant share of cyberattacks happened in South Africa (22 percent ) and Egypt (13 percent). Meanwhile, analysis of posts on the dark web forums revealed that these messages primarily targeted South Africa (25 percent ), Nigeria (18 percent), and Algeria (13 percent ).

Most often, dark web listings feature databases (61 percent), and more than half of these databases (64 percent) are given away for free. Criminals also sell data for accessing the networks of major African companies (38 percent of all analysed dark web messages). Most of these posts (74 per cent) are about selling access, with an average price of $2,970.
In recent years, digital technologies have been implemented across various sectors in Africa, opening up new opportunities for cybercriminals.

To increase the region’s cybersecurity and thwart future cybercrimes, experts at Positive Technologies recommend adopting protective measures, such as developing and timely updating cybersecurity strategies and identifying critical information infrastructure, the disruption of which could cause non-tolerable events at industry and national levels.

To ensure cyber resilience, experts recommend that organisations conduct risk analysis, put together a list of events that could cause irreparable damage, regularly update systems and applications, and continuously check the effectiveness and relevance of security mechanisms and tools in place. Organisations should also host educational events to teach employees basic security rules and allocate budgets for training cybersecurity specialists. To improve cybersecurity, experts recommend forging strong partnerships between the government and private sectors.

Strengthening international collaboration, sharing knowledge, and exchanging experiences on current cyberthreats and protective measures are also crucial.

Positive Technologies is an industry leader in result-driven cybersecurity and a major global provider of information security solutions.

Our mission is to safeguard businesses and entire industries against cyberattacks and non-tolerable damage. Over 4,000 organisations worldwide use technologies and services developed by our company.

Positive Technologies is the first and only cybersecurity company in Russia publicly available on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX: POSI), with 205,000 shareholders and counting.

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FG to diversify economy through creative industry

The FG is set to diversify Nigeria's economy through the creative industry

The Federal Government (FG) has expressed its readiness to diversify Nigeria’s economy through the development of the creative industry.

Vice President, Kashim Shettima made this known in a statement he shared on his official X account on Sunday morning.

“President Bola Tinubu yesterday (Saturday) identified the creative economy as a cornerstone of his administration’s economic diversification agenda,” Shettima said.

“Tinubu has also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to positioning Nigeria’s creative sector as a key driver of the country’s global influence.”

The president who was represented by his vice stated this during the launch of the 2024 Abuja International Carnival at the Eagle Square, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

“We are not here just to celebrate a carnival but to reaffirm the essence of who we are as Nigerians, a people of culture, a people of art, a people of colour and a people of shared values,” Shettima said on behalf of Tinubu.

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ICPC tracks 5,000 uncompleted projects valued at N74b

The ICPC has tracked 5,000 uncompleted projects valued at N74 billion

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has revealed it has tracked over 5,000 uncompleted projects since 2019 valued at N74 billion.

The ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu made the disclosure at the weekend after the commission and BudgIT Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Aliyu said the ICPC and BudgIT Foundation have decided to sign the MoU to further enshrine integrity in the execution of publicly funded projects.

He added that the commission has directed the contractors involved to return to the site and ensure the completion of the uncompleted projects.

The MoU was signed at the commission’s headquarters on Friday when the BudgIT delegation, led by its Country Representative, Mr. Gabriel Okeowo paid a courtesy visit to the ICPC.

The ICPC Chairman expressed his satisfaction with the terms of the agreement, adding that it is a testament to a shared vision between the commission and BudgIT Nigeria.

Aliyu explained that the two organisations have continued to ensure that the country’s scarce resources are deployed appropriately.

“The Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Group (CEPTG) has tracked over 5,000 projects since 2019 and successfully directed contractors to return to uncompleted projects valued at N74 billion,” he noted.

He said that ICPC would continue to hold defaulters accountable, just as it had arraigned others in the past, maintaining that the commission and other relevant authorities would deal with any issues that Nigerians report regarding their constituency projects.

Aliyu said: “The MoU will stabilise our core working relationship with BudgIT to ensure that we help Nigerians.

“I call on Nigerians to follow the work of CEPTG and also get a copy of the Nigerian budget, track and monitor their constituency projects in order to hold the government accountable.”

Earlier, in a brief address, the Country Representative of BudgIT, Gabriel Okeowo stated that the MoU demonstrated the two bodies’ mutual commitment, as certain clauses within the agreement were already being implemented even before it was officially signed.

Okeowo acknowledged the Commission’s project tracking activities, ongoing simultaneously across the country, and shared that the MoU would add credence to the collaboration of both parties.

The collaboration is coordinated through BudgIT’s investigative arm, TRACKA, which will be useful in sharing relevant information, data, and intelligence concerning fraud in publicly funded project execution.

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