Nigerians Beware! Jonathan procures N11 billion equipment to tap your phones

Nigeria’s active 120 million GSM subscribers need to know this: The Nigeria Police, the State Security Service [SSS] and the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited [NIGCOMSAT] are, on behalf of the Nigerian government, possibly hacking your phones and listening in to your conversations. The three state agencies are able to do this with the aid of an over N11 billion sophisticated equipment procured and installed for them by President Goodluck Jonathan. Knowing what Nigerians are discussing over the telephone was too important a necessity for Mr. Jonathan that he awarded two different contracts for the same purpose in less than two months interval. On August 31, 2010, less than six months after he became acting president, Mr. Jonathan awarded an approximately N6billion contract to an Israeli-owned but Abuja-based security firm, V & V Nigeria Limited, for the “Procurement of strategic GSM Tracking System for the Nigeria Police Force and expansion/upgrade of the existing system with the DSS”. The project, awarded to the contractor by the Ministry of Police Affairs, was jointly hosted by the Nigeria Police and Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), under the Nigeria Police Reform Programme. Less than two months after – October 21, 2010 – another N2.61 billion contract was awarded by the same Ministry of Police Affairs “for the procurement of Strategic GSM Tracking and Interception Systems for the Department of State Services, under the Nigeria Police Reform”. This other contract, which appears a duplicate of the first, was awarded to a British security firm, Gamma TSE Limited, which, according to the information on its website, “manufactures highly specialized surveillance vehicles and integrated surveillance systems, helping government agencies collect data and communicate it to key decision-makers for timely decisions to be made”. The two clearly similar projects were however neither budgeted for nor listed among contracts approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in 2010. They were also not captured in the government’s budget implementation reports for that year. There is also no indication that the contracts complied with Nigeria’s public procurement law, which requires competitive bidding for government contracts of that magnitude. Yet there was a separate project in the 2010 budget by the Nigeria Police Force (not the Ministry of Police Affairs) for “the procurement of GSM interception and tracking equipment installed in 10 configured vehicles (security/criminal intelligence)” for which N2.5billion was budgeted. It is not clear whether this other project was executed at the time, but it was also not captured in the budget implementation report as well as FEC approvals for the year. Insiders at the State Security Service, the Nigerian Police and the NIGCOMSAT said while Gamma TSE delivered on the contract awarded to it, they were not sure that V & V, linked to a top politician from the South-South, performed satisfactorily. Gamma TSE could not be reached for comments. Repeated telephone calls to its London office were neither answered nor returned. V & V also declined to comment when contacted by PREMIUM TIMES. The official, who answered the call made to the company’s Abuja office, directed all enquiries on the project to the Ministry of Police Affairs. But the spokesperson for the Ministry of Police Affairs, James Odaudu, also declined comments, just like his counterpart at NIGCOMSAT, Sonny Aragba-Akpore. Both officials said they should not be expected to divulge details about security-related installations. Details about these new surveillance contracts emerged about 22 months after PREMIUM TIMES exposed a similar $40 million surveillance contract the administration secretly, also in open violation of lawful contracting procedures, awarded to an Israeli firm, Elbit Systems, with headquarters in Haifa. At the time, Nigerian rights activists considered the project one of the most far-reaching policies ever designed in the country’s history to invade the privacy of citizens. The clandestine programme allows the government spy on citizens’ computers and Internet communications and emails under the guise of intelligence gathering and national security. Embarrassed by the widespread national outrage that arose after this newspaper exclusively exposed the secret contract, the presidency had summoned the management of Elbit Systems for a meeting to explain why the contract should not be revoked after it allegedly breached a confidential clause in the contract. In May 2013, the House of Representatives asked the federal government to suspend the contract, saying it was awarded in breach of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and that the deployment of such spy equipment would violate citizens’ constitutional rights. The House then ordered the immediate suspension of the project to allow its Committees on Information and Computer Technology, Human Rights, and National Security, to conduct an inquiry. The House is however yet to make the outcome of its enquiry public, and the project has since gone ahead. Intelligence sources say the Internet Spy device has since come alive. The spying on telephone and Internet communications of citizens is continuing despite the country not having any law in place to regulate such undertakings by the nation’s security agencies. The Cybercrime Bill 2014, which allows a measure of communication interception, is yet to be passed into law by the National Assembly. Part 3 Section 22 of the Bill, which deals with Interception of electronic communications, says: “Where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the content of any electronic communication is reasonably required for the purposes of a criminal investigation or proceedings, a Judge may on the basis of information on oath: (a) order a service provider, through the application of technical means to collect, record, permit or assist competent authorities with the collection or recording of content data associated with specified communications transmitted by means of a computer system; or (b) authorize a law enforcement officer to collect or record such data through application or technical means.” However, the bill, initiated by the presidency, was passed in December by the Senate but it only scaled second reading in the House of Representatives on Tuesday and was referred to the House committees on justice and information for further scrutiny. When eventually passed by both chambers, it would be harmonised and then sent to the President for assent. CREDIT > PREMIUM TIMES

Nigerian lawmakers give govt one week to submit full report of audit on missing $20billion

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has again requested the Federal Government to avail his committee the full report of the forensic audit done on the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation by Price Water Coopers, PWC, to enable it perform its constitutional duty as enshrined under Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic. The lawmakers gave the government one week to make the report available to their committee. According ‎to the committee’s chairman, Solomon Adeola, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, several weeks had passed with several demands made for the report without success. He said it took a public outcry before snippets of the reports in a “highly condensed version was released to the Press by the Auditor General”. He stated this in a press statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES after a press briefing alongside members of his committee in Abuja on Wednesday. The committee frowned at the role of the Ministry of Finance in the commissioning and appointment of auditors “without the involvement of the Auditor General whose office is eminently and exclusively empowered for the duty by the 1999 Constitution”. Mr. Adeola said by virtue of Section 85(6) of the Constitution, the auditor general ought not to be directed by Mr. President to deal with the report in a particular manner. The lawmaker said for yet unclear reasons, no reference whatsoever was made to the need to send the report to the National Assembly where the Public Accounts Committee is empowered and equipped to deal with it as constitutionally required adding that the PAC “hereby request that the full report on the Forensic Audit by PWC, which must include the initial Draft Report, Executive Summary, management/internal Control Letters be forwarded to the national Assembly not later than one week”.

Nigerian Army To Promote Soldiers Fighting Insurgency

The Nigerian Army on Wednesday, February 25, 2015 announced a special promotion for all soldiers involved in liberating Baga in Borno from Boko Haram insurgents.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, announced the promotion while addressing the soldiers during an official visit to Baga in Kukawa Local Government Area.
Minimah said the promotion was to reward the soldiers for their gallant effort in flushing out the insurgents.
He added that soldiers who died in the battle with the insurgents would also be promoted posthumously.
The entire country is singing praises of Nigerian soldiers for the bravery exhibited in the fight against the insurgents.
I urge you to keep the tempo by striving hard to record more successes, Minimah said.
He expressed optimism that insurgency would end in the next couple of weeks.
Never again will Nigerians suffer this kind of large scale destruction in the name of insurgency, Minimah said.
He said his visit was aimed at boosting the soldiers’ morale and building more confidence in them.
The war is almost ended, we will liberate Dikwa, Bama, Gwoza, Marte and other places in a few days time, Minimah said.
He advised Nigerians to support the military in its quest to end the insurgency.
Nigerians should maintain confidence with Nigerian armed forces. They should support our military because there is no other.
War is war. War does not often come out in favour of any one. In fact, it is the end that justifies the means.
The war, as it stands, has turned out for the good of Nigerian Armed Forces, and God willing, in a matter of time, it will be over.
So, I encourage Nigerians to support their military, Minimah emphasised.
He said that the six weeks offered by the Federal Government for the military to clear the insurgents was achievable, going by the recent developments.
t is achievable; we are still within the time frame. But six weeks should not be taken that everything must be attained because this is war, he added.
Minimah assured that the military would strive harder to ensure the return of peace to all the affected areas in a short while.

Bomb Blast Rocks Jos, Many Feared Dead

A bomb blast, suspected to have been carried out by Islamist sect, Boko Haram on Thursday, February 26, 2015 on Bauchi Road in Jos, Plateau State has killed several people and others injured.
According to reports, the blast occurred at the Pharmacy Gate entrance into the University of Jos.
The number of casualties has not yet been confirmed although dead bodies were reportedly seen around the scene of the explosion.
More details to come.

APC, PDP supporters clash in London

Alleged Nigerians in Diaspora protest Buhari’s candidature

Nigeria’s political rivalry hit new heights following a clash between supporters of Nigeria’s leading political parties in London today.
The protesters believed to be supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressives Congress, APC, besieged Chatham House while General Muhammadu Buhari was delivering his lecture with various placards.

Nigerians in Diaspora purportedly sponsored by PDP to protest against Buhari

While supporters of PDP brandished placards that read: “Buhari Belongs to the past: The past can’t belong to the future of our children”, “A dictator hiding behind another pastor cannot be a democrat”, and “Nigeria will not return to the past”, supporters of APC displayed a placard that read: “Buhari/Osinbajo: Real Change Has Come”.

Pro-Buhari supporters in London

An amorphous group called the Civil Society and Support Groups-Diaspora coordinated the protest against Buhari after an alleged mobilisation fee of $20,000 was paid.
The growing support being enjoyed by Buhari from the international community and global leaders was identified as the driving force behind the move for the protest staged to embarrass Buhari while he delivers his lecture.
Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti State Governor, who has been sponsoring series of hate and death wish advertorials against Buhari has been accused as a major financier of the latest protest.
Tension between the two camps were however calmed by officers of the Metropolitan police who patrolled the area.