Press zooms in on 450 complaints of human rights abuses, violations during polls, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that the Nigerian Government has been tasked to arrest and probe perpetrators of various acts of electoral violence during the just concluded general elections before it is too late is one of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Guardian reports that the Federal Government of Nigeria has been tasked to arrest and probe perpetrators of various acts of electoral violence during the just concluded general elections before it’s too late. This is after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), yesterday, disclosed that it received 450 complaints of human rights abuses and violations during the polls.
According to the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu (SAN), while 300 complaints of human rights violations were received during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, 150 cases were recorded during the governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls.
Ojukwu stated these in an interview with journalists in Abuja, during the launch of the e-rights project by the Avocats Sans Frontières France, popularly known as Lawyers Without Borders.
The project, which was funded by the European Union (EU), is aimed at promoting the rights of Nigerians in the digital sphere, harnessing opportunities and addressing challenges provided by new technologies.
Recall that over 700 offenders were arrested by men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for violation of electoral laws during the elections. Disclosing this on Tuesday, Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, said the exact figure of those arrested currently stands at 781.
Giving more details regarding the arrest, IGP Baba said 185 cases of electoral infractions were recorded during the presidential election with 203 arrests made. For the governorship and State Assembly elections, the police chief stated that 304 electoral breaches were recorded with 578 offenders arrested.
The NHRC boss stated that the Commission closely monitored activities of law enforcement and security agencies during the elections.
He said: “Of the 450 complaints received, I cannot say exactly the categorisation. This is because some were about violence, vote buying, voter suppression, intimidation and hate speech. Don’t forget, we had a situation room, which was able to harness the complaints of Nigerians across board of the violations that happened during the elections.
The newspaper says that the World Bank, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, has commenced capacity building for stakeholders in the digital economy sector to enable the country to tackle cybersecurity challenges effectively.
With a focus on investing in cybersecurity, increasing awareness of cyber threats and their potential impact on businesses, the government said there is a need for urgent action to protect its infrastructure and the citizens.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day cybersecurity capacity building workshop, yesterday in Abuja, Communications Minister, Isa Ali Pantami, said cyber threats have become a constant threat to businesses and organisations in the ever-changing world of technology.
He observed that in Nigeria, the digital economy is growing rapidly, which calls for heightened cybersecurity measures and robust partnerships. He added that the World Bank would support Nigeria to develop digital cutting-edge skills.
Pantami recalled that Nigeria recorded about 12.9 million cyber threats, originating from both within and outside the country, during the Presidential/National Assembly elections and 3.8 million threats during the governorship/state assembly elections.
He said: “Attempts that were recorded included Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and Internet Protocol Spoofing (IPS) attacks, SSH Login Attempts, brute force injection attempts, path traversal, detection evasion and forceful browsing. These statistics are alarming and they highlight the need for urgent action to protect our infrastructure and digital economy.”
The minister said the importance of having a robust cybersecurity strategy could not be overemphasised, adding that the workshop aligned with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, which identifies cybersecurity as a priority area.
Pantami said the ministry is partnering with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and other institutions to ensure that cyber space is secure.
Digital Development Specialist, World Bank HQ, Washington DC, Hyea Won Lee, said that the capacity building was to ensure that Nigeria secures its cyberspace.
The Punch reports that the Chief Operating Officer of Lekki Deep Seaport, Lawrence Smith, has said the sailing time of vessels using the Lekki Deep Seaport is usually shortened by about a week.
Smith said this in an interview in the December edition of ‘Nigerian Ports Today’, a monthly publication of the Nigerian Ports Authority.
He added that the deep seaport will boost the economy of the country.
“Obviously, we are here to make money. The major influence of the Lekki deep seaport is to boost the economy of Nigeria. For example, if a vessel comes to Nigeria through the Lekki port, it saves about a week of sailing time and saves fuel. There is a great advantage geographically of where the Lekki port is.”
Smith said that the Lekki Deep Seaport was aware that there were many cargoes that do not come to Nigeria directly for various reasons.
He, however, blamed the lack of infrastructure as the reason for Nigeria’s low exports, adding that the port could become a catalyst that would change the trend.
“What I am saying is that we can create a refrigerated cargo and export crops that can get to marketplaces. It is a great opportunity and everybody has to be thinking in the same way,” he asserted.
Addressing the fears that the coming on stream of Lekki port will affect Apapa and Tincan island ports, he said, “We are not here to drive Apapa and Tincan out of business. They are also catalysts for the economic growth of Nigeria.”
The newspaper says that the presidential campaign councils of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party have challenged the Department of State Services to get tough with plotters of the interim national government.
The councils, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Wednesday in Abuja, said the push for the ING was unconstitutional, adding that the plotters should be arrested.
They spoke against the backdrop of a statement issued by the security agency that some people were plotting the ING.
The DSS had earlier on Wednesday raised the alarm over a plot by some Nigerians to thwart the May 29 inauguration of the President-elect, Chief Bola Tinubu.
The DSS, in a statement in Abuja by its Spokesman, Dr Peter Afunanya, alleged that those behind the plot planned to undermine civil rule and foist an interim government on the country.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had on March 1 declared Tinubu the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
The APC presidential candidate polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who got 6,984,520 votes and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi that had 6,101,533 votes.
A day after the result was declared, Atiku and Obi at separate press conferences on March 2 rejected the outcome on the grounds that the election was rigged.
GIK/APA