Customers
WhatsApp delays data sharing change after backlash
WhatsApp on Friday postponed a data-sharing change as users concerned about privacy fled the Facebook-owned messaging service and flocked to rivals Telegram and Signal. The smartphone app, a huge hit across the world, cancelled its February 8 deadline for accepting an update to its terms concerning sharing data with Facebook, saying it would use the pause to clear up misinformation around privacy and security. “We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update,” WhatsApp said in a blog post. “This update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook.” It said it would instead “go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15.” The update concerns how merchants using WhatsApp to cha...
Trader in court for allegedly stealing colleague’s cell phone
A 45-year-old trader, Obiemeke Felix, who allegedly stole a cell phone worth N240,000 belonging to his colleague, on Thursday appeared in a Wuse Zone 6 Magistrates’ Court . The police charged Felix, who lives in Suleja, Niger State, for theft. The Prosecution Counsel, ASP Peter Ejike, of the FCT Command Abuja, told the court that Rapheal Ikechukwu of the Federal Housing Lugbe, Abuja, reported the matter at Wuse Zone 3, Police Station on Dec. 30, 2020. Ejike alleged that on Dec.29, 2020, at about 7.30p.m., the complainant plugged the phone to charge in his shop at the Intercontinental Plaza, Wuse Zone III while he attended to his customers. Ejike alleged that after a while the complainant returned to check his phone but discovered it was stolen. He alleged that the defendant stole the phone...
Lecturer found dead with bullet wounds in Ebonyi
A lecturer with the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Mr Kyrian Nwoke, has been murdered by unknown assailants. Until his death, he taught in the Department of Physiology in AE-FUNAI. His lifeless body was found along Abakaliki rice mill axis of Ogoja Road, on Monday, with bullet wounds. Newsmen gathered that the deceased was using his car for a taxi in order to fend for himself and his family following the hardship occasioned by the lingering dispute between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities which has led to the withholding of salaries of lecturers for months. Mr Nwoke was said to have gone missing on Sunday after a yet-to-be-identified person called him to come to Udemezue in Abakaliki to pick customers to a popular eatery a...
2021: Banks to walk a tightrope amid low revenue environment
Nigeria’s deposit money banks (DMBs) must brace up for the challenge of 2021 that might tax their resolve to remain in business. Reason: the industry is faced with a tougher operating environment that could threaten the operators’ ability to meet their stakeholders’ needs and expectations yet perform meaningful corporate social responsibility roles. Their valuable customers such as high net-worth individuals, corporate bodies and other institutions are equally challenged. In his book, Business Stripped Bare, celebrated iconic entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group, Richard Branson, says, “without trustworthy banks, there can be no business, no employment, no money. According to Branson, “People have got to be able to go to bed at night secure in the knowledge that the money they depo...
Ever-present Boko Haram threat casts shadow in Niger
Seven years after the first Boko Haram attacks in southeastern Niger, people in the city of Diffa, dare not even speak the group’s name. Residents live in a state of siege, frightened and struggling with the economic impact of the Islamist threat. For fear of reprisals, people speak of “insecurity”, of the “problems” or the “current situation”. The fear is well-founded, according to one security source who says Boko Haram sympathisers in the city pass on information to the group. Among the poorest countries in the world, Niger, which is holding presidential elections on Sunday, faces jihadist groups from the Sahel in the west and Boko Haram in the east. “I don’t have 1,000 CFA francs (1.5 euros) in my pocket. I have been unemployed for four years,” says Abdou Maman, 46, who has two wives a...
Beirut seeks Christmas cheer after devastating year
Near the wreckage of Beirut’s port, a charity is bringing Christmas cheer to a city hammered by a devastating explosion, rising coronavirus infections and the worst economic crisis since Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. The Solidarity Christmas Village, decked out with flashing fairy lights and glittering trees, has been offering visitors free entry to watch concerts and pick up drinks and snacks, lifting the mood of families who can’t afford seasonal luxuries. People dressed in giant polar bear costumes and others in Santa Claus outfits offer some festive spirit to a country that is a patchwork of Christian and Muslim sects. “We need to make our children happy …. even if we are tired,” said Toni Hossainy, who had brought her son. The Christmas village has been set up in a temporary warehous...
Airtel begins initiative to feed 5,000 displaced persons
Airtel Nigeria has announced the commencement of the 2020 edition of its annual ‘5 Days of Love’ Yuletide initiative with a focus on providing palliative packs to 5,000 persons across five Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the country. Speaking during a virtual press conference to announce the initiative, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, said despite the pandemic and a difficult year, Airtel would continue its long standing tradition of celebrating and empowering the vulnerable and underprivileged during Yuletide. “Our resolve to Nigeria and Nigerians is unshakeable. Despite a difficult year, we are committed to making lives better for many Nigerians and we will not rest on our laurels as we will continue to create opportun...
U.S. treasury, others under cyberattacks by hackers
The U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments, alongside other government agencies have been targeted by hackers, several media reports indicated on Sunday. National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot told dpa “the U.S. government is aware of these reports and we are taking all necessary steps to identify and address potential issues related to this situation.” The Department of Commerce confirmed to CNN that hackers had overcome protective measures in one of its offices. The Washington Post reported hackers with ties to Russian intelligence agency SVR were responsible for the attacks on the Treasury and Commerce departments as well as other U.S. agencies. It was unclear what information had been captured, according to the report, which also said the FBI had been brought in to investigate...
DPR shuts down seven filling stations in Rivers
File Photo The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says it has closed seven Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) retail outlets in Rivers for operating without valid licences. Bassey Nkanga, Zonal Operations Controller of the agency, made the disclosure during a meeting with Petroleum Products Marketers Association and Petrol Tankers Drivers Union (PTD) on Friday in Port Harcourt. Mr. Nkanga said the enforcement of safety requirements/sanction against violators became necessary to support effective regulation in the downstream sector. “We are in a very peculiar season, the harmattan season when fire incidents usually occur at filling stations. This challenge had, in most cases, occurred as a result of avoidable mistakes, hence, the need to step up safety consciousness amongst stakeholders in ...
CIBN urges banks to strengthen cyber-security
The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has urged the banks to strengthen their cyber-security architecture in order to prevent attacks by fraudsters. President/Chairman of Council of the institute, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi, made the call while delivering his remarks at the 2020 CIBN Fellowship Investiture in Lagos, at the weekend. The CIBN at its investiture formally conferred its honorary fellowship awards on 19 distinguished bankers in recognition of their contributions to the banking industry and the economy; 77 associates as elected Fellows while 105 senior management staff of banks and the academia became Honorary Senior Members of the institute at the event with the theme: ‘Financial Services in a post COVID 19 Environment: Strategic Imperative’. Some that were conferred with ...
Holiday shopping moves online amid surging coronavirus, retailers face shaky prospects
File Photo Long lines and crowds at shopping centers have been as much a Thanksgiving tradition as the turkey dinner, but this year, things could look different. As COVID-19 numbers continue to surge, rushing to brick-and-mortar retail stores might seem not so appealing to many, and the holiday shopping season is moving online. “More and more shopping was already moving online, but COVID-19 concerns are definitely accelerating the shift to online buying,” David Reibstein, a marketing professor from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, told Xinhua. The trend is evident as shown by recent data. Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, reported that its third-quarter e-commerce sales surged 79 percent from a year ago. Amazon, the largest e-commerce retailer, reported a 37 percent ...
Broadband penetration hits 45.43 percent in Nigeria
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, says broadband penetration in Nigeria increased to 45.43 per cent in October. Dr Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant on Information Technology to the minister, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. Adeluyi said that this was due to an increase of 4,061,731 broadband subscriptions between September and October 2020. “This increase in broadband penetration has been as a result of conscientious implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy for the overall benefit of the economy to achieve a Digital Nigeria. “The Nigerian National Broadband Plan (2020-2025), along with the harmonisation of Right of Way charges across the states and protection of critical national infrastructure across the country, had a signifi...
