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  • How lady was lured via Facebook, held hostage, raped, extorted before release

    How lady was lured via Facebook, held hostage, raped, extorted before release

    The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have arrested one Sadiq Abubakar ‘m’ 31yrs old from Kogi State and one Peter Moses ‘m’ 25yrs old from Kaduna State who abducted a 22yr-old lady [name withheld] to a location in Suleja, Niger State.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports both Abubakar and Moses held the lady hostage, raped her and extorted money from her parents as ransom before she was eventually released.

    Investigations reveal that the suspects, who are serial virtual kidnappers, usually meet their victims on social media platforms particularly, Facebook, and thereafter lure them to their criminal hideout before subjecting them to sexual molestation and further obtaining ransom from their families.

    According to a statement released by CP Frank Mba, Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters following arrest of the suspects, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba has advised users of the social media to remain circumspect and protect themselves from cyber crooks masquerading as online friends.

    According to the statement, the Police also intercepted three (3) suspects, Emmanuel Joel 42yrs, Ayuba Joel, 30yrs, Hassan Umar, 30yrs on 28th August, 2021, in possession of one AK49 rifle loaded with fourteen live ammunition and twenty-six (26) AK47 magazines, at a border town between Nasarawa and Taraba State.

    The statement reads: “…the Police team arrested one Sadiq Abubakar ‘m’ 31yrs old from Kogi State and one Peter Moses ‘m’ 25yrs old from Kaduna State who abducted a 22yr-old lady to a location in Suleja.

    “The suspects held the young lady hostage, had repeated canal knowledge of the victim and extorted money from her parents as ransom before her release.

    “Investigations by the Police team show that the suspects, who are serial virtual kidnappers, usually meet their victims on social media platforms particularly, Facebook, and thereafter lure them to their criminal hideout before subjecting them to sexual molestation and further obtaining ransom from their families.

    “The Police operatives also intercepted three (3) suspects, Emmanuel Joel 42yrs, Ayuba Joel, 30yrs, Hassan Umar, 30yrs on 28th August, 2021, in possession of one AK49 rifle loaded with fourteen live ammunition and twenty-six (26) AK47 magazines, at a border town between Nasarawa and Taraba State.

    “Investigations by the Police team revealed that the suspects are criminal arms dealers who supply weapons to criminal elements in Nasarawa and Taraba States. Efforts are being intensified to arrest members of the gang currently at large.

    “The Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, psc (+), fdc, NPM has assured that the Force is committed to working with law abiding citizens to secure the nation and reduce crimes to the barest minimum in the country.

    “He advised users of the social media to remain circumspect and protect themselves from cyber crooks masquerading as online friends. All the suspects will be charged to court on completion of investigations”.

  • EFCC arrests lady for selling her photos, Facebook account to fraudsters

    EFCC arrests lady for selling her photos, Facebook account to fraudsters

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a lady, Precious Iwuji for allegedly selling her photographs and facebook account to internet fraudsters.

    Iwuji was arrested in the Sabo area of Kaduna, following intelligence on her alleged involvement in cyber fraud.

    In a statement, EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said preliminary investigation revealed the suspect engaged in impersonation by selling her photographs and facebook account to internet fraudsters who used them to defraud unsuspecting victims.

    Uwajuren in the statement added that Iwuji and others arrested alonsgide her will soon be charged to court.

  • Facebook may be forced to sell Giphy

    Facebook may be forced to sell Giphy

    Facebook could be forced to reverse its multi-million-dollar takeover of Giphy after the British competition watchdog said on Thursday the deal could harm other social media sites.

    The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that it might force the 400 million dollar acquisition to be unwound.

    The CMA said that Facebook could use the takeover to deny other social media platforms access to Giphy’s moving images called gifs.

    The gifs are used by millions of people worldwide, and if Facebook were to remove them from other platforms, such as TikTok or Twitter, it could make people stop using these social media sites.

    Facebook could alternatively use its control of Giphy to demand that its rivals hand over more data on their users.

    “Such actions could increase Facebook’s market power, which is already significant,’’ the CMA said.

    `More than 70 per cent of the time that people spend on social media is on Facebook or WhatsApp and Instagram, both of which it owns.

    Stuart McIntosh, who chaired the investigation for the CMA, said: “millions of people share gifs every day with friends, family and colleagues, and this number continues to grow.

    “Giphy’s takeover could see Facebook withdrawing gifs from competing platforms or requiring more user data in order to access them.’’

    Facebook and Giphy, both of which are based in the U.S, announced in May 2020 that they were going to combine.

    In January this year, the CMA inaugurated its investigation into the case, it is set to release its final report in October.

  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warns against misuse of her name

    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warns against misuse of her name

    Former Minister of Finance and now Director General (DG) of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has warned against the misuse of her name.

    This is contained in a statement released by Paul C Nwabuikwu, Media Adviser to the WTO DG.

    Recall that recently Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s name has been used to advertise some public events, which Nwabuikwu has said are without prior knowledge of the WTO DG.

    These have been part of a longstanding pattern of misusing Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s name in most times viral messages, which has increased in recent times.

    The messages, including comments on political and other issues falsely attributed to Okonjo-Iweala, are usually circulated via WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media platforms.

    According to the statement, the WTO DG will not hesitate taking legal actions if the pattern of abuse of her name does not stop.

    The statement reads: “It has come to our attention that invented comments on political and other issues falsely attributed to the former Minister of Finance, now DG, World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala are being disseminated on online platforms as well as on WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media.

    “These efforts are obviously directed at mischief making as the faceless people behind them are seeking to make Dr Okonjo-Iweala a tool of whatever agenda they are pursuing.

    “The fake comments are part of a longstanding pattern of misusing Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s which has increased in recent times.

    “For instance, her name has recently been used to advertise all kinds of public events without any prior discussion or permission.

    “These actions are clearly wrong and her office has had to respond to enquiries on issues and events that she knows nothing about.

    “We urge the persons or groups responsible to desist from their unethical and illegal activities as Dr Okonjo-Iweala may be forced to explore legal options to stop the misuse of her name”.

  • Internet giants threaten to pull out of Hong Kong over privacy plans

    Internet giants threaten to pull out of Hong Kong over privacy plans

    An association of companies such as Google, Twitter and Facebook is warning that the internet giants and their services will pull out of Hong Kong.

    The companies warned that their services will be pulled out if a planned tightening of data protection was implemented.

    The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) criticised the proposed doxxing legislation as too vague and disproportionate, according to a letter to Hong Kong’s data protection commissioner, Ada Chung Lai-ling, posted on the AIC website on Tuesday.

    The privacy law was proposed after the personal information of police officers, and other public figures including the names, addresses, photographs of individuals were circulated online during the social unrest of 2019 and 2020.

    The publishing of such private information without permission is what is known as doxxing.

    AIC said it was “unnecessary and excessive’’ to prosecute local employees as intended if their overseas-based companies did not remove content from their platforms as required by authorities.

    “The only way to avoid these sanctions for technology companies would be to refrain from investing and offering their services in Hong Kong, thereby depriving Hong Kong businesses and consumers, whilst also creating new barriers to trade,’’ the letter said.

    The industry association shared the serious concern about “doxxing’’ but stressed that laws against it must be built upon principles of necessity and proportionality.

  • Facebook and I – Francis Ewherido

    Facebook and I – Francis Ewherido

    Francis Ewherido

    I was comparatively late in having a Facebook account. I was worried about the distraction and addiction. I hate addictions. Well, all these are in the past now. I have been on Facebook for a while now. I see a Facebook page as a home. Each person builds his house to his specification and decorates the inner space to suit his personality. If your Facebook page does not give an idea of who you are – your profession, family, likes dislikes, etc – I get suspicious.

    It is your entitlement how you build your home and arrange your space as long as it is not against public policy. That is why I scarcely join issues with people on their Facebook pages. For me, na their house, I nor fit carry fight go meet person for im own house. But if you are mature and intellectually engaging, I might engage you on your Facebook page. I might also inbox and raise the issue if I feel it is better discussed privately. But if your stock in trade is to pour insults on people, I mind my business and waka pass. Sometimes when I feel strongly about the issue and do not want to join issues with the person, I go to my page to put forward my own perspective on the issue. After all, we all have our Facebook homes, sorry, pages.

    Facebook has also become an amusement park for me. Normally, before I send a friend request to anyone, I will go through his/her page to be sure we share similar values, areas of interest or the person’s Facebook page is engaging. Facebook users send friend requests for different reasons. Some are just to defraud people. I have received over 20 friend requests from a supposed customs officer, Ruth Adeyemi, obviously a fake name. Apart from Ruth Adeyemi, other “custom officers” also send me requests. I just laugh, delete and block. What is my business? I am a chartered insurance broker and a media person, not a customs agent or clearing and forwarding agent, so why should I be crazy about being friends with custom’s people on Facebook? Even if I import an item, I will engage the services of a clearing agent. I believe in division of labour, specialisation and professionalism.

    I also get many requests from “oyibo widows.” They live in Manchester, London, Sweden, America, yet they have no single oyibo friend. Their friends are mainly from Zamfara, Ogoja and other places in Nigeria and Ghana. I just laugh. I simply, delete and block. The few oyibo friends I have on Facebook are those I met during my travels. Any friend request from oyibo will meet a stone wall, unless it can pass through the eye of a needle I have put in place.

    Also, I always go through people’s Facebook pages before I accept their friend request. I have seen an irritating trend among young people recently. If you go through their profile, you see, went to: “University of Oxford,” “University of Cambridge,” “University of Harvard” “University of Abadeen (Aberdeen).” What? Without a passport and visa? You studied abroad when you have probably never been to an international airport? How many Nigerians will study abroad for years without taking a single photo of their campus environment? Even those who did three months courses proudly tell you they are alumnus or alumna of Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, MIT, etc? Yet in your case, your page is filled with photos you took in your local environment. Some other youngsters claim to have attended Nigerian universities, but if you look critically, it is not true. Why can’t young people be comfortable with who they are?

    I also get so many friend requests from those who are into betting and match fixing. Let me tell them my story so that they can understand why I will never be involved in their activities again. In 1980, my father gave me money to buy provisions to take to school. I can’t recall the exact amount, but it was definitely less than N10 (the younger generation can never comprehend this). I left home with one of my brothers. We could have stopped at Kingsway Store or Leventis Store around Enerhen Junction, near Warri, Delta State, where sardine was sold for 20 kobo, Carnation milk was nine kobo, while Peak Milk was 18 kobo, but we decided to head to Igbudu Market, in Warri.

    At the entrance of Igbudu Market, some women were doing “try your luck” (a form of gambling). Greed took over my young mind. I decided to try my luck so that I could double my school money. Before I knew it, I had lost two naira. My brother, who sensed trouble, urged me that we should go. “Mo ayaran o (let’s go o),” he kept urging me. When the women felt I wanted to listen to my brother, they would tilt and manipulate the board and I would win. I would then tell my brother, “Can’t you see I am winning?” This continued until I had only N2 left before I reluctantly listened to my brother. Una see wetin Igbudu Market women do small pikin? They could not even drive me away at the first instant, being that I was under aged.

    With the N2, I bought milk and sugar, may be one tin of sardine and geisha each. That was all I took to school to augment school food for six weeks. I didn’t have the courage to tell my parents what happened. I suffered in school for those six weeks before mid-term break. Forty one years later, I still remember the hunger in those six weeks. My upbringing was so strict, begging friends for provisions was out of the way. It was like my mother was watching my every move in school, though she was at least 20 kilometres away. That was when God delivered me from the vices of greed and desperation, the very ingredients (ignorance inclusive) necessary for you to be duped.

    So guys, stop wasting your time. I don’t need your friendship. Gambling and betting do not interest me. If it’s insurance, media and communications, writing, etc, I am all ears, let’s talk business. But leave me out of betting and gambling; the probability of winning is too low. Let me stick to what I understand which also have reasonable higher probability of success.

    Also, those babalawo, who want to make me a Dangote overnight, stop sending me requests. I am a systems and processes person. I still do not understand the systems and processes you want to use to perform that magic. Let me stick with the systems and processes, which though are like building a house one block at a time, will get me to my destination someday. They currently put food on the table, give me a roof over my head, keep the children in school and take care of other bills, including affording me a few luxuries. Above all, they give me peace of mind and I cherish peace of mind.

  • Twitter, Facebook, others must register in Nigeria – Lai Mohammed

    Twitter, Facebook, others must register in Nigeria – Lai Mohammed

    As part of its controversial move to regulate social media, the Nigerian government said on Wednesday that Twitter, Facebook and other social media giants must register in the country.

    Information minister Lai Mohammed also said Twitter, which was recently suspended by the Nigerian government, has called for a ‘high-level’ discussion.

    Mr Mohammmed said these in Abuja while briefing journalists after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting.

    He repeated the government’s stance that Twitter was suspended because it provided an avenue for people threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria.

    He claimed that the owner of Twitter helped to fund the recent #EndSARS protest and is also allowing the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to use the platform to call for the killing of Nigerian security operatives.

    He said Twitter failed to take down Mr Kanu’s tweets despite repeated requests to do so.

    Recall TheNewsGuru (TNG) twitter recently deleted some of Mr Kanu’s controversial tweet. This was after the Nigerian government suspended Twitter’s operations in the country after the social media giant deleted a controversial tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Mr Mohammed said one of the conditions that must be met before the Nigerian government lifts the suspension on Twitter is that the social media firm must be registered in Nigeria as a business concern.

    ALSO READ: Analysis: How Reps debated the controversial Twitter Ban in Nigeria
    He said other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram must also be registered in the country.

  • Facebook suspends Donald Trump for 2 years

    Facebook suspends Donald Trump for 2 years

    Facebook has suspended former U.S. President Donald Trump, on Facebook and Instagram platforms for two years effective Jan. 7.

    Facebook, in a statement by Nick Clegg, Vice-President of Global Affairs, cited “severe violation” after Capitol Hill riots of January 6 and that Trump’s accounts would only be reinstated if conditions permitted.

    “Last month, the Oversight Board upheld Facebook’s suspension of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts following his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6.

    “But in doing so, the board criticised the open-ended nature of the suspension, stating that “it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension”.”

    “The board instructed us to review the decision and respond in a way that is clear and proportionate, and made a number of recommendations on how to improve our policies and processes,” it said.

    “We are today announcing new enforcement protocols to be applied in exceptional cases such as this, and we are confirming the time-bound penalty consistent with those protocols which we are applying to Mr. Trump’s accounts.”

    Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Trump’s suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols, Facebook stated.

    “We are suspending his accounts for two years, effective from the date of the initial suspension on January 7 this year.

    “At the end of this period, we will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded.

    “We will evaluate external factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest.”

    Facebook stated that if the Oversight Board determined that there was still a serious risk to public safety, Facebook would extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk had receded.

    When the suspension is eventually lifted, there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Trump commits further violations in future, up to and including permanent removal of his pages and accounts, it added.

    “In establishing the two year sanction for severe violations, we considered the need for it to be long enough to allow a safe period of time after the acts of incitement, to be significant enough to be a deterrent to Mr. Trump and others from committing such severe violations in future, and to be proportionate to the gravity of the violation itself.

    “We are grateful that the Oversight Board acknowledged that our original decision to suspend Trump was right and necessary, in the exceptional circumstances at the time.

    “But we absolutely accept that we did not have enforcement protocols in place adequate to respond to such unusual events. Now that we have them, we hope and expect they will only be applicable in the rarest circumstances.”

  • FG expresses grave concern over updated WhatsApp privacy policy

    FG expresses grave concern over updated WhatsApp privacy policy

    The federal government has expressed grave concerns over WhatsApp’s recently updated privacy policy which threatens Nigerian users, who fail to agree to it sharing users data information with Facebook and all Facebook affiliates, risking not being able to use the service at all.

    The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami expressed the concerns yesterday in a release signed by Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant for Information Technology to the Minister.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the updated privacy policy of the messaging app owned by Facebook states that WhatsApp will share information about the users of the app with its parent company, Facebook, as well as other Facebook companies.

    The information includes user phone numbers, “transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with others (including businesses) when using our Services, mobile device information, your IP address”.

    Furthermore, WhatsApp has indicated that users who refuse to accept their revised privacy policy risk not being able to use the service at all.

    “The Federal Government released the Nigeria Data Protection Regulations (NDPR) in 2019 and is committed to upholding the data privacy of Nigerians.

    “We are also aware that the European region is exempt from the provisions of the updated Policy and it is also being challenged in a number of countries.

    “The Honourable Minister has therefore directed the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as the Regulator of the Information Technology sector, to engage vigorously with Facebook to understand the processes, level of security, etc of the data of Nigerian users in order to ensure that Policies proposed for Nigeria strictly adhere to the provisions of NDPR.

    “Nigerians can be assured that the Federal Government will give utmost attention to the privacy of their data, in line with the NDPR and the National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria,” the statement reads.

  • Privacy: NITDA searches for local alternatives to WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook

    Privacy: NITDA searches for local alternatives to WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook

    The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said it will organize a hackathon for Nigerians to pitch solutions that can provide services that will provide functional alternatives to existing global social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports this is contained in a public advisory issued by NITDA and released on Tuesday by it’s Head of Corporate Affairs and External Relations, Mrs. Hadiza Umar to address WhatsApp’s recent privacy policy changes and the implications for Nigerian users.

    According to the public advisory, to understand the issues bothering on WhatsApp’s recent privacy policy changes, NITDA in collaboration with the African Network of Data Protection Authorities had engaged Facebook Incorporated, the owners of Whatsapp platform, specifically, its global Policy officials on 9th April, 2021.

    “Nigeria’s engagement with Facebook continues. We have given them our opinion on areas to improve compliance with the NDPR. We have also raised concerns as to the marked difference between the privacy standard applicable in Europe, under the GDPR and the rest of the world.

    “Given the foregoing and other emerging issues around international technology companies, NITDA, with stakeholders, is exploring all options to ensure Nigerians do not become victims of digital colonialism. Our national security, dignity and individual privacy are cherished considerations we must not lose.

    “Because of this, we shall work with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to organize a hackathon for Nigerians to pitch solutions that can provide services that will provide functional alternatives to existing global social platforms,” the public advisory reads.

    Read public advisory in full below:

    PUBLIC ADVISORY

    WHATSAPP PRIVACY POLICY CHANGES: IMPLICATION FOR NIGERIAN USERS

    The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) under Section 6 (f) of the NITDA Act 2007 wishes to provide this advisory to Nigerians to address Nigerian concerns on changes to Whatsapp Terms of Service and Privacy Policy which took effect on 15th May, 2021. Millions of Nigerians use Whatsapp platform for business, social, educational, and other purposes. The platform is the social media platform of choice for many Nigerians.

    To understand the issues and give an opportunity to explain its views, NITDA in collaboration with the African Network of Data Protection Authorities engaged Facebook Incorporated, the owners of Whatsapp platform, specifically, its global Policy officials on 9th April, 2021. After the engagement, NITDA, as Nigeria’s data privacy regulator, wishes to advise Nigerians on how Facebook’s business decision affects their privacy rights.

    What Has Changed?

    Facebook acquired Whatsapp in February 2014. Facebook currently has over 2.5 billion users globally, while Whatsapp has over 2 billion users. Whatsapp shared a reviewed Privacy Policy on 4th January 2021, informing its users outside the European Union that it would now share their information with Facebook and its sister companies.

    Datasets collected by Whatsapp

    Whatsapp collects the following information on users:

    • account information;
    • messages (including undelivered messages, media forwarding);
    • connections;
    • status information;
    • transactions and payments data;
    • usage and log information;
    • device and connection information;
    • location information;
    • cookies etc.

    Other information collected by Whatsapp include:

    • battery level;
    • signal strength;
    • app version;
    • browser information;
    • mobile network;
    • connection information (including phone number, mobile operator or ISP), language and time zone;
    • Internet Protocol address;
    • device operations information;
    • social media identifiers.

    The new policy best renders the platform’s information sharing practices with Facebook and its companies-

    “As part of the Facebook Companies, WhatsApp receives information from, and shares information with, the other Facebook Companies. We may use the information we receive from them, and they may use the information we share with them, to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support, and market our Services and their offerings, including the Facebook Company Products…”

    Whatsapp shares the above listed information and the following with the Facebook company:

    • account registration information;
    • details on how users interact with others;
    • mobile device information;
    • Internet Protocol address;
    • Location data etc.

    The Facebook Team confirmed that private messages shared on WhatsApp consumer version are encrypted and not seen by the company. But the metadata (data about the usage of the service) which is also personal information is shared with other members of the Facebook Group.

    Whatsapp users are at liberty to decide on giving consent to the processing of their data based on the new privacy policy. The Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) recognizes consent (a clear, unambiguous expression of privacy terms communicated by the controller and accepted by the Data Subject) as one of the lawful basis for data processing. Acceptance of the new privacy policy and terms of use implies that user data would now be shared with Facebook and other third parties. Users will now be subject to the terms and policies of Facebook and other receiving entities with or without being direct subscribers to such services.

    Advise

    As a result of the foregoing, NITDA advises as follows:

    • Nigerians may wish to note that there are other available platforms with similar functionalities which they may wish to explore. Choice of platform should consider data sharing practices, privacy, ease of use among others; and
    • Limit the sharing of sensitive personal information on private messaging and social media platforms as the initial promise of privacy and security is now being overridden on the bases of business exigency.

    Nigeria’s engagement with Facebook continues. We have given them our opinion on areas to improve compliance with the NDPR. We have also raised concerns as to the marked difference between the privacy standard applicable in Europe, under the GDPR and the rest of the world.

    Given the foregoing and other emerging issues around international technology companies, NITDA, with stakeholders, is exploring all options to ensure Nigerians do not become victims of digital colonialism. Our national security, dignity and individual privacy are cherished considerations we must not lose. Because of this, we shall work with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to organize a hackathon for Nigerians to pitch solutions that can provide services that will provide functional alternatives to existing global social platforms.