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Tag: NSA

  • Northern patriots charge NSA to join hands with Service Chiefs, Security agencies on war against insurgency

    Northern patriots charge NSA to join hands with Service Chiefs, Security agencies on war against insurgency

    The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd) has been urged to work with other Service Chiefs in the country to move the nation’s war against insurgency forward.

    This call was made by the Northern Patriots, decrying the lack of strategic thinking and actions by the NSA’s office to address the non-kinetic component of the war against insurgency in Nigeria thereby leaving the military and other security agencies alone in what ordinarily should be all-encompassing warfare.

    In an open letter signed by the convener, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Suleiman, on Sunday, NP said it is time to be proactive about the real solutions in the fight against terrorism.

    According to the group, the NSA hasn’t done much in terms of stakeholders engagement, intelligence and coordination of actions to complement the efforts of the Service Chiefs and his gallant troops.

    Among others, the Northern Patriots, however, urged Monguno to reopen the dialogue channel with the insurgents using some of Northern elders.

    They also charged him to use his office to investigate reports that Nigeria still does business with some of its neighbours alleged go be arming the terrorists.

  • Photo News: NSA Monguno resurfaces at FEC meeting

    Photo News: NSA Monguno resurfaces at FEC meeting

    Major-General Mohammed Babagana Monguno, the National Security Adviser resurfaced Wednesday at the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.

    Monguno had set off concerns about his status in the administration after he was absent at last week’s FEC meeting and also the meeting on Monday between President Buhari and Service chiefs.

    Speculations that his absence may be a fallout over his leaked memo that the President’s Chief of Staff, Malam Abba Kyari, was meddling in his duties, by holding meetings with security chiefs and giving them instructions.

    Abba Kyari, Lawan, Gbajabiamila and Monguno on Wednesday

    NSA Major General Babagana Monguno with VP Yemi Osinbajo at FEC meeting on Wednesday. With them is Secretary to the Government Boss Mustapha

    But government sources squelched the speculations by attributing his absence to his attendance of a Security Conference in Munich Germany. The conference held 14-16 February.

    On Wednesday, photographs showed him bantering with Abba Kyari at the Council meeting, where the members of the National Assembly Commission were also sworn in by Buhari. One photo also sshowed the two men from Borno state shaking hands.

    Photos by Sunday Aghaeze

    Monguno, centre, with Gbemi Saraki and another minister

    R-L, Monguno, right, with Fashola, Paulen Tallen

    Standing ‘attention ‘ as Buhari arrives for the FEC meeting

    Buhari at the meeting

  • Insecurity: Why NSA Monguno did not attend Service Chiefs meeting with Buhari

    Insecurity: Why NSA Monguno did not attend Service Chiefs meeting with Buhari

    Presidential Adviser on National Security, Major General Babagana Monguno (redt) has gotten what seems a fresh Presidential endorsement just a week after his stinking memo to the Chief of Staff Abba Kyari was leaked.

    In a Presidential statement, the NSA was named Co-Chair along with Humanitarian Affairs Minister for the newly formed National Humanitarian Coordination Committee.

    A source in the presidency said “that is an indication that the President has no issues with the contents of the memo,” even though there are concerns in the Villa on how the memo was leaked.

    Also the source explained that National Security Adviser (NSA) Babagana Monguno did not attend the meeting between Service Chiefs and President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday because he was out of the country.

    It was revealed that the movement of the NSA has never been put in the public domain.

    “This is an intelligence matter, no one issues a statement stating that the NSA and other Service Chiefs are travelling, and that is so for security reasons.”

    The source explained that the movement of the NSA is not subject to public exposure. “The truth is that on Monday the President approved the constitution of a National Humanitarian Coordination Committee (NHCC) and he appointed the NSA as co-Chairman.

    “The NSA and the President have a smooth working relationship and the same can be said of his relationship with the Chief of Staff. I think Nigerians need to learn more about the sensitivity of the role of the NSA,” the source said.

    Some Nigerians on social media had raised eyebrow over the absence of the NSA at a meeting with Security Chiefs claiming that it could have been as a result of the memo leak from the Presidency.

    A letter by NSA Monguno to the Chief of Staff was leaked to the media by unknown persons.

    In the letter, Mr Monguno said Mr Kyari’s directives to service chiefs were sometimes issued without the knowledge, much less approval of the president, a practice he said has added to government’s failure to contain insecurity.

    “Chief of staff to the president is not a presiding head of security, neither is he sworn to an oath of defending the country,” Mr Monguno, a retired major-general, said in the December 9, 2019, letter.

    “As such, unprofessional practices such as presiding over meetings with service chiefs and heads of security organisations as well as ambassadors and high commissioners to the exclusion of the NSA and/or supervising ministers are a violation of the Constitution and directly undermine the authority of Mr President.

    “Such acts and continued meddlesomeness by chief of staff have not only ruptured our security an defence efforts, but have slowed down any meaningful gain that Mr President has sought to achieve.”

  • BREAKING: Olisa Metuh gets 7 years prison sentence

    BREAKING: Olisa Metuh gets 7 years prison sentence

    The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh to seven years imprisonment.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court on Tuesday in Abuja convicted and found Olisa Metuh guilty on seven counts filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Metuh was arraigned by the Federal Government in 2016 over allegations of unlawfully receiving N400m from the office of the then National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd).

    Mr Metuh was prosecuted by the EFCC, alongside his company, Destra Investment, on a seven-count charge of diversion of the money received when Sambo Dasuki was the National Security Adviser.

    He was sentenced to 7 years in prison on corruption charges regarding his activities preceding the 2015 presidential election which his party lost.

    Justice Okon Abang delivering judgment, convicted Metuh on all the seven counts, including the fraudulent receipt of N400m from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November 2014 and use of the money for political activities of the PDP and for his personal purposes.

    The court also convicted Metuh for transacting with cash sum of $2m without going through a financial institution.

    The judge agreed with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission successfully proved that the transaction violated the anti-money laundering law which pegs the maximum cash transaction an individua undertake outside a financial institution at N5m.

    He imposed sentenced Metuh to seven years imprisonment for counts 1, 2, 4 and 7, five years imprisonment in respect of count 3, and three years in respect of counts 5 and 6.

    He however ruled that the sentences shall run concurrently which implied that he would only spend the highest number of years of jail term, which is seven, in prison.

    The judge also directed Metuh to pay a fine of N375m to the Federal Government.

    He also ordered Destra Investments to pay N25m to the Federal Government.

    He ordered the accounts of Destra in Diamond Bank and Asset Resource Management to be closed and their proceeds forfeited to the Federal Government.

    The judge also ordered the winding up of Destra.

  • Security Meeting: No discussion on fate of Service Chiefs – NSA, Monguno

    The National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, has dismissed speculation in some quarters that Thursday’s meeting of the National Security Council discussed the fate of the country’s service chiefs.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had on Thursday presided over the 2020 maiden meeting of the National Security Council with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and the security chiefs in attendance.

    The meeting came amidst calls in some quarters for the removal of the service chiefs due to the ongoing security challenges in some parts of the country.

    The House of Representatives had on Wednesday called on the service chiefs to either resign or be sacked in view of their inability to proffer solutions to the nation security challenges.

    Monguno, however, told State House correspondents at the end of the security meeting that the council which is the highest security body in the country chaired by the President, did not discuss the issue of the service chiefs.

    “The issue of the National Assembly resolution did not come up at the meeting,’’ he said.

    The NSA said the quarterly meeting focused on appraisal of the security situation across the country with a view to finding lasting solutions to the problem.

    He said: “The meeting basically made an appraisal of the current security situation in the country and took a look at the possibilities, the opportunities available to government in addressing most of the recent challenges.

    “There were discussions and at the end of the day, the most important thing that we came up with is the need for collaboration, both between governmental agencies and the larger Nigerian society because of the type of the insurgencies we are faced with, the complexities, the multiplicity of all kinds of issues.

    “There is a need for both parties, governmental agencies on one hand and the larger society to collaborate more vigorously. There is a need for us to deal with these problems in a comprehensive manner.

    “Therefore, council has decided to take a closer look at issues that will help us not just at the federal level or at the state level, but right down to the local government level.

    “But this is going to be done after due consultations with the relevant stakeholders,’’ the NSA said.

  • 2019: NSA speaks on alleged plans to shutdown internet during elections

    The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has dismissed the allegation by the governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyelsom Wike, that there were plans by the ONSA to rig the forthcoming general elections by shutting down the nation’s internet system.

    The NSA, Major Gen. Babagana Monguno(rtd), in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, said there was no iota of truth in the allegation.

    He advised Nigerians to disregard the allegation entirely.

    The statement reads :”The attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser has been drawn to the allegation making the rounds in the media that the Federal Government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to work with internet service providers to shut down internet access during the forthcoming elections to facilitate rigging of the 2019 elections.

    “The office wishes to advise the general public to disregard the allegation which is disinformation.

    “This office wishes to state that the internet and associated communications infrastructure are major components of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) which the ONSA is mandated to ensure its security.

    “Accordingly, the office, in collaboration with relevant ministries, departments and agencies of government, makes continuous efforts to protect them and improve service delivery to Nigerians.

    “Furthermore, every single national security platform in the country rides on the same internet to function. Therefore ‘shutting down’ the internet is akin to shutting down national development and security.

    “The Office of the National Security Adviser remains committed to protecting the rights of the public to access Information and Communication Technology facilities. The office also remains non-partisan and committed to ensuring that Nigerians freely exercise their civic rights.”

  • 2019: Will internet services be unavailable during the elections?

    In the past, during Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Internet services and sometimes gsm services have been observed to be jammed with the view to curb examination malpractices through telecom services.

    It has also been observed that internet services and also sometimes gsm services were occasionally unavailable during past elections in the country.

    With the 2019 general elections drawing ever closer, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has alleged that there are plans by the Federal Government through the Office of the National Security Adviser as directed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to work with internet service providers to shut down internet access during the elections.

    Governor Wike said that shutting down internet access by the NSA and INEC is aimed at facilitating the rigging of the 2019 General elections.

    He made the allegation when he received Savannah Centre Council on Peaceful and Violence Free Election in Nigeria at the Government House Port Harcourt.

    The governor said that the negative actions of the Buhari administration indicate that they will not accept defeat when they lose the forthcoming elections.

    He advised President Muhammadu Buhari to emulate Former President, Goodluck Jonathan who placed Nigeria above personal consideration.

    According to Wike, “The National Security Adviser has met with INEC to ensure that internet service providers shut down the internet so that foreign bodies won’t see what’s happening in the country during the elections.

    “They will jam all the frequencies and internet services to stop real-time communication during the elections.

    “This plot to rig the forthcoming elections is a recipe for violence. They will not succeed in whatever they are planning. The world will be informed about their criminal activities.

    “I don’t think this administration will willingly accept defeat. They should emulate Former President, Goodluck Jonathan who lost elections and accepted the outcome.

    “There was no litigation. He went back home and did not generate crisis”.

     

  • UNN emerges best in 2018 statistics competition

    The University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), has emerged best out of 20 tertiary institutions that participated in the Nigeria Statistical Association (NSA) Competition, organised for undergraduates of statistics.

    Mr Emmanuel Ugwu, came overall best out of 60 final year students of statistics, who participated in the competition held at National Mathematical Centre on Friday in Sheda, FCT, Abuja.

    The competition started on May 14 and ended May 18. Also 20 participants won different categories of medals; three gold, seven silver and 10 bronze medals.

    In his address, the NSA president, Prof. Sidney Onyeagu, said that the competition which was centred on probability distribution was aimed at rekindling the interest of students in statistics.

    Onyeagu observed that the competition would further build the students’ interest in statistics, as a career prospect as well as improve on their communication and knowledge in certain difficult areas of statistics.

    Earlier in his remark, Prof. Stephen Onah, Director/Chief Executive, National Mathematical Centre (NMC), said that the programme was aimed at stimulating interest of undergraduates in statistics.

    Onah noted that the exercise would equally prepare students of statistics to better understand the difficult areas as well as improve their knowledge and confidence in the subject for any global competition.

    “In pursuing its mandate, NMC has been organising similar competitions for students of mathematics from Nigerian Universities.

    “Also the centre is trying to reactivate competition in computer science, which has been put off due to lack of facilities at the centre,” he said.

    He, therefore, assured the medallists that the centre would find ways to assist them to access sponsorship for higher studies in statistics and related disciplines.

    The winner of the competition, Ugwu attributed his success to determination, hard work and concentration on the subject area.

     

  • Petya ransomware strikes across Europe, causing global concern

    A massive hack has struck across Europe, causing disruptive mayhem, and posing serious security breach, especially to the Ukrainian government, with a global implication for users of Windows PCs that are not up to date.

    Ukrainian companies and government officials reported major disruption to power grid, banks and government offices.

    Russia’s Rosneft energy company also reported falling victim to hacking, as did shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, which said every branch of its business was affected.

    Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko Today posted a picture of a darkened computer screen to Twitter, saying that the computer system at the government’s headquarters has been shut down.

    The message on the tweet reads: “And the Dame! Secretariat of the CABINET of MINISTERS in the course of too “was devalued. The network of lies,” according to Twitter translation algorithm.

    A Tom Guide’s report later confirmed the attack to be a variant of the Petya/Mischa/Petrwrap/GoldenEye ransomware family.

    Ransomwares like WannaCry hold data hostage by scrambling it until a payment is made.

    And according to the Tom Guide’s report, the Petya ransomware is using both the ETERNALBLUE networking exploit developed by the NSA (and used by WannaCry) and a Microsoft Office/WordPad flaw discovered earlier this year.

    The prevailing theory is that Office files were being spread by phishing emails, and once they are opened, the malware used ETERNALBLUE to spread across a corporate network.

    Petya ransomware is especially damaging, as it encrypts not only certain user files, but also the computer’s file table and Master Boot Record.

    The victim will not be able to restart his or her computer.

    The ransomware note asked victims to pay $300 in bitcoin to a specific Bitcoin address.

    The report stated that Windows computers that have installed both the March 2017 and April 2017 security-patch bundles should be immune to the ransomware worm.

    “If you haven’t updated Windows recently, do so immediately. April and May’s patch bundles will be installed along with June’s,” the report stated.

     

  • WannaCry ransomware originated from North Korea, say UK, US

    The WannaCry ransomware attack that affected more than 150 countries and crippled parts of the NHS came from North Korea, British and US security officials believe.

    The attack affected more than 60 NHS trusts and an estimated 300,000 people worldwide, by locking data and demanding money to release it again.

    British cyber experts analysing the software worm believe it was created by a prolific North Korean cyber gang called the Lazarus Group.

    British security sources said it was unclear if the attack had been ordered or sanctioned by the Pyongyang government, but an assessment by America’s National Security Agency (NSA) said it had “moderate confidence” the attack pointed to North Korea’s spy agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the Washington Post reported.

    The NSA believes the ransomware was an attempt to raise cash for Pyongyang’s coffers.

    However the attempt was apparently flawed and though the hackers raised more than £100,000 in ransom payments of digital currency, the money has not been cashed in because the accounts could be easily tracked by law enforcement officials.

    Cyber security experts have said North Korea’s cyber crime efforts are becoming increasingly bold, and the cash-strapped regime is believed to have launched a string of digital bank raids.

    The Russian cyber security firm Kaspersky earlier this year said the country was linked to attempted cyber heists in 18 countries, mainly in Asia and Africa.

    The country has also been blamed for attacks on South Korea’s banks and broadcasters and for the 2014, hack on Sony Pictures.