Rising from its latest security council meeting, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has banned street protests and any form of public demonstration in the nation’s capital.

The decision was taken after a security meeting chaired by the minister of the FCT, Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello.

Members of the FCT security council discuss after the meeting. Photo credit: @OfficialFCTA Source: Twitter

The meeting was attended by heads of the various security agencies and military formations in the FCT, senior members of staff of the FCTA, representatives of religious and traditional institutions as well as area council chairmen.

After extensive deliberations, the committee came up with certain resolutions which include that the #EndSARS protesters are causing inconveniences to law-abiding citizens in the Nigeria capital.

The council also described the protesters as unruly, adding that the conduct of the crowd violates COVID-19 safety protocols.

The COVID-19 guidelines regulating public gatherings recommend physical distancing, temperature checks, the use of facial coverings, amongst others.

Read Also: #EndSWAT Protesters Storm National Assembly

The FCT security council stated that:

“Clearly, all these guidelines were flouted by the protesters.

“Consequently, the committee directs that due to the dangers posed by COVID-19, all street demonstrations, protests and processions will not be allowed anywhere within the FCT.”

Interestingly, the FCTA did not issue any statement when personnel of the Nigeria Police Force opened fire on peaceful protesters in Abuja last week.

The protesters were young Nigerians staging a procession against police brutality across the country before they were assaulted by policemen

The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, has revealed that the National Identity Number (NIN) will soon be made mandatory for Citizens for accessing government services and interventions.

Minister in charge of the ministry, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), said this when he received a briefing from the Management team of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) on their activities following the final transfer of the supervision of the commission to the ministry on the 7th October 2020.

He called on the commission to ensure a 500% increase in the number of monthly Citizens’ Digital Identity Enrolments-up from the current 500,000 monthly enrolments to 2.5million monthly enrolments.

The minister, however, commended the Director-General of NIMC, Engr Aliyu A. Aziz, for his commitment, noting that there has been a considerable increase in enrolments since he became the Chief Executive Officer of NIMC but maintained that there is still a need to raise the bar even higher.

Read Also: Buhari Rejects Buratai’s Request To Deploy Soldiers For #EndSARS

He said, “This is imperative because the National Identity Number (NIN) will soon be made mandatory for accessing government services and interventions.”

He assured the NIMC team that he will do all he can, to address the challenges, especially those of funding, being faced by the commission.

According to his Spokesperson, Mrs Uwa Suleiman, the minister also stated that he is “committed to ensuring that citizens easily obtain secure digital identity” and urged them to “enrol as soon as possible.”

He noted that “Digital Identity is one of the key requirements of any digital economy and it is captured under Pillar #6 of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria.”

Source

President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected a request from the Nigerian Army to quell ongoing #EndSARS protests with soldiers, Peoples Gazette can report, on the account that such approach could backfire.

Mr. Buhari said heavily armed soldiers with a directive to open fire should be the last resort — if at all they’ll be considered — because of the spontaneous and elaborate nature of the ongoing pushback against decades police brutality, according to a presidency and two military sources briefed on the matter Wednesday night.

Our sources said Mr Buratai and some of his generals are increasingly furious that #EndSARS protesters have refused to stand down.

He sought the president’s permission to deploy soldiers to disperse protesters and take over demonstration grounds in Lagos and Abuja, a senior administration official told the Gazette shortly after 11:00 p.m.

The official said Mr Buhari fear that the protests could grow bigger if any attempt is made to use soldiers to violently suppress it.

“The president is wary of escalating the situation,” our source said. “He does not want this to backfire because there are many locations that protests are holding across the country.”

Chief of staff Ibrahim Gambari was amongst those who advised the president against troops deployment.

National security adviser Babagana Monguno did not take part in the meeting but a source said he would be briefed. The Gazette has yet to establish whether or not the NSA was briefed, and a telephone number for him did not immediately connect Wednesday night.

Read Also: FG Reopens NYSC Camp

Mr. Buratai’s proposal followed a week-long demonstration that has refused to wane despite government acceding to some of the key requests from the protesters.

On Sunday, police chief Mohammed Adamu announced immediate abolition of the special anti-robbery squad, a police detective unit whose decades of corruption and ruthlessness sparked the world-famous hashtag.

He also announced a new unit that would replace the defunct brutal squad.

Mr. Buhari in additional repeatedly assured that his administration would take police reforms more seriously, but urged protesters to embrace dialogue around a sustainable solution.

The protesters have declined to end the campaign until at least five fundamental issues that border on citizens’ rights and restitution thousands of SARS victims.

But top government and security appointees of the president are seething and “now itching” to do something immediately.

Their desperation followed several advises that they have given the president over the past week; including some without any form of law enforcement intervention.

A military source said the president and his key insiders are reluctant to take a straight position because they are still learning to understand the main actors of the protests.

“The president may still be asking for time to better understand the protesters first,” a military brass-hat told the Gazette. “But the president recognises that these categories of protesters are not the same as members of the Shiite sect.”

Source

The Federal Government has announced the re-opening of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps across the country.

The announcement was made on Thursday by the Minister of Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare.

“The Resumption of the NYSC Orientation Camp for prospective Youth Corpers has been approved and opens on November 10th, 2020. Full COVID-19 Protocols will be enforced,” Dare posted on his official Twitter handle.

Details Shortly…