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International  Day Of Peace: CITAD calls for Use of Technology to enhance Peace

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The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), a National nongovernmental organization using ICT to promote peace and mitigate conflict, foster development, good governance, and societal wellbeing in peace and tranquility is joining millions of people over the world in celebrating the 2020 International Day of Peace with the theme  “Shaping Peace Together”.

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September.

 

In a statement by Ag program coordinator of the center, Ibrahim Nuhu said The  UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace,  through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.

Ibrahim Nuhu Said In Nigeria, this year, it has been clearer than ever that apart from enmity, religious, and ethnicity crises we have been battling with especially in the Northern part, our common enemy is a tireless virus that threatens our health, security, and very way of life.

 

According to him COVID-19 has thrown the world into turmoil and forcibly reminded mankind that what happens in one part of the planet can impact people everywhere.

Ibrahim Nuhu noted that It is a real tragedy looking into the overwhelming destabilization of peace and security in some states of North East and North West as people are deeply concerned with the daily hike of violence,  killings, kidnappings, burning of people’s properties, herder-farmer clashes, increase in rape cases, domestic violence, and so forth. To this end, we strongly condemn all acts of threatening peace and promoting violence in our dear nation.

 

 

CITAD further calls for the following measures to alleviate sufferings in human society which is subjected to untold suffering and hardships as follows.

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  1. We must endeavor to explore all the ingredients that build, sustain, and consolidate peaceful coexistence and in doing this, young people should be engaged fully to ensure sustainable peacebuilding.
  2. Government at all levels must create job opportunities to reduce youth unemployment and restiveness as unemployed youth are being used to perpetrate violence and are at risk of joining violent extremism.
  3. Young people should build a culture of peace among them by using innovative strategies and always say no to those who use them to cause violence.
  4. Violence is always evil and destructive. It is the responsibility of all patriotic Nigerians to

work collectively towards curbing the plague of insurgency, violent agitations, and hate

speech threatening the peace and corporate existence of the country.

  1. Employ the use of ICT tools will surely reduce corruption and enhance peacebuilding as

well as entrepreneurship opportunities for youth.

  1. CITAD is calling on all the stakeholders and peace actors in the interest of peace change

the strategies in converting violence and use Conflict resolution and management tools to

restore PEACE and security so that people will live in peace and the economy will boost.

  1. We are also calling on the security agencies to keep their eyes open and continue scouting

every citizen, be it a politician or not who engage in any act or say a word(s) of call to

action that may trigger violence or disturb peace in any society and bring these perpetrators

into a book without fear or favor.

The problem of insecurity in Nigeria has been further compounded by the lack of

technological know-how and its application majorly in the aspect of using information

technology as a tool in tackling insecurity in Nigeria. Therefore, the following are

recommended:

 Governments should invest more in ICT in the security sectors

  • Governments and individuals should embrace the use of Science and Technology

related research

  • There should be a proper collaboration between the information technology sector

and the Defence and security sector.

  • The federal government should ensure proper implementation of ICT tools and

training in all its agencies, departments, and parastatals; more especially in the security

headquarters and campuses, custom service commission, immigration service

offices and others. Such tools include the following:

  • Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
  • Online Vehicle Registration
  • Proper SIM Registration
  • GPS locations

Cheap and robust Drones for urban, rural and forest surveillance.

So, we are using this day to call on governments, individuals, security agencies, and Civil Society Organizations working on peace to do all we could to allow PEACE to reign.

CITAD wants to end this statement by enjoining people in the Northern states and Nigeria, in general, to shun violence and cherish peace at all times.

 

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President Tinubu Counters Police Academy in Kano, Establishes New Campus in Ogun

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a new campus of the Police Academy in Erinja, Yewa South Local Government Area in Ogun State.

A statement by Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President,
Information & Strategy, says President Tinubu also approved a special take-off grant of N15billion for the college.

The President’s approval was in fulfilment of the provisions of the Nigeria Police Academy (Establishment) Act, 2021, particularly with respect to the expansion of the Police Academy based in Wudil, Kano state, into multiple campuses across the country.

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The intervention fund will be sourced from the TetFund 2026 allocation to finance priority infrastructure, academic facilities, student accommodation, and core training assets.

A high-level consultative meeting involving the Minister of Police Affairs, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, officials of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Inspector-General of Police and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) recommended the siting of the new campus in Erinja.

The meeting considered student intake capacity, funding realities, academic quality assurance, and the long-term needs of the Nigerian Police Force, which is currently recruiting more men.

President Tinubu believes the expansion will strengthen institutional governance, modern policing education and national security.

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Retired Police Storm Villa Gate, Call Contributory Pension Scheme a ‘Killer Disease’

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Retired police personnel and their families, under the umbrella of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria, on Monday blocked one of the gates of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in protest.

The retirees are demanding the removal of the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme, which they described as “fraudulent, illegal, inhumane and obnoxious.”

Protesters carried placards reading “End CPS,” “If military, DSS were removed from PENCOM, why not police?” while many were chanting, “Police dey work, PenCom dey chop.”

They said the protest was aimed at urging President Bola Tinubu to assent to the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly on December 4, 2025, and transmitted to the Presidency on March 16, 2026.

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According to them, the bill, if signed into law, would exempt police personnel from what they called a “slavery and untimely death-inducing pension scheme.”

Speaking in a video of the protest posted by Channels Television, a retired ASP, Nurudeen Dahiru, said, “We are not begging anybody. We have come to fight for our rights. We have suffered.

“We are not here to fight anybody. We are just here to demand for our rights. We have served for 35 years.

“According to the Constitution of the country, when you serve your country for 35 years, you should go home and rest. But see us suffering now. We are not able to take care of our children.

“We have no food to eat. We are dying. Silent killing. So this contributory pension scheme is a killer disease. 35 years is not easy. We are not here to fight anybody.”

Another retired officer said, “We don’t have anything to train them. As I retired 20 years ago, how much are they paying me?

“It is 24,000 that I am paying you because I retired with the inspector. So they have to sign our bill and give us all our money.

“So that somebody can use it for something. You can buy a house. And then now we don’t have a house.

“How can an ASP, a DSP, a CP retire and they are paying him how much? No, no, no. Enough is enough. It is a do or die. Even if some people are killed today, others are coming.”

Speaking to reporters, the National Coordinator of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria, CSP Raphael Irowainu (retd), who led the protest, said the group was at the Villa to press for the President’s assent to the bill exiting the police from the CPS.

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Court Admits Nine Exhibits Against Malami and Family

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

A Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja and presided over by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Monday, April 20, 2026 admitted nine exhibits against a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami.

The exhibits were presented before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in its ongoing trial of the former Minister and some family members.

The EFCC is prosecuting the defendants on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, procuring, disguising, concealing and laundering proceeds of unlawful activities to the tune of N8,713,923,759.49 (Eight Billion, Seven Hundred and Thirteen Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty-Three Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty-Nine Naira, Forty-Nine Kobo), contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The exhibits, which are documentary in nature, were tendered through the fourth prosecution witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, J. S. Okutepa, SAN, the witness told the court that, in the course of his official duties, he received correspondence from the EFCC requesting documents relating to several accounts linked to the defendants and associated entities.

“I work as a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, Maitama branch. My duty includes receiving correspondence from law enforcement agencies and responding accordingly,” he said.

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Bata further disclosed that the bank complied with EFCC’s requests by providing both soft and hard copies of documents relating to accounts belonging to the defendants and companies such as Rayhaan Hotels Limited, Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited, Nashab Limited, Golden Age Global Ventures, and Rahamaniyya Properties Limited.

“My lord, the documents are nine,” he stated, confirming his ability to identify them when presented in court.

Upon application by Okutepa, the court admitted the documents, dated between July 19, 2024 and March 12, 2026, as Exhibits D1 to D9, despite an initial objection by defence counsel, J. B. Daudu, SAN, who noted that “the dates are almost all in March.”

Continuing his testimony under further examination by prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, the witness provided details of transactions contained in the exhibits.

He identified Exhibit D1 as containing account opening documents and statements for accounts belonging to Abubakar Malami and A.A. Malami & Co, including a naira account and a dollar account.

According to him, the statement of account for one of the accounts covered the period from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2023.

The witness confirmed that the accounts were active between 2015 and 2023, noting that “there were transfers within that period.”

He further revealed that total credits into one of the accounts stood at N383,637,21.55 between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2023, while total credits from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015 amounted to N560,506,465.12.

On debits, he stated that N384,322,120.85 was recorded between 2016 and 2023, while N571,891,174.08 was debited between 2012 and 2015.

Giving further breakdown of transactions, the witness told the court that on November 11, 2020, the account received N194,791,608.00 from New Horizons Limited, and on June 24, 2022, it received N622,500,000.00 from Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.

He added that on July 1 and July 7, 2022, the account received N250 million each from Rayhaan Hotels Limited, while on December 22, 2022, there was an inflow of N500 million linked to Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.

Continuing in that format, the witness identified so many transactions running into billions.

Following the testimony, the defence counsel, J.B Daudu SAN sought an adjournment to enable him study the exhibits and prepare for cross-examination.

“My lord, we need time to go through the nine exhibits tendered,” Daudu said.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter till May 13, 2026, for continuation of trial.

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