Daily Watch – Outrage mounts over #EndSARS broadcast fines, Army touts NW bandit operations

The latest quarterly report issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission showed that ₦114 billion was collected as revenue by the eleven distribution companies in the first quarter of 2020. The report said that while collection efficiency decreased considerably, Abuja, Benin and Eko Discos were the most efficient collection systems.  The regulatory agency noted that the collection efficiency implied that for every ₦10 worth of energy billed to customers by the Discos in the first quarter of 2020, approximately ₦3.88 remained unrecovered from customers as and when due. During the period, the country saw a 6.3 percent increase in electricity generation compared with Q4 2019 with total electricity generated put at 8,613,998 MWh. The commission listed high technical and commercial losses exacerbated by energy theft and consumers’ apathy to payments under the widely prevailing practice of estimated billing as part of the challenges of the industry.

The Nigerian Army said its troops of Operation Sahel Sanity killed 38 bandits and rescued 108 kidnapped victims in Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kebbi states as part of efforts to secure the farming communities and restore peace and normalcy in the North-west region of the country. The acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Brig.Gen. Benard Onyeuko, disclosed this Monday while briefing journalists at the Special Army Super Camp IV Faskari, Katsina State. Onyeuko, represented by the Nigerian Army Operations Media Coordinator, Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, said the anti-banditry troops foiled 47 bandits’ attacks and 31 kidnap attempts during their clearance operations in the zone. He said the troops of Operation Sahel Sanity would continue to dominate all the hitherto volatile communities with confidence building patrols, ambushes and clearance operations to deny the bandits and other criminal elements freedom of action.

The National Broadcasting Commission has fined Channels Television, Arise Television and Africa Independent Television for what it termed “unprofessional coverage” of the #EndSARS protests. The acting Director-General of the NBC, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, announced this at a press conference in Abuja on Monday. The NBC had last week warned all television and radio stations against reporting the #EndSARS protests in a manner that could embarrass the government or private individuals or cause disaffection, incite panic or rift in the society. Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has condemned the “unconstitutional and illegal” fines of ₦3 million each imposed by the National Broadcasting Commission on Channels Television, Arise Television, and Africa Independent Television over their coverage of the #EndSARS protests. In response, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, a leading civil society group, threatened to sue the regulator over its action. In a statement by its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the group said that “this action by NBC is yet another example of Nigerian authorities’ push to silence independent media and voices. NBC should drop the fines and uphold Nigerian constitution and international obligations to respect and protect freedom of expression and media freedom. We will sue NBC if the unconstitutional fines are not rescinded within 48 hours.”

Felicien Kabuga, suspected of financing the 1994 Rwandan genocide, has been moved from France to The Hague to stand trial on charges of genocide, a United Nations tribunal said Monday. Kabuga, once one of Rwanda’s richest men, will face seven criminal charges, including committing genocide and crimes against humanity. He was first indicted by the former UN tribunals for war crimes in Rwanda in November 1997. The 87-year-old evaded arrest for more than two decades, living on the outskirts of Paris under a false name. He was finally arrested in the French capital in May. Prosecutors accuse the former tea and coffee tycoon of bankrolling and importing huge numbers of machetes for ethnic Hutu militias. The groups killed hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda during a 100-day period in 1994. They also allege he helped create the Hutu Interahamwe militia group as well as the Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines radio station, whose broadcasts incited people to murder.