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NBC Shuts Down AIT, Raypower Until Further Notice

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The Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) has announced the suspension of the license of Daar Communications PLC.

Daar Communications, owned by Raymond Dokpesi, owns AIT television and Ray Power radio station, Nigeria’s first private radio station.

The Director-General of the NBC, Modibbo Kawu, announced the suspension Thursday evening while briefing journalists in Abuja, Daily Trust newspaper reports.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the NBC, Nigeria’s broadcast regulator, had earlier accused AIT of violating broadcast rules in some of its programmes.

Mr Dokpesi, however, accused the NBC of clamping down on free speech.

The suspension came hours after Mr Dokpesi led other AIT staff members and supporters to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, protesting alleged victimisation by the Nigerian government.

He vowed to challenge the punitive measures so far taken against AIT and Ray Power FM, saying they would not stand.

Read the full statement from NBC justifying its action below:

PRESS BRIEFING ON SUSPENSION OF LICENCE – DAAR COMMUNICATIONS, HELD TODAY 6TH JUNE, 2019 AT THE NBC HEADQUARTERS IN ABUJA.

Following monitoring reports and complaints from concerned Nigerians about the broadcast contents of Daar Communications Plc’s AIT/Raypower broadcast stations, the NBC have over the last 2 years summoned on several occasions management of the company to address issues regarding the operations of AIT/Raypower with the company, particularly, Political Platform and Kakaaki aired on AIT.

In one of our meetings, held on 2nd June, 2017, the Commission expressed its disappointment with the way and manner Hate Speech, divisive and inciting comments are applied in discussion of national issues in breach of the provisions of the NBC Act and Broadcast Code.

Again, on 15th August, 2017, it became imperative to invite the company for yet another meeting on almost same issues. Furthermore, while addressing another meeting on 7th February, 2018 we highlighted issues of concern to the Commission which indicated that the company had been breaching the provisions of Sections 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 of the broadcast Code. The company’s delegates in their response promised to abate the breaches and comply with the law.

However, on October 18, 2018, the Commission was disturbed with the manner in which social media issues became part of the mainstream media unedited on AIT/Raypower, and was constrained to issue a generic letter to all broadcast stations on the need to exercise caution in the use of user generated content from the social media knowing how volatile and misleading the social media has become. The management of Daar Communication Plc thereafter took to the social media to display our official correspondences.

Recently, the Commission’s monitoring reports on AIT/Raypower indicate the use of divisive comments accredited to the segment of “Kakaaki”, tagged, “Kakaaki Social”, where inciting comments like, “Nigeria is cursed, we declare independent state of Niger Delta”, “Nigeria irritates me”, “this country is gradually Islamizing” and other similar slogans are used without editorial control in breach of the broadcast Code. We were therefore constrained to issue Daar Communication letters of warning dated May 27th, 2019.

We also observed from monitoring reports that a documentary on the Presidential Election Tribunal, a pending election petition matter aired on AIT on Wednesday and Thursday, 22nd and 23rd May, 2019 without regard to the provisions of the Broadcast Code. The Commission, in line with its regulatory powers again cautioned AIT in another letter also dated 27th May, 2019.

However, instead of making amends, the management of Daar Communications Plc resorted to the use of media propaganda against the regulator. Even the letters from the NBC were posted on social media platforms.

Needless to state that Daar Communications have over the years turned themselves into a bad example of how a professional broadcast outfit should not be run.

In their relationship with the NBC, Daar Communications carry on, as if it is beyond the regulatory direction of the Commission. They don’t pay their licence fees as and when due.

Its broadcast is patently partisan and one sided and deliberately inciting and heating the polity. The management of the Company has created the habit of using the channel to fight its personal battles contrary to the statutory requirements of the law.

SHUT DOWN ORDER

Today the 6th of June, 2019, AIT/Rapower embarked on use of inflammatory, divisive, inciting broadcasts, and media propaganda against the government and, the NBC for performing its statutory functions of regulating the broadcast industry in Nigeria.

Consequently, after several meetings with management of Daar Communications Plc and many letters of warning. The NBC, today 6th June, 2019 took a decision to suspend the licence of Daar Communications Plc for failure to abide by the Commission’s directives, the provisions of the NBC Act Cap N11

Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

This decision is based on the provisions of Section 10 of the Third Schedule of the NBC Act Cap N11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which states as follows:

(d) where in the opinion of the Commission the station has been used in a manner detrimental to national interest.

(g) where there is wilful or repeated failure to operate substantially as set forth in the licence

(h), where there is wilful or repeated violation or wilful or repeated failure to observe any provision of this Act or any rule or regulation of the Commission authorised by this Act or by a treaty ratified by the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

(i), where there is violation of or failure to observe any cease and desist order issued by the Commission;

(k), where a provision of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code has been seriously breached; and

The SHUT DOWN order is until further notice

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We Care About You, Adron Homes Fetes Partners, Clients on Valentine’s Day

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Premier real estate firm, Adron Homes has celebrated its teeming clients, partners and well wishers on Valentine’s Day, stressing how much they care.

A statement released by management team, and made available to this medium, reveals that the company does not take for granted all the supports received from clients and partners alike, adding that on a day like this, spreading love and compassion should be the paramount duty of everyone.

The message in full:

“As Valentine’s Day dawns upon us, we are reminded of the profound impact that love and empathy can have on our lives and the communities we serve. At Adron Homes, we believe in the transformative power of these values, and we are committed to fostering a culture of compassion and care in everything we do.

“To our cherished clients: Your trust and support are the driving force behind our success, and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve you. As we continue to work together, let us build relationships rooted in mutual respect, understanding, and empathy. Your satisfaction and well-being are our top priorities, and we are committed to going above and beyond to exceed your expectations.

“To our esteemed partners: Your collaboration is instrumental to our growth and success, and we appreciate the trust you have placed in us. Let us continue to work hand in hand, guided by a shared commitment to excellence and a genuine concern for each other’s success. Together, we can achieve great things and make a lasting impact in our industry and beyond.

“On this special day, let us all strive to be agents of love and empathy, spreading kindness and compassion wherever we go. Together, we can create a world that is more caring, more connected, and more compassionate.

“Happy Valentine’s Day to each and every one of you. May your hearts be filled with love, and may you continue to inspire others with your acts of kindness and empathy.”

With warm regards,

Adron Homes
Building Cities ,Communities And Homes

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LovableVibes: Instant Messaging App Launched in Nigeria

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A new secured social media messaging app known as LovableVibes has been launched in Nigeria, to facilitate the sharing of news, photos, and videos as well as market goods and services to the teeming clickers around the globe.

Developed by Austin Daniels, a.k.a Lovable, a Nigerian, boasted that LovableVibes is a Secure Messenger whose main focus is to be the number one privacy and secure communication system for users that value their privacy.

“Nigerians heavily relied on the foreign messaging app that serves no local content hence the zeal to create LovableVibes; something that Africans would be proud to declare as theirs. Since countries like China, Japan, Korea, and India managed to put their apps together, Africa must be developed by Africans, to measure at par with the international community positioned to bridge that gap.

“We would be introducing more features to make sure user data is protected. We can hide and lock a single chat. The files are not stored in the user’s phone but in bucket cloud storage. The files are 100% safe, and even if your phone is stolen, you don’t need to panic. All you need to do is log in to a new phone and your files are back automatically from where you stopped.

“You may want to ask, are Google Cloud buckets encrypted? Yes, cloud storage always encrypts your data on the server side, before it is written to disk. We don’t see users’ chats or files. That’s why our energy is to provide the user’s privacy at all costs.”

According to Theresa Moses, the app developer’s spokesperson, “the social media app was created out of a need for a Nigerian owned and indigenous social media platform; where Nigerians can have guaranteed communications, with the utmost security and launched on April 18th, 2023 to protect users’ information and privacy.”

On the unique features of the app, she said it is end-to-end encrypted, enables people to connect in communities, allows users to share pictures, video, and audio calls, 500 member group chat, which will be upgraded to 1,000, stickers and files exchange up to 60MB and grow the business to take over WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and others.

“We have the admin panel for the team to use. They can’t see any posts and other things even the user’s chat conversations. We cannot delete videos, and pictures if there is a report on them. Accounts can also be deleted while users’ pages can be modified. Misinformation and fake news can be handled and taken down when users report issues and we confirm it as fake. The same goes for gory contents”.

LovableVibes is currently trending in Nigeria and other countries such as the United Kingdom, India, Germany, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Italy, Congo, Bahamas etc. The application could be downloaded on Google Play and App Store for both Android and Apple phones.

Android Users: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lovablevibes.vibes

iPhone Users: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lovablevibes/id6447699262

LovableVibes Features includes: Unique chat design, Clean UI/UX, See Device Contacts, One-to-One Chat, Chat without Saving number, User status (Online, Last seen, is typing), Video Calling, Audio Calling, Call Logs (with Call duration), See Unseen Message Count, Forward Text Messages, Share any kind of Documents, Video and Images, Share Audio Recording, Share Contacts, Share Current Location, Share GIF (from GIPHY Gallery), Download Media, Change wallpaper, Play Video, Hide and single chat, Block Chat, End-to-End Encryption (Only Sender and Recipient can read the text messages in One-to-One Chat. Even Admin cannot read them), Profile Page (Change Avatar, Status, Display name), Push Notifications (on new message, calls).

All Notifications via chat, Status Stories, Group Chat, User Profile View, Video type Calling Screen, Progress Indicator for Media Sending, Delete for Me/Everyone, See All Joined Users, Reply chat, Forward chat, Share Through App, Broadcast feature integrated too and Notification can also be seen on smart watches. More updates and features are coming soon as we are going to change the concept of status view and more interface patterns.

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IPOB: Nnamdi Kanu’s Family Fights over Money, Control of Bank Accounts

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The crisis rocking the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has taken a more dramatic dimension as close relations of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, are at loggerheads over foreign bank accounts operated by the group, according to Politics Nigeria.

This newspaper, in the previous weeks, reported the multiple divisive crises that struck the group following the arrest and continued detention of Kanu. One of the problems facing the group is the issuing of unauthorised statements by members of Kanu’s family, which caused a sharp divide among IPOB members globally.

But more recently, the group is mired in deep problems over access to funds and change of signatories to its foreign bank accounts operated in different countries.

Central in this furore are members of Kanu’s family who are beginning to fight each other over the control of the accounts. This, if not resolved, may plunge the already divided group into complete chaos, sources, including a top-ranking IPOB chief, familiar with the inner workings of the group revealed to our correspondent.

Since the group runs on donations from its supporters in diaspora, it is believed that this crisis can put it in a financial situation that may halt operations of all IPOB branches.

Worries from detention

Kanu, since his arrest and repatriation back to Nigeria in 2021, has only had access to the group’s funds through his proxies and Directorate of States (DOS). The DOS is saddled with responsibility of catering for IPOB interests in various countries spread across Europe, Africa, Asia and other continents.

However, in recent times most of the foreign accounts have been frozen due to one issue or the other. Since Kanu is facing treasonable felony charges and still in detention, all of these concerns could not be properly treated.

Instead, the IPOB leader gives instructions from detention through his lawyers and other senior members of the group.

German Account Saga

During a recent meeting with Kanu, one of the group’s members complained that they are having issues with the new IPOB bank account in Germany. According to our source, a German Court restricted access to the account due to disagreement in replacing the signatory to the account.

The member explained that when they wanted to replace Collins Chinedu, a former national coordinator of IPOB in Germany, with Abraham Ogbonnaya, trouble ensued.

The move was fiercely resisted as the IPOB directorate of States(DOS) led by Chika Edoziem, quickly issued a public disclaimer describing Ogbonnaya as a criminal.

In fact, in the heat of the crisis in Germany, Kanu’s younger brother, Kingsley Kanu, was accused of imposing Ogbonnaya as the new National Coordinator for Germany with the sole intent to cause division within the existing structure. Edoziem, in a letter to the bank insisted that Chinedu, being the one whose name is in their constitution, should be the one to operate the bank account.

Meanwhile, as a way of resolving the conflict, Kanu’s lawyer, Ejimakor then sought his (Kanu’s) approval for funds to be paid into their national account instead.

He disclosed that Washington could raise $5000, Baltimore $10,000, New Jersey $20,000 and New York $20,000.

Our source stated: “Kanu expressed displeasure over the inability to access bank accounts in Germany and Italy.”

“Ejimakor explained that the issues were caused by ongoing battle over change of Signatories to the accounts.”

“He told Kanu that the account in Germany was blocked based on a memo from Kingsley seeking to change the signatories to the account and that Kingsley claimed that he (Nnamdi) authorised the memo, Kanu denied giving such authorisation.”

Nnenna Kanu and Emmanuel Kanu

While the control of funds in the Italian and German branches of the IPOB is still subject of controversy, two members of Kanu’s family are fighting over the money in the United States.

Nnenna Kanu and Emmanuel Kanu, two siblings of the IPOB leader, want the control of IPOB’s bank account in the US. Recently, Nnenna did a live broadcast where she publicly insulted Emmanuel and accused him of interfering with her duties.

In a rebuttal, Emmanuel claimed that he is acting on the orders of their elder brother(Nnamdi).

Sources told POLITICS NIGERIA that Nnamdi Kanu, on getting whiff of the development, was miffed that his younger sister, Nnenna, has been flouting his directives regarding IPOB bank accounts in the US.

He also admitted detailing Emmanuel to ensure Nnenna complies with his directives which may have led to the disagreement.

IPOB DOS bars payments to German Account

In a brash response to the power tussle over account control, the IPOB directorate of State (DOS) in a recent press statement, called on all its members to desist from paying donations/funds into the group’s German account.

The statement signed by Edoziem in February read in part;

“All IPOB family members worldwide are therefore directed to stop making payments into the IPOB account in Germany because any payment made will be returned to the payee and this will direct unnecessary attention to the family.”

“Furthermore, please note that until the Directorate ascertain what actually happened to that account and why it was closed, all IPOB family units around the world are hereby directed to desist from sending their monthly dues or any funds”.

Source: Politics Nigeria

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