Armed bandits have targeted Kogo village in Faskari Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina State, kidnapping 16 residents, including children, women, and men.

According to a local resident who spoke with our correspondent, the attack which was carried out at about 8:20pm yesterday, caught the villagers off guard as the assailants executed their plan with meticulous precision.

“The hoodlums quietly infiltrated the community, parked their motorcycles at a distance to avoid detection. Without causing much uproar, the assailants targeted a residence and eventually took away 16 people comprising of children, women, and men.

The community is now grappling with fear and uncertainty, anxiously awaiting updates on the ongoing situation. The residents are deeply concerned about the safety of their kidnapped fellow villagers and the overall security of the area”, the local source revealed.

When contacted, Abubakar Aliyu, spokesperson for the Katsina Police Command, stated that he would verify the report and provide a response. As of the time of filing this report, he was yet to confirm or communicate any updates.

Vanguard

Israel seeks to evacuate Palestinians jammed into a southern Gaza city ahead of an expected invasion

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said he has ordered the military to prepare a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah ahead of an expected Israeli invasion of the densely populated southern Gaza city.

The announcement came after heavy international criticism, including from the U.S., of Israeli intentions to move ground forces into the city that borders Egypt. Rafah had a prewar population of roughly 280,000, and according to the United Nations is now home to some 1.4 million additional people living with relatives, in shelters or in sprawling tent camps after fleeing fighting elsewhere in Gaza.

Israel says that Rafah is the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza after more than four months of war.

“It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war of eliminating Hamas by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah,” Netanyahu’s office said. “On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat.”

It said he had ordered the military and security officials to come up with a “combined plan” that includes both a mass evacuation of civilians and the destruction of Hamas’ forces in the town.

Israel declared war after several thousand Hamas militants burst across the border into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. An Israeli air and ground offensive has killed roughly 28,000 Palestinians, most of them women and minors, according to local health officials. Roughly 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, and the territory has plunged into a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food and medical services.

Netanyahu has largely rebuffed international criticism of the civilian death toll, saying that Hamas is responsible for endangering civilians by operating and hiding in residential areas. But that criticism has grown in recent days as Netanyahu and other leaders vow to move into Rafah.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Israel’s conduct in the war is “over the top,” the harshest U.S. criticism yet of its close ally. The State Department said an invasion of Rafah in the current circumstances “would be a disaster.”

The operation will be a challenge on many levels. It remains unclear where civilians can go. The Israeli offensive has caused widespread destruction, especially in northern Gaza, and hundreds of thousands of people do not have homes to return to.

In addition, Egypt has warned that any movement of Palestinians across the border into Egypt would threaten the four-decade-old peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. The border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which is mostly closed, serves as the main entry point for humanitarian aid.

Israel already has begun to strike Rafah from the air. Airstrikes overnight and into Friday hit two residential buildings in Rafah, while two other sites were bombed in central Gaza, including one that damaged a kindergarten-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians. Twenty-two people were killed, according to AP journalists who saw the bodies arriving at hospitals.

GROWING FRICTION

Comments from top U.S. officials about Rafah have signaled growing friction with Netanyahu after a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Blinken, who has been working with Egypt and Qatar on trying to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, left the region Thursday without an agreement. But he said he believed it was still possible to strike a deal that would include an extended pause in fighting in exchange for the release of many of the more than 100 hostages held by Hamas.

Netanyahu appeared to snub Blinken, saying he will settle for nothing short of “total victory.” The Israeli leader has said the war seeks to destroy Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and return all hostages home. With Blinken still in town, Netanyahu said achieving those goals would require an operation in Rafah. Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman, said Thursday that going ahead with such an offensive “with no planning and little thought in an area where there is sheltering of a million people would be a disaster.”

John Kirby, the White House’s national security spokesman, said an Israel ground offensive in Rafah is “not something we would support.”

Aid agency officials have also sounded warnings over the prospect of a Rafah offensive. “We need Gaza’s last remaining hospitals, shelters, markets and water systems to stay functional,” said Catherine Russell, head of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF. “Without them, hunger and disease will skyrocket, taking more child lives.”

With the war now in its fifth month, Israeli ground forces are still focusing on the city of Khan Younis, just north of Rafah, but Netanyahu has repeatedly said Rafah will be next, creating panic among hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

AIRSTRIKES OVERNIGHT

Shortly after midnight Friday, a residential building was struck near Rafah’s Kuwaiti Hospital, killing five people from the al-Sayed family, including three children and a woman. A second Rafah strike killed three more people.

Another overnight strike, in the central town of Deir al-Balah, claimed nine lives. Also in central Gaza, a strike hit near a kindergarten-turned-shelter, damaging the building. It killed five and wounded several more people. Witnesses said shelter residents were asleep at the time.

A woman, carrying a small girl in her arms, shouted as she arrived at the local Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital: “What can we do? This is the work of the coward Zionist enemy that chooses innocent civilians. This girl is firing rockets at the Jews? May God help us.”

Some of the wounded children were treated while lying on the floor.

WORKING FOR A CEASE-FIRE

Israel’s 4-month-old air and ground offensive — among the most destructive in recent history — has killed 27,947 Palestinians and wounded more than 67,000, local health officials said Friday. The war has driven most people from their homes and pushed a quarter of the population toward starvation, according to the U.N.

Biden has said said he continues to work “tirelessly” to press Israel and Hamas to agree on an extended pause in fighting.

Netanyahu has rejected Hamas’ demands for a hostage deal, which includes an end to the war and the release of hundreds of veteran Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences in Israel for deadly attacks carried out as part of the long-running conflict. Netanyahu dismissed Hamas’ demands as delusional, even as Blinken said he believes continued negotiations, through mediators Egypt and Qatar, are possible.

Israel’s war goals appear increasingly elusive, as Hamas reemerges in parts of northern Gaza, which was the first target of the offensive and has seen widespread destruction. Israel has only rescued one hostage, while Hamas says several have been killed in airstrikes or failed rescue missions.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's Kharkiv swept by fire after Russian drones strike petrol station

Russian drones struck a petrol station in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, late on Friday, triggering a vast fire that engulfed private homes, local officials said.

Officials said drones also hit a hospital and a restaurant in the town of Velykyi Berluk, east of Kharkiv.

In Kharkiv, the head of the local prosecutor's office, Oleksandr Filchakov, said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app that three drones hit the petrol station in Nemyshlianskyi district just before 11 p.m.

"There was a great deal of fuel and that's why there are these dreadful consequences from the fire," Filchakov said.

One person was injured. Filchakov said that toll could rise as search and rescue operations proceeded through the night.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 14 private homes had been destroyed and 50 residents evacuated. A video posted by the mayor showed flames and smoke rising over a wide area.

The top military official in Velykyi Burluk, Viktor Tereshchenko, told public broadcaster Suspilne that drones had damaged a hospital and a restaurant. Details on casualties were being clarified.

Officials reported an attack on a hospital in the town last week, prompting the evacuation of dozens of patients.

Reuters was not able to independently confirm details of the attack. Russia did not immediately respond to a request for comment but says it does not deliberately target civilian sites.

Kharkiv has been under attack regularly since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has been a frequent target of Russian assaults in recent weeks.

In the Black Sea port of Odesa, the regional governor said a drone attack had injured one person.

Three people were reported killed in shelling earlier in the day in a village in Sumy region on the border with Russia.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine running out of ammunition – FT

Ukrainian frontline units have resorted to rationing artillery rounds because US supplies have stopped and the EU has been unable to deliver on its promises, according to a Financial Times report on Friday.

Kiev is facing a “critical” shortage of Western-caliber artillery ammunition, unnamed EU and US officials told the UK-based outlet. One American described it as a “gap in the hose.”  

“It is a desperate situation on the front lines for the Ukrainians, far worse than they are letting on,” a senior NATO diplomat told FT.

The outlet said it had seen a letter from Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell, which lamented that shortages are getting worse by the day.

“The old truism still holds true — the side with the most ammunition to fight usually wins,”  Umerov wrote. The “absolute critical daily minimum requirement” for Ukraine was 6,000 shells a day, but its military has been able to fire about a third of that, he added.

A Pentagon official described the situation as “a very grim scenario,”noting that without Congress approving additional aid, the US can’t send over more ammunition from its own stockpiles, or commission new rounds from the industry.

The White House had bundled a $60 billion Ukraine aid package with funding for Israel and the US-Mexico border, which ended up getting stuck in Congress due to domestic political concerns. The foreign aid portion of the bill finally advanced in the Senate earlier this week.

The Pentagon’s own stockpiles of 155mm ammunition had run low by last summer, however, prompting President Joe Biden to send the Ukrainians some cluster munitions instead – and upsetting several NATO allies who had banned their use.

Meanwhile, the EU has fallen far short of its pledge to crank out a million rounds for Ukraine by March 2024, managing to deliver less than half of that number.

“It will not be easy for the Europeans to substitute for the US. That’s not entirely realistic,” one senior EU diplomat told FT. 

Ukraine has become entirely dependent on the US and its allies for ammunition, weapons, equipment and even salaries of government employees. According to Russian estimates, the collective West has poured more than $200 billion into Kiev since February 2022.

Reuters/RT

A Hong Kong finance worker at a multinational company was tricked into transferring $25 million to scammers after attending a video conference with deepfake CFO and several colleagues.

Hong Kong police recently reported that it is investigating an elaborate scam that saw a group of bad actors defraud a multinational firm of $200 million Hong Kong dollars ($25.6 million) using deepfake technology to impersonate company management during a video call.

Fraudsters initially targeted one of the unnamed company’s finance workers with an email from the company’s UK-based chief financial officer (CFO). Seeing that the message involved a ‘secret transaction’ to the tune of $200 million Hong Kong dollars, the man suspected it was a phishing email, but those doubts were put to rest when he was invited to a video conference with the CFO and several other colleagues he recognized.

What the man didn’t know was that all the familiar faces and voices in the video call were actually deepfake filters designed to make total strangers look and sound like company staff. Relieved that he was acting at the request of his CFO, the finance worker transferred over $25.6 million into the scammers’ account and went about his business.

“They used deepfake technology to imitate the voice of their targets reading from a script,” senior superintendent Baron Chan Shun-ching said, adding that his department was highlighting this case because it was the first one in Honk Kong where the victim was tricked during a “multi-person video conference”.

The tricked employee said that company employees in the call looked and sounded like real people, but that in hindsight, the people he was on the call with mainly gave him instructions before ending the conference abruptly, and didn’t really interact with him. The scam was only discovered when the employee checked with the head office about the transaction, only to learn that no one knew anything about it.

Deepfake and voice cloning scams have become very frequent in the last few years as the technology has reached a level where most people cannot discern between real people and digital clones.

Oddity Central

An airline has announced it will begin weighing passengers with their carry-on luggage in order to better estimate the plane's weight before take-off.

The controversial move comes from Finnish carrier Finnair, who told media they began 'measuring' passengers departing from Helsinki on Monday.

'So far, more than 500 volunteer customers have participated in the weigh-ins,' spokeswoman Kaisa Tikkanen said.

Finnair, which services the UK with budget flights to and from Finland, noted in a statement airlines work out the weight of the plane, its interior and passengers on board to balance the flight and make for safe transit.

Airlines may use average weights provided by aviation authorities - assumed to be 88kg - or collect their own data, it said. 

Finnair assured potential passengers that collected data is not linked 'in any way' to customers' personal data in their statement.

'Only the customer service agent working at the measuring point can see the total weight, so you can participate in the study with peace of mind,' said Satu Munnukka, head of ground processes at Finnair.

But some social media users have been left 'horrified by the announcement, which they argue will lead to embarrassment for overweight passengers, describing the plan as 'cruel'. 

People said that the news meant that they would 'not flying Finnair any time soon,' while others welcomed the plan 'one way of solving the obesity crisis'.

One user has lashed out at the airline, stating that she would not be travelling via Finnair, because she 'won't be fat shamed by a bloody airline', adding that she never weighs herself out of choice. 

Another furious user said: 'Finnair are to start weighing their passengers? Have I read that correctly? I am utterly shocked! And disgusted'.

Others went as far as describing the move as 'draconian', with one user posting: 'Finnair’s weigh in rules are not about passenger safety. No airplane has ever crashed because of overweight passengers. This is draconian law and nanny state.'

Another user on X, formerly known as Twitter, saw a comical side to the announcement, and wrote: 'Finnair saying they will start weighing passengers is one of the funniest things I've ever heard in my life'.

The company told The Huffington Post that passengers would stand on a scale in all their clothes and with their carry-on luggage at the same time to get a combined reading. 

It is not just body weight Finnair are interested in, then, but the whole package. Communications director Päivyt Tallqvist told the outlet that Finns tend to bring a lot more weight onto the plane in colder months as they come prepared with thick, heavy coats.

'This is part of having a very strong safety culture in our organization,' Tallqvist said. 

'We want to see if the data we're using for calculations is accurate. We use them for every flight, and they're important for the aircraft's performance. 

'When you explain this to [passengers], they understand.' 

Weigh-ins will take place in February, April and May and are on a voluntary basis, the company said today. It was not clear why they would not measure travellers in March.

They will also take a note of age, gender and class of travel. 

Finnair are not the first airline to take the initiative and measure the weight of passengers themselves.

In August last year, Korea's largest airline, Korean Air, announced it would start weighing passengers at Gimpo Airport on domestic routes and Incheon Airport on international flights for a short period through September.

The company said the move was aimed at reducing wasted fuel and helping more accurately estimate the weight of the plane. 

A month prior, an easyJet flight from Lanzarote to Liverpool asked 19 passengers to get off the plane because it was deemed 'too heavy to take off'.

A spokesperson confirmed the incident in a statement, writing: 'easyJet can confirm that 19 passengers on flight EZY3364 from Lanzarote to Liverpool volunteered to travel on a later flight as a result of the aircraft being over the weight limits for the weather conditions.

'This is a routine operational decision in these circumstances and weight restrictions are in place for all airlines for safety reasons.'

The spokesperson said that in the event a plane is found to be too heavy to take off, passengers are asked to volunteer to transfer to a later flight free of charge, and volunteers are provided with compensation in line with regulations.

Airlines offer similar compensation when they oversell tickets for a flight and ask some passengers to volunteer to reschedule.

In the case of the Lanzarote to Liverpool flights, passengers were offered 'up to €500 per passenger', according to a crew member, citing easyJet.

In 2010, 58 per cent of Britons said they wanted overweight passengers to pay more to fly, according to research from Holiday Extras.

45 per cent believed it made no difference to them if an airline started charging extra based on weight, and six percent even said the measures would actively encourage them to fly more often.

In 2017, another poll by jetcost.co.uk revealed nearly 90 per cent Britons believed overweight passengers should pay more to fly.

Nearly 80 per cent also said they thought 'plus-sized zones' should be introduced on flights. 

Daily Mail

Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have given the federal government two weeks to commence the implementation of policies that will reduce the impact of the government’s economic policies on citizens.

Nigerians have continued to lament the impact of government policies such as the removal of the petrol subsidy and the devaluation of the naira, both of which have led to an astronomical increase in the prices of goods and services.

In a joint statement, the NLC and TUC said they are concerned about the “non-implementation of the 16-point agreement reached with the Federal Government on October 2, 2023.”

“These agreements which were reached with the federal government were focused on addressing the massive suffering and the general harsh socioeconomic consequences of the ill-conceived and ill-executed IMF/World Bank induced hike in the price of PMS and the Devaluation of the Naira,” the NLC said.

“Constrained by this development and recognizing the urgency of the situation and the imperative of ensuring the protection and defence of the rights and dignity of Nigerian workers and citizens, the NLC and TUC hereby issue a stern ultimatum to the Federal Government, to honour their part of the understanding within 14 Days from tomorrow, the 9th day of February, 2024.”

Read the full statement below:

NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF AGREEMENT BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: DEEPENS MASS SUFFERING AND A SHOW OF BAD FAITH.

The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria express profound concern over the non-implementation of the 16-point agreement reached with the Federal Government on October 2, 2023. Despite the passage of time, the majority of these crucial agreements remain unmet or negligibly addressed, indicating a blatant disregard for the principles of good faith, welfare and rights of Nigerian workers and Nigerians.

These agreements which were reached with the federal government were focused on addressing the massive suffering and the general harsh socioeconomic consequences of the ill-conceived and ill-executed IMF/World Bank induced hike in the price of PMS and the Devaluation of the Naira. These dual policies have had as we predicted dire economic consequences for the masses and workers of Nigeria.

Widespread Hunger is now ravishing millions of Nigerians, with the Workers purchasing power significantly eroded, while insecurity has assumed an increasing dimension. Nigerians are left wondering where their next meals will come from and what tomorrow might bring. The level of panic and anxiety amongst the populace has become nightmarish. Unfortunately, in the midst of all these, it appears our government is bereft of appropriate measures to ameliorate the huge burden it has foisted on the citizenry.

We wish to state that these agreements, which encompass a wide range of issues crucial to the well-being of Nigerian masses and workers, have not been honored as pledged by the Federal Government.

From Wage Awards, Palliative adjustments to improved access to public utilities; to the meddlesomeness in the internal affairs of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the interference by the Lagos State Government in union activities, the case of illegal and unlawful proscription of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria RTEAN. The government’s failure to uphold its end of the bargain is deeply regrettable and unacceptable to the Working people and the citizenry.

Constrained by this development and recognizing the urgency of the situation and the imperative of ensuring the protection and defence of the rights and dignity of Nigerian workers and citizens, the NLC and TUC hereby issue a stern ultimatum to the Federal Government, to honour their part of the understanding within 14 Days from tomorrow, the 9th day of February, 2024.

It is regrettable that we are compelled to resort to such measures, but the persistent neglect of the welfare of citizens and Nigerian workers and the massive hardship leave us with no choice. Therefore, everything must be done within the two weeks to avoid a situation where we may be compelled to take appropriate steps to protect Nigerian workers and the masses.

We call upon the Federal Government to honor its commitments without delay. The time for empty promises and excuses has passed. The time for action is now. Our patience has worn thin and the situation has become unbearable for workers and the masses all over the federation. Further silence amounts to committing mass suicide and this remains the only feasible course of action left for us and Nigerians to -compel remedial action by Government.

We are committed to this resolve towards salvaging Nigerian workers and masses from the apparent insensitivity and lethargy of those in the corridors of power who are supposed to be the bastion of public trust.

PT

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate release of food items from the strategic reserve to cushion the effect of hardship in the country.

Nigerians have been lamenting the rising cost of living, mounting pressure on the Federal Government to reverse the trend.

On Thursday, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is to release about 42,000 metric tons of maize, millet, garri and other commodities in their strategic reserve.

Idris, told State House correspondents after a series of meetings of the Special Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Intervention at the Aso Rock Villa on Thursday, the decision was arrived at.

Idris said, “The first one is that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has been directed to release about 42,000 metric tons of maize, millet, garri, and other commodities in their strategic reserve so that these items will be made available to Nigerians; 42,000 metric tons immediately.

“The second one is that we have held meetings with the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria. Those who are responsible for producing this rice and we have asked them to open up their stores.

“They’ve told us that they can guarantee about 60,000 metric tons of rice. This will be made available and we know that that is enough to take Nigerians the next one month to six weeks, perhaps up to two months.

“Now the government is also looking at the possibility, if it becomes absolutely necessary as an interim measure, to also import some of these commodities immediately so that these commodities can be made available to Nigerians immediately within the next couple of weeks.

“Now the whole idea of this is to crash the cost of these food items. And these are measures that will happen immediately. This is an emergency situation. Every nation faces emergency situations like this. It is not the first time that it has happened. Many countries of the world have faced this.

“It is our own time to face this challenge. Government is going to respond adequately and it is already responding adequately. The President has directed that whatever it will take, food will be available to Nigerians at a cost that is also very reasonable. And that is what the summary of this meeting entails.”

The organised Labour had issued a 14-day strike ultimatum to the Federal Government over the current economic crisis.

Daily Trust

French energy giant TotalEnergies is seeking to sell its minority share in a major Nigerian onshore oil joint venture, following Shell's divestment last month, CEO Patrick Pouyanne said.

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), in which TotalEnergies holds a 10% stake, has struggled with hundreds of onshore oil spills as a result of theft, sabotage and operational issues that led to costly repairs and high-profile lawsuits over the years.

"We want to divest our share of SPDC, and we are looking to reshape the portfolio," Pouyanne said at TotalEnergies' annual results presentation on Wednesday.

"Fundamentally it's because producing this oil in the Niger delta is not in line with our [Health, Security and Environmental] policies, it's a real difficulty."

SPDC operates a network of pipelines, 263 oil wells, 56 gas wells, six gas plants, two oil export terminals and a power plant, according to its website.

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TotalEnergies is the latest international oil company seeking to withdraw from Nigeria's onshore sector after decades of operations. But the French group, which produced a total of 219,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023 in Nigeria, remains a major operator of offshore fields in the West African country. Earlier this week it announced the start-up of the Akpo West oilfield located 135 kilometres off the coast.

Shell last month announced it had agreed to sell its 30% stake in SPDC to a consortium of five mostly local companies for up to $2.4 billion.

Other partners in the joint venture are the state's Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which holds 55% and Italy's Eni with 5%.

Exxon Mobil, Eni and Norway's Equinor have all sold assets in Nigeria in recent years to focus on newer, more profitable operations elsewhere.

Pouyanne said TotalEnergies would keep its Nigerian gas resources, which he described as crucial for the company's planned expansion of liquefied natural gas development in coming years.

Any sale would require Nigerian government approval.

Reuters

MultiChoice Group has agreed to pay N35.4 billion as part of its tax obligations to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

Multichoice owns the satellite television services, DStv and GOtv — popular subscription-based platforms in Nigeria.

In a statement to shareholders on Thursday, the firm said the payment is to offset against “security deposits”.

“Shareholders are advised that MultiChoice has reached a settlement with the FIRS in Nigeria in relation to the tax assessments raised in April 2021 on MultiChoice Nigeria (MCN) and in June 2021 on MultiChoice Africa Holdings BV (MAH),” the company said.

“The parties (FIRS, MCN and MAH) concluded a ‘without prejudice or precedent’ agreement in full and final settlement of all matters in dispute. In terms of the agreement, MCN and MAH shall pay a total tax amount of NGN35.4bn (US$37.3m), to be offset against the security deposits and good faith payments made to date.”

In 2021, FIRS issued notices of assessment and demand notices of N1.82 trillion as tax bills.

The agency appointed some commercial banks as agents to recover the amount.

However, MultiChoice disputed the assessments and approached the tax appeal tribunal (TAT), which led to a series of cases at both the TAT and the federal high court.

Multichoice further instituted a court action on August  25, 2021, challenging the assessment of FIRS over unpaid value-added tax (VAT) amounting to $342 million. 

Seven months after the challenge, FIRS and MultiChoice Nigeria agreed to an amicable resolution over pending tax disputes.

As part of the agreements, MultiChoice was to withdraw all pending lawsuits, while FIRS was to conduct a forensic system of the company’s accounts.

The Cable

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Thursday announced that the interconnect debt dispute between MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN) and Globacom Limited (Globacom) has been amicably resolved.

In accordance with this resolution, the NCC said the approval granted to MTN for the disconnection of Globacom has now been withdrawn.

Following its initial public notice, the NCC said it undertook further regulatory intervention, by mediating between the parties and facilitating the reconciliation process.

“The Commission reiterates that strict adherence to the terms and conditions of licenses, particularly those delineated in interconnection agreements, is imperative for all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and other licensees within the telecommunications industry.

“In order to proactively address and prevent future instances of interconnect indebtedness within the industry, the Commission will be requesting relevant records and regular updates from MNOs, as well as adopting a transparent approach towards industry indebtedness.

“This statement serves as a reminder of the commission’s commitment to fostering a stable and compliant telecommunications ecosystem in Nigeria,” the NCC said.

PT