Newscast - Africa

President Muhammadu Buhari says his government must develop a policy on cyber warfare that has its strategic focus on the prevention of cyber-attacks against critical national infrastructure.
Buhari also boasted that his administration had significantly degraded the Boko Haram insurgency, the Indigenous People of Biafra, Eastern Security Network, banditry and other forms of insecurity in many parts of the country.
He charged the Nigeria Police Force High Command to evolve realistic strategies and operations geared towards tackling cybercrimes in the country.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has advised persons vying for political offices to abide by the rules of the game and maintain decorum in the forthcoming elections.
General Irabor warned that any attempt to circumvent the process would be dealt with according to the nation’s laws.
General Irabor stated that the peace desired during the electioneering period is not solely the government's responsibility.
The army chief urged Nigerians to join hands with the authorities to see that the forthcoming elections are civil and conflict-free.

US lawmakers investigating the Capitol riot have shown the video of a Republican giving a tour to a man who they say returned on the day of the attack.
The committee says Congressman Barry Loudermilk was seen with a group that includes a person who was among those outside Congress the next day.
The Georgia representative has called it a smear campaign by the committee.
He cited a letter from US Capitol Police saying there was nothing suspicious about his role in the tour.
Democrats have questioned whether some Republicans led any reconnaissance tours for visitors who later joined the raid on Congress as it met to certify President Joe Biden's election victory on 6 January 2021.

The most powerful union in Tunisia called for the stoppage to protest against the economic policies of President Kais Saied in the latest challenge to his rule.
The UGTT union has urged its one million members to observe the strike across the country to protest against government plans for a wage freeze and cuts in subsidies, aimed at securing a $4bn loan from the International Monetary Fund to ease Tunisia's economic crisis.
The union says its motive is not political, but it is bound to be seen as another challenge to President Saied, who has effectively assumed one-man rule for the past year.

The International Organization for Migration says more than 15,000 people have already fled a new wave of attacks in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province.
The renewed attacks began about a week ago in the south of the province, which was considered a safe area.
The report indicates that the fear of more attacks by jihadist groups has triggered the movement of thousands of people.
The new attacks are in areas around 100km from Pemba that have been a refuge for populations displaced in recent years.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has called for the deployment of an East African force to restore security in the troubled east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He also called for an immediate cessation of all hostilities for all armed groups, both foreign and local, to lay down arms immediately and unconditionally” amid heavy fighting in recent weeks.
He says the East African Regional Force is to be deployed immediately to the regions of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu to enforce peace in coordination with resident UN forces Monusco.
He added that a meeting of commanders of the defence forces of East African countries in Nairobi should finalise preparations for the deployment.

The Minister of Power, Aliyu Abubakar, says the Federal Government and 10 states are currently working to produce 2,000 megawatts of off-grid electricity through solar energy sources.
Abubakar revealed that Nigeria’s major hydropower plants, Kainji and Jebba, were currently producing only 130MW of electricity to the grid out of their joint installed capacity of about 1,300MW.
He says they have policies around renewable sources of energy adding that they want to maintain them on the mini-grid and off-grid for the simple fact that the grid is not yet stable to take various energy mixes.

Medical experts have warned against complacency among Nigerians just as they called on the Federal Government to take urgent action in the fight against Monkeypox.
They made the call at a time the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reported that the disease has spread to 15 states in the country.
The experts say there was the need for greater surveillance and more awareness in the country to curtail the spread of the disease.
The latest Monkeypox situation report by the NCDC revealed that 36 cases had been confirmed in 15 states.

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese and member of the National Peace Committee, Rev Matthew Kukah implored voters in Ekiti State to take advantage of the off-season elections and vote to install leaders of their choice.
He spoke in Ado Ekiti during the signing of a peace accord among governorship candidates in the forthcoming governorship election in the state which the National Peace Committee organised.
Kukah urged them to take a cue from Edo, Anambra and Ondo states where credible and violence-free elections were conducted.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, lauded the NPC for the peace accord and as well the traditional rulers for working voluntarily for peaceful elections.

The Federal Government has assured stakeholders that it would continue to provide the necessary budgetary allocations for the Nigeria Police Force in order to enhance the welfare of personnel across the country.
The Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Tony Ojukwu, says the training, which was themed ‘Mainstreaming human rights into law enforcement in Nigeria’ is supported by the Macarthur Foundation.
Ojukwu says the training was to ensure that policemen respect the rights of members of the public while carrying out their duties.