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Immigration CG orders probe of alleged passport racketeering in south-east

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Wura-Ola Adepoju, comptroller-general of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), has ordered investigation into allegations of passport racketeering against personnel of the service in the south-east.

Adetoun Aridegbe, NIS public relations officer, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

A recent report had alleged that control officers in the region were charging extra fees in addition to the official fees for obtaining international passports.

Aridegbe said any officer found culpable would be dealt with as the service would not tolerate any form of misconduct or improper behaviour.

“The attention of the NIS has been drawn to a report of allegations of misconduct against the personnel of the service over passport racketeering,” Aridegbe said.

“As part of efforts to rid the agency of these bad eggs, an order for immediate probe into the allegations has commenced and anyone found guilty will be sanctioned.

“The CG and the minister of interior has given a directive for the investigation of the allegations and that is what we are doing.”

Aridegbe noted that the guidelines for application for international passport were clearly stated on the NIS website.

“We also sent out our customer feedback number: 08028320751 (SPRO), 08067761196 (SA – SERVICOM), and we are not only ready to answer your calls but resolve issues,” he added.

“The problem is that Nigerians like to look for shortcut and so they fall into the hands of people who fleece them.

“They prefer to do things through the backdoor. Nigerians need to know that every office opened by the NIS has a duty to serve them.”

Aridegbe urged prospective applicants to visit the NIS official website at immigration.gov.ng to apply for passports.

He also urged them to make payments for their preferred passport categories and avoid patronising individuals or entities that request cash payments for passport services.

Business

31m users exposed as Wayback Machine suffers data breach

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The details of 31 million users have been exposed after Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine suffered a hack.

Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library that offers millions of free books, movies, audio files, and billions of saved web pages in the Wayback Machine that would have been lost or deleted.

An illicit pop-up on the Internet Archive on Wednesday announced that the site had suffered a major data breach.

“Have you ever felt like the Internet Archive runs on sticks and is constantly on the verge of suffering a catastrophic security breach? It just happened. See 31 million of you on HIBP!” users reported seeing on the landing page after the hack.

HIBP, an acronym for Have I Been Pwned, is a tool that confirms if email addresses previously suffered a data breach.

Troy Hunt, HIPB creator, confirmed that the breach was legitimate.

According to Brewster Kahle, Internet Archive founder, the organisation fended off a DDOS attack.

Kahle said the library also disabled the JS library after hackers defaced the website via the portal, scrubbed systems, and upgraded security.

“Will share more as we know it,” Kahle tweeted.

A pop-up on the Wayback Machine urged users to ask publishers to restore access.

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FG launches portal for vehicle owners to convert to CNG and pay later

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The federal government has launched a website that allows users to convert their petrol-powered vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG) and pay later.

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) announced the new initiative on its X handle in a statement on Tuesday.

“Switching to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is now more accessible than ever,” NOA said.

“With flexible payment plans tailored to fit your budget, transitioning from petrol to CNG has never been smoother or more affordable.

“These payment options allow you to convert your vehicle now and pay later with affordable monthly instalments at competitive rates.”

The agency said with an easy online application and quick approval process, beneficiaries would be supported every step of the way, to ensure a hassle-free experience.

“Visit: gocng.ng to get started,” NOA said.

According to the agency, the benefits of CNG include cost savings, environmental impact, enhanced engine life, safety and reliability, as well as proven technology with a track record of safety and dependable performance.

On October 7, the federal government launched a portal that would allow youths to access CNG-powered tricycles.

In his remarks, Michael Oluwagbemi, project director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the presidential CNG initiative (P-CNGi) said the initiative would enhance the economic well-being of Nigerians by reducing dependence on petrol.

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Nigerian Air Force direct short-service application opens October 14 (Apply Here)

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The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says applications for the direct short-service cadets (DSSC) programme will open on October 14.

In a post on X on Wednesday, NAF said online registration will end on November 26.

The NAF said the enlistment is for graduates and postgraduates, who must be of Nigerian origin by birth.

“Applicants must not be less than 1.66 and 1.63 metres tall for male and female candidates, respectively,” the post reads.

“Applicants must be medically, physically, and psychologically fit; applicants must be free of any criminal conviction by the court of law.

“Applicants must be between the ages of 20 and 30 — but the age requirement for medical consultants is between 25 and 40 years.

“All applicants must possess a minimum of second-class upper division with five credits in a related course of study: a discharge certificate/letter of exemption from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and a certificate of full registration with their respective statutory professional bodies in Nigeria.

“All candidates are expected to possess a LGA attestation, a passport photograph, and means of identification, such as a driver’s license, national identification number, or international passport.

“Applicants are advised to print out acknowledgement slips and LGA attestation forms after completing the application.”

NAF noted that the online registration is free of charge, adding that computer literacy will be an advantage.

It added that successful applicants will be invited for selection board interview exercises through the registration portal.

Interested applicants are to apply online at https://airforce.mil.ng/.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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