The website of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) — www.nigerianstat.gov.ng — has remained inaccessible for three weeks after it was hacked.

Checks by TheCable on Monday showed that the website can not be reached according to feedback from the landing page.

Efforts to reach Ichedi Sunday, head of communications at the NBS, were unsuccessful.

The website breach was confirmed by the NBS on December 18, 2024, in a post published on X.

In the post, NBS asked members of the public to ignore any report published on its website until it recovers the website.

The hack was reported a day after the NBS published its crime experience and security perception survey.

In the report, the NBS said Nigerians paid N2.23 trillion as ransom in one year between May 2023 and April 2024.

NBS indicated that an estimated 51.89 million crime incidents were recorded across Nigerian households during the period.

The report said the north-west recorded the highest crime incidents estimated to be over 14 million, while the south-east has the least with over six million cases.

According to the publication, the crime incidence in the rural area (26,526,069) was higher than that of the urban area (25,360,963).

On December 19, reports emerged that the Department of State Services (DSS) invited Adeniran Adeyemi, statistician-general of the federation, for questioning on the report.

However, NBS denied the report, saying that no invitation or arrest had occurred.

Since the bureau confirmed the hack, NBS has not provided further updates on the restoration of its website or any progress in addressing the hacking incident.

A federal high court in Abuja has granted N10 million bail to Olamide Thomas, an activist charged with vitriolic social media comments against Seyi Tinubu.

Thomas was also asked to produce one surety in like sum.

In a ruling delivered on Monday, Emeka Nwite, presiding judge, held that there was no concrete evidence before the court that the defendant would jump bail or interfere with trial.

“I have carefully examined the affidavit evidence of both the defendant and the complainant,” he said.

The judge, who ordered the surety to depose an affidavit of means, also directed the surety to present a three-year tax clearance certificate.

He said the surety must reside within the jurisdiction of the court.

Nwite also ordered the defendant and the surety to deposit two recent passport photographs with the registrar of the court. He also ruled that the address of the surety should be verified.

The judge consequently adjourned the case to February 18 for trial.

THE ARREST

On December 13, the activist, who is also a nurse, was arrested in Lagos over allegations of cyberbullying.

She was accused of insulting Tinubu’s son, Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police (IGP); and Muyiwa Adejobi, the force spokesperson, in a Facebook video recorded after the police arrested her on October 20, 2024.

The activist was among the protesters arrested by the police during the rally to commemorate the fourth anniversary of #EndSARS demonstration at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos.

After her arrest in Lagos, she was taken to Abuja.

THE CHARGE

The police accused Thomas of sharing a video on social media in which she stated that “Mr Seyi Tinubu will die this year”.

“That you OLAMIDE ABIODUN THOMAS ‘F’, sometime in 2024, in the Federal Republic of Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did knowingly and intentionally transmit or cause the transmission of communication in the form of video recording through computer system or network on your Social media platforms wherein you made remarks in Yoruba language stating that Mr. Seyi Tinubu will die this year, and misfortune and calamity has befallen the Tinubu family, with intent to bully, threaten, harass the person of Mr. Seyi Tinubu, where such communication places the said Mr. Seyi Tinubu in fear of death, violence or bodily harm and you thereby commit an offence contrary to and punishable under section 24 (2) (a) Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024,” the first count reads.

In the second count, the police accused Thomas of threatening and bullying Egbetokun.

In the third count, the police accused the activist of saying that Adejobi’s children would die before his eyes.

The activist was arraigned on a three-count charge on December 20.

The Lagos state government says it will commence enforcement of the ban on single-use plastics (SUPs) in January 2025.

SUPs are products intended for short-term use, typically discarded after a single application, contributing significantly to waste and environmental pollution.

On January 21 2024, Lagos banned the use and distribution of styrofoam and other SUPs to reduce environmental pollution across the state.

Speaking on Monday during an inspection of flood-prone areas on Lagos Island, Tokunbo Wahab, the commissioner for environment and water resources, said there has been reduction in styrofoam litter in the state.

He said plans were underway to ensure a smooth phase-out of SUPs in the state.

“There is no going back on a total ban of SUPs. We are currently having conversations in respect of how to phase them off. The enforcement will take effect before the end of January,” Wahab said.

“Littering, especially with Styrofoam, has reduced compared to when enforcement of its ban initially started.”

The commissioner, who also inspected the Ilubirin pump station, decried the condition of the project noting that “bad human behaviour has clogged up the system”.

He added that the tour was essentially to review the state of the projects and determine if the state would continue with them.

“In fairness to the government, we saw the level of degradation. There was infrastructure built by Julius Berger under a government contract, properly done with a road network, functional drainage, and walkways,” he said

“This tour became necessary to ensure the contractors are ready to commence and to see if the contract period can be abridged.”