The trend in several states of Nigeria today are the threats to public peace with impunity, violence and the unlawful possession of firearms.
Indeed, criminals sponsored by politically exposed persons have always been in and out of the custody of law enforcement and security agencies. Sadly, they are, most of the time, let off the hook without prosecution.
The insinuation is that they are above the law.
Interestingly, these criminals who have been involved in heinous and grievous crimes against humanity walk the streets  freely.
 Of worry is the fact that an unspecified number of uniformed personnel have a longstanding relationship with criminals, while the production of stickers, emblems and souvenirs, uniforms and other accessories for law enforcement and security agencies continues as the count down to the 2023 general elections begin.

ot surprisingly, most political office holders who seek to retain their positions and those aspiring to occupy political offices rely on threats, violence, intimidation and subversion to achieve their self-centered ambitions. The government has continued to feign ignorance for unknown reasons.
Note-
The increase in the duty tour allowance would greatly benefit Minsters and Permanent secretaries.

This is a wrong direction, considering the increase in the Pay As You Earn Taxes of civil and public servants.

 GRAND RAPIDS – A federal jury today convicted two men charged in connection with a conspiracy to kidnap the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer.

          Adam Fox, of Wyoming, Michigan, and Barry Croft Jr., of Bear, Delaware, were found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap the governor and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property. Croft was additionally convicted of knowingly possessing an unregistered destructive device, specifically an improvised explosive wrapped in pennies for shrapnel.

          According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Fox and Croft intended to kidnap Governor Whitmer from her vacation cottage near Elk Rapids, Michigan and use the destructive devices to facilitate their plot by harming and hindering the governor’s security detail and any responding law enforcement officers.

          “Today’s verdict confirms this plot was very real and very dangerous,” said former U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge for the Western District of Michigan, appointed to oversee the trial. “These men posed a threat not only to the Governor personally but also to bystanders. No elected leader should have to contend with what Governor Whitmer faced here. She deserves to live in safety, not in fear, just like everyone else in our State. All of our elected leaders deserve that, and the Justice Department will not tolerate violent extremist plots of this nature seeking to undermine our democracy”

          “These defendants believed their anti-government views justified violence,” said Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “Today’s verdict sends a clear message that they were wrong in their assessment. Violence is never the answer. The FBI will continue to investigate anyone who seeks to engage in violence in furtherance of any ideological cause and hold them accountable.”

          Co-conspirator Ty Garbin was sentenced to six years in prison in August 2021 after pleading guilty to the original indictment charging him with conspiracy to kidnap Governor Whitmer. Co-defendant Kaleb James Franks also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy to kidnap charge in February 2022 and is awaiting sentencing. Co-defendants Daniel Joseph Harris and Brandon Michael-Ray Caserta were acquitted of charges at trial earlier this year.

          The kidnapping conspiracy and the conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction are punishable by up to life in prison. Possession of an unregistered destructive device and the possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle are each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The presiding judge, Judge Robert Jonker, will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

          The FBI’s Detroit Field Office investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including Michigan State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

          Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nils Kessler and Chris O’Connor conducted this retrial with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and Taryn Meeks of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Source-Federal Bureau of Investigation

In the last three years, various meetings held between Those-in-Authority and individuals who insist that they have been shortchanged in the political and electoral process in a number of states.

Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt
These meetings have only successfully exposed the self-centered and selfish mindset of Those-in-Authority.
The decision not to honor the agreements and abide by decisions taken jointly has dimmed the prospects of an unspecified number of political office holders to cling on to power in 2023 and beyond.
Indeed, the realization that their choices for political offices are not fit and proper persons to be entrusted with such offices took a long time to manifest.

-Legalizing Crime and Criminality
The illiterate population in several communities is a significant part of the problem.
Seasoned politicians opine that Those-in-Authority presently had from the onset prepared a different agenda which has resulted in the bad shape of governance in the affected states.
It is a known fact that the POLICE are constitutionally authorized to effect the arrest, to apprehend persons who have committed offenses or who are alleged to have committed offenses.

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality
In the same vein, it is the duty of the state to, afterward prosecute all these persons who were arrested.
What is the situation? Non-state actors who have continuously terrorized citizens are left as though they have committed no offenses and to this extent, Nigerians believe that this does not go down well for democracy.
The selective enforcement of the law is the order of the day, while certain non-state actors still operate as though they are above the law, which suggests that they are acting on orders from above to create all kinds of havoc in these states.

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach
Lawlessness, crime, all forms of criminality, and evil continue unabated right before the eyes of Those-in-Authority with no sign that any action shall be taken to curtail this ugly trend.
This attitude of Those-in-Authority is not only contrary to the spirit and laid down rules of the constitution, but it is also diabolical and evil.

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

Governments in Sub-Saharan Africa are yet to come out with convincing strategies on how to control international transfers of conventional arms.

Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt                                        -Legalizing Crime and Criminality
Indeed, all countries, Nigeria inclusive, in West Africa, participate in the conventional arms trade and are to be held responsible for the result of this trade, widespread death, injuries, and human rights abuses.
Certain political office holders at all levels of government in Nigeria, have tacitly influenced arms transfers that have been used for several heinous and grievous crimes.

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality
Armed conflict, displacement of people, organized crime, and terrorism festered for so long because of the hidden agenda of Those-in-Authority.
They have deliberately allowed the free flow of weapons of mass destruction to get out of control. This has in the process caused pain, suffering, and death in different parts of the country.

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach
At the center and several states of the country, Non-State actors having been empowered financially are having a field day.
As the 2023 General Elections gradually set in, the government at all levels ought to tighten the noose on access to illegal arms and ammunition as a step towards ensuring peace, safety, security, and sustainable development.

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

Governments in Sub-Saharan Africa are yet to come out with convincing strategies on how to control international transfers of conventional arms.

Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt                                 -Legalizing Crime and Criminality
Indeed, all countries, Nigeria inclusive, in West Africa, participate in the conventional arms trade and are to be held responsible for the result of this trade, widespread death, injuries, and human rights abuses.
Certain political office holders at all levels of government in Nigeria, have tacitly influenced arms transfers that have been used for several heinous and grievous crimes.

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality
Armed conflict, displacement of people, organized crime, and terrorism festered for so long because of the hidden agenda of Those-in-Authority.
They have deliberately allowed the free flow of weapons of mass destruction to get out of control. This has in the process caused pain, suffering, and death in different parts of the country.

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach
At the center and several states of the country, Non-State actors having been empowered financially are having a field day.
As the 2023 General Elections gradually set in, the government at all levels ought to tighten the noose on access to illegal arms and ammunition as a step towards ensuring peace, safety, security, and sustainable development.

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

Four Russian Government Employees Charged in Two Historical Hacking Campaigns Targeting Critical Infrastructure Worldwide

Defendants’ Separate Campaigns Both Targeted Software and Hardware for Operational Technology Systems

The Department of Justice unsealed two indictments today charging four defendants, all Russian nationals who worked for the Russian government, with attempting, supporting and conducting computer intrusions that together, in two separate conspiracies, targeted the global energy sector between 2012 and 2018. In total, these hacking campaigns targeted thousands of computers, at hundreds of companies and organizations, in approximately 135 countries.

Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt

A June 2021 indictment returned in the District of Columbia, United States v. Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, concerns the alleged efforts of an employee of a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute and his co-conspirators to damage critical infrastructure outside the United States, thereby causing two separate emergency shutdowns at a foreign targeted facility. The conspiracy subsequently attempted to hack the computers of a U.S. company that managed similar critical infrastructure entities in the United States.

An August 2021 indictment returned in the District of Kansas, United States v. Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, et al., details allegations about a separate, two-phased campaign undertaken by three officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and their co-conspirators to target and compromise the computers of hundreds of entities related to the energy sector worldwide. Access to such systems would have provided the Russian government the ability to, among other things, disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing.

-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

“Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Although the criminal charges unsealed today reflect past activity, they make crystal clear the urgent ongoing need for American businesses to harden their defenses and remain vigilant. Alongside our partners here at home and abroad, the Department of Justice is committed to exposing and holding accountable state-sponsored hackers who threaten our critical infrastructure with cyber-attacks.” 

“The FBI, along with our federal and international partners, is laser-focused on countering the significant cyber threat Russia poses to our critical infrastructure,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “We will continue to identify and quickly direct response assets to victims of Russian cyber activity; to arm our partners with the information that they need to deploy their own tools against the adversary; and to attribute the misconduct and impose consequences both seen and unseen.”

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

“We face no greater cyber threat than actors seeking to compromise critical infrastructure, offenses which could harm those working at affected plants as well as the citizens who depend on them,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “The department and my office will ensure that those attacking operational technology will be identified and prosecuted.”

“The potential of cyberattacks to disrupt, if not paralyze, the delivery of critical energy services to hospitals, homes, businesses and other locations essential to sustaining our communities is a reality in today’s world,” said U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard for the District of Kansas. “We must acknowledge there are individuals actively seeking to wreak havoc on our nation’s vital infrastructure system, and we must remain vigilant in our effort to thwart such attacks. The Department of Justice is committed to the pursuit and prosecution of accused hackers as part of its mission to protect the safety and security of our nation.”

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

In addition to unsealing these charges, the U.S. government is taking action to enhance private sector network defense efforts and disrupt similar malicious activity.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has already released numerous Technical Alerts, ICS Alerts and Malware Analysis Reports regarding Russia’s malign cyber activities, including the campaigns discussed in the indictments. These are located at: https://www.cisa.gov/shields-up

United States v. Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh – defendant installed backdoors and launched malware designed to compromise the safety of energy facilities

In June 2021, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh (Евгений Викторович Гладких), 36, a computer programmer employed by an institute affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, for his role in a campaign to hack industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) of global energy facilities using techniques designed to enable future physical damage with potentially catastrophic effects.

According to the indictment, between May and September 2017, the defendant and co-conspirators hacked the systems of a foreign refinery and installed malware, which cyber security researchers have referred to as “Triton” or “Trisis,” on a safety system produced by Schneider Electric, a multinational corporation. The conspirators designed the Triton malware to prevent the refinery’s safety systems from functioning (i.e., by causing the ICS to operate in an unsafe manner while appearing to be operating normally), granting the defendant and his co-conspirators the ability to cause damage to the refinery, injury to anyone nearby, and economic harm. However, when the defendant deployed the Triton malware, it caused a fault that led the refinery’s Schneider Electric safety systems to initiate two automatic emergency shutdowns of the refinery’s operations. Between February and July 2018, the conspirators researched similar refineries in the United States, which were owned by a U.S. company, and unsuccessfully attempted to hack the U.S. company’s computer systems.

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

The three-count indictment alleges that Gladkikh was an employee of the State Research Center of the Russian Federation FGUP Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics’ (Государственный научный центр Российской Федерации федеральное государственное унитарное предприятие Центральный научно-исследовательский институт химии и механики, hereinafter “TsNIIKhM”) Applied Developments Center (“Центр прикладных разработок,” hereinafter “ADC”). On its website, which was modified after the Triton attack became public, TsNIIKhM described itself as the Russian Ministry of Defense’s leading research organization. The ADC, in turn, publicly asserted that it engaged in research concerning information technology-related threats to critical infrastructure (i.e., that its research was defensive in nature).

The defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to cause damage to an energy facility, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of attempt to cause damage to an energy facility, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher B. Brown and Luke Jones for the District of Columbia, in partnership with the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Washington Field Office conducted the investigation.

The U.S.-based targets of the conspiracy cooperated and provided valuable assistance in the investigation. The Department of Justice and the FBI also expressed appreciation to Schneider Electric for its assistance in the investigation, particularly noting the company’s public outreach and education efforts following the overseas Triton attack.

United States v. Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov – defendants undertook years-long effort to target and compromise computer systems of energy sector companies

On Aug. 26, 2021, a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging three computer hackers, all of whom were residents and nationals of the Russian Federation (Russia) and officers in Military Unit 71330 or “Center 16” of the FSB, with violating U.S. laws related to computer fraud and abuse, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and causing damage to the property of an energy facility.

The FSB hackers, Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov (Павел Александрович Акулов), 36, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov (Михаил Михайлович Гаврилов), 42, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov (Марат Валерьевич Тюков), 39, were members of a Center 16 operational unit known among cybersecurity researchers as “Dragonfly,” “Berzerk Bear,” “Energetic Bear,” and “Crouching Yeti.” The indictment alleges that, between 2012 and 2017, Akulov, Gavrilov, Tyukov and their co-conspirators, engaged in computer intrusions, including supply chain attacks, in furtherance of the Russian government’s efforts to maintain surreptitious, unauthorized and persistent access to the computer networks of companies and organizations in the international energy sector, including oil and gas firms, nuclear power plants, and utility and power transmission companies. Specifically, the conspirators targeted the software and hardware that controls equipment in power generation facilities, known as ICS or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. Access to such systems would have provided the Russian government the ability to, among other things, disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing.

According to the indictment, the energy sector campaign involved two phases. In the first phase, which took place between 2012 and 2014 and is commonly referred to by cyber security researchers as “Dragonfly” or “Havex,” the conspirators engaged in a supply chain attack, compromising the computer networks of ICS/SCADA system manufacturers and software providers and then hiding malware – known publicly as “Havex” – inside legitimate software updates for such systems. After unsuspecting customers downloaded Havex-infected updates, the conspirators would use the malware to, among other things, create backdoors into infected systems and scan victims’ networks for additional ICS/SCADA devices. Through these and other efforts, including spearphishing and “watering hole” attacks, the conspirators installed malware on more than 17,000 unique devices in the United States and abroad, including ICS/SCADA controllers used by power and energy companies.

In the second phase, which took place between 2014 and 2017 and is commonly referred to as “Dragonfly 2.0,” the conspirators transitioned to more targeted compromises that focused on specific energy sector entities and individuals and engineers who worked with ICS/SCADA systems. As alleged in the indictment, the conspirators’ tactics included spearphishing attacks targeting more than 3,300 users at more than 500 U.S. and international companies and entities, in addition to U.S. government agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In some cases, the spearphishing attacks were successful, including in the compromise of the business network (i.e., involving computers not directly connected to ICS/SCADA equipment) of the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (Wolf Creek) in Burlington, Kansas, which operates a nuclear power plant. Moreover, after establishing an illegal foothold in a particular network, the conspirators typically used that foothold to penetrate further into the network by obtaining access to other computers and networks at the victim entity.

During the Dragonfly 2.0 phase, the conspirators also undertook a watering hole attack by compromising servers that hosted websites commonly visited by ICS/SCADA system and other energy sector engineers through publicly known vulnerabilities in content management software. When the engineers browsed to a compromised website, the conspirators’ hidden scripts deployed malware designed to capture login credentials onto their computers.

The conspiracy’s hacking campaign targeted victims in the United States and in more than 135 other countries.

Akulov, Gavrilov and Tyukov are charged with conspiracy to cause damage to the property of an energy facility and commit computer fraud and abuse, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Akulov and Gavrilov are also charged with substantive counts of wire fraud and computer fraud related to unlawfully obtaining information from computers and causing damage to computers. These offenses carry maximum sentences ranging from five to 20 years in prison. Finally, Akulov and Gavrilov are also charged with three counts of aggravated identity theft, each of which carry a minimum sentence of two years consecutive to any other sentence imposed.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask, Christopher Oakley and Ryan Huschka forthe District of Kansas, and Counsel for Cyber Investigations Ali Ahmad and Trial Attorney Christine Bonomo of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Portland and Richmond field offices conducted the investigation, with the assistance of the FBI’s Cyber Division.

Numerous victims, including Wolf Creek and its owners Evergy and the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, cooperated and provided invaluable assistance in the investigation.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Source-FBI

The Tanzania Government   has called on the country's members of Parliament to assist the Government in the construction of more Police stations in the country.
The Government  made this call on Tuesday, through its Home Affairs Minister, Hamad Yusuf Masaun,when he appeared before the Parliament.

Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt                                       -Legalizing Crime and Criminality
"We have a serious shortage of police stations, for example, we have 93 B police stations yet what we need is to have 563 stations, I ask MPs to follow the example of other MPs including Angelina Mabula who has been involved the public in construction of a station in her constituency,"  the Home Affairs Minister stated.
Tanzania has 93 functional police stations across the country and requires 563 Grade B police stations to enhance law enforcement.

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

Drug Dealer Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Selling the Fentanyl that Resulted in Death of User; Longest Sentence to Date

SAN DIEGO – Jahvaris Lamoun Springfield was sentenced in federal court today to 300 months in prison for selling the fentanyl pills that resulted in the fatal overdose of U.S. Army veteran Brendan James Gallagher on February 5, 2019. This is the longest sentence to date in this district for this crime.

On August 27, 2021, following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Larry Alan Burns, a jury convicted Springfield of causing Gallagher’s death by distributing fentanyl to Gallagher on February 5, 2019.

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The evidence presented at trial showed that Gallagher was a U.S. Army veteran who served overseas in Afghanistan. Upon his return to the United States, Gallagher was honorably discharged. In 2018, Gallagher moved from Boston to San Diego in an attempt to break his addiction. However, Gallagher turned to opioid drugs in the form of counterfeit oxycontin pills later that year.

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

The evidence also showed that, on the afternoon of February 5, 2019, Gallagher sent text messages to Springfield seeking to purchase oxycontin pills. Later that day, Gallagher’s roommates called 911 to report that Gallagher was nonresponsive in his bedroom. When agents arrived at the residence, they found two counterfeit oxycontin pills that tested positive for fentanyl. Additionally, Gallagher’s autopsy showed a fatal concentration of fentanyl in his blood. In the investigation that followed, agents obtained evidence showing that Springfield sold Gallagher pills on February 5, 2019. When agents arrested Springfield, they found counterfeit oxycontin pills that tested positive for fentanyl in the vehicle Springfield had been driving.

DEA Narcotics Task Force Team 10 led the investigation in this case. Team 10 is a specialty unit, with investigators from HSI, FBI, San Diego Police Department, CA Department of Health Care Services, and the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, that investigates overdose deaths in San Diego.  Team 10 responds to the discovery of overdose victims and aggressively pursues criminal cases, up the distribution chain, against both the dealers and their sources of supply.

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

“This is the longest federal sentence to date in a case of a drug dealer being held responsible for the death of a customer in the Southern District of California, and it should put dealers and those who supply them on notice.  Every time we have an overdose death, law enforcement will come looking for you, because lives are at stake,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We will not stop with the street-level dealers but will follow the supply chain as far up as necessary and will use every available criminal and civil tool to combat this deadly epidemic and stop these tragic losses.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team as well as DEA Team 10 investigators for their hard work on the case.

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

“Today’s sentencing of Jahvaris Springfield is a reflection of the hard work of the investigators assigned to DEA’s Team 10,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe.  “These dedicated men and women work tirelessly around the clock to hold drug dealers accountable for the deaths they are causing and to bring justice to families who have lost their loved ones. This 25-year sentence is proof that their efforts have paid off.”

The United States Attorney’s Office is working closely with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the San Diego Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal, state and local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute cases targeting those who supply drugs in fatal overdose cases.

Source-FBI

Law and order is an instrument that determines happenings in an environment to prevent insecurity and other unsavory situations. There is a saying that goes thus, '' Where there is no law, there is no sin.''
This implies that the aberrations of life such as waywardness and frivolities are avoidable.
Law and order encourage the people to do the right thing for the good of all. In any environment wherein law and order are effective, the safety of lives and properties are guaranteed.
For the leadership network in government to ensure law and order, the right policies must be in place in addition to the assurance that justice and equity are enabled.
When justice and equity are lacking in governance would experience a myriad of challenges.
The election and appointment of people of integrity who are competent to manage the affairs of any institution or government are imperative.
The breakdown of law and order could bring in its wake, the mismanagement of resources and poor governance.

Law and order ensure that there is the promotion of accountability in the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government. This, in turn, facilitates public confidence, support, and trust for the government.
The dictates of the constitution must be obeyed by both the government and the people, for the law and order to thrive.
The Civil and Public service laws regulate the affairs of the Civil and Public servants. The  Scripture regulates and controls the affairs of religious adherents.
Professional ethics must be followed to the letter to be corporate in professional practices.
In the final analysis, the constitution of any nation, therefore, must be effectively utilized without abuse to promote justice and equity for ensuring a safe and secured society that must be sustained through peace and accelerated development.

Also read-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

               -Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

               -Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

               -Government Workers-A Subject of Debate