ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, says the rescue of the Oyo schoolchildren and teachers is worthy of thanksgiving.

Obi said this in a post on his verified X handle on Saturday.

He said he is greatly relieved and delighted to learn of the safe rescue of the schoolchildren who were kidnapped.

“This is worthy of thanksgiving. I sincerely thank all those whose tireless efforts made their freedom possible, especially the security personnel and everyone who worked behind the scenes.

“While we celebrate this happy outcome, we must remember that no child should ever have to endure such trauma.

“The recurring incidents of kidnapping, particularly of schoolchildren, underscore the urgent need to strengthen our security architecture and make the protection of lives and property the foremost responsibility of government.

“Our children deserve to learn in an atmosphere of safety, not fear. We must continue to work towards building a Nigeria where every child can pursue education without the threat of violence or abduction.

“I rejoice with the children, their families, their schools, and all Nigerians on this heartening development,” he wrote.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, has appealed to the Nigerian military and other security agencies to repeat same feat as exhibited in Oyo to rescue 79 school children in Borno.

Ndume made this demand while appearing Channels TV at the weekend, after the rescue of abducted victims from Oyo State, Senator Ndume said he had expected more details from the military about the operation but understood that some information relating to military operations and equipment could not be made public.

The senator said 42 people from Mussa in Borno South Senatorial District remain in captivity, alongside about 37 people from Lassa who were recently abducted. He added that several victims from Moushi and travellers kidnapped along the Buratai route were also yet to be rescued.

“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the military to keep their attention on my senatorial district and help us get these people back. The parents are traumatized, especially those from Mussa because there are small children among them,” Ndume said.

According to him, those still in captivity include children, students from Lassa who were preparing for their NECO examinations, and other adults abducted in separate incidents.

Despite the security challenges, the senator expressed confidence in the capabilities of the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies.

“I have confidence in the Nigerian security agencies. All they need is encouragement, training, equipment, aviation and motivation,” he said.

Ndume commended the security forces for the recent rescue operation, saying about eight suspected kidnappers were neutralized, while others were arrested, leading to the safe rescue of the abducted children.

“The children are back safely. Those responsible for the abduction lost about eight of their members during the operation, while some were captured. I believe this will provide useful intelligence on their operations and help address the security challenge,” he said.

The senator called on the military to build on the success of the operation by intensifying efforts to secure the release of the remaining captives in Mussa, Lassa, Muoshi and along the Buratai axis.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Meta must change Facebook’s and Instagram’s “addictive design” or face a heavy fine, the EU warned on Friday.
Brussels accused the US tech giant of failing to limit the risks the platforms posed to users, especially children and vulnerable adults, because of features designed to keep them on Facebook and Instagram.
Of particular concern are those like endless scroll, highly personalised feeds and the automatic playback of videos.

“Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.

The European Union has in recent months stepped up its efforts to force Big Tech to better protect users online, especially children.

In a preliminary view on Friday, the European Commission said it “considers that Meta needs to implement design changes to both Instagram and Facebook” after concluding the platforms broke EU content rules.
Changes could include “disabling key addictive features such as ‘autoplay’ and ‘infinite scroll’ by default, implementing effective ‘screen time breaks’, and adapting its recommender system to make it less engagement-oriented”, it added.

Meta said it disagreed with findings but would continue to “engage constructively” with the EU.

If the regulator’s views on Meta are confirmed, the EU can slap a fine of up to six percent of the company’s total worldwide annual turnover.

A senior EU official insisted Brussels did not want to punish companies.

“We want to bring about change, and if we can get that change via commitments then we would be most happy,” a senior EU official said.

The findings come before an expert panel tasked by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen delivers its recommendations on Monday on how the EU can better shield children online from inappropriate content.

Von der Leyen faces pressure to act, with some EU states including France pushing for bloc-wide bans on social media for minors following Australia’s groundbreaking ban for under-16s.
The EU delivered a similar warning to TikTok in February this year, telling the company to change its design or risk massive fines.

But the official said there was a “slight difference” with TikTok since “Meta has indeed always tried to address minor protection online”.

The EU began its probe into Meta in 2024 under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The content law is a major weapon in the EU’s bolstered armoury adopted in recent years to curb what Brussels describes as Big Tech’s excesses.
In Friday’s findings, Brussels said Facebook’s and Instagram’s time management tools can be easily dismissed while parental controls are only effective if parents have some technical knowledge, the commission said.

Meta also disregarded information about the time children spend on the apps at night “and how the optimisation of its different formats — such as reels and stories — could lead to excessive or compulsive use of the services”.

But Meta said the EU’s findings “don’t accurately take into account the significant steps we’ve taken to protect teens”, pointing to a type of account launched since the probe began.

Accounts allow parents to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at 15 minutes, it said.
As part of the same investigation, the EU accused Meta in April of failing to prevent children under 13 using Facebook and Instagram, thereby potentially exposing them to inappropriate content.

The wide-ranging probe is still looking into the possible so-called “rabbit hole” effects — which occurs when users are fed related content based on an algorithm, in some cases leading to more extreme content — on the platforms.
Meta has faced similar scrutiny across the Atlantic including a US trial this year which ruled Meta’s and YouTube’s platforms were harmfully addictive.