The Nation Newspaper

Tag: security

  • One dead as security agents storm Delta community

    The police last night confirmed the death of one person in Saturday’s joint security operation in the oil-rich Ugborodo community, Warri South-West council area of Delta State. But community sources said two persons were killed.

    Some properties were destroyed, including that of the Olaja-Orori (Spiritual Head) of the community, Benson Dube Omadeli, and the youth chairman, Ofe Nene, who had been declared wanted by security agents over a previous crisis in the community, which claimed a life.

    Crisis in Ugborodo has become interminable, all resulting from who controls the leadership offices and financial resources of the host community to most of the oil giant, Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) multi-billion dollars facility as well as the ‘suspended’ multi-billion dollars Gas Revolution Industrial Park (GRIP), in Ogidigben.

    However, last Saturday’s military operation, which was jointly carried out by men of the Nigerian Army, the police and the Department of State Security (DSS), was reportedly targeted at some elements within the community, who had been running rings of oil theft, kidnapping and other criminal activities.

    A statement by the Delta police command’s spokesman, Andrew Aniamaka (DSP), said the operation was in the interest of the community, saying it was raised “to rid the areas of hoodlums, who use them as bases for various nefarious activities, which include militancy, illegal oil bunkering and oil pipeline vandalism”.

    The Ologbotsere of Warri Kingdom, Chief Ayiri Emami, denied having a hand in the military action.

    He said: “The people that are alleging are in Ugborodo, is Ugborodo not our community? Is it meant for bunkerers or kidnappers? Call anybody in Ugborodo, everybody is happy now in Ugborodo now, the police are here. Those were people exchanging gunshots with the police. Am I a soldier, how could I have joined them (security forces)?

    “I am not a soldier that someone will be telling you that I led the army into Ugborodo. I’m the Ologbotsere, if something is happening in my domain, I have the duty to come and see what is actually happening and I am here and found out that the police are keeping peace, returning everybody that had been driven out of the community, which is they are to protect lives and property”, Emami said.

    The Commander, Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Suleiman Apoche, said his men were there to ensure law and order while the police moved in.

    “The Police went in there. We only provided security for law and order. I am also not aware there was fracas,” he said.

     

  • Security forces kill another wanted member of Don Wanny cult gang

    Security forces kill another wanted member of Don Wanny cult gang

    A younger brother to the late notorious terrorist, Chief Johnson Igwedibia, aka “General” Don Waney, 34, Oluchi Igwedibia, aka Obatosu, was killed Sunday morning in a joint operation by men of the Nigerian Army and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) at Sabo Iyakpe, Etsako West Local Government Area, Edo State.

    Oluchil’s body was immediately moved to Port Harcourt and was displayed to reporters at 4:10 p.m. at the 6 Division, Nigerian Army in the Rivers State capital.

    Oluchi, who took part in the New Year’s Day massacre of 22 innocent worshippers, after crossover service at Omoku, the headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of Rivers State, was among the 32 cultists declared wanted by the Rivers State Security Council, after Johnson was killed on January 6 in Enugu by soldiers and DSS operatives, along with two of his lieutenants: Ikechukwu Adiele and Lucky Ode.

    A security source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the suspected killer was tracked and shot dead at Sabo Iykpe community, Etsako West in Edo.

    Igwedibia, younger brother of Don Wanny, was among the 32 suspected cultists declared wanted by Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers on Jan. 9.

    “Oluchi Igwedibia, alias Obatosu and brother of Don Wani, was the Field Commander of the murderous gang that killed 23 worshipers in cold blood on January 1.

    “Igwedibia, after fleeing Omoku town (Rivers) went to Ughelli (Delta) to reside. He rented an apartment in Edo four days ago (Jan. 24) as part of his plan to avoid arrest.”

    The source said the operation was carried out by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigerian Army.

    “The DSS later tracked him down to his new hide out in Sabo Iykpe community (Edo) and thereafter called the Army for support.

    “When we arrived at his house, Igwedibia hid in his ceiling and later tried to shoot his way out but was shot by operatives,” the source said.

    The informant said the area had been cordoned off as search for arms and ammunition was ongoing, adding that the operatives also arrested and detained Igwedibia’s accomplice who allegedly helped him withdrew money from the bank.

    The Rivers Director of DSS, Mr Tosin Ajayi, did not answer his calls or reply to text message sent to his phone.

    The late Wanny, Igwedibia and his gang members received amnesty from the Rivers Government in 2016 but later went back to crime.

    Meanwhile, Wike has commended the DSS and the Nigerian Army for the joint operation that led to the killing of Igwedibia.

    A statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Wike on Electronic Media, quoted Wike as saying that ‘’all those who participated in the New Year Mayhem at Omoku and any other security infraction in the state will be traced and brought to justice’’.

    He added that the governor said that the N20 million bounties placed for credible information that would lead to the arrest of the wanted cultists is still in place. (NAN)

  • Buhari discusses peace, security matters at AU Summit

    Buhari discusses peace, security matters at AU Summit

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday launched into a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with 14 other members of the Peace and Security Council (PSC), a standing organ of the Africa Union (AU) for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts.

    The meeting came ahead of today’s formal opening of the 30th AU Summit.

    The PSC deliberation, according to the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, focused on the persistence of violent conflicts and crisis situations in parts of the continent, upsurge of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees, climate change and its consequences as well as the issue of the derailment of national development programmes.

    Of particular interest were the situations in Somalia, South Sudan, Libya, Guinea Bissau, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

    Also top of the agenda of the meeting were the situation in the Lake Chad Basin, the regional efforts to combat Boko Haram as well as the situation in Mali and the Sahel region, which continues to be a source of deep concern despite efforts by the countries of the region and the United Nations.

    Shehu said: “the PSC’s major duty is to “conduct early warning and preventive diplomacy, facilitate peace-making, establish peace-support operations and, in certain circumstances, recommend intervention in Member States to promote peace, security and stability.”

  • Ondo community parleys on security

    Ondo community parleys on security

    Police authority and residents of Akoko in Ondo Northern Senatorial District have met at Ikare-Akoko, headquarters of Akoko North East Local Government Area, on how to tighten security.

    Through the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), the residents of the four local government areas in the district were advised to join forces with the police to minimise crimes.

    The community’s PCRC Vice Chairman, Ambassador Blessing Ariyo, urged the residents to see police as their friends.

    He advised them to share information with the police to minimise criminality in Akoko, where abduction, robbery and house-breaking have been rampant.

    Ariyo spoke at the maiden meeting of the PCRC Divisions in Akoko, at the Police Divisional headquarters at Ikare-Akoko with the pioneer Area Commander, Abdulrauf Abdulrazak.

    The area commander said there was need for PCRC members to disseminate information on how the new Area Command would be a role model for others in the state.

    He said the residents should voluntarily give information that could lead to uncovering the hideouts of criminals to enable the police dislodged them.

    Also, a community leader, Alhaji Ibrahim Kilani, lauded the roles of some monarchs in facilitating the take-off of the new area command.

    According to him, the police cannot do it alone.

    Kilani also lauded the pioneering efforts of the new commander and his team at reducing crimes in the area.

    The community leader urged Akoko residents to rally round the area command to make the area safe.

    Abdulrazak hailed PRCRC members from the 10 units in Akoko for attending the meeting, despite the short notice for convening it.

    The area commander said the area would soon have a security committee.

    He assured them that the police would rid the area of criminals with the residents giving the police credible information.

    The meeting resolved to provide logistics for the smooth take-off of the security committee.

     

  • Troops arrest killer of Bayelsa security agents in Delta

    Troops arrest killer of Bayelsa security agents in Delta

    A militant leader, Oyawerikumor Peregbabofa, popularly known in the creeks of Niger Delta as Karaowei, is being detained by security agents, The Nation has learnt.

    The warlord, who terrorised Bayelsa and Delta states, was captured during a gun battle between his gang and a combined team of security operatives in the creeks of Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.

    Asenior security officer, who spoke in confidence, said Karaowei was wounded during the attack.

    Karaowei and his gang were linked to last year’s kidnapping of four British missionaries and humanitarian workers, one of whom was identified as Ian Squire.

    Security operatives intensified their manhunt for the militant leader, who had been on their wanted list, when he beheaded a senior intelligence officer in a botched undercover operation.

    He also made a ceremony out of the tragedy by displaying the severed head in Toru-Ndoro, his paternal community in Ekeremor Local Government Area, a boundary town between Bayelsa and Delta states.

    He was said to have ambushed and killed four soldiers, who were deployed in Burutu and Ekeremor creeks to locate his camp and arrest him.

    Troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe (ODS), who led the operation , were said to have located his hideout at Burutu in Delta State where he was captured .

    A senior security source, who pleaded not to be name, identified the suspects who had been on the run as Oyawerikumor Peregbabofa, alias Kareowei.

    He said: “The suspect was arrested by a combined team of operatives in Delta State on Wednesday night. Contrary to reports that the security agent was murdered in Delta State, the killing actually took place in Edegbene, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.

    “Though the suspect sustained a gun shot injury, he is in custody of security operatives. The details shall be made available to the public at the appropriate time. We commend the  Bayelsa State government for giving the requisite support to the security agencies in the fight against criminality in the water ways.

    “We also call on the members of the nearby Toru-Ndoro Community òf Ekeremor Local Government Area òf Delta State to return to and go about their legitimate duties. Security forces would not hesitate to arrest anybody caught breaching the peace of the society”.

    Police spokesman Butswat Asinim confirmed Kareowei’s arrest but gave no further details.

    But Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson clashed with former Governor Timipre Sylva and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, over Kareowei’s activities.

    Dickson, in his first New Year Transparency Briefing held at the Banquet Hall, Yenagoa, accused Lokpobiri and Sylva of sponsoring the suspect and his gang.

    Sylva and Lokpobiri, however, denied the allegation, saying it was irresponsible to link them to criminal activities in the state.

    Dickson said: “The Minister of State, Senator Lokpobiri, is the one that armed and equipped the Kareowei that has now killed soldiers and killed military people and subjected innocent communities into this problem.

    “All the guns, AK47, all the boats and others he uses to kill and all other ammunition were supplied by Senator Lokpobri. I have evidence that on the 2nd of January, this month, this Kareowei and his killers were in Ekeremor, celebrating with Lokpobiri, and that is the person appointed as Minster of state.

    “And Timipre Sylva, the President should call these two to order. Political leaders work for stability; you play your politics when election comes; you don’t need to arm those boys with weapons and you use the President’s name and the name of your party to intimidate law enforcement agencies.

    “Meanwhile when I look around I have not even seen what the minister had brought to his own community. The same thing with Timipre Sylva; he was  governor here for five years and all he left was criminality and cultism and blood flowing on the streets of this state.

    “We have worked hard to stabilise this state but he should stop sponsoring cult leaders he should stop arming criminals in Basambiri and Twon Brass”.

    But Lokpobiri fired back saying he had nothing to do with the arrested militant leader and challenged Dickson to prove his claims.

    “I don’t know this militant leader. I have never met him before and it is irresponsible for anybody to accuse someone like me, who has been preaching peace, of buying arms for a criminal. It is unimaginable.

    “When I went home during the Yuletide, this same suspect even came to my town and started shooting guns from the river. Whatever the governor had said came from his imagination.

    “This is part of his campaign of calumny, which he had sustained and sponsored over time against me. He should be bold enough to provide proofs to his claims. I will still study everything he said and respond accordingly.”

    Sylva’s media aide, Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, said the governor had returned to his notorious game of accusing Sylva of sponsoring criminality in Bayelsa.

    His words: “This time he has joined the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, to his list of culprits.

    “As always, Dickson has provided zero facts to support his irresponsibly frivolous claims that Sylva and Lokpobiri are providing cover for alleged cultists and other criminals. Dickson lied at his Thursday ‘Transparency’ Briefing in Yenagoa”.

    He added: “No amount of falsehood against Sylva will pay workers’ salaries in Bayelsa State. No amount of falsehood against Sylva will cover Dickson’s incompetence and cluelessness.

    “No amount of falsehood against Sylva will protect lives and property in Bayelsa State, where Governor Dickson has elevated the ignoble act of arming and using lawless elements to intimidate the people to win elections to state policy, as the whole world saw in the last governorship polls in the state.

    “And no amount of falsehood against Sylva will cleanse the blood of innocent Bayelsans on Dickson’s hands before God or erase the history of political violence institutionalised by Dickson before men”.

  • BUA kicks as Edo, security agencies clamp down on mine

    Edo State government and security agencies comprising the Army, Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday arrested two workers at  Obu mine, owned by BUA International Ltd, for violating a stop work order by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel.

    Governor Godwin Obaseki ordered the arrest when he visited the site and discovered that work was on despite directives by the Federal Government to stop work pending determination of a suit over the ownership of the mine.

    He said the government was interested in the security of life and property.

    Obaseki said: “There is a dispute over the ownership of this mine. The dispute is in court. There was instruction by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development asking that work should stop pending the outcome of the matter. I addressed a section of Okpella community, who visited me to express concern about tension in the community.

    “I instructed that work should stop in line with the Federal Government’s directive and the case in court. I said status quo be maintained until the determination of the case. I think that is the simple, commonsensical thing to do. There is a quarrel and parties should maintain peace and status quo.”

    He said it was regrettable that having received the directive, the management of BUA went on air to say that the government had no authority and right to enforce a the directive.

    According to him, “what they are saying is that the government does not matter. That sort of utterance is dangerous for our country, for a company that needs the government to treat us with such disdain. With this, things will degenerate into anarchy. How can they operate in such an environment? We don’t care who owns what. Human life is more expensive than whatever money anybody can make.”

    The Nation learnt that there are 10 other mines besides the disputed one, and with the stop work order, BUA can work at its other mines to sustain production.

    The Commander of 4 Brigade, Maj.- Gen. Ibrahim Garba, who led the soldiers, ordered that explosives being used for the mining be confiscated.

    He said: “We gave permission for the explosives to be used here. But now, they will be sent to the brigade headquarters.”

    Speaking at the palace of Okuokphellagbe of Okpella, Alhaji Andrew Dirisu, Obaseki said the visit was to assure the people that the government was on top of the situation.

    “With the action we have taken, we know there will be pressure on the parties to resolve the matter,” he added.

    Dirisu said the people wanted peace, noting: “There is no way we wouldn’t welcome people to invest. But what we want is for everyone to take what they get and no one should take from another. For now, as you have given your order, who are we to oppose it? I thank you for calling for peace.”

  • Lake rice, others: ‘Policy continuity ‘ll help Nigeria attain food security’

    Lake rice, others: ‘Policy continuity ‘ll help Nigeria attain food security’

    An agricultural economist, Prof. John Aihonsu, has advised state and Federal governments to sustain the current agricultural policies and programmes targeted at boosting food supply and self-sufficiency in food productions across the country.

    Aihonsu said Nigeria would have long overcome its food shortage dilemma without resorting to huge importation, if previous agricultural policies designed and started by past governments were not jettisoned by succeeding administrations.

    The expert spoke at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) at Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State while delivering the institution’s 78th inaugural lecture.

    The expert said there should be continuity of the current efforts at state and national levels to increase food production and supply.

    He noted that the country would not achieve food security or sufficiency if the condition of the farmers was not “prosperous.”

    He suggested that the fortune of farmers can be made prosperous through assisting them financially to experience a “sustained improvement in productivity and income availability.”

    Delivering his lecture, titled: Addressing Nigeria’s Food Shortage Dilemma: The Cooperative Agenda, Aihonsu advised every succeeding administration to sustain and not abandon the policies of previous governments, which were targeted at helping Nigerian farmers to increase their productivity and tackle the nation’s “food shortage dilemma”.

    The professor identified over 15 previous agricultural programmes, including the Operation Feed the Nation and Farm Settlement Scheme, which could have placed Nigeria on the path of self-sustenance in food production and consumption, if they were not abandoned by succeeding administrations.

  • Command tightens security

    Niger State Police Command has deployed its personnel across the state to ensure a hitch-free Yuletide, spokesperson Abigail Unaeze said in a statement in Minna.

    She said the command had positioned its conventional and special units for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

    Unaeze said the police were deployed in markets, recreational and worship centres and flash points to secure life and property.

    She said the phone numbers provided for the public in case of emergency include 08054472907, 08081777498 and 07031964389.

    The spokesperson urged the public to be security-conscious and report suspicious persons and objects to the nearest security agency.

     

  • Diarchy, security and decency

    A Zimbabwean News item during the week stated clearly that the honeymoon with the new regime that replaced former President Robert Mugabe was over because the new cabinet was made up of soldiers who helped displace Mugabe in the coup, and war veterans who had served Mugabe diligently for 37 years and that really nothing has changed. In the lexicon of politics a government made up of a mixture of the military and politicians is called a diarchy . That really is what the new president of Zimbabwe has done and I am not surprised as I have predicted recently that Zimbabwe’s democracy will continue its gerontocracy under Mugabe’s successor and that this will be ratified in next year’s elections. Now a diarchy is in place and to me that too is predictable and is a sign of political pragmatism and foresight on the part of the new leadership in Zimbabwe. Ostensibly the objective is to keep at bay the dogs of war in the army who have tasted power and now know the superior power of the barrel of the gun over the ballot box.

    Again I say Diarchy as a political challenge or reality is not peculiar to Zimbabwe. It was mooted in Nigeria before by no less a person than the first president of Nigeria the pragmatic Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe who was shouted down then, even though his motive was to pacify the military, which had tasted the blood of power in the first coup of January 1966 and the counter coup of July the same year. Together the two bloody coups have shaped the politics and the practice of democracy in Nigera ever since whether you talk of civilian or military government, as they follow one another in our turbulent and topsy turvy brand of democracy.

    Another story in the media this week was about a disbursement of $40m to a cousin of the last Nigerian president from a vote of the office of the National Security Adviser of $1.2bn approved by the former president for security issues. This is pure nepotism and a misuse of public funds if proven in open court eventually. But it is just the tip of the ice bag when compared with the $ 2.8bn approved to prosecute the war against the terror of Boko Haram ravaging our North East but converted or diverted for campaign purposes by the last administration to win the 2015 presidential elections which it lost. That electoral loss blew up the can of worms in the face of the new administration and indeed in the face of all right thinking Nigerians. The NSA has been in detention ever since and even though he had been granted bail he has not been released. This again violates the rule of law but then this again is political reality. that the gravity of the issue transcends the fine points of law and reverberates solidly in the very delicate realm of state security which is sacrosanct, I presume in such matters . This then is the real face of the diarchy inherent in Nigeria’s brand of democracy.

    Anyway civilian regimes in Nigeria have always had military officers as incumbent NSAs for the simple reason that they feel safe that one of the military can sniff a coup and nip it in the bud faster and more safely than any non military staff including even the Police. Indeed the revelations from the ordeal of the NSA of the last Administration shows where the power in our political system is and who calls the shots, albeit at the behest of the president of the Republic. So is Nigeria a diarchy like Nnamdi Azikiwe suggested or the new Zimbabwean president is executing? Your guess is as good as mine.

    Let me go further to unlikely arenas or states of the emergence of diarchy as a political governance contrivance to illustrate a point I hold dear. This is the view that the essence of government is to guarantee a decent existence or living for the citizens of an elected government, regardless of the ideology at play or the composition of the government of the day. I do this by taking a peep at the Administration of US President Donald Trump and his use of nuclear attack against North Korea and I look back at Britain’s Parliamentary democracy in the Premiership of Harold Wilson who was the UK PM from 1964 – 1970 and 1974 – 1976.

    I look critically at the US media portrayal of Donald Trump as incapable of giving orders to US military commanders to use nuclear weapons because they- the Media – doubt his mental capability and stability in this regard. Yet, as Commander In Chief of the American armed forces Trump has the powers alone to do this and his commanders must obey his orders or face court martial for treason which can cost them their lives and ruin their military careers. History has it that when Harry Truman, the US President during World War 2 dropped the Hydrogen bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he ordered immediate use of the bomb on a week end even though those who told him of the bomb wanted to wait till Monday. Yet Truman was a God fearing Sunday School teacher who dotted on his two daughters. Nobody has queried his sanity ever since as the Japanese Emperor surrendered immediately when told of the horrors of the bombs on the two unlucky Japanese towns.

    Now Donald Trump faces a real threat from a North Korean leader that this week claimed his nation has perfected missiles that will reach the entire length and breath of the US and the media is doubting the mental capacity of their president to issue defensive or attacking orders. That to me is a recipe for anarchy or chaos if not outright treason. Indeed in the realm of ideological considerations it is an apology for diarchy or an invitation for it, but I really cannot see that happening in the US.

    • Continued online
  • ‘Why businesses are leaving Abuja’

    ‘Why businesses are leaving Abuja’

    Firms are leaving the capital city but if the authorities can reduce the taxes, and boost power supply and security, among other measures, investors will reconsider, JIDE BABALOLA writes

    Unnecessary friction between government agencies, corruption and multiple taxation by Federal Capital Territory (FCT) agencies are major discouraging signals for Nigerian and international investors in Abuja, Mr Benson Ezem, an architect, has said.

    According to Ezem, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, whose Cosmobase Nigeria Limited owns investments in hospitality, real estate and other sectors of the economy, it is quite possible for Abuja to adopt a pragmatic plan for change towards attracting more Nigerian and international investors.

    Asserting that an agreeable investment environment can improve Abuja’s chances in competing with Lagos and other states, he stressed that the high rate of youth unemployment that fuels crime can best be addressed by increased private sector investment.

    Among other recommendations, he urges the Federal Government to urgently avert a repeat of the inter-agency friction and confrontation whereby armed men from two agencies threaten a showdown with one another.

    He said, “The EFCC/DSS saga alone sends out very wrong signals abroad, businessmen and countries that are our potential investors are all watching this nation; if there are frictions between two security agencies, that does not send a right signal.

    “How would a potential foreign investor want to go to a place where he is not sure of his security when people naturally feel discouraged about investing in places known for potentially dangerous confrontations or friction?” he asked.

    According to Ezem who is also the proprietor of Jades Hotel in Abuja, the problem of multiple taxation and other charges are big enough to require special government consultation with stakehoders towards redressing various challenges and encouraging more investment in Abuja.

    “We businessman with investment in the hospitality business in Abuja are battling with a complex tax system, from the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) alone, we have almost eight different types of taxes, there is environmental charges from the same office, and you have to pay the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, the Water Board, they give you meter and still they don’t rate you through these meter.

    “All these are strangulating investment and a five-star hotel chain that I wanted to bring to Abuja to help provide more employment and economic multipliers decided not to invest here after assessing the prevailing tax system.

    “I want to ask the Federal Government, the FCT Minister and other relevant authorities to look into these because the industries in Abuja are not many and some of them are already moving out of Abuja to go and invest in other places.

    “It is time they look into these, with the number of people in Abuja, the government alone cannot employ all, we need to attract investors and industrialists here but they are sending us away, telling us to invest in other places.

    “President Buhari and the FCT Minister should invite the stakeholders here and agencies that are responsible for these multiple taxation on businesses to sit together and find solutions that will also help us curb insecurity and increase youth employment in the FCT.

    The issues about ease of doing business is not just about easy online registration of new businesses; is it easy getting an industrial plot of land in Abuja for development, the answer is ‘No’.

    “We applied for an estate land in 2012 but up till now, no land has been given; instead they expect us to buy the one vendors are selling around for up to one billion Naira and you can’t get direct allocation for industrial purpose while there are lots of plots allocated but lying unused in Idu Industrial area.

    “Such allocations were not going into the hands of people that will use them and provide employment; they were going into the hand of politicians and their agents,” Ezem stated.