Across Africa, rising cases of dementia linked to aging populations and other factors are becoming a growing concern. In Nigeria, a startup is using artificial intelligence to help families preserve memories and cognitive patterns before they are lost, offering a new way to support people affected by memory decline.
Thursday, June 25, 2026
Video - AI startup in Nigeria works to preserve memories amid rising dementia cases
Across Africa, rising cases of dementia linked to aging populations and other factors are becoming a growing concern. In Nigeria, a startup is using artificial intelligence to help families preserve memories and cognitive patterns before they are lost, offering a new way to support people affected by memory decline.
Nigerian SEC orders halt to marketing for Dangote refinery IPO
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday ordered an immediate halt to the marketing of a purported initial public offering by Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, saying no application has been filed or approved.
“No application for the registration of an IPO or public offer of shares of the refinery has been filed with or approved by the Commission,” the SEC said.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery, in a statement on X, reiterated its March position that it has not authorised any IPO-related marketing, described recent online reports and solicitations as unauthorised and inaccurate, and said any potential offering would only be communicated through formal regulatory disclosures.
The SEC warned that the promotions — including requests to pre-fund accounts or secure allocations — could mislead investors, distort market expectations and undermine market integrity.
It directed operators to immediately stop related promotional activities, remove materials within 24 hours and refund any funds already collected. It warned of sanctions for non-compliance.
The refinery, owned by billionaire Aliko Dangote, began operations in 2024 and is expected to transform Nigeria’s fuel market. Its planned IPO scheduled for later this year had drawn widespread interest.
The regulator said it had identified advertisements, digital campaigns and investment solicitations promoting shares in the refinery across social media and other channels. Some registered capital market operators were involved in seeking advance subscriptions, it added.
“No application for the registration of an IPO or public offer of shares of the refinery has been filed with or approved by the Commission,” the SEC said.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery, in a statement on X, reiterated its March position that it has not authorised any IPO-related marketing, described recent online reports and solicitations as unauthorised and inaccurate, and said any potential offering would only be communicated through formal regulatory disclosures.
The SEC warned that the promotions — including requests to pre-fund accounts or secure allocations — could mislead investors, distort market expectations and undermine market integrity.
It directed operators to immediately stop related promotional activities, remove materials within 24 hours and refund any funds already collected. It warned of sanctions for non-compliance.
The refinery, owned by billionaire Aliko Dangote, began operations in 2024 and is expected to transform Nigeria’s fuel market. Its planned IPO scheduled for later this year had drawn widespread interest.
By Isaac Anyaogu, Reuters
Nigerians Churches Are Fighting Soccer-Fueled Gambling Addictions
After Victor Adedeji’s father died from injuries sustained in a car accident in 2011, Adedeji, then 14 years old, spent seven months living at his grandmother’s home in Ilesa, a remote town in Osun state, southwest Nigeria. In the mornings, Adedeji woke up to the smell of the fish his grandmother had purchased from local fishermen. He arranged the catch in a basin, placed it on his head, and walked the streets all day to sell the fish for 70–150 naira each (then about 50 cents to $1 USD).
Eventually Adedeji’s mother sent for him and two of his siblings to return home to Bayelsa state, 270 miles south of Ilesa. Her job as a trader selling menswear didn’t earn much, so he felt a responsibility to provide for his family.
“I felt I [must] man up since my mother was the only one taking care of us,” he said. “I just wanted to do something to get money.”
Adedeji thought if he could find a way to earn even a few hundred naira, he could help his family. Friends he met through his mother’s Roman Catholic parish introduced him to sports betting, luring him with promises of quick wins. Soon, 15-year-old Adedeji became a frequent visitor at betting shops in the area, where he wagered on European soccer leagues. He bet every naira he had but with little yield.
Adedeji fell into depression, losing interest in his studies, which the parish sponsored. For more than a decade he tried to quit, but the stories of others who won kept him going: “There was also the promise that the more you play, the higher chance of eventually winning big.”
Sports betting is a booming business in Africa, where betting companies report millions of dollars in profit yearly. Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya rank as the continent’s top three countries for sports gambling. Nigeria alone has over 100 betting companies, with shops stationed near neighborhoods and public spaces for easy access. The rapid rise of smartphone internet access and online betting made gambling as easy as pushing a button. Most bettors are between 18 and 40 years old.
Many Nigerians see gambling, especially sports betting, as a quick way to overcome financial burdens. Over half of Nigeria’s population lives below the national poverty line, making many people desperate for extra income. Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission estimates more than 60 million Nigerians—around a quarter of the population—gamble daily, spending about $5.5 million USD.
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup games dominate sports coverage, men and women like Adedeji may be especially vulnerable. Nigerians typically bet on soccer games, especially big European leagues in England, Spain, and Germany. Macquarie, a financial services firm, forecast that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest-ever betting event, with bets exceeding $50 billion globally, a significant increase from the $35 billion placed at the last World Cup four years ago in Qatar.
For Adedeji, sports betting felt like a trap. “It caught up with me,” he told CT. “There wasn’t any sign of fulfillment. I was never satisfied.”
Adedeji said that in 2017, he felt burned-out from sports betting. He decided to learn fashion design at a family friend’s tailoring shop, looking for something else on which to focus. Yet he couldn’t quit his addiction.
Gambling also took a toll on his family. In 2019, he moved to the capital of Abuja, hoping for a fresh start. But instead of paying his sister’s college tuition or easing his mother’s financial burdens as he intended, he lost his wages gambling. One day in 2024, he entered a betting shop where he owed about 20,000 naira (then about $15 USD). He couldn’t pay. Adedeji said the employees didn’t let him leave, insisting he settle the debt. Hoping to borrow money, Adedeji called his younger brother, who then told his mother.
“She was heartbroken and devastated,” Adedeji said. “Now everybody knew. I couldn’t hide anymore.”
Samson Ocholi, executive director of Right Mind Homes, a Bible-based recovery initiative for addicts in Abuja, said while the economy may play a role, idolatry drives betting in Nigeria.
“The major reason is that people want to make money without working, but it comes back to bite you,” he said.
Ocholi said even those who win don’t properly invest the money, “because they have not been disciplined and haven’t learned to manage money.” He encourages parents to keep a watchful eye on their children, as neglecting parental responsibility leaves teens and young adults vulnerable to peer pressure that promotes harmful habits like gambling.
Friends and celebrities also endorse and promote gambling on social media. Former Nigerian soccer stars like Augustine “Jay-Jay” Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu serve as brand ambassadors for top sports betting companies and are regularly featured on their advertisements. Nearly 300 topflight soccer clubs in Europe, which are closely followed by Nigerians, have partnerships with betting companies.
“If people, especially youths, see an influential person doing it, then they believe they too can,” Ocholi said. “It is a way to glamorize it and make it [seem] normal.”
But the consequences are dire.
Stephen Kolawole, a recovering addict at Right Mind Homes, said betting seems harmless at first. Eventually, though, Kolawole bet half his college’s school fees, preventing him from finishing his studies. Whenever he ran out of money, he thought his addiction was over. Then a paycheck would send him off on another spree. When he kept asking his parents for money, they checked his bank statement and realized he had a gambling problem.
“It was a tough experience,” he said. “I knew that I needed help but didn’t know what to do.”
A 2022 study revealed that a quarter of college-aged callers to helplines reported suicidal ideation related to gambling. In 2021, researchers from the Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit said a 16-year-old boy killed himself after gambling and losing money he had stolen from his employers.
“[Gambling] has caused people to be pierced with many sorrows,” said Jeremiah Aluwong, the presiding pastor of LightWk, a nondenominational Christian mission organization in Kaduna in northwestern Nigeria. “It makes you a liar, a cheat, and leaves you with several broken relationships.”
Aluwong, who runs a recovery center helping 15 men—former drug dealers and gamblers—overcome their addictions, said sports betting has led to an increase in crime and other social vices as many youths seek ways to fund their lifestyles.
He said the spread of the prosperity-gospel preaching in Nigeria encouraged the rise of gambling by equating wealth with God’s blessing, often without clearly differentiating between earnings from hard work and vices like gambling. He urged pastors to resist practices such as blessing cars and accepting large tithes from church members without first inquiring about the source of their income.
“The pulpit is not holding Christians accountable,” Aluwong told CT.
The poorly enforced regulations and shifting laws can further push young people toward addiction. In sub-Saharan Africa, gambling companies take advantage of a “regulatory void surrounding online forms of gambling and the promotion of gambling products,” a 2022 study said.
In November 2024, the Nigerian Supreme Court nullified the 2005 National Lottery Act, which had regulated betting and gambling in Nigeria. The court held that lotteries and sports betting belonged in the control of state governments. At least 10 of the 36 states have already created their own regulations, but others lag behind on this issue.
Eneh Chinaza, an Abuja-based lawyer, told CT the ruling doesn’t directly affect betting’s legality but loosens regulations restraining underage gambling. Chinaza said Nigeria doesn’t have any laws mandating that betting companies curb addictions.
“The laws and regulations on betting addictions in Nigeria are not very strong,” Chinaza said. “It is still an ongoing conversation.”
Adedeji said that last year he knew something had to change: “I was oppressed psychologically.”
He finally confessed his gambling addiction to his pastor, who advised him to visit LightWk’s addiction recovery center in Kaduna. Adedeji said LightWk taught him to see his gambling addiction as covetous.
“I learned that Christ was the only one who could save me,” he said.
After completing the recovery program, Adedeji said he started working at the center to help others discover the same freedom and forgiveness. While continuing his work as a fashion designer, Adedeji said he is also rebuilding relationships with his mother and siblings. Despite the strain caused by his past addiction, Adedeji said they’ve been welcoming and helpful.
“I thought my gambling wasn’t harming anyone,” he said. “But that was a lie.”
Eventually Adedeji’s mother sent for him and two of his siblings to return home to Bayelsa state, 270 miles south of Ilesa. Her job as a trader selling menswear didn’t earn much, so he felt a responsibility to provide for his family.
“I felt I [must] man up since my mother was the only one taking care of us,” he said. “I just wanted to do something to get money.”
Adedeji thought if he could find a way to earn even a few hundred naira, he could help his family. Friends he met through his mother’s Roman Catholic parish introduced him to sports betting, luring him with promises of quick wins. Soon, 15-year-old Adedeji became a frequent visitor at betting shops in the area, where he wagered on European soccer leagues. He bet every naira he had but with little yield.
Adedeji fell into depression, losing interest in his studies, which the parish sponsored. For more than a decade he tried to quit, but the stories of others who won kept him going: “There was also the promise that the more you play, the higher chance of eventually winning big.”
Sports betting is a booming business in Africa, where betting companies report millions of dollars in profit yearly. Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya rank as the continent’s top three countries for sports gambling. Nigeria alone has over 100 betting companies, with shops stationed near neighborhoods and public spaces for easy access. The rapid rise of smartphone internet access and online betting made gambling as easy as pushing a button. Most bettors are between 18 and 40 years old.
Many Nigerians see gambling, especially sports betting, as a quick way to overcome financial burdens. Over half of Nigeria’s population lives below the national poverty line, making many people desperate for extra income. Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission estimates more than 60 million Nigerians—around a quarter of the population—gamble daily, spending about $5.5 million USD.
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup games dominate sports coverage, men and women like Adedeji may be especially vulnerable. Nigerians typically bet on soccer games, especially big European leagues in England, Spain, and Germany. Macquarie, a financial services firm, forecast that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest-ever betting event, with bets exceeding $50 billion globally, a significant increase from the $35 billion placed at the last World Cup four years ago in Qatar.
For Adedeji, sports betting felt like a trap. “It caught up with me,” he told CT. “There wasn’t any sign of fulfillment. I was never satisfied.”
Adedeji said that in 2017, he felt burned-out from sports betting. He decided to learn fashion design at a family friend’s tailoring shop, looking for something else on which to focus. Yet he couldn’t quit his addiction.
Gambling also took a toll on his family. In 2019, he moved to the capital of Abuja, hoping for a fresh start. But instead of paying his sister’s college tuition or easing his mother’s financial burdens as he intended, he lost his wages gambling. One day in 2024, he entered a betting shop where he owed about 20,000 naira (then about $15 USD). He couldn’t pay. Adedeji said the employees didn’t let him leave, insisting he settle the debt. Hoping to borrow money, Adedeji called his younger brother, who then told his mother.
“She was heartbroken and devastated,” Adedeji said. “Now everybody knew. I couldn’t hide anymore.”
Samson Ocholi, executive director of Right Mind Homes, a Bible-based recovery initiative for addicts in Abuja, said while the economy may play a role, idolatry drives betting in Nigeria.
“The major reason is that people want to make money without working, but it comes back to bite you,” he said.
Ocholi said even those who win don’t properly invest the money, “because they have not been disciplined and haven’t learned to manage money.” He encourages parents to keep a watchful eye on their children, as neglecting parental responsibility leaves teens and young adults vulnerable to peer pressure that promotes harmful habits like gambling.
Friends and celebrities also endorse and promote gambling on social media. Former Nigerian soccer stars like Augustine “Jay-Jay” Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu serve as brand ambassadors for top sports betting companies and are regularly featured on their advertisements. Nearly 300 topflight soccer clubs in Europe, which are closely followed by Nigerians, have partnerships with betting companies.
“If people, especially youths, see an influential person doing it, then they believe they too can,” Ocholi said. “It is a way to glamorize it and make it [seem] normal.”
But the consequences are dire.
Stephen Kolawole, a recovering addict at Right Mind Homes, said betting seems harmless at first. Eventually, though, Kolawole bet half his college’s school fees, preventing him from finishing his studies. Whenever he ran out of money, he thought his addiction was over. Then a paycheck would send him off on another spree. When he kept asking his parents for money, they checked his bank statement and realized he had a gambling problem.
“It was a tough experience,” he said. “I knew that I needed help but didn’t know what to do.”
A 2022 study revealed that a quarter of college-aged callers to helplines reported suicidal ideation related to gambling. In 2021, researchers from the Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit said a 16-year-old boy killed himself after gambling and losing money he had stolen from his employers.
“[Gambling] has caused people to be pierced with many sorrows,” said Jeremiah Aluwong, the presiding pastor of LightWk, a nondenominational Christian mission organization in Kaduna in northwestern Nigeria. “It makes you a liar, a cheat, and leaves you with several broken relationships.”
Aluwong, who runs a recovery center helping 15 men—former drug dealers and gamblers—overcome their addictions, said sports betting has led to an increase in crime and other social vices as many youths seek ways to fund their lifestyles.
He said the spread of the prosperity-gospel preaching in Nigeria encouraged the rise of gambling by equating wealth with God’s blessing, often without clearly differentiating between earnings from hard work and vices like gambling. He urged pastors to resist practices such as blessing cars and accepting large tithes from church members without first inquiring about the source of their income.
“The pulpit is not holding Christians accountable,” Aluwong told CT.
The poorly enforced regulations and shifting laws can further push young people toward addiction. In sub-Saharan Africa, gambling companies take advantage of a “regulatory void surrounding online forms of gambling and the promotion of gambling products,” a 2022 study said.
In November 2024, the Nigerian Supreme Court nullified the 2005 National Lottery Act, which had regulated betting and gambling in Nigeria. The court held that lotteries and sports betting belonged in the control of state governments. At least 10 of the 36 states have already created their own regulations, but others lag behind on this issue.
Eneh Chinaza, an Abuja-based lawyer, told CT the ruling doesn’t directly affect betting’s legality but loosens regulations restraining underage gambling. Chinaza said Nigeria doesn’t have any laws mandating that betting companies curb addictions.
“The laws and regulations on betting addictions in Nigeria are not very strong,” Chinaza said. “It is still an ongoing conversation.”
Adedeji said that last year he knew something had to change: “I was oppressed psychologically.”
He finally confessed his gambling addiction to his pastor, who advised him to visit LightWk’s addiction recovery center in Kaduna. Adedeji said LightWk taught him to see his gambling addiction as covetous.
“I learned that Christ was the only one who could save me,” he said.
After completing the recovery program, Adedeji said he started working at the center to help others discover the same freedom and forgiveness. While continuing his work as a fashion designer, Adedeji said he is also rebuilding relationships with his mother and siblings. Despite the strain caused by his past addiction, Adedeji said they’ve been welcoming and helpful.
“I thought my gambling wasn’t harming anyone,” he said. “But that was a lie.”
By Emmanuel Nwachukwu, Christianity Today
Related story: Google bans gambling ads in Nigeria
Nigeria's Senate passes bill to allow creation of state police to tackle insecurity
The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday approved a bill to allow states to have their own police forces, paving the way for a major reform that would reshape the policing structure of the conflict-racked nation.
The proposed constitutional change will decentralize the country's police force, which is currently controlled by the federal government, but has been overstretched by an escalating insecurity crisis. The state police forces will operate alongside the federal police.
A lack of police presence in vast rural areas has worsened the country's security woes, analysts say, allowing militant groups to operate without challenge. Criminal groups and jihadis have killed tens of thousands of people, according to the United Nations.
The change would allow each of the country’s 36 states to create a police force that meets a minimum national requirement while the federal police retains control of counterterrorism, border patrol, organized crime and other national security issues.
The legislation, which enjoys bipartisan support and is being championed by the president, has long been considered a solution to the mushrooming conflicts across the country and has been debated multiple times in the past.
Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insecurity has worsened as the militants have started operating in the southern region. At least 80 school children are still in captivity after being abducted by militants in the southern and northern regions of the country.
“In the light of recent mass kidnappings, the calls for a decentralized police have increased due to the sluggish nature of the government’s response to the events, which has been, in part, caused by the structural deficiencies of a centralized policing framework in Nigeria,” Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based risk advisory firm, said.
State governors are considered the top security chiefs of their states but do not have operational command.
Critics of the state police say it leaves room for abuse by state governors, who can use the force to advance personal agendas and silence critics.
Two-thirds of the state assemblies still have to approve the bill since it includes a change to the constitution.
The proposed constitutional change will decentralize the country's police force, which is currently controlled by the federal government, but has been overstretched by an escalating insecurity crisis. The state police forces will operate alongside the federal police.
A lack of police presence in vast rural areas has worsened the country's security woes, analysts say, allowing militant groups to operate without challenge. Criminal groups and jihadis have killed tens of thousands of people, according to the United Nations.
The change would allow each of the country’s 36 states to create a police force that meets a minimum national requirement while the federal police retains control of counterterrorism, border patrol, organized crime and other national security issues.
The legislation, which enjoys bipartisan support and is being championed by the president, has long been considered a solution to the mushrooming conflicts across the country and has been debated multiple times in the past.
Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insecurity has worsened as the militants have started operating in the southern region. At least 80 school children are still in captivity after being abducted by militants in the southern and northern regions of the country.
“In the light of recent mass kidnappings, the calls for a decentralized police have increased due to the sluggish nature of the government’s response to the events, which has been, in part, caused by the structural deficiencies of a centralized policing framework in Nigeria,” Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based risk advisory firm, said.
State governors are considered the top security chiefs of their states but do not have operational command.
Critics of the state police say it leaves room for abuse by state governors, who can use the force to advance personal agendas and silence critics.
Two-thirds of the state assemblies still have to approve the bill since it includes a change to the constitution.
By Ope Adetayo, AP
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Nigeria manager Eric Chelle to sign new contract and lead Olympic side in expanded role
The Franco-Malian tactician was appointed in January 2025 as Super Eagles tactician following the resignation of Finidi George, who resigned two months into his appointment.
Chelle was initially tasked with leading Nigeria to qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but that never materialised as the country lost the ticket to DR Congo in the CAF playoff final. Nevertheless, the country finished third at the 2025Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) confirmed the contract extension on Tuesday during a meeting in Abuja attended by NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, and other federation officials.
One of the key improvements in the new agreement is a substantial salary increase. Chelle previously earned about $50,000 per month and was responsible for paying members of his coaching staff from his own salary, but the former Mali international will reportedly now earn around $100,000 per month, while the NFF will now take full responsibility for the salaries of his backroom staff.
In addition to retaining control of the Super Eagles, Chelle has been handed an expanded role with Nigeria’s U-23 national team, the Dream Team. He will oversee preparations and qualification efforts for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, as Nigeria seek to return to the men's event for the first time since winning bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Speaking to the media, as reported by Premium Times, Dikko revealed that discussions regarding the coach’s future have been concluded, with the NFF now expected to finalise the necessary documentation.
“It’s a new contract and a new remuneration which I think the NFF will do the necessary to now be able to finalise it,” he said.
“But I think I can confirm to you, we have agreed on a new term sheet with the coach, and the NFF will put it on paper. But I think we have agreed on something with the coach about his remuneration.”
After impressive performances against Poland and Portugal early this month, the three-time African champions will regroup in September for their AFCON qualifier against Madagascar.
To qualify for the football tournament, Nigeria must also negotiate their way past Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau in Group L.
By Shina Oludare, Flashscore
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