Nigeria has received 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from India, a senior official has said.
This will further boost the number of Nigerians to be vaccinated, Boss Mustapha, chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and secretary of the government of the federation, told reporters at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.
The "Covishield" is the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
The frontline medical personnel, strategic leadership, and those above the age of 50 years across the nation would be vaccinated first.
As of Monday, a total of 963,802 persons in Nigeria had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
"The objective is to vaccinate 70 percent of Nigeria's population between 2021 and 2022," he said.
The country has recorded a total of 163,388 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 2,058 deaths, and 153,630 have recovered as of Tuesday night, according to data from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control.
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Nigeria receives 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from India
Friday, April 2, 2021
Nigerian air force jet goes missing
A Nigerian air force jet supporting ground troops fighting Boko Haram terrorists in northeast Borno city went missing, an official said on Thursday.
“The loss of radar contact occurred at about 5.08 p.m. [1608GMT] on 31 March 2021,” Edward Gabkwet, spokesman of the Nigerian Airforce, said in a statement.
The Alpha fighter jet was part of ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the North East region which has been ravaged by constant attacks by Boko Haram insurgents.
“Details of the whereabouts of the aircraft or likely cause of contact loss are still sketchy but will be relayed to the general public as soon as they become clear,” Gabkwet said.
The statement confirmed that search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
This incident comes a month after a Nigerian Airforce aircraft crashed at the Nigerian Airforce aircraft — killing all seven personnel on board.
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Police rescue eight kidnapped victims in NW Nigeria
Nigerian police rescued eight kidnapped victims in the northwestern state of Kaduna, an official said on Tuesday.
The kidnapped victims were rescued on Monday by police operatives in the Giwa area of the state, said Muhammad Jalige, a police spokesperson in Kaduna in a statement reaching Xinhua.
Jalige said the eight persons were passengers abducted on Zaria-Kaduna expressway aboard a luxurious bus en route to Delta, a state in the southern part of Nigeria on February 29.
He said the victims were currently receiving medical attention in preparation for a reunion with their respective families.
According to the spokesman, the police had organized “a manhunt to apprehend and bring the bandits to book”.
The northern region of Nigeria has witnessed a series of attacks by armed groups in recent months. There have also been recurring incidents of livestock rustling and armed banditry in the region.
Related stories: Video - 279 kidnapped Zamfara schoolgirls released
In Nigeria, an agonising wait for parents of 300 abducted girls
Video - More than 300 schoolgirls abducted in Northwest Nigeria
Video - Why are school children increasingly being kidnapped in Nigeria?
Video - Freed schoolboys arrive in Nigeria’s Katsina week after abduction
American rescued in daring SEAL Team 6 raid in Nigeria
Nigeria pays $11 million as ransom to kidnappers in four years
Two police officers arrested for the kidnapping of Okonjo-Iweala's Mother
Monday, March 29, 2021
Video - Why are schoolchildren being kidnapped in Nigeria?
Why are officials in Nigeria unable to protect schoolchildren from mass kidnappings? Kidnappers in Nigeria are increasingly targeting schools and abducting hundreds of students for ransom.
Related stories: Video - 279 kidnapped Zamfara schoolgirls released
In Nigeria, an agonising wait for parents of 300 abducted girls
Video - More than 300 schoolgirls abducted in Northwest Nigeria
Video - Why are school children increasingly being kidnapped in Nigeria?
Video - Freed schoolboys arrive in Nigeria’s Katsina week after abduction
Nigeria pays $11 million as ransom to kidnappers in four years
Two police officers arrested for the kidnapping of Okonjo-Iweala's Mother
Friday, March 26, 2021
Nigeria’s crackdown on Bitcoin echoes global crypto conundrum
“I was in a danfo [a yellow public transport bus that operates in Lagos] heading home when my phone started buzzing with WhatsApp notifications regarding the CBN ban on cryptocurrency transactions,” said David Akinwale, a 25-year-old financial analyst who trades in cryptocurrency. “It was really disappointing and sad. While other countries are embracing the use of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, Nigeria is doing the reverse.”
This week, a representative for Nigeria’s central bank chief Godwin Emefiele reportedly sought to clarify the February 5 directive, telling reporters that it was not aimed at discouraging people from trading in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but served to enforce orders in place since 2017 banning crypto transactions in the country’s banking sector.
But the 2017 directive did not prohibit crypto exchanges from using banking and payment channels. It simply required banks and financial institutions to ensure that their crypto-exchange customers have effective anti-money laundering and “anti-terrorism” financing controls in place.
The backlash and confusion echo a crypto-drama unfolding around the world as virtual currencies like Bitcoin grow in popularity and scale new heights during a time of unprecedented financial uncertainty stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as uniquely domestic challenges.
In the United States this week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell raised concerns about the role cryptocurrencies play in facilitating criminal activity, as well as their infamous volatility, calling Bitcoin “more of an asset for speculation” than a substitute for the US dollar.
In Iran, officials recently targeted crypto exchanges and even pinned blamed for high levels of air pollution on Bitcoin mining.
The developments illustrate the regulatory conundrum governments face with crypto assets that by design are intended to be decentralised and beyond their reach, but which are part of a rapidly evolving sector of global finance that pivots on innovation.
Africa’s biggest Bitcoin market
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, its most populous country, and home to one of the youngest populations in the world. Throw in a burgeoning tech sector and it’s easy to see how Nigeria has become the continent’s largest Bitcoin market by trading volume, according to UsefulTulips.org, which gathers data from crypto exchanges Paxful and LocalBitcoins.
That ascent to Bitcoin prominence is rooted in a sharp fall in remittances during the pandemic, as well as the country’s state coffers and local currency, the naira, being ravaged by the twin blows of COVID-19 restrictions and plummeting crude prices.
In an effort to keep increasingly scarce US dollars from leaving the country last year, some Nigerian banks reportedly placed curbs on offshore debit card transactions and limited cash withdrawals.
Against this backdrop, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies soared in popularity last year, as both a hedge against the eroding purchasing power of the naira, as well as a way to move money around more easily.
‘With Bitcoin, I could bypass the $100 limit on my naira debit card and do all my transactions seamlessly,” Bola Williams, a 33-year old software developer, told Al Jazeera. “But the ban on crypto has now made it even more stressful.”
But it does not appear to have curbed appetites for crypto. Bitcoin trading volumes on Paxful and LocalBitcoins topped $9m in the seven days ending March 8, according to UsefulTulips.org, compared to roughly $7.55m in the seven days ending February 8.
The data suggest that despite the CBN directive, Nigerians are determined to leverage cryptocurrencies to increase their earnings, especially with rising inflation and limited access to foreign exchange liquidity.
“The ban was never going to stop a ship that is far gone on sail,” Eric Annan, co-founder of cryptocurrency trading platform KuBitX, told Al Jazeera.
Annan said if anything, the CBN directive only served to amplify the popularity of Bitcoin and pique the curiosity of crypto sceptics.
“No single government can stop an idea whose time has come to a generation who have added to the GDP [gross domestic product] of the internet,” he said.
Political pushback
The CBN directive also met pushback from some Nigerian politicians.
After the order was released, the Nigerian Senate summoned CBN chief Emefiele to explain the opportunities and threats cryptocurrencies pose to the nation’s economy and security.
During the February 23 briefing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Emefiele highlighted the role cryptocurrencies play in money laundering, “terrorism” financing, illicit arms purchases, and tax evasion.
“Cryptocurrency is not legitimate money because it is not created or backed by any Central Bank,” Emefiele said. “It has no place in our monetary system at this time and cryptocurrency transactions should not be carried out through the Nigerian banking system.”
That assessment drew criticism from crypto proponents.
“Whatever reason that necessitated the move for the current restriction of banking services to crypto traders and exchanges by the CBN could have been resolved through dialogue and collaboration,” Chimezie Chuta, the founder/ coordinator of the Blockchain Nigeria User Group, told Al Jazeera.
“In saying that ‘cryptocurrencies are not legitimate money’ he obviously has forgotten the origin, what money is, and its purpose,” he added, noting that “cryptocurrency is a property or commodity and thus not an illegal asset class.”
Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has also called for a less heavy-handed official approach – one that would vigorously regulate cryptocurrency transactions to address serious concerns “without necessarily killing the goose that might lay the golden eggs”.
“We’ve seen in many other sectors disruption makes room for efficiency and progress,” he said.
Related stories: Nigeria is forging on with crypto despite regulatory hurdles
Bitcoin ‘Can’t Be Stopped’: Nigerians Look to P2P Exchanges After Crypto Ban
Nigeria is Bitcoin Leader in Africa, Says Paxful