Nigeria's Central Bank has sacked the boards and management of three lenders due to what it called regulatory infringements and acts that pose a threat to financial stability. The affected lenders are privately-held Union Bank, Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank.
Friday, January 12, 2024
Video - Central Bank of Nigeria dissolves boards of three lenders over non-compliance
Video - Nigeria clamps down on govt officials' foreign trips to ease public spending
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has slashed his travel budget and that of other senior government officials as part of his government's cost-cutting measures. His office says that the president has directed that the number of aides accompanying him on foreign trips should not exceed twenty.
Soldiers arrested in Nigeria after viral torture video
The Nigerian army has arrested two soldiers after a viral video allegedly showed them torturing a civilian.
In the footage, a man in military fatigues and another in civilian clothing repeatedly kick and whip a third shirtless man, as he repeatedly pleas for mercy.
"No, no sir, abeg! [I beg]. I will confess sir, abeg!" the man cries out.
The army has expressed "utmost dismay" at the "unprofessional conduct" allegedly displayed by the officers.
"It is instructive to mention that the soldiers involved in that unprofessional conduct have been clearly identified and arrested," the army added in a statement on Wednesday.
The alleged assault took place in Nigeria's Rivers state, but the date is unclear.
The circulation of the video on social media platforms earlier this week prompted widespread condemnation of the soldiers and Nigerian army, with one user on X describing the soldiers' behaviour as "highly cruel, barbaric and nothing but abuse of power".
The army has assured that it will conduct a thorough investigation to address the incident and promised to "sanction those involved".
International human rights groups have previously criticised Nigeria's army for alleged rights abuses, including torture, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings.
Nigerian soldiers used to have a reputation for acting with impunity - for many years it was rare for soldiers to face disciplinary action if they attacked civilians.
But this has changed in recent years. Army chief Taoreed Lagbaja vowed to make the army more disciplined and professional when he was appointed last year.
By Gloria Aradi, BBC
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Video - Nigeria destroys elephant tusks
Wildlife officials in Abuja Nigeria on Tuesday destroyed 2.5 tons of elephant tusks valued at 11.2 million dollars. Officials say the powder will be used to create a monument symbolizing the importance of elephants in the ecosystem.
Related story: Nigeria destroys record $11.2 million in seized elephant tusks
China jails gang for smuggling pangolin scales from Nigeria
Video - Nigeria sugar prices soar
Consumers in Nigeria are complaining about the rising cost of living, with essential goods like sugar seeing a significant hike. The west African country does produce some sugar locally, but it mainly relies on exports to meet demand.
Video - Nigeria battles lassa fever outbreak
Nigeria is dealing with an outbreak of lassa fever, an illness caused by consuming food contaminated by rats.The government says the country recorded more than 1,200 cases and 219 deaths from lassa fever in 2023 only.
Related stories: Diphtheria outbreak kills 600 in Nigeria
Over 4,000 suspected lassa fever infections recorded in Nigeria this year
At least 20 feared dead in Nigeria boat accident
At least 20 people are feared dead in an accident involving two passenger boats travelling from Andoni to Bonny island in Nigeria's coastal Rivers State, local officials said on Wednesday, the first such accident to hit the region this year.
Erastus Awortu, chairman of Andoni local government area, said the incident occurred on Tuesday night along the Andoni waterways.
"When we learned of the tragic development, we immediately dispatched our team to join the first responders on a rescue mission at the scene of the incident," Awortu said in a statement, without providing further details about survivors.
Overcrowding and poor maintenance are responsible for most boat accidents on Nigerian waterways.
Last year, almost 200 people died in boat accidents across Nigeria. One such disaster in June killed more than 100 after an overloaded boat capsized in the north-central Niger State.
Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara, in a statement, expressed condolences to the affected families and pledged to "ensure that such threats against safe traveling on our sea routes are tackled."
By Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters
Related stories: Boat carrying 20 fishermen capsizes in Nigeria
Video - 17 bodies recovered after boat capsizes in eastern Nigeria
Video - Search ends, recovery efforts intensify after tragic boat accident in Nigeria
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Video - Nigeria seeks to increase grain production to address food security
In 2024, Nigeria plans to produce 31 million metric tonnes of grain to address its food security problems. The government says the increased grain output will help deal with food inflation - which stood at 32.8% in November - while creating much needed jobs in the country of 200 million people.
Video - Nigerian President Tinubu suspends humanitarian affairs minister
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has suspended the country's humanitarian affairs minister, Betta Edu, over her alleged involvement in corruption. President Tinubu has also ordered a thorough investigation to establish the accuracy and validity of the graft claims leveled against the minister.
Related story: President Tinubu suspends humanitarian minister in corruption scandal
Nigeria destroys record $11.2 million in seized elephant tusks
Nigeria on Tuesday destroyed 2.5 tonnes of seized elephant tusks valued at over 9.9 billion naira ($11.2 million) in a push to protect its dwindling elephant population from rampant wildlife traffickers.
Over the past three decades, Nigeria's elephant population
has declined drastically from an estimated 1,500 to less than 400 due to poaching for ivory, habitat loss and human-elephant conflict, according to conservationists.
Minister of State for Environment Iziaq Salako said the government crushed the tusks and will use the powder to build a symbolic national park monument as a reminder of the importance of elephants in the ecosystem.
The pulverization of the tusk in the capital Abuja follows a similar event in October where officials destroyed four tonnes of seized pangolin scales valued at $1.4 million.
Thousands of elephants are killed each year for their tusks despite a 1989 ban on the trade of ivory by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Despite being a signatory to CITES, Nigeria is considered a hub for gangs sending illegal African wildlife parts including tusks and pangolin scales to Asia, according to law enforcement and wildlife experts.
But the large West African nation has stepped up counter-smuggling efforts in recent years, partnering with British, U.S. and German officials as well as international organizations to make its biggest seizure of illegal wildlife parts in August 2021.
Last month, officials began an investigation after a video posted on social media showed a soldier shooting two elephants that strayed into farmlands, sparking outrage among citizens.
In 2022, Nigeria customs officials seized 1,613 tonnes of pangolin scales and arrested 14 people.
By Isaac Anyaogu, Reuters
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Video - Dubai looking to boost trade with Nigeria
Dubai International Chamber recently opened its seventh office in Nigeria. The wider oil-rich Gulf region is seeking to leverage its unique geography with sound investment opportunities in the region.
Video - Nigeria eyes restart of four oil refineries by end of 2024
The Nigerian government says it is determined to not only end petrol imports but to also make the country a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of this year. It says its two other refineries will come back on stream by the last quarter of the year.
Nigeria to sell power distribution firm over $130 million debt
Nigeria's electricity regulator has put up for sale the sixth largest power distribution utility over a $130 million debt, less than two years after the lenders who took over the company failed to turn it around and make it profitable.
Africa's biggest economy, Nigeria, has 11 power distribution companies but they are struggling to remain profitable because of lack of capital and sub-economic tariffs imposed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc (Kaduna Electric) is one of 18 successor companies created following the privatisation of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria in 2013 and sells electricity in four northern states.
The utility owes 110 billion naira ($130 million), NERC said in a notice on Monday, to companies including the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader and power generation firms. The regulator said it now considered the company a 'failing licensee', allowing NERC to dissolve its board using a law passed last year.
Kaduna Electric was taken over by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and local lender Fidelity Bank in July 2022 but they have struggled to improve its financial performance. The Nigerian government through its Bureau of Public Enterprises also owns a 40% stake.
NERC said it had appointed an administrator and special directors to manage Kaduna Electric in the interim and sell its assets to the highest bidder.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation of more than 200 million people, produces a fraction of its installed power generation capacity of 12,500 megawatts, leaving millions of households and businesses reliant on private generators for electricity.
By Isaac Anyaogu, Reuters
President Tinubu suspends humanitarian minister in corruption scandal
Betta Edu was suspended with immediate effect while Nigeria’s anticorruption agency carries out a “thorough investigation” of all ministry financial transactions,” presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. It said the investigation would extend to the entire framework of Nigeria’s social investment programs.
President Bola Tinubu came to power last year promising to crack down on graft in Nigeria despite longstanding question marks around his source of wealth and educational records. Within a month of his inauguration, he suspended the head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) indefinitely for abuse of office.
His government said the suspension follows his commitment “to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency and accountability” in how Nigeria’s resources are managed.
Edu’s suspension comes days after local media cited an official memo in which she directed that 585 million naira ($663,000) worth of grants meant for vulnerable groups should be paid into a private account — a decision that the minister’s office said followed due process. The minister has denied any wrongdoing.
In a country where the government’s austerity measures have further squeezed millions of people facing extreme levels of poverty, many Nigerians criticised the use of a private bank account for the grants program and called for the minister to be fired.
The office of Nigeria’s Accountant General of the Federation said in a statement that such funds are meant to be sent directly from government accounts to the beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, Edu’s predecessor, Sadiya Umar Farouq, reported to the EFCC on Monday as it investigated alleged corruption in the disbursement of public funds during her time as minister. Farouq said on social media that she was at the commission’s office to “offer clarifications in respect of some issues that the commission is investigating”.
Related story: Court grants bail to central bank chief of Nigeria facing fraud charges
Monday, January 8, 2024
Video - Analysts in Nigeria call for increased new foreign investments
Nigeria faces forex shortage due to reduced capital investments, with capital importation dropping to 650 million U.S. dollars in the third quarter of 2023, prompting analysts to call for increased foreign investment efforts.
Dead evangelist TB Joshua accused of sexual abuse
Before his death in 2021 at the age of 57, TB Joshua was one of Africa's most influential televangelists.
The Christian preacher attracted followers from all over the world by claiming to perform miracles, like curing blindness and HIV.
However, an investigation by the BBC has uncovered more than a decade of allegations of rape and torture by him inside his compound in Lagos.
Joshua amassed great wealth throughout his career, possessing a fleet of cars and travelling via private jet.
But his beginnings were far more humble. Born Temitope Balogun Joshua to a poor family on 12 June 1963, he was raised by a Muslim uncle after his Christian father died.
One of the claims he made was that he had been in his mother's womb for 15 months.
He also said that during his early days, he experienced a three-day trance in which he was called to serve God.
"I am your God. I am giving you a divine commission to go and carry out the work of the heavenly father," Joshua declared.
It was then that he started the Synagogue, Church of All Nations (Scoan), with eight members.
Joshua and Scoan rose to prominence in the late 1990s, amid an explosion of "miracle" programmes performed by pastors on Nigerian TV.
Tens of thousands of followers from Nigeria and around the world would regularly attend his services in Lagos, Nigeria's biggest city, in an attempt to be healed and hear the preacher's "prophecies".
Joshua also took his ministry on tour, visiting other African countries, the UK, US, and nations in South America.
In testament to his vast reach, the Lagos state government turned to Joshua in an effort to control the spread of Ebola during the 2014 outbreak in other West African countries.
Officials asked Joshua to tell infected followers in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - the worst affected countries - not to travel to Joshua's Lagos church for healing.
He agreed to suspend some of the church's healing programmes but is also said to have sent 4,000 bottles of "anointing water" to Sierra Leone, falsely claiming they could cure the disease.
Joshua's anointing water was always in high demand - in 2013 a rush for the bottles at his church in Ghana led to the death of four people in a stampede.
Many criticised the preacher following the incident but police in Ghana said it was difficult to apportion blame.
In an even deadlier case the following year, one of Joshua's churches collapsed in Lagos, killing at least 116 people.
The preacher never faced charges, despite a coroner in a Lagos court saying that "the church was culpable because of criminal negligence".
Although thousands packed his churches, Joshua always struggled to be accepted by his peers.
Ostracised by both the Christian Association of Nigeria (Can) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), he was described as an "impostor" who belonged to a group of "occults" that had infiltrated Christianity.
"He was rough. He was crude. His methods were unorthodox," Abimbola Adelakun, assistant professor in the African Studies Department at the University of Texas, told the BBC in 2021.
While the growth of the internet and social media helped him spread his message, it also revealed increasing opposition to Joshua and other wealthy mega-church pastors.
Some critics took issue with Joshua - known as "the prophet" by his followers - claiming to have predicted numerous events, from the death of Michael Jackson, to the disappearance of the Malaysian plane MH370 in 2014.
Before Jackson's death in 2009, TB Joshua told his congregation : "In his own area he is famous. He is known everywhere. Great. Too great. Because I see something will begin to happen to that star and that will likely end in him to pack his load and go to the journey of no return but I don't know when that journey [is]."
Six months later, Joshua used the star's shock death as proof that he could supposedly see the future.
Despite making such outlandish claims, Joshua had numerous high-profile followers.
South African politician Julius Malema, Malawi's former President Joyce Banda, long-time Zimbabwe opposition leader, the late Morgan Tsvangirai and the former president of Ghana, the late John Atta Mills, are among the prominent Africans who paid homage to Joshua while he was alive.
Joshua career really took off when he began preaching on Emmanuel TV, a television station run by Scoan.
Along with being a platform for his sermons, the station broadcast accounts of people who said their lives were changed for the better because of the preacher's ministry.
Testimonies included stories about financial prosperity, inexplicable recoveries from illness and even people supposedly being awakened from the dead.
Joshua was also known for his charity work, for which Nigeria's former president, the late Umaru Yar'Adua, awarded him the Order of the Federal Republic, one of the country's highest honours.
When the preacher died - of a cause that was never made public - mourners travelled from across the globe to Lagos for his burial service.
His wife, Evelyn Joshua, took over as head of the the church. They had three children.
But that legacy now lies in tatters.
Related stories: TB Joshua: Nigerian televangelist to be buried in Lagos
Controversial Nigerian pastor TB Joshua dies aged 57
YouTube shuts down prominent Nigerian megachurch preacher's channel for 'gay curing' claims
Nigeria central bank pays nearly $2 billion towards Foreign Exchange backlog
Nigeria's central bank has paid nearly $2 billion in outstanding foreign exchange forwards in the last three months in a bid to clear a backlog of dollars, a spokesperson has said, but forex shortages continue to hobble the country's naira currency.
Africa's biggest economy has nearly $7 billion in forex forwards that have matured, a major concern for investors, but the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has promised to pay up to boost confidence in the foreign exchange market.
"In the past three months, the CBN has also redeemed outstanding forward liabilities amounting to almost USD 2 billion," acting spokesperson Hakama Sadi Ali said in a statement late on Sunday.
"This underscores the Bank's commitment to the resolution of pending obligations and a functional foreign exchange market."
Nigeria's foreign currency shortages have been worsened by declining oil production, which is the country's largest export, accounting for more than 90% of dollar inflows.
Ali said the CBN had recently paid $61.64 million to foreign airlines, who sold tickets in the local naira currency but have not been able to get their money out of the country.
Foreign airlines were owed more than $700 million at the end of November.
"These payments signify the CBN's ongoing efforts to settle all remaining valid forward transactions, with the aim of alleviating the current pressure on the country's exchange rate," Ali said.
President Bola Tinubu has promised to boost foreign currency inflows into Nigeria by attracting new investment, ramping up oil production and reforming the foreign exchange market.
By Camillus Eboh, Reuters
Friday, January 5, 2024
Video - More security personnel deployed to Plateau state in Nigeria after December attacks
The additional deployment follows attacks by gunmen who invaded communities in Plateau state on Christmas Eve, killing over 150 people. Analysts believe the government needs to employ more than just a heavy hand to bring peace to the area.
Related stories: Video - President of Nigeria says Plateau state attack planners will be apprehended
Villagers missing in Nigeria two days after suspected nomadic herders kill 140
Port Harcourt oil refinery to complete test run this month
Nigerian state-owned oil firm NNPC Ltd will complete test runs at the Port Harcourt refinery in the south this month, in a major step towards resuming operations five years after the plant was shut, the company said on Thursday.
"Testing will conclude shortly, ensuring the refinery's efficient operation. That phase will be completed this month," NNPC spokesperson Femi Soneye said.
The refinery, which is undergoing an upgrade, will begin by processing 60,000 barrels per day, and NNPC expects to operate at the full capacity of 210,000 barrels per day later this year.
Port Harcourt is among Nigerian state-owned refineries that have been mothballed for years, but which the government is trying to revive to end the country's reliance on imported refined products.
By Isaac Anyaogu, Reuters
Anti-graft body of Nigeria visits Dangote Group in forex probe
The Dangote Group, which counts cement and fertiliser manufacturing and sugar refining among its businesses, is owned by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote. Dangote is also readying a 650,000 barrels per day oil refinery that cost $20 billion to build.
Under former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele, the bank had multiple exchange rates and sold dollars cheaply to some businesses, including Dangote, to help them import raw materials.
A Dangote spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Two people at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said Thursday's search at Dangote offices in Lagos, was part of an investigation set to be expanded to other companies.
"We went to the head office of Dangote Group today to look into their books on the ongoing investigation on the abuse of the extant laws that govern the foreign exchange transaction during the tenure of Godwin Emefiele as CBN governor," one of the sources told Reuters.
"Here, we are talking about multiple exchange rates and others. It is an ongoing investigation and it was the turn of Dangote Group today," said the source, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak on the issue.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale declined to comment.
A second source confirmed the investigation, adding that at least one other listed Nigerian conglomerate would be targeted.
By Camillus Eboh, Reuters
Related stories: Dangote refinery receives first crude cargo in Nigeria
Thursday, January 4, 2024
Video - Consumers affected by high import costs in Nigeria
Nigerians love their cars-- but it’s hard to keep them on the road these days. The loss of their currency's value and expensive import tariffs have led to high inflation. That's forcing some Nigerians to wean themselves off imported goods. Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris reports from Nigeria's business capital, Lagos.
Related stories: Video - Nigerians cut Christmas spending as high inflation persists
Video - Inflation, shortage of foreign exchange causing multinational firms to leave Nigeria
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Video - 12 killed in Nigeria by suspected Boko Haram militants
Heavily armed assailants suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents randomly shot at people on Monday. Authorities launched investigations into the incident two weeks after bandits killed two people. Chibok is widely known for attacks and kidnappings, most notably the 2014 abduction of 276 teenage girls at a secondary school.
Wilfred Ndidi out of Nigeria side for Cup of Nations
Midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has withdrawn from Nigeria’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations through injury and been replaced by Belgian-based Alhassan Yusuf, the country's football federation said on Wednesday.
Ndidi, 27, was injured during his club Leicester City’s 2-0 win at Cardiff City on Dec. 29, although details of the injury were not made clear by either his club or Nigeria.
Leicester team mate Kelechi Iheanacho is also struggling with injury but was still being assessed at Nigeria’s training camp in Abu Dhabi, the federation added in a statement.
Iheanacho, also 27, had missed the last two matches for his club, who are runaway leaders in the Championship in England.
The 23-year-old Yusuf is uncapped but helped Royal Antwerp to the Belgian league title last season and competed in all their Champions League group matches between September and December.
Nigeria open their Cup of Nations campaign on Jan. 14 with a Group A game against Equatorial Guinea. They also meet hosts Ivory Coast and Guinea Bissau in their group matches.
By Mark Gleeson, Reuters
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Nigeria to begin passport application automation on January 8, 2024
The minister revealed this during an inspection of facilities of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) alongside the Comptroller General (CG) of the Service, Wura-Ola Adepoju.
Nigerians will now have the convenience of applying and completing their passport application online, eliminating the need for in-person interactions.
The minister had previously announced in December that the Federal Government was actively working towards the complete automation of the passport application system in the country.
During that announcement, the minister stated that the automated application system was "99% done," and it would encompass processes such as uploading passport photos and supporting documents.
What the minister said:
“We are good to go live. We are starting the training and on January 8, the solution will be live and direct for Nigerians to have a good feel, a sweet experience based on the Renewed Hope of Mr President,"
“We have been able to reduce human contact in passport acquisition to the minimum.”
He stressed that this initiative would enhance the country's security architecture by enabling swift detection of fake passport applications and reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks.
As part of this effort, he revealed the deployment of document verification officers across all local government areas in the country. These officers will play a crucial role in meticulously scrutinizing passport applications, ensuring a more secure and reliable application process.
The minister had earlier cleared the backlog of over 200,000 passports awaiting processing within Nigeria.
In a bid to address concerns raised by Nigerians living abroad regarding the slow pace of passport renewal and collection procedures, the Nigerian Government had unveiled plans to establish passport front offices in key cities across the United Kingdom.
This initiative, set to launch in February 2024, would streamline and expedite the passport renewal and collection processes for the Nigerian diaspora, particularly in cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, and Cardiff (Wales).
By Adekunle Agbetiloye, Business Insider
Related stories: Nigerian passport ranks as one of the worst passports to have in the world
Passport Issuance: Nigeria immigration introduces tracking system
Friday, December 29, 2023
Video - President of Nigeria says Plateau state attack planners will be apprehended
Attacks in Nigeria's central Plateau state left nearly 160 people dead after gunmen rounded several villages over the weekend. Authorities say the raids were senseless and unprovoked.
Related story: Video - Why has Nigeria failed to deal with violence in Plateau State?
Villagers missing in Nigeria two days after suspected nomadic herders kill 140
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