Higher food prices pushed up annual inflation in Nigeria last month after borders with neighboring countries were closed in a crackdown on smuggling.
Nigeria closed parts of its borders in August to fight smuggling of rice and other goods. The head of customs confirmed last month that all trade in goods via land borders had been halted indefinitely.
Annual inflation was 11.61% in October, up from 11.24% in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday — the highest rate since May 2018. Consumer inflation had dropped to it lowest in almost four years in August.
A separate food price index showed inflation at 14.09% in October, compared with 13.51% a month earlier.
“This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of meat, oils and fats, bread and cereals, potatoes, ham and other tubers, fish and vegetables,” the statistics office said in its report.
“The rise in food inflation does suggest that border closures may have played a part in temporarily pressuring prices higher,” said Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered.
Shoppers at a market in the capital, Abuja, told Reuters the price of many food items, particularly rice, had risen in the last few weeks.
“Food items are very expensive in the market. When you go to a store they will tell you that is because the border is closed,” said housewife Naomi Nguher, who said she was given this reason for high rice prices at four different shops.
Sherifat Ajala, a rice wholesaler in the commercial capital Lagos, said Nigeria’s bad roads were delaying the transportation of the grain, further preventing the supply from meeting high demand.
“Trucks will spend almost two or three weeks on the road before they bring the rice,” he said.
Last week the West African country, along with neighboring Benin and Niger, agreed to set up a joint border patrol force to tackle smuggling between the nations after a meeting between their foreign ministers.
The central bank is due to set its benchmark interest rate next Tuesday. The bank, which has targeted single-digit inflation, held its main interest rate at 13.5% at its last meeting, in September.
“Given the increase in inflation, we now expect that policymakers will leave their key rate on hold,” John Ashbourne, senior emerging markets economist at London-based Capital Economics, said in a note on Monday.
Reuters
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Lion removed from house near school in Lagos, Nigeria
The two-year-old lion was reportedly discovered at a property opposite a school by a task force team on Friday.
It was tranquilised on Monday and transferred to Bogije Omu zoo in Lekki, head of the task force team Yinka Egbeyemi told the BBC.
The owner of the animal has been told to report himself to police before the end of Monday or face arrest.
A team from the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit located the animal after residents filed a petition to the state's ministry of environment.
A crèche and elementary school stand opposite the house, according to the BBC's Damilola Oduolowu in Lagos.
The school's management said it had been conscious of the children's safety.
It is thought the lion was brought into the building two months ago.
BBC
Startups in Nigeria are beating the odds to succeed
Entrepreneurs in Nigeria have an oft-repeated saying that is borrowed from New York: “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.”
The phrase captures the daily challenges that come with running a business in Africa’s largest economy. And since tech startups exist within the ecosystem, they face their share of difficulties too. A new survey of Nigerian tech firms offers a glimpse into the tough realities of running a tech startup in the country.
The survey was conducted by two Washington-headquartered organizations—ONE Campaign, an international non-profit seeking to fight extreme poverty, especially in Africa, and the Washington think tank Center for Global Development.
More than half the respondents identified the lack of a reliable electricity supply as a severe constraint. A majority of the startups reported 30 or more power outages every month. It’s likely that many startups keep the lights on by investing in generators that cost a lot to run.
That’s money the startups could have put to other uses, as 60% of them reported access to credit as a major obstacle. Nigeria annually features among the top destinations in Africa for startup investment, but much of the funding goes to established ventures with high-profile or foreign-trained founders. For many others, the reality is much more stark given local banks’ reluctance to provide loans to startups, and the high interest rates they charge when they do.
Meanwhile, wealthy Nigerians who might fund home-grown startups still seem reluctant to do so. Entrepreneurs also reported the following obstacles: Political instability, corruption, multiple government taxes and levies. And then there are stories of harassment by the police.
For its part, the Nigerian government points to its improved rank on the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 report—it went from 146 last year to 131—as proof of its efforts to improve the business climate. But, as the World Bank’s report measures progress more by changes to policy rather than its implementation, it could be argued that it’s getting easier to do business in Nigeria only on paper.
But the workarounds to some of the problems that plague Nigeria’s business environment may come from the tech ecosystem itself. From off-grid energy companies trying to drive up electrification, to fintech ventures looking to boost financial inclusion and access to credit—startups are struggling against the odds. And sometimes beating them too.
By Yomi Kazeem
Quartz
The phrase captures the daily challenges that come with running a business in Africa’s largest economy. And since tech startups exist within the ecosystem, they face their share of difficulties too. A new survey of Nigerian tech firms offers a glimpse into the tough realities of running a tech startup in the country.
The survey was conducted by two Washington-headquartered organizations—ONE Campaign, an international non-profit seeking to fight extreme poverty, especially in Africa, and the Washington think tank Center for Global Development.
More than half the respondents identified the lack of a reliable electricity supply as a severe constraint. A majority of the startups reported 30 or more power outages every month. It’s likely that many startups keep the lights on by investing in generators that cost a lot to run.
That’s money the startups could have put to other uses, as 60% of them reported access to credit as a major obstacle. Nigeria annually features among the top destinations in Africa for startup investment, but much of the funding goes to established ventures with high-profile or foreign-trained founders. For many others, the reality is much more stark given local banks’ reluctance to provide loans to startups, and the high interest rates they charge when they do.
Meanwhile, wealthy Nigerians who might fund home-grown startups still seem reluctant to do so. Entrepreneurs also reported the following obstacles: Political instability, corruption, multiple government taxes and levies. And then there are stories of harassment by the police.
For its part, the Nigerian government points to its improved rank on the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 report—it went from 146 last year to 131—as proof of its efforts to improve the business climate. But, as the World Bank’s report measures progress more by changes to policy rather than its implementation, it could be argued that it’s getting easier to do business in Nigeria only on paper.
But the workarounds to some of the problems that plague Nigeria’s business environment may come from the tech ecosystem itself. From off-grid energy companies trying to drive up electrification, to fintech ventures looking to boost financial inclusion and access to credit—startups are struggling against the odds. And sometimes beating them too.
By Yomi Kazeem
Quartz
Monday, November 18, 2019
Nigerian army rescues 8 hostages in NE region
Eight hostages held by Boko Haram insurgents in Gwoza area of Borno state in the restive northeast Nigeria have been rescued, the army spokesman Aminu Iliyasu said Sunday.
In a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, Iliyasu said troops subdued Boko Haram terrorists in an encounter and rescued eight villagers including four children held captives by the insurgents.
The coordinating army spokesperson said the rescued victims were evacuated while the children among them were equally administered with Polio vaccination by a Nigerian army medical team.
He added that no causality was recorded by the army troops during the commando operations.
According to him, many of the Boko Haram criminal elements fled in disarray toward the summit of Mandara Mountains with gunshot wounds.
"The troops' resilience and doggedness are unwavering as further exploitation to complete the annihilation of the insurgents is being sustained in the mountainous environment," he said.
Iliyasu said the army continued to sustain the tempo of the counter-insurgency operations in the northeast with a view to decimating and destroying the remnant of "Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) criminals".
Xinhua
In a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, Iliyasu said troops subdued Boko Haram terrorists in an encounter and rescued eight villagers including four children held captives by the insurgents.
The coordinating army spokesperson said the rescued victims were evacuated while the children among them were equally administered with Polio vaccination by a Nigerian army medical team.
He added that no causality was recorded by the army troops during the commando operations.
According to him, many of the Boko Haram criminal elements fled in disarray toward the summit of Mandara Mountains with gunshot wounds.
"The troops' resilience and doggedness are unwavering as further exploitation to complete the annihilation of the insurgents is being sustained in the mountainous environment," he said.
Iliyasu said the army continued to sustain the tempo of the counter-insurgency operations in the northeast with a view to decimating and destroying the remnant of "Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) criminals".
Xinhua
Nigerian entrepreneur Temie Giwa-Tubosun wins Jack Ma's African business hero award
A Nigerian entrepreneur has taken home the top prize at the Jack Ma Foundation's first annual prize for African businesses.
Temie Giwa-Tubosun walked away with the top $250,000 cash prize from the $1 million available from the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI), started by Chinese investor Jack Ma.
The organization says it will award a $1m grant to 10 African entrepreneurs every year for the next 10 years.
Giwa-Tubosun is the founder and CEO of LifeBank, a Lagos-based blood and oxygen delivery company that connects registered blood banks to hospitals and patients in need of urgent blood supplies.
She said: "The Africa Netpreneur Prize will give me the resources to grow LifeBank and expand our presence in Nigeria and throughout the rest of Africa. I look forward to continuing my journey to solve problems and make a significant impact on the future of Africa."
Drone delivery of blood
Giwa-Tubosun also announced at the 'African Business Heroes' event held in Accra,Ghana on Saturday that LifeBank will start delivering blood through Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), known as drones.
She said the decision to add drones to their mobility fleet was to get blood to patients in places that are hard to reach.
At the event, Giwa-Tubosun spoke about LifeBank's findings while researching the best situations to use drones for blood delivery.
"After running our operations for three years we knew that there were some patients we could not reach on time. Like areas where there are bandits on the road so we need to fly," she told CNN.
According to her, the drones will only supply blood in emergency situations where patients are hard to reach.
An Ethiopian partnership
In October, in partnership with the Information Network Security Agency (INSA), the Ethiopian government agency tasked with exploring technology, the LifeBank team successfully did a test run of drone delivery in Ethiopia.
"What we did in Ethiopia... was like a research project to show that we can deliver these critical supplies [blood]. We did that for a couple of weeks and it was successful," Giwa-Tubosun said.
The drones are programmed to automatically pick up samples from blood banks and deliver to laboratories or hospitals without any form of human control.
Giwa-Tubosun says beyond Ethiopia, LifeBank's drone delivery services will be tested and launched in other regions including Nigeria.
"We have the results of the success, and we're going to do the same in another country, perhaps Nigeria," she said.
Nigeria's blood deficit
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, needs up to 1.8 million units of blood every year, but the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) collects only about 66,000 units per year, leaving a deficit of more than 1.7million pints of blood, according to the country's health ministry.
Through their real-time delivery of blood using motorcycles and boats, LifeBank is trying to improve the numbers in the West African country.
Their dispatch riders pick up specified units of blood from blood banks, storing it in their motorbike's cold chain transport box and delivering to the required hospitals quickly, a challenge in gridlocked Lagos.
10,000 applications
Around 10,000 applicants from 50 African countries were whittled down to just 10 for the "Africa's Business Heroes," finale event, held Saturday in Accra, Ghana.
The final 10 pitched their businesses to four judges, including Ma, Zimbabwean businessman Strive Masiyiwa, Joe Tsai, Vice Chairman Alibaba Group and banking boss Ibukun Awosika.
In second and third place were Egyptian Omar Sakr, founder and CEO, Nawah-Scientific and Christelle Kwizera, founder, Water Access Rwanda who were awarded $150,000 and $100,000 each.
The remaining finalists each walked away with $65,000 for their businesses.
By Aisha Salaudeen and Stephanie Busari
CNN
Temie Giwa-Tubosun walked away with the top $250,000 cash prize from the $1 million available from the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI), started by Chinese investor Jack Ma.
The organization says it will award a $1m grant to 10 African entrepreneurs every year for the next 10 years.
Giwa-Tubosun is the founder and CEO of LifeBank, a Lagos-based blood and oxygen delivery company that connects registered blood banks to hospitals and patients in need of urgent blood supplies.
She said: "The Africa Netpreneur Prize will give me the resources to grow LifeBank and expand our presence in Nigeria and throughout the rest of Africa. I look forward to continuing my journey to solve problems and make a significant impact on the future of Africa."
Drone delivery of blood
Giwa-Tubosun also announced at the 'African Business Heroes' event held in Accra,Ghana on Saturday that LifeBank will start delivering blood through Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), known as drones.
She said the decision to add drones to their mobility fleet was to get blood to patients in places that are hard to reach.
At the event, Giwa-Tubosun spoke about LifeBank's findings while researching the best situations to use drones for blood delivery.
"After running our operations for three years we knew that there were some patients we could not reach on time. Like areas where there are bandits on the road so we need to fly," she told CNN.
According to her, the drones will only supply blood in emergency situations where patients are hard to reach.
An Ethiopian partnership
In October, in partnership with the Information Network Security Agency (INSA), the Ethiopian government agency tasked with exploring technology, the LifeBank team successfully did a test run of drone delivery in Ethiopia.
"What we did in Ethiopia... was like a research project to show that we can deliver these critical supplies [blood]. We did that for a couple of weeks and it was successful," Giwa-Tubosun said.
The drones are programmed to automatically pick up samples from blood banks and deliver to laboratories or hospitals without any form of human control.
Giwa-Tubosun says beyond Ethiopia, LifeBank's drone delivery services will be tested and launched in other regions including Nigeria.
"We have the results of the success, and we're going to do the same in another country, perhaps Nigeria," she said.
Nigeria's blood deficit
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, needs up to 1.8 million units of blood every year, but the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) collects only about 66,000 units per year, leaving a deficit of more than 1.7million pints of blood, according to the country's health ministry.
Through their real-time delivery of blood using motorcycles and boats, LifeBank is trying to improve the numbers in the West African country.
Their dispatch riders pick up specified units of blood from blood banks, storing it in their motorbike's cold chain transport box and delivering to the required hospitals quickly, a challenge in gridlocked Lagos.
10,000 applications
Around 10,000 applicants from 50 African countries were whittled down to just 10 for the "Africa's Business Heroes," finale event, held Saturday in Accra, Ghana.
The final 10 pitched their businesses to four judges, including Ma, Zimbabwean businessman Strive Masiyiwa, Joe Tsai, Vice Chairman Alibaba Group and banking boss Ibukun Awosika.
In second and third place were Egyptian Omar Sakr, founder and CEO, Nawah-Scientific and Christelle Kwizera, founder, Water Access Rwanda who were awarded $150,000 and $100,000 each.
The remaining finalists each walked away with $65,000 for their businesses.
By Aisha Salaudeen and Stephanie Busari
CNN
Video - Nigeria's Oscar disqualification sees push for films in native languages
Nigeria's Oscar Committee is urging Nigerian filmmakers to use more native languages in their productions. This, after the U.S. Academy Awards disqualified a Nigerian entry in the International Feature Film category because the movie used too much English. While some in Nigeria’s Hollywood – known as Nollywood -- support the idea of more native languages in films, others argue that non-English films limit their audience reach. Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Video - Nigerian artist creatively stitches to create images
Thread Painting originated in the 19th century. The artist relies on a combination of stitches and colors to produce a work that leaves an impressionistic feel. Although it's not a popular art form, Nigeria's Emmanuel Eweje has made a career out of it. With over a decade of experience, he is making waves both as an exhibitor and a trainer.
Former Nigeria football player guilty of match-fixing in Sweden
The Court of Appeal in Stockholm said in a release on Wednesday that it was clear that Etuhu and an unnamed former player tried to influence AIK keeper Kyriakos "Kenny" Stamatopoulos to fix a match in Sweden's top division in 2017.
Etuhu, who played for several English clubs including Manchester City, Sunderland, Preston, Blackburn and Fulham, escaped a jail sentence but was instead fined and sentenced to serve probation, without further details being made public.
The 37-year-old, who left AIK Solna in 2016, says he will be appealing against the ruling at the Supreme Court.
The court said that "the content of what the men submitted to the player (Stamatopoulos) was so clear that it should be considered a criminal offer of bribe."
Etuhu had intially been acquitted by a court last year but that was appealed by prosecutor Johan Lindmark, who told local Swedish newspaper Expressen that he was satisfied with Wednesday's outcome.
"It was with satisfaction that I received the verdict today," Lindmark said.
"I had appealed on the grounds that I thought the court of law would change and was not surprised when I saw the verdict."
Etuhu played 20 times for the Super Eagles including twice at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2008 and 2010 as well as the World Cup in South Africa.
By Simon Reeves
BBC
Nigeria security agency denies shooting supporters of detained activist
Nigeria's state security agency on Wednesday denied that its officers opened fire on campaigners calling for the release of a Nigerian activist and former presidential candidate who remains in detention despite having been granted bail.
Omoyele Sowore, who ran for president as a minor candidate in the February election in which former military ruler President Muhammadu Buhari secured a second term in office, was arrested in August for calling for a revolution.
In September Sowore pleaded not guilty to charges of treason, money laundering and harassing the president. He was granted bail on Oct. 4 but he has not been released because the Department for State Security (DSS) says the conditions have not been met.
Supporters of Sowore, who founded Nigerian online news organization Sahara Reporters, staged a protest at DSS headquarters in the capital, Abuja, on Wednesday during which they said the security agency's officers opened fire on them.
But the claims were denied by the DSS.
"Despite serial and unwarranted provocations, the Service, as a professional and responsible Organization, did not shoot at the so-called protesters," the DSS said in a statement.
Sowore's continued detention has prompted some to criticize Buhari over his administration's record on human rights, particularly a lethal crackdown on followers of a Shi'ite leader who has been detained by the government since 2015 without a trial.
Nigerian campaign groups, including Concerned Nigerians Group and the Coalition in Defence of Nigerians Democracy & Constitution, issued a statement in which they said "violent attacks" on protesters at DSS headquarters show that Buhari "is running a dictatorship again".
Buhari was Nigeria's head of state between December 1983 and August 1985, after taking power in a military coup. He was also replaced by the military.
Sowore was granted bail so long as a number of conditions were met including the provision of 100 million naira ($277,777) with two sureties.
The DSS, in its statement, said it reiterated its "avowed readiness to release Sowore" once the people who provided surety for him had presented themselves.
Femi Falana, a lawyer representing Sowore, on Wednesday called on the DSS to release his client from "illegal custody".
He accused the DSS of "aggravating the felony of contempt of court by asking sureties who had been verified by the trial court to report in its office for an illegal verification".
(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Additional reporting by Abraham Achirga; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Reuters
Omoyele Sowore, who ran for president as a minor candidate in the February election in which former military ruler President Muhammadu Buhari secured a second term in office, was arrested in August for calling for a revolution.
In September Sowore pleaded not guilty to charges of treason, money laundering and harassing the president. He was granted bail on Oct. 4 but he has not been released because the Department for State Security (DSS) says the conditions have not been met.
Supporters of Sowore, who founded Nigerian online news organization Sahara Reporters, staged a protest at DSS headquarters in the capital, Abuja, on Wednesday during which they said the security agency's officers opened fire on them.
But the claims were denied by the DSS.
"Despite serial and unwarranted provocations, the Service, as a professional and responsible Organization, did not shoot at the so-called protesters," the DSS said in a statement.
Sowore's continued detention has prompted some to criticize Buhari over his administration's record on human rights, particularly a lethal crackdown on followers of a Shi'ite leader who has been detained by the government since 2015 without a trial.
Nigerian campaign groups, including Concerned Nigerians Group and the Coalition in Defence of Nigerians Democracy & Constitution, issued a statement in which they said "violent attacks" on protesters at DSS headquarters show that Buhari "is running a dictatorship again".
Buhari was Nigeria's head of state between December 1983 and August 1985, after taking power in a military coup. He was also replaced by the military.
Sowore was granted bail so long as a number of conditions were met including the provision of 100 million naira ($277,777) with two sureties.
The DSS, in its statement, said it reiterated its "avowed readiness to release Sowore" once the people who provided surety for him had presented themselves.
Femi Falana, a lawyer representing Sowore, on Wednesday called on the DSS to release his client from "illegal custody".
He accused the DSS of "aggravating the felony of contempt of court by asking sureties who had been verified by the trial court to report in its office for an illegal verification".
(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Additional reporting by Abraham Achirga; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Reuters
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
PalmPay launches in Nigeria
Africa focused payment startup PalmPay has launched in Nigeria after raising a $40 million seed-round led by Chinese mobile-phone maker Transsion.
The investment came via Transsion’s Tecno subsidiary, with participation from China’s NetEase and wireless comms hardware firm Mediatek — a Transsion spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch.
PalmPay had piloted its mobile fintech offering in Nigeria since July, before going live today at a launch in Lagos.
The startup aims to become Africa’s largest financial services platform, according to a statement.
As part of the investment, PalmPay enters a strategic partnership with mobile brands Tecno, Infinix, and Itel that includes pre-installation of the startup’s app on 20 million phones in 2020.
The UK headquartered venture — that was also founded with Chinese seed investment — offers a package of mobile based financial services, including no fee payment options, bill pay, rewards programs, and discounted airtime.
In Nigeria, PalmPay will offer 10% cashback on airtime purchases and bank transfer rates as low as 10 Naira ($.02).
In addition to Nigeria, PalmPay will use the $40 million seed funding to grow its financial services business in Ghana. The payments startup has plans to expand to additional countries in 2020, PalmPay CEO Greg Reeve told TechCrunch on a call.
PalmPay received its approval from the Nigerian Central Bank as a licensed mobile money operator in July. During its pilot phase, the payments venture registered 100,000 users and processed 1 million transactions, according to a company spokesperson.
With its payments focus, the startup enters Africa’s most promising digital sector, but also one that has become notably competitive and crowded — particularly in the continent’s largest economy and most populous nation of Nigeria.
By a number of estimates, Africa’s 1.2 billion people represent the largest share of the world’s unbanked and underbanked population.
An improving smartphone and mobile-connectivity profile for Africa (see GSMA) turns this scenario into an opportunity for mobile-based financial products.
That’s why hundreds of startups are descending on Africa’s fintech space, looking to offer scalable solutions for the continent’s financial needs. By stats offered WeeTracker, fintech now receives the bulk of VC capital and deal-flow to African startups.
Nigeria has multiple new digital-payments entrants — see Chippercash — and several firmly rooted later stage fintech players, such as Paga and recently confirmed unicorn Interswitch.
PalmPay CEO Greg Reeves believes the company can compete in Nigeria and across Africa based on several strategic advantages. A big one is the startup’s support from Transsion and partnership with Tecno.
“On channel and access, we’re going to be pre-installed on all Tecno phones. Your’e gonna find us in the Tecno stores and outlets. So we get an immediate channel and leg up in any market we operate in,” said Reeve.
Tecno’s owner and PalmPay’s lead investor, Transsion, is the largest seller of smartphones in Africa and maintains a manufacturing facility in Ethiopia. The company raised nearly $400 million in a Shanghai IPO in September and plans to spend roughly $300 million of that on new R&D and manufacturing capabilities in Africa and globally.
In addition to Transsion’s support and network, Reeves names PalmPay’s partnership with Visa . “We signed a strategic alliance with Visa so now I can deliver Visa products on top of my wallet, link my wallet to Visa products and give access to someone who’s completely unbanked to the whole of the Visa network,” he said.
Another strategic advantage PalmPay may have as a newcomer in Africa’s fintech space is Reeve’s leadership experience. He comes to the CEO position after serving as Vodaphone’s global head of M-Pesa — one of the world’s most recognized mobile-money products. Reeve was also a GM for Millicom‘s fintech products across Africa and Latin America.
“I’ve had my fingers in mobile financial services for the last 10 years,” he said.
Reeve confirmed that PalmPay has local teams (and is hiring) in Nigeria and Ghana.
With the company’s launch and $40 million raise — which is potentially the largest seed-round for an Africa focused startup in 2019 — PalmPay’s bid to gain digital payment market share is on.
The Transsion led investment also serves as a big bold marker for China’s pivot to African tech in 2019. It follows several big moves by Chinese actors in the continent’s digital space.
These include Opera’s $50 million investment in multiple online verticals in Nigeria and a major investment by Chinese investors in trucking logistics startup Lori Systems this week.
By Jake Bright
Techcrunch
Related story: Digital payment firm of Nigeria Interswitch gets $1b valuation after Visa investment
The investment came via Transsion’s Tecno subsidiary, with participation from China’s NetEase and wireless comms hardware firm Mediatek — a Transsion spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch.
PalmPay had piloted its mobile fintech offering in Nigeria since July, before going live today at a launch in Lagos.
The startup aims to become Africa’s largest financial services platform, according to a statement.
As part of the investment, PalmPay enters a strategic partnership with mobile brands Tecno, Infinix, and Itel that includes pre-installation of the startup’s app on 20 million phones in 2020.
The UK headquartered venture — that was also founded with Chinese seed investment — offers a package of mobile based financial services, including no fee payment options, bill pay, rewards programs, and discounted airtime.
In Nigeria, PalmPay will offer 10% cashback on airtime purchases and bank transfer rates as low as 10 Naira ($.02).
In addition to Nigeria, PalmPay will use the $40 million seed funding to grow its financial services business in Ghana. The payments startup has plans to expand to additional countries in 2020, PalmPay CEO Greg Reeve told TechCrunch on a call.
PalmPay received its approval from the Nigerian Central Bank as a licensed mobile money operator in July. During its pilot phase, the payments venture registered 100,000 users and processed 1 million transactions, according to a company spokesperson.
With its payments focus, the startup enters Africa’s most promising digital sector, but also one that has become notably competitive and crowded — particularly in the continent’s largest economy and most populous nation of Nigeria.
By a number of estimates, Africa’s 1.2 billion people represent the largest share of the world’s unbanked and underbanked population.
An improving smartphone and mobile-connectivity profile for Africa (see GSMA) turns this scenario into an opportunity for mobile-based financial products.
That’s why hundreds of startups are descending on Africa’s fintech space, looking to offer scalable solutions for the continent’s financial needs. By stats offered WeeTracker, fintech now receives the bulk of VC capital and deal-flow to African startups.
Nigeria has multiple new digital-payments entrants — see Chippercash — and several firmly rooted later stage fintech players, such as Paga and recently confirmed unicorn Interswitch.
PalmPay CEO Greg Reeves believes the company can compete in Nigeria and across Africa based on several strategic advantages. A big one is the startup’s support from Transsion and partnership with Tecno.
“On channel and access, we’re going to be pre-installed on all Tecno phones. Your’e gonna find us in the Tecno stores and outlets. So we get an immediate channel and leg up in any market we operate in,” said Reeve.
Tecno’s owner and PalmPay’s lead investor, Transsion, is the largest seller of smartphones in Africa and maintains a manufacturing facility in Ethiopia. The company raised nearly $400 million in a Shanghai IPO in September and plans to spend roughly $300 million of that on new R&D and manufacturing capabilities in Africa and globally.
In addition to Transsion’s support and network, Reeves names PalmPay’s partnership with Visa . “We signed a strategic alliance with Visa so now I can deliver Visa products on top of my wallet, link my wallet to Visa products and give access to someone who’s completely unbanked to the whole of the Visa network,” he said.
Another strategic advantage PalmPay may have as a newcomer in Africa’s fintech space is Reeve’s leadership experience. He comes to the CEO position after serving as Vodaphone’s global head of M-Pesa — one of the world’s most recognized mobile-money products. Reeve was also a GM for Millicom‘s fintech products across Africa and Latin America.
“I’ve had my fingers in mobile financial services for the last 10 years,” he said.
Reeve confirmed that PalmPay has local teams (and is hiring) in Nigeria and Ghana.
With the company’s launch and $40 million raise — which is potentially the largest seed-round for an Africa focused startup in 2019 — PalmPay’s bid to gain digital payment market share is on.
The Transsion led investment also serves as a big bold marker for China’s pivot to African tech in 2019. It follows several big moves by Chinese actors in the continent’s digital space.
These include Opera’s $50 million investment in multiple online verticals in Nigeria and a major investment by Chinese investors in trucking logistics startup Lori Systems this week.
By Jake Bright
Techcrunch
Related story: Digital payment firm of Nigeria Interswitch gets $1b valuation after Visa investment
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Digital payment firm of Nigeria Interswitch gets $1b valuation after Visa investment
Nigerian digital payments firm Interswitch confirmed today it has reached unicorn status after Visa acquired a minority equity stake in the firm.
“The investment makes Interswitch one of the most valuable African fintech businesses with a valuation of $1 billion,” Interswitch said in a release to TechCrunch.
The Visa investment could create the first of two market distinctions for Interswitch — as it shouldn’t change the Lagos based company’s plans to go public.
“An IPO is still very much in the cards; likely sometime in the first half of 2020,” a source with knowledge of the situation told TechCrunch on background.
Interswitch did not reveal the amount of Visa’s investment and would not confirm Sky News reporting Monday that pegged it at $200 million for 20%.
Whatever the exact number, Interswitch’s confirmation of a $1 billion valuation marks another milestone in African tech.
Only one VC backed startup, turned later-stage company on the continent — e-commerce venture Jumia — has generated enough revenue and capital to achieve a ten-figure valuation.
For the near to medium-term, Interswitch could stand as Africa’s sole tech-unicorn, since Jumia’s volatile share-price and declining market-cap since an April IPO have dropped the company’s worth below $1 billion (for now).
Founded in 2002 by Mitchell Elegbe, Interswitch pioneered the infrastructure to digitize Nigeria’s then predominantly paper-ledger and cash-based economy.
The company now provides much of rails for Nigeria’s online banking system that serves Africa’s largest economy and population. Interswitch offers a number of personal and business finance products, including its Verve payment cards and Quickteller payment app.
From its home-base of Nigeria Interswitch has expanded its physical presence to Uganda, Gambia and Kenya .
Interswitch also sells its products in 23 African countries and launched a partnership in August for its Verve cardholders to make payments on Discover’s global network.
Visa and Interswitch are touting the equity investment as a strategic collaboration between the two companies, without a lot of detail on what that will mean.
“The partnership will create an instant acceptance network across Africa to benefit consumers and merchants,” was the characterization offered in a press release.
Interswitch’s imminent IPO has been delayed for several years. CEO and founder Mitchell Elegbe told TechCrunch, “a dual-listing on the London and Lagos stock exchange is an option on the table,” in a January 2016 call.
In subsequent years, Elegbe and other Interswitch executives named Nigeria’s recession as a reason for the delay.
A number stories have surfaced, including Bloomberg News reporting in July, that the company was poised to go public on the LSE.
TechCrunch’s source close to the matter offered the latest indication that Interswitch will list on a major exchange by mid-2020.
With possible exits for backers Helios Investment Partners, TA Investments and IFC, Interswitch’s unicorn status and pending IPO could create more momentum for startup investment in Africa. VC to the continent has grown significantly over the last 5 years, but stands at just over $1 billion annually, per Partech numbers.
Interswitch could also be in a stronger position to offer more capital directly to the continent’s fintech startups by reviving its ePayment Growth Fund. The venture arm made two investments in 2015, but then went largely quiet.
By Jake Bright
Techcrunch
“The investment makes Interswitch one of the most valuable African fintech businesses with a valuation of $1 billion,” Interswitch said in a release to TechCrunch.
The Visa investment could create the first of two market distinctions for Interswitch — as it shouldn’t change the Lagos based company’s plans to go public.
“An IPO is still very much in the cards; likely sometime in the first half of 2020,” a source with knowledge of the situation told TechCrunch on background.
Interswitch did not reveal the amount of Visa’s investment and would not confirm Sky News reporting Monday that pegged it at $200 million for 20%.
Whatever the exact number, Interswitch’s confirmation of a $1 billion valuation marks another milestone in African tech.
Only one VC backed startup, turned later-stage company on the continent — e-commerce venture Jumia — has generated enough revenue and capital to achieve a ten-figure valuation.
For the near to medium-term, Interswitch could stand as Africa’s sole tech-unicorn, since Jumia’s volatile share-price and declining market-cap since an April IPO have dropped the company’s worth below $1 billion (for now).
Founded in 2002 by Mitchell Elegbe, Interswitch pioneered the infrastructure to digitize Nigeria’s then predominantly paper-ledger and cash-based economy.
The company now provides much of rails for Nigeria’s online banking system that serves Africa’s largest economy and population. Interswitch offers a number of personal and business finance products, including its Verve payment cards and Quickteller payment app.
From its home-base of Nigeria Interswitch has expanded its physical presence to Uganda, Gambia and Kenya .
Interswitch also sells its products in 23 African countries and launched a partnership in August for its Verve cardholders to make payments on Discover’s global network.
Visa and Interswitch are touting the equity investment as a strategic collaboration between the two companies, without a lot of detail on what that will mean.
“The partnership will create an instant acceptance network across Africa to benefit consumers and merchants,” was the characterization offered in a press release.
Interswitch’s imminent IPO has been delayed for several years. CEO and founder Mitchell Elegbe told TechCrunch, “a dual-listing on the London and Lagos stock exchange is an option on the table,” in a January 2016 call.
In subsequent years, Elegbe and other Interswitch executives named Nigeria’s recession as a reason for the delay.
A number stories have surfaced, including Bloomberg News reporting in July, that the company was poised to go public on the LSE.
TechCrunch’s source close to the matter offered the latest indication that Interswitch will list on a major exchange by mid-2020.
With possible exits for backers Helios Investment Partners, TA Investments and IFC, Interswitch’s unicorn status and pending IPO could create more momentum for startup investment in Africa. VC to the continent has grown significantly over the last 5 years, but stands at just over $1 billion annually, per Partech numbers.
Interswitch could also be in a stronger position to offer more capital directly to the continent’s fintech startups by reviving its ePayment Growth Fund. The venture arm made two investments in 2015, but then went largely quiet.
By Jake Bright
Techcrunch
Monday, November 11, 2019
Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola donates $14 million to Save The Children Fund
Femi Otedola, one of Nigeria’s richest men, has donated NGN 5 billion (approximately $14 million) to the Save the Children Fund through his daughter, DJ Cuppy’s Foundation, to support various intervention programmes for destitute children in Nigeria’s north-east region.
It is believed to be the single largest individual donation to charity in Nigeria’s history.
Otedola made the donation on Sunday, November 10, 2019, at a ceremony organized by the Cuppy Foundation in Abuja to raise funds for Save the Children. Cuppy Foundation is a non-profit organisation established by Otedola’s daughter, Florence Otedola (aka DJ Cuppy). The charity works to improve the welfare of Nigeria’s vulnerable and marginalized children, focusing on early childhood education and healthcare among numerous other programmes.
Otedola, who announced the donation through his eldest daughter, Tolani Otedola, noted that the persistent crisis in Nigeria’s northeast region which is the result of armed conflict between state actors and non-state armed groups, has produced widespread unrest for many civilians and rendered millions of children in need of humanitarian assistance. He called on other wealthy Nigerians to emulate his actions.
“God has been so kind to me in life and I feel highly privileged. The only way I can show my gratitude to Him is to use my resources to support those who are underprivileged. This I intend to do for the rest of my life,” he said.
Responding to Otedola’s donation, Kevin Watkins, the CEO of Save The Children, pledged that every penny out of it would be spent improving the lives of the children affected by insurgency in the northeast. Otedola’s donation will be managed by the Save The Children Fund and will be used to finance various intervention programmes for children in Borno, Adamawa and Katsina.
Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osibanjo who was the guest of honor at the ceremony commended Otedola’s generosity and told the guests at the event that Nigeria’s richest people must refocus their minds on caring for Nigeria’s poor.
According to the Vice President, in 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari established one of Africa’s largest social investment programmes in Africa with about N500 billion annually.
He added, “Yet we are far from where we ought to be. It is obvious that government cannot do it alone. So, we don’t need to be billionaires to do our part. It is time for every one of us to decide that we can make a difference to ensure that the poor and vulnerable are given a decent life.”
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, also graced the occasion and donated N100 million ($275,000), to the Save The Children Fund. He also acknowledged Otedola’s philanthropy and noted that
“People find it very difficult in Nigeria to give money away but the more you give the more God blesses you. Femi, you are no more a rich man. You have joined the league of wealthy men. I have said I will give more of my money when I pass away,” Dangote said.
Otedola’s daughter, Ifeoluwa Otedola, popularly known by her moniker ‘DJ Cuppy’, is an ambassador of the Save the Children UK. She launched the foundation in August 2018 after making a trip to Maiduguri, Borno State, in Nigeria’s northeast region.
Speaking at the event, Miss Otedola said she started the foundation as a way of giving back to the less fortunate.
“Becoming an ambassador for Save the Children has exposed me to so many children around the world. I was able to visit Save the Children in Maiduguri with the help of my godfather Alhaji Aliko Dangote.”
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children was established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts.
Energy tycoon Femi Otedola, 57, is one of Nigeria’s most revered philanthropists. Last December, he donated $6 million to construct a multi-storey building at the Augustine University in Epe, Lagos. Otedola, 56, made his fortunes in gas stations and shipping. He is now the owner and chairman of Geregu Power PLC, one of Nigeria’s largest utility companies.
By Mfonobong Nsehe
Forbes
It is believed to be the single largest individual donation to charity in Nigeria’s history.
Otedola made the donation on Sunday, November 10, 2019, at a ceremony organized by the Cuppy Foundation in Abuja to raise funds for Save the Children. Cuppy Foundation is a non-profit organisation established by Otedola’s daughter, Florence Otedola (aka DJ Cuppy). The charity works to improve the welfare of Nigeria’s vulnerable and marginalized children, focusing on early childhood education and healthcare among numerous other programmes.
Otedola, who announced the donation through his eldest daughter, Tolani Otedola, noted that the persistent crisis in Nigeria’s northeast region which is the result of armed conflict between state actors and non-state armed groups, has produced widespread unrest for many civilians and rendered millions of children in need of humanitarian assistance. He called on other wealthy Nigerians to emulate his actions.
“God has been so kind to me in life and I feel highly privileged. The only way I can show my gratitude to Him is to use my resources to support those who are underprivileged. This I intend to do for the rest of my life,” he said.
Responding to Otedola’s donation, Kevin Watkins, the CEO of Save The Children, pledged that every penny out of it would be spent improving the lives of the children affected by insurgency in the northeast. Otedola’s donation will be managed by the Save The Children Fund and will be used to finance various intervention programmes for children in Borno, Adamawa and Katsina.
Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osibanjo who was the guest of honor at the ceremony commended Otedola’s generosity and told the guests at the event that Nigeria’s richest people must refocus their minds on caring for Nigeria’s poor.
According to the Vice President, in 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari established one of Africa’s largest social investment programmes in Africa with about N500 billion annually.
He added, “Yet we are far from where we ought to be. It is obvious that government cannot do it alone. So, we don’t need to be billionaires to do our part. It is time for every one of us to decide that we can make a difference to ensure that the poor and vulnerable are given a decent life.”
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, also graced the occasion and donated N100 million ($275,000), to the Save The Children Fund. He also acknowledged Otedola’s philanthropy and noted that
“People find it very difficult in Nigeria to give money away but the more you give the more God blesses you. Femi, you are no more a rich man. You have joined the league of wealthy men. I have said I will give more of my money when I pass away,” Dangote said.
Otedola’s daughter, Ifeoluwa Otedola, popularly known by her moniker ‘DJ Cuppy’, is an ambassador of the Save the Children UK. She launched the foundation in August 2018 after making a trip to Maiduguri, Borno State, in Nigeria’s northeast region.
Speaking at the event, Miss Otedola said she started the foundation as a way of giving back to the less fortunate.
“Becoming an ambassador for Save the Children has exposed me to so many children around the world. I was able to visit Save the Children in Maiduguri with the help of my godfather Alhaji Aliko Dangote.”
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children was established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts.
Energy tycoon Femi Otedola, 57, is one of Nigeria’s most revered philanthropists. Last December, he donated $6 million to construct a multi-storey building at the Augustine University in Epe, Lagos. Otedola, 56, made his fortunes in gas stations and shipping. He is now the owner and chairman of Geregu Power PLC, one of Nigeria’s largest utility companies.
By Mfonobong Nsehe
Forbes
Nigeria urged to ban chaining the mentally ill
An international rights group has called the Nigerian government to ban chaining as it condemned the "terrible" abuse faced by thousands of people with mental health conditions across the country.Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a reportpublished on Monday that detention, chaining and violent treatment of mental health patients was pervasive in the country "in many settings, including state hospitals, rehabilitation centres, traditional healing centres, and both Christian and Islamic faith-based facilities".
"People with mental health conditions should be supported and provided with effective services in their communities, not chained and abused," said Emina Cerimovic, senior disability rights researcher at HRW.
"People with mental health conditions find themselves in chains in various places in Nigeria, subject to years of unimaginable hardship and abuse," she said.
Home to some 200 million people, Nigeria is the seventh most populous country in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in four Nigerians - some 50 million people - are suffering from some sort of mental illness.
WHO says Nigeria has Africa's highest rate of depression, and ranks fifth in the world in the frequency of suicide. There are less than 150 psychiatrists in the county and WHO estimates that fewer than 10 percent of mentally ill Nigerians have access to the care they need.
Abuse victims
The HRW report came days after Nigerian police rescued nearly 259 young people from an Islamic rehabilitation centre in the southwestern city of Ibadan.
Many captives have said they were physically and sexually abused and chained up to prevent them from escaping.
It brought the total number of people released from abusive institutions in the country since September to nearly 1,500.
At the time, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement that "no responsible democratic government would tolerate the existence of the torture chambers and physical abuses of inmates in the name of rehabilitation of the victims".
But HRW criticised the government for failing to acknowledge that this abuse was rife in government-run facilities too.
The rights group said it visited 28 facilities providing mental healthcare in eight Nigerian states and the federal capital territory between August 2018 and September 2019.
It found that people with actual or perceived mental health conditions, including children, were placed in facilities without their consent, usually by relatives.
HRW said in some cases, police arrest people with actual or perceived mental health conditions and send them to state-run rehabilitation centres.
"Once there, many are shackled with iron chains, around one or both ankles, to heavy objects or to other detainees, in some cases for months or years," the report said.
"They cannot leave, are often confined in overcrowded, unhygienic conditions, and are sometimes forced to sleep, eat, and defecate within the same confined place," it said. "Many are physically and emotionally abused as well as forced to take treatments."
Deep wounds
According to HRW, adults and children in some Islamic rehabilitation centres reported being whipped, causing deep wounds.
People in Christian healing centres and churches described being denied food for up to three days at a time, which staff characterised as "fasting" for "treatment" purposes, the group said.
In many of the traditional and religious rehabilitation centres visited by HRW, staff forced people with mental health conditions, including children, to eat or drink herbs, in some cases with staff pinning people down to make them swallow.
The report said in psychiatric hospitals and state-run rehabilitation centres, staff forcibly administered medication, while some staff admitted to administering electroconvulsive therapy to patients without their consent.
The rights group called on the Nigerian government to "urgently investigate" the facilities and "prioritise the development of quality, accessible, and affordable community-based mental health services".
Al Jazeera
Related stories: The new mental illness approach in Nigeria
Video - Nigerian woman tackles mental health stigma
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Nigerian 'sex slavery' ring goes on trial in France
Twenty-four suspected members of a sex trafficking ring accused of forcing Nigerian women into prostitution in France go on trial Wednesday (Nov 6), the latest case to highlight the growing use of Nigerian migrants as sex slaves in Europe.
Nigeria was the main country of origin of the migrants arriving across the Mediterranean to Italy in 2016 and 2017, though their numbers have since dropped.
Many of the arrivals were women and girls lured to Europe with false promises of jobs as hairdressers or seamstresses, only to find themselves selling sex on arrival to repay their debts.
Nigerians now outnumber Chinese or Eastern European sex workers on the streets of France and some other European countries.
Last year, 15 members of a Paris-based female-led pimping ring known as the "Authentic Sisters" were sentenced to up to 11 years in prison for forcing girls into sex slavery in France.
Many were themselves former trafficking victims-turned-perpetrators.
Similar gangs have also been dismantled in Italy and Britain.
The investigation in Lyon, where police estimate half the city's sex workers are Nigerian, began after authorities received a tip about a Nigerian pastor accused of exploiting several sex workers who lived in apartments he owned.
The pastor, Stanley Omoregie, has denied the charges, which include aggravated pimping and slavery.
But in the transcript of a conversation submitted to the court, he is heard saying he wanted "those with beautiful bodies, who can be controlled, not those that cause problems".
The prosecution has presented him as the kingpin of a family-based syndicate made up of 10 women and 14 men, including one of Europe's most wanted women, Jessica Edosomwan, accused of recruiting destitute women in Nigeria for the sex trade in Lyon, Nimes and Montpellier.
Edosomwan, who is believed to be on the run in the Benelux countries, Italy or Germany, will be tried in absentia.
FROM PROSTITUTION TO PIMPING
The UN has estimated that 80 percent of young Nigerian women arriving in Italy - their first port of call in Europe - are already in the clutches of prostitution networks, or quickly fall under their control.
The accused in Lyon cover the entire gamut of sex trafficking activities, from iron-fisted "madams" and violent pimps as well as drivers of the vans in which the women perform sexual acts, and those tasked with laundering the proceeds of the trafficking.
Prosecutors estimate that 17 alleged victims, aged 17 to 38, made up to 150,000 euros (US$166,000) a month for the syndicate, selling sex for as little as 10 euros.
Most of the women come from Benin City, capital of Nigeria's southern Edo State, a human trafficking hotbed with a long history of dispatching women and men to Europe to earn money to send back home.
Many told investigators they had taken part in "juju" or black magic rituals before leaving Nigeria, during which they promised to repay the money they owed for their passage to Europe.
Many of the woman took the perilous migrant trail across the Sahara Desert to Libya and then across the Mediterranean to Italy before winding up in Lyon.
Among the accused is a 28-year-old former prostitute who was herself released from sex slavery after paying off her debts and who in turn brought over another young woman from Nigeria.
Months of police wiretaps and surveillance led to the arrest of the suspects between September 2017 and January 2018.
They risk 10 years in jail if convicted.
CNA
Related stories: Gang charged with sex trafficking girls from Nigeria arrested in Italy
Video - Nigerian women trafficked to Europe for prostitution at 'crisis level'
Nigeria was the main country of origin of the migrants arriving across the Mediterranean to Italy in 2016 and 2017, though their numbers have since dropped.
Many of the arrivals were women and girls lured to Europe with false promises of jobs as hairdressers or seamstresses, only to find themselves selling sex on arrival to repay their debts.
Nigerians now outnumber Chinese or Eastern European sex workers on the streets of France and some other European countries.
Last year, 15 members of a Paris-based female-led pimping ring known as the "Authentic Sisters" were sentenced to up to 11 years in prison for forcing girls into sex slavery in France.
Many were themselves former trafficking victims-turned-perpetrators.
Similar gangs have also been dismantled in Italy and Britain.
The investigation in Lyon, where police estimate half the city's sex workers are Nigerian, began after authorities received a tip about a Nigerian pastor accused of exploiting several sex workers who lived in apartments he owned.
The pastor, Stanley Omoregie, has denied the charges, which include aggravated pimping and slavery.
But in the transcript of a conversation submitted to the court, he is heard saying he wanted "those with beautiful bodies, who can be controlled, not those that cause problems".
The prosecution has presented him as the kingpin of a family-based syndicate made up of 10 women and 14 men, including one of Europe's most wanted women, Jessica Edosomwan, accused of recruiting destitute women in Nigeria for the sex trade in Lyon, Nimes and Montpellier.
Edosomwan, who is believed to be on the run in the Benelux countries, Italy or Germany, will be tried in absentia.
FROM PROSTITUTION TO PIMPING
The UN has estimated that 80 percent of young Nigerian women arriving in Italy - their first port of call in Europe - are already in the clutches of prostitution networks, or quickly fall under their control.
The accused in Lyon cover the entire gamut of sex trafficking activities, from iron-fisted "madams" and violent pimps as well as drivers of the vans in which the women perform sexual acts, and those tasked with laundering the proceeds of the trafficking.
Prosecutors estimate that 17 alleged victims, aged 17 to 38, made up to 150,000 euros (US$166,000) a month for the syndicate, selling sex for as little as 10 euros.
Most of the women come from Benin City, capital of Nigeria's southern Edo State, a human trafficking hotbed with a long history of dispatching women and men to Europe to earn money to send back home.
Many told investigators they had taken part in "juju" or black magic rituals before leaving Nigeria, during which they promised to repay the money they owed for their passage to Europe.
Many of the woman took the perilous migrant trail across the Sahara Desert to Libya and then across the Mediterranean to Italy before winding up in Lyon.
Among the accused is a 28-year-old former prostitute who was herself released from sex slavery after paying off her debts and who in turn brought over another young woman from Nigeria.
Months of police wiretaps and surveillance led to the arrest of the suspects between September 2017 and January 2018.
They risk 10 years in jail if convicted.
CNA
Related stories: Gang charged with sex trafficking girls from Nigeria arrested in Italy
Video - Nigerian women trafficked to Europe for prostitution at 'crisis level'
259 released from illegal detention in Nigerian mosque
Nigerian police have rescued 259 captives from an illegal detention centre in a mosque in Ibadan, in the south-western state of Oyo.
The owner of the facility and eight others have been arrested, according to local media.
Conditions at the mosque were inhumane, Mr Shina Olukolu, state commissioner of police, told the Punch newspaper.
In the past month, more than 1,000 people have been rescued from similar institutions in Nigeria.
Local police raided the centre on Monday evening after a tip-off from a 17-year-old who had escaped from a similar centre in the area.
Some of the victims reportedly told police they had been held there for years.
This is the latest raid in Nigeria's crackdown on "rehabilitation schools" for drug addicts, troublesome children and people who have committed petty crimes.
Officials have likened the facilities to torture centres, and have vowed to close them down.
People rescued from similar institutions over the past month have reported physical and sexual abuse.
Lawal Ahmed was rescued from a rehabilitation centre earlier in October. He told the BBC that beatings and abuse were commonplace.
He said: "They make a cover story and say they are teaching us. They are not teaching us for the sake of God. Everything we are doing is by force and punishment.
"Whoever tells you they are performing prayers here for the sake of God, they are lying."
BBC
Related stories: Police in Nigeria rescue another 67 males from "inhuman" conditions
Hundreds freed from torture house in Nigeria
The owner of the facility and eight others have been arrested, according to local media.
Conditions at the mosque were inhumane, Mr Shina Olukolu, state commissioner of police, told the Punch newspaper.
In the past month, more than 1,000 people have been rescued from similar institutions in Nigeria.
Local police raided the centre on Monday evening after a tip-off from a 17-year-old who had escaped from a similar centre in the area.
Some of the victims reportedly told police they had been held there for years.
This is the latest raid in Nigeria's crackdown on "rehabilitation schools" for drug addicts, troublesome children and people who have committed petty crimes.
Officials have likened the facilities to torture centres, and have vowed to close them down.
People rescued from similar institutions over the past month have reported physical and sexual abuse.
Lawal Ahmed was rescued from a rehabilitation centre earlier in October. He told the BBC that beatings and abuse were commonplace.
He said: "They make a cover story and say they are teaching us. They are not teaching us for the sake of God. Everything we are doing is by force and punishment.
"Whoever tells you they are performing prayers here for the sake of God, they are lying."
BBC
Related stories: Police in Nigeria rescue another 67 males from "inhuman" conditions
Hundreds freed from torture house in Nigeria
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Video - Fire breaks out in lagos market
Nigerian firefighters battled a large fire that broke out of a five-story building surrounding a popular market in Central Lagos on Tuesday. Thick black smoke filled the air as residents threw what belongings they could from the building, while some stood on the rooftops using small buckets of water in an attempt to stop the spread. The fire started in the morning and became a major blaze by midday. Officials have not yet said if any people were injured in the fire or commented on the cause of the blaze.
Nollywood movie Lionheart disqualified from Oscars
The organisers of the Oscars have disqualified Nigeria's first-ever entry for consideration in the International Feature Film category because it has too much dialogue in English, according to reports.The disqualification of Lionheart - directed by and starring Genevieve Nnaji, one of the biggest stars in the Nigerian film industry widely known as Nollywood - was conveyed in an email to voters for the category, The Wrap reported on Monday.
According to the rules by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "an international film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (defined as over 40 minutes) produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track."
Lionheart has just under 12 minutes of dialogue that is in the Igbo language, while the rest of the 95-minute feature is in English, according to Hollywood Reporter.
The movie was scheduled to be screened to voters for the category, formerly known as best foreign language film, on Wednesday.
'Proudly Nigerian'
Lionheart, in which Nnaji plays Adaeze, a woman who tries to keep her family's transportation business afloat after her father suffers a heart attack, is currently streaming on Netflix.
Nnaji took to Twitter to express her disapproval of the Academy's decision.
Filmmaker Ava Durnay also criticised the Academy in a Twitter post.
"You disqualified Nigeria's first-ever submission for Best International Feature because its in English. But English is the official language of Nigeria. Are you barring this country from ever competing for an Oscar in its official language?"
Many others also took to social media to comment on the Academy's move.
Al Jazeera
Related stories: Video - Nigeria gets first Netflix Original starring Genevieve Nnaji
Video - Farming: Adewale Akinnuoye-Abaje directorial debut with emotive film
Monday, November 4, 2019
Video - Mega city dream turning into a nighmare for Lagos residents
Lagos is not just Nigeria's commercial capital, it is the country's most populous city. It's estimated that nearly 6,000 people come into the commercial hub every day with no plans to leave. CGTN's Deji badmus explores how the mega-city dream is now turning into a nightmare for many in Lagos.
Video - Africa's biggest poetry festival kicks off in Nigeria
One of Africa's biggest poetry festivals is underway in Lagos, Nigeria. The Lagos International Poetry Festival, which runs for four days, features poets and writers from across Africa and Europe.
Nigeria border closure extended to end of January 2020
Nigeria will keep its land borders closed to trade until at least January 31, 2020, the customs spokesman told Reuters on Sunday.
Nigeria launched a partial border closure in August to tackle smuggling of rice and other goods. Last month the head of customs confirmed that all trade via land borders was halted indefinitely.
Joseph Attah, spokesman for the Nigerian customs service said the “present phase” of the closure would end on January 31, 2020, and that would not be the end of the closure.
“The operation is in phases, it will continue until the set objective is attained,” Attah told Reuters by phone.
A private memo sent by the customs service comptroller for enforcement, Victor Dimka, to colleagues called the closure operation an “overwhelming success”, but said there were some strategic objectives yet to be achieved.
The memo did not outline which objectives these were.
Reuters
Related stories: Border crisis in Nigeria fueled by rice
Smuggling booms despite Nigeria border closure
Nigeria launched a partial border closure in August to tackle smuggling of rice and other goods. Last month the head of customs confirmed that all trade via land borders was halted indefinitely.
Joseph Attah, spokesman for the Nigerian customs service said the “present phase” of the closure would end on January 31, 2020, and that would not be the end of the closure.
“The operation is in phases, it will continue until the set objective is attained,” Attah told Reuters by phone.
A private memo sent by the customs service comptroller for enforcement, Victor Dimka, to colleagues called the closure operation an “overwhelming success”, but said there were some strategic objectives yet to be achieved.
The memo did not outline which objectives these were.
Reuters
Related stories: Border crisis in Nigeria fueled by rice
Smuggling booms despite Nigeria border closure
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Video - Nigeria working to eradicate polio
Nigeria is the only polio endemic country in Africa and one of only three remaining countries in the world where the virus remains a public health concern. That's according to the World Health Organization which goes on to report that it's been three years since the last polio case was reported, and the country is on its way to being certified polio-free by the W.H.O. Phil Ihaza reports from Nigeria's capital Abuja.
Related story: Polio on the brink of elimination in Nigeria thanks to the effort of mothers
Video - Giant of Africa featuring Nigerian NBA champion Masai Ujiri
Real Sports travels with Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri as he returns home to Nigeria with the NBA trophy.
Nigeria coach unhappy with Super Eagle's fixture schedule
Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr says November's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers fixture schedule facing his side is "not ideal and proper" as he announced a 23-man squad.
The Super Eagles open their Group L campaign against neighbours Benin at home on 13 November before travelling to face Lesotho four days later.
"Our players from Europe will only get to us a day or two before the first game, so there is no time for adaptation to the African conditions," Rohr said.
"After that game on Thursday we travel to Lesotho away on Friday to play on an artificial surface on Sunday. This is not ideal and proper for any team.
"We've spoken to Caf about this but nothing has been done."
Experienced defender Kenneth Omeruo, Italy-based Ola Aina and Samuel Kalu all return after having to withdraw from the recent friendly against Brazil because of injury.
Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, who was left out of the last two friendly matches, returns along with fit-again captain Ahmed Musa, who has been absent since the Nations Cup finals in Egypt.
European-based trio Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze and Alex Iwobi have also been included in the 23-man squad.
However there is no place for Kelechi Iheanacho, who has seen little game time in the Premier League this season at Leicester City, but was on the scoresheet as they beat third-tier Burton Albion in the League Cup.
Nigeria squad:
Goalkeepers: Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Heartland); Maduka Okoye (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany)
Defenders: Kenneth Omeruo and Chidozie Awaziem (Leganes, Spain); Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor, Turkey); William Troost-Ekong (Udinese, Italy); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino, Italy); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Bryan Idowu (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia)
Midfielders: Alexander Iwobi (Everton, England); Mikel Agu (Vitoria Guimaraes, Portugal); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Ramon Azeez (Granada, Spain)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia); Victor Osimhen (Lille, France); Moses Simon (Nantes, France); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal, Spain); Paul Onuachu (Genk, Belgium); Emmanuel Dennis (Club Brugge, Belgium); Samuel Kalu (Bordeaux, France)
Standby: Leon Balogun (Brighton & Hove Albion, England); Peter Olayinka (SK Slavia Prague, Czech Republic); Oghenekaro Etebo (Stoke City, England)
BBC
The Super Eagles open their Group L campaign against neighbours Benin at home on 13 November before travelling to face Lesotho four days later.
"Our players from Europe will only get to us a day or two before the first game, so there is no time for adaptation to the African conditions," Rohr said.
"After that game on Thursday we travel to Lesotho away on Friday to play on an artificial surface on Sunday. This is not ideal and proper for any team.
"We've spoken to Caf about this but nothing has been done."
Experienced defender Kenneth Omeruo, Italy-based Ola Aina and Samuel Kalu all return after having to withdraw from the recent friendly against Brazil because of injury.
Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, who was left out of the last two friendly matches, returns along with fit-again captain Ahmed Musa, who has been absent since the Nations Cup finals in Egypt.
European-based trio Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze and Alex Iwobi have also been included in the 23-man squad.
However there is no place for Kelechi Iheanacho, who has seen little game time in the Premier League this season at Leicester City, but was on the scoresheet as they beat third-tier Burton Albion in the League Cup.
Nigeria squad:
Goalkeepers: Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Heartland); Maduka Okoye (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany)
Defenders: Kenneth Omeruo and Chidozie Awaziem (Leganes, Spain); Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor, Turkey); William Troost-Ekong (Udinese, Italy); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino, Italy); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Bryan Idowu (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia)
Midfielders: Alexander Iwobi (Everton, England); Mikel Agu (Vitoria Guimaraes, Portugal); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Ramon Azeez (Granada, Spain)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia); Victor Osimhen (Lille, France); Moses Simon (Nantes, France); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal, Spain); Paul Onuachu (Genk, Belgium); Emmanuel Dennis (Club Brugge, Belgium); Samuel Kalu (Bordeaux, France)
Standby: Leon Balogun (Brighton & Hove Albion, England); Peter Olayinka (SK Slavia Prague, Czech Republic); Oghenekaro Etebo (Stoke City, England)
BBC
Border crisis in Nigeria fueled by rice
Nigeria, one of Africa's superpowers, closed all its land borders two months ago to tackle smuggling - but the unprecedented move is affecting trade across the region.
Bustling borders have come to a standstill, with goods rotting and queues of lorries waiting at checkpoints in the hope the crossings will reopen.
The closures were imposed without warning on 21 August - and Nigeria's neighbours are angry.
What prompted the move?
Mainly rice. It seems Nigeria was fed up about the flouting of its ban on the importation of rice over its land borders.
Smugglers bringing in rice from Benin appeared to be making a killing.
The biggest contraband route was between Cotonou, Benin's biggest city, and Nigeria's commercial hub Lagos, which is just a few hours' drive away.
According to the World Bank, Benin's economy is heavily reliant on the informal re-export and transit trade with Nigeria, which accounts for about 20% of its GDP, or national income.
And about 80% of imports into Benin are destined for Nigeria, the bank says.
Nigeria banned the importation of rice from Benin in 2004 and from all its neighbours in 2016, but that has not stopped the trade.
Why is rice so lucrative?
Nigeria is only allowing in foreign rice through its ports - where since 2013 it has imposed a tax of 70%.
The move is intended not only to raise revenue but also to encourage the local production of rice.
But smugglers have been taking advantage of the fact that it is cheaper to import rice to Nigeria's neighbours.
According to the Nigerian maritime site Ships and Ports, in 2014 Benin lowered its tariffs on rice imports from 35% to 7% while Cameroon erased it completely from 10%.
Neighbouring Benin then recorded an astronomical rise in imports from Thailand, the world's second-largest producer.
At its height, each of Benin's 11.5 million citizens would have had to consume at least 150kg (330lb) of rice from Thailand alone.
So it seems pretty clear that the rice was making its way into Nigeria to meet the shortfall in local production for a country of almost 200 million people.
And Nigerians' appetite for rice is almost insatiable in a country where the grain is a staple.
There was a time was when it was considered an elitist meal consumed only on Sundays. But now its affordability - plus the love for jollof rice - has made it a national dish.
Is it just about rice?
No. Benin is also a major corridor for second-hand cars to Nigeria, where there is a ban on importing cars that are more than 15 years old.
Official figures are difficult to come by, but Luxembourg-based shipping company BIM e-solutions says an average of 10,000 cars arrive at the Cotonou port from Europe monthly.
According to the Nigeria Customs Service, many are smuggled across the border.
The authorities also want to tackle smugglers going the other way. Many sell cheap subsidised Nigerian petrol in neighbouring countries.
In July, the head of Nigeria's national petroleum company, Maikanti Baru, said petrol smugglers were taking about 10 million litres (two million gallons) out of the country each day.
How has West Africa been affected?
Many goods come in through the port of Lagos and are transported by road throughout the region by hundreds of thousands of lorries.
Nigeria's immediate neighbours Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon - as well as Ghana and Togo have been hit by the crisis.
Ghana's Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said the country's traders had incurred huge losses because their goods had been detained for weeks at the Nigeria-Benin border.
She advised the Nigerian government to "find ways of isolating the issues and the countries that it has problems with, so that Ghana's exports can enter Nigeria's market without being lumped up with all these issues that have emerged".
In Benin, photographer Yanick Folly posted images of baskets of tomatoes, lined up and decaying near the border.
Benin's Agriculture Minister Gaston Dossouhoui described it as "a distressing sight" when he visited markets in the town of Grand Popo.
"It's very difficult for our producers. It's a disaster," he was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
In an effort to mollify its powerful neighbour, Niger has since imposed its own ban on the exportation of rice to Nigeria.
But it is the border communities, where traders often criss-cross for market days, that are suffering.
BBC Hausa reporter Tchima Illa Issoufou in Niger said traders in two border towns she visited were unable to do business as most were not able to cross the border.
And a long line of lorries, most heavy with goods, stands at Maradi close to the border with Nigeria.
Is the move illegal?
The border closure goes against an agreement that guarantees free movement between the 15 members of the West African regional bloc Ecowas.
However it is legal for an Ecowas member state to restrict the importation of certain food and agricultural products - and in 2004 Benin and Nigeria agreed to ban 29 foreign products from being imported into Nigeria.
Yet Nigeria's actions have many questioning its commitment to the historic AfCFTA free-trade agreement, which it signed up to in July that lays the foundation for the creation of the world's largest free trade area and is intended to boost trade between African countries.
There are those who describe Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's protectionist attitude as "Trumpian".
But Kalu Aja, a financial analyst in Lagos, says the very fact that Mr Buhari signed AfCTA is proof that he is different from his US counterpart Donald Trump.
"Buhari is not being protectionist but seeking to protect the gains made in local agriculture, in rice especially," he told the BBC.
"Keep in mind the sea borders are still open, tariffs have not gone up. Trump cut taxes, then cut regulations then imposed tariffs on China, Canada etc."
How has Nigeria been affected?
In the southern state of Rivers, some traders at the rice depot section of the Mile 1 market in Port Harcourt have packed up and gone home.
They say the dramatic closure of the borders gave them no time to stock up.
And prices have gone up too. Foreign rice now sells for 60% more, while locally produced rice has increased by almost 100%.
But there has been the up side.
Nigeria customs chief Hameed Ali recently told MPs that tax revenues had gone up as cargo destined for Benin was now arriving at Nigerian ports.
One day in September, a record 9.2bn naira ($25m, £20m) was collected, which had "never happened before", he said.
"After the closure of the border and since then, we have maintained an average of about 4.7bn naira to 5.8bn naira on a daily basis, which is far more than we used to collect."
What happens next?
No-one knows. Nigeria has not said how long it will keep the borders shut to commercial traffic.
In August, Benin's President Patrice Talon pleaded with Mr Buhari, on the sidelines of a summit in Japan, for the reopening saying: "Our people are suffering."
But Nigeria's customs boss has been quoted as saying the borders will remain closed, blaming neighbouring countries for not doing more to stamp out smuggling.
Some point to corruption at border points as the main culprit behind the smuggling, which implicates Nigerian officials as much as those of its neighbours.
However, as its crude oil exports are not being affected, Nigeria's borders might remain closed for a while.
By Nduka Orjinmo
BBC
Related story: Smuggling booms despite Nigeria border closure
Bustling borders have come to a standstill, with goods rotting and queues of lorries waiting at checkpoints in the hope the crossings will reopen.
The closures were imposed without warning on 21 August - and Nigeria's neighbours are angry.
What prompted the move?
Mainly rice. It seems Nigeria was fed up about the flouting of its ban on the importation of rice over its land borders.
Smugglers bringing in rice from Benin appeared to be making a killing.
The biggest contraband route was between Cotonou, Benin's biggest city, and Nigeria's commercial hub Lagos, which is just a few hours' drive away.
According to the World Bank, Benin's economy is heavily reliant on the informal re-export and transit trade with Nigeria, which accounts for about 20% of its GDP, or national income.
And about 80% of imports into Benin are destined for Nigeria, the bank says.
Nigeria banned the importation of rice from Benin in 2004 and from all its neighbours in 2016, but that has not stopped the trade.
Why is rice so lucrative?
Nigeria is only allowing in foreign rice through its ports - where since 2013 it has imposed a tax of 70%.
The move is intended not only to raise revenue but also to encourage the local production of rice.
But smugglers have been taking advantage of the fact that it is cheaper to import rice to Nigeria's neighbours.
According to the Nigerian maritime site Ships and Ports, in 2014 Benin lowered its tariffs on rice imports from 35% to 7% while Cameroon erased it completely from 10%.
Neighbouring Benin then recorded an astronomical rise in imports from Thailand, the world's second-largest producer.
At its height, each of Benin's 11.5 million citizens would have had to consume at least 150kg (330lb) of rice from Thailand alone.
So it seems pretty clear that the rice was making its way into Nigeria to meet the shortfall in local production for a country of almost 200 million people.
And Nigerians' appetite for rice is almost insatiable in a country where the grain is a staple.
There was a time was when it was considered an elitist meal consumed only on Sundays. But now its affordability - plus the love for jollof rice - has made it a national dish.
Is it just about rice?
No. Benin is also a major corridor for second-hand cars to Nigeria, where there is a ban on importing cars that are more than 15 years old.
Official figures are difficult to come by, but Luxembourg-based shipping company BIM e-solutions says an average of 10,000 cars arrive at the Cotonou port from Europe monthly.
According to the Nigeria Customs Service, many are smuggled across the border.
The authorities also want to tackle smugglers going the other way. Many sell cheap subsidised Nigerian petrol in neighbouring countries.
In July, the head of Nigeria's national petroleum company, Maikanti Baru, said petrol smugglers were taking about 10 million litres (two million gallons) out of the country each day.
How has West Africa been affected?
Many goods come in through the port of Lagos and are transported by road throughout the region by hundreds of thousands of lorries.
Nigeria's immediate neighbours Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon - as well as Ghana and Togo have been hit by the crisis.
Ghana's Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said the country's traders had incurred huge losses because their goods had been detained for weeks at the Nigeria-Benin border.
She advised the Nigerian government to "find ways of isolating the issues and the countries that it has problems with, so that Ghana's exports can enter Nigeria's market without being lumped up with all these issues that have emerged".
In Benin, photographer Yanick Folly posted images of baskets of tomatoes, lined up and decaying near the border.
Benin's Agriculture Minister Gaston Dossouhoui described it as "a distressing sight" when he visited markets in the town of Grand Popo.
"It's very difficult for our producers. It's a disaster," he was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
In an effort to mollify its powerful neighbour, Niger has since imposed its own ban on the exportation of rice to Nigeria.
But it is the border communities, where traders often criss-cross for market days, that are suffering.
BBC Hausa reporter Tchima Illa Issoufou in Niger said traders in two border towns she visited were unable to do business as most were not able to cross the border.
And a long line of lorries, most heavy with goods, stands at Maradi close to the border with Nigeria.
Is the move illegal?
The border closure goes against an agreement that guarantees free movement between the 15 members of the West African regional bloc Ecowas.
However it is legal for an Ecowas member state to restrict the importation of certain food and agricultural products - and in 2004 Benin and Nigeria agreed to ban 29 foreign products from being imported into Nigeria.
Yet Nigeria's actions have many questioning its commitment to the historic AfCFTA free-trade agreement, which it signed up to in July that lays the foundation for the creation of the world's largest free trade area and is intended to boost trade between African countries.
There are those who describe Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's protectionist attitude as "Trumpian".
But Kalu Aja, a financial analyst in Lagos, says the very fact that Mr Buhari signed AfCTA is proof that he is different from his US counterpart Donald Trump.
"Buhari is not being protectionist but seeking to protect the gains made in local agriculture, in rice especially," he told the BBC.
"Keep in mind the sea borders are still open, tariffs have not gone up. Trump cut taxes, then cut regulations then imposed tariffs on China, Canada etc."
How has Nigeria been affected?
In the southern state of Rivers, some traders at the rice depot section of the Mile 1 market in Port Harcourt have packed up and gone home.
They say the dramatic closure of the borders gave them no time to stock up.
And prices have gone up too. Foreign rice now sells for 60% more, while locally produced rice has increased by almost 100%.
But there has been the up side.
Nigeria customs chief Hameed Ali recently told MPs that tax revenues had gone up as cargo destined for Benin was now arriving at Nigerian ports.
One day in September, a record 9.2bn naira ($25m, £20m) was collected, which had "never happened before", he said.
"After the closure of the border and since then, we have maintained an average of about 4.7bn naira to 5.8bn naira on a daily basis, which is far more than we used to collect."
What happens next?
No-one knows. Nigeria has not said how long it will keep the borders shut to commercial traffic.
In August, Benin's President Patrice Talon pleaded with Mr Buhari, on the sidelines of a summit in Japan, for the reopening saying: "Our people are suffering."
But Nigeria's customs boss has been quoted as saying the borders will remain closed, blaming neighbouring countries for not doing more to stamp out smuggling.
Some point to corruption at border points as the main culprit behind the smuggling, which implicates Nigerian officials as much as those of its neighbours.
However, as its crude oil exports are not being affected, Nigeria's borders might remain closed for a while.
By Nduka Orjinmo
BBC
Related story: Smuggling booms despite Nigeria border closure
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
$2 billion tax dispute case between MTN and Nigeria set for January 2020
A federal judge in Lagos has set Jan. 30 and 31 for the hearing of a $2 billion tax dispute between South Africa’s MTN Group and the Nigerian government.
The attorney general has demanded the telecoms firm pay the tax bill relating to the import of equipment and payments to foreign suppliers from 2007 to 2017, but MTN argues the claim is without merit and that the attorney general exceeded his powers in making the request.
On Tuesday, lawyers for the government submitted their case against MTN, insisting the attorney general has the power to levy the charge and requesting a court date in late January to continue the proceedings.
Government lawyers had in June asked that the case be adjourned until October to give time to prepare their case, the latest dispute between MTN and the Nigerian government.
Nigeria is the South African firm’s biggest market, with roughly 58 million users accounting for a third of its core profit.
In December, MTN agreed to make a $53 million payment to resolve a separate dispute with Nigeria’s central bank, which said the company improperly removed $8.1 billion from the country between 2007 and 2008.
MTN also this year was set to pay off another 330 billion naira ($1 billion) fine imposed for not disconnecting unregistered SIM cards.
In May, the company’s local unit, MTN Nigeria, listed in Lagos in a 2 trillion naira flotation that made it the second-largest stock on the bourse by market value.
It has said that it would sell more shares to the public and increase local ownership once the tax row is resolved.
Reuters
The attorney general has demanded the telecoms firm pay the tax bill relating to the import of equipment and payments to foreign suppliers from 2007 to 2017, but MTN argues the claim is without merit and that the attorney general exceeded his powers in making the request.
On Tuesday, lawyers for the government submitted their case against MTN, insisting the attorney general has the power to levy the charge and requesting a court date in late January to continue the proceedings.
Government lawyers had in June asked that the case be adjourned until October to give time to prepare their case, the latest dispute between MTN and the Nigerian government.
Nigeria is the South African firm’s biggest market, with roughly 58 million users accounting for a third of its core profit.
In December, MTN agreed to make a $53 million payment to resolve a separate dispute with Nigeria’s central bank, which said the company improperly removed $8.1 billion from the country between 2007 and 2008.
MTN also this year was set to pay off another 330 billion naira ($1 billion) fine imposed for not disconnecting unregistered SIM cards.
In May, the company’s local unit, MTN Nigeria, listed in Lagos in a 2 trillion naira flotation that made it the second-largest stock on the bourse by market value.
It has said that it would sell more shares to the public and increase local ownership once the tax row is resolved.
Reuters
Heavy rains causes scores of inmates to break ouf of prison in Nigeria
Nearly 100 inmates remain at large after torrential rains in central Nigeria allowed scores of protesters to escape, according to authorities.
The "perimeter fence" of the facility in Kogi state was destroyed by rains and cells flooded, forcing inmates "to break out of custody for safety", Francis Enobore, of the Nigerian Correctional Service, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"A torrential downpour on Monday 28th October, 2019, caused a surging flood that overran the centre at about 02:00 hours (GMT) pulling down a section of the perimeter fence," Enobore said, adding that "122 of them took the opportunity to escape, 105 remained on the spot".
"Twenty-five of the escapees have been recaptured, leaving 97 still at large."
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has been particularly affected by heavy rains that have continued to fall, after the end of the rainy season.
The agrarian central states of Niger, Benue, Kogi and Taraba have been affected by flooding in recent months.
The rains have destroyed crops in the country's key agricultural belt, and forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.
In the northeastern state of Adamawa, more than 40 villages have also been totally destroyed by the downpour in recent days local news reports said.
Al Jazeera
The "perimeter fence" of the facility in Kogi state was destroyed by rains and cells flooded, forcing inmates "to break out of custody for safety", Francis Enobore, of the Nigerian Correctional Service, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"A torrential downpour on Monday 28th October, 2019, caused a surging flood that overran the centre at about 02:00 hours (GMT) pulling down a section of the perimeter fence," Enobore said, adding that "122 of them took the opportunity to escape, 105 remained on the spot".
"Twenty-five of the escapees have been recaptured, leaving 97 still at large."
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has been particularly affected by heavy rains that have continued to fall, after the end of the rainy season.
The agrarian central states of Niger, Benue, Kogi and Taraba have been affected by flooding in recent months.
The rains have destroyed crops in the country's key agricultural belt, and forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.
In the northeastern state of Adamawa, more than 40 villages have also been totally destroyed by the downpour in recent days local news reports said.
Al Jazeera
Monday, October 28, 2019
Video - UN reopens office in Abuja 8 years after a bomb attack
United Nations has reopened its building in the capital Abuja, eight years after a bomb attack.The August 2011 bombing left 23 dead and several others wounded. The UN was forced to continue its operations from donated buildings to allow renovation works. Looking to the future, the 75th UN assembly is set to redouble its efforts and commitment to multilateralism.
Torture houses masquerading as koranic schools in Nigeria
The private Islamic boarding school in Daura, northern Nigeria, was not somewhere you would want a child to stay for more than a few minutes, let alone months or years.
The Koranic and Rehabilitation Centre was one of series of institutions raided over the past month where parents have been sending troublesome children and young men who may be addicted to drugs or have committed petty crimes. But the raids have revealed them to be more akin to "torture houses", officials say.
The centre in Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari's hometown, was made up of two main buildings, one clean and well-built where children were taught the Koran.
Across the road was the centre's accommodation - a run-down single-storey compound, made up of five or six dark cells with barred windows and doors around a courtyard.
The air was stuffy and nauseating. Former students told us that up to 40 people were kept in chains in each 7-sq-m (75-sq-ft) cell.
Filthy clothes and bedding littered the floor. Those who lived there were often forced to urinate and defecate with their chains on - in the same place they ate and slept.
They would be regularly taken out for beatings or to be raped by the staff.
"It was hell on earth," said Rabiu Umar, a former detainee at the centre.
Sixty-seven boys and men were freed from the facility. Police said there were 300 people on the school register, but many of them had escaped following a riot the previous weekend.
Over the past month about 600 people have been found to be living in such horrifying conditions: chained, starved and abused.
The first discovery was in late September in the Rigasa neighbourhood of Kaduna city in the north-west. Following a tip-off from a relative, the police found nearly 500 people, including children, detained in appalling conditions.
Videos showed rescued students looking dazed, their legs shackled and their bodies covered in blisters.
Some of them were pictured dangling from the ceiling. Others had their hands or feet chained to car wheel rims.
Hafsat Baba, Kaduna state's commissioner of human services and social development, told the BBC at the time the authorities planned to identify all facilities of this type and close them down.
She added that they would prosecute the owners of centres "found to be torturing children or holding people in these kind of horrific situations".
Ten days ago, for the first time women were also amongst those rescued - from another institution in Kaduna.
This is unusual, according to Ms Baba, who added that these institutions seldom admit both sexes.
As the raids continue and more details emerge, they have been met with public outrage, but these institutions were no secret.
Jaafar Jaafar, from online media platform the Daily Nigerian, says people who live there have always known.
'Spiritual healing'
"I don't think there is any person who grows up in the north who can claim that they aren't aware of these schools - we all know they abuse children there."
He adds that growing up in Kano in the 1980s and 1990s he was aware of a number of schools like these.
"People believe that these schools have the spiritual power to heal. They don't mind how much the children are dehumanised, or how they're treated, as long as their child receives a Koranic education and is rehabilitated."
However, some parents have denied knowing their children were abused.
Following the raid in Kaduna in September, Ibrahim Adamu, the father of one of the students, told Reuters news agency: "If we had known that this thing was happening in the school, we wouldn't have sent our children. We sent them to be people but they ended up being maltreated.''
According to Sanusi Buba, the Katsina police commissioner, parents are not able to speak to their children while they are at the centres. And even if they visit they do not have unsupervised access to them.
This wave of discoveries has raised awareness outside of northern Nigeria of the problem of abuse in these rehabilitation centres.
Mr Buba said the tradition of people in the north taking their troublesome children to religious rehabilitation centres "has been an age-long situation but [the behaviour] can worsen as a result of abuse".
Nevertheless he is adamant that "the law of this country does not allow someone to create a rehabilitation centre and collect money".
Drug addiction
Part of the problem may be to do with the lack of state-funded facilities in the north.
According to the UN, there were three million drug users in north-west Nigeria in 2017. Nearly half a million of them were in Katsina state, which only runs two rehabilitation centres - one for men and another for women.
With a lack of publicly-funded options, private rehabilitation centres in the form of these schools have become a final resort for parents who have run out of options.
Even those who manage to access a public facility find conditions are not much better.
Last year a BBC investigation exposed horrifying conditions in a state centre in Kano, where patients with mental health issues were chained to the ground.
Katsina Governor Aminu Bello Masari said his centres were well-equipped to provide the rehabilitation needed for drug abuse or mental disorders.
But with parents still turning to centres that say they rehabilitate people in the name of Islam, it is not clear that the government has the capacity to deal with the problem.
And with no concrete alternatives, desperate families will keep turning to religious centres for solutions.
By Mayeni Jones
BBC
Related stories: Survivor recounts torture house experience in Nigeria
Hundreds freed from torture house in Nigeria
The Koranic and Rehabilitation Centre was one of series of institutions raided over the past month where parents have been sending troublesome children and young men who may be addicted to drugs or have committed petty crimes. But the raids have revealed them to be more akin to "torture houses", officials say.
The centre in Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari's hometown, was made up of two main buildings, one clean and well-built where children were taught the Koran.
Across the road was the centre's accommodation - a run-down single-storey compound, made up of five or six dark cells with barred windows and doors around a courtyard.
The air was stuffy and nauseating. Former students told us that up to 40 people were kept in chains in each 7-sq-m (75-sq-ft) cell.
Filthy clothes and bedding littered the floor. Those who lived there were often forced to urinate and defecate with their chains on - in the same place they ate and slept.
They would be regularly taken out for beatings or to be raped by the staff.
"It was hell on earth," said Rabiu Umar, a former detainee at the centre.
Sixty-seven boys and men were freed from the facility. Police said there were 300 people on the school register, but many of them had escaped following a riot the previous weekend.
Over the past month about 600 people have been found to be living in such horrifying conditions: chained, starved and abused.
The first discovery was in late September in the Rigasa neighbourhood of Kaduna city in the north-west. Following a tip-off from a relative, the police found nearly 500 people, including children, detained in appalling conditions.
Videos showed rescued students looking dazed, their legs shackled and their bodies covered in blisters.
Some of them were pictured dangling from the ceiling. Others had their hands or feet chained to car wheel rims.
Hafsat Baba, Kaduna state's commissioner of human services and social development, told the BBC at the time the authorities planned to identify all facilities of this type and close them down.
She added that they would prosecute the owners of centres "found to be torturing children or holding people in these kind of horrific situations".
Ten days ago, for the first time women were also amongst those rescued - from another institution in Kaduna.
This is unusual, according to Ms Baba, who added that these institutions seldom admit both sexes.
As the raids continue and more details emerge, they have been met with public outrage, but these institutions were no secret.
Jaafar Jaafar, from online media platform the Daily Nigerian, says people who live there have always known.
'Spiritual healing'
"I don't think there is any person who grows up in the north who can claim that they aren't aware of these schools - we all know they abuse children there."
He adds that growing up in Kano in the 1980s and 1990s he was aware of a number of schools like these.
"People believe that these schools have the spiritual power to heal. They don't mind how much the children are dehumanised, or how they're treated, as long as their child receives a Koranic education and is rehabilitated."
However, some parents have denied knowing their children were abused.
Following the raid in Kaduna in September, Ibrahim Adamu, the father of one of the students, told Reuters news agency: "If we had known that this thing was happening in the school, we wouldn't have sent our children. We sent them to be people but they ended up being maltreated.''
According to Sanusi Buba, the Katsina police commissioner, parents are not able to speak to their children while they are at the centres. And even if they visit they do not have unsupervised access to them.
This wave of discoveries has raised awareness outside of northern Nigeria of the problem of abuse in these rehabilitation centres.
Mr Buba said the tradition of people in the north taking their troublesome children to religious rehabilitation centres "has been an age-long situation but [the behaviour] can worsen as a result of abuse".
Nevertheless he is adamant that "the law of this country does not allow someone to create a rehabilitation centre and collect money".
Drug addiction
Part of the problem may be to do with the lack of state-funded facilities in the north.
According to the UN, there were three million drug users in north-west Nigeria in 2017. Nearly half a million of them were in Katsina state, which only runs two rehabilitation centres - one for men and another for women.
With a lack of publicly-funded options, private rehabilitation centres in the form of these schools have become a final resort for parents who have run out of options.
Even those who manage to access a public facility find conditions are not much better.
Last year a BBC investigation exposed horrifying conditions in a state centre in Kano, where patients with mental health issues were chained to the ground.
Katsina Governor Aminu Bello Masari said his centres were well-equipped to provide the rehabilitation needed for drug abuse or mental disorders.
But with parents still turning to centres that say they rehabilitate people in the name of Islam, it is not clear that the government has the capacity to deal with the problem.
And with no concrete alternatives, desperate families will keep turning to religious centres for solutions.
By Mayeni Jones
BBC
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Friday, October 25, 2019
Nigeria improves in World Bank ease of doing business
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, improved its ranking on the latest World Bank ease of doing business index, but some analysts say that doesn't necessarily mean an improved economy -- and that the country still has anti-business policies.
The country now ranks 131 on the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 index, released Wednesday. The west African nation moved up 15 places from its 2019 spot and has been tagged as one of the most improved economies in the world for running a business.
The index is a yearly ranking that assesses the business environment in 190 countries using various indicators including paying taxes, trading across borders, starting a business and protecting minority investors.
Tunde Leye, a Nigeria-based business analyst with SBM Intelligence, said the new rank is a major improvement from last year but there are existing counterproductive policies that make running businesses hard.
"The ease of doing business may be better, but the actual process of running a business has been stifled," he told CNN.
In 2016, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, set up a government organization -- the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) -- with the aim of minimizing the constraints that come with running businesses in the country.
The organization put together reforms geared toward making it more convenient for business owners to thrive.
Some of them include cutting down the time it takes to register a business, new grid connections for electricity and upgrading election systems for imports and exports.
But according to Leye, these policies may have the opposite of the desired effect as a lot of traders and business owners are losing revenue and goods, referencing the recent closure of the Nigerian land borders.
In August, Buhari closed Nigeria's land frontiers to goods traded with Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin, citing the need to protect the country's economy from frequent smuggling.
"This closure has erased millions' worth of trade. It is counterproductive in making business easy. We should not tamper with trade and monetary policy in that manner," Leye said.
Business transformation
Ola Brown, founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, a medical emergency services company, said some of the reforms have helped transform her business.
"I run an air ambulance business and visa on arrival, a simple policy change, has changed my business. We can now bring patients to Nigeria without having to get a visa in advance," she told CNN.
In 2017, as part of a plan to improve the country's business climate, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) reviewed the requirements for Nigerian visas to make them more customer-friendly.
Brown admits that despite the change she has experienced, every business will be hit differently by the reforms. "Depending on what your business is or what you do, everyone will have a different opinion about how the current reforms are working for them," she said.
"For me, visa on arrival has helped increase my revenue and improve my business," she added.
In a statement Thursday, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council said it has more plans to deliver sustainable economic growth and improvement of businesses across the country.
"We are committed to more engagement between reform-implementing organs of government and the private sector players and we are happy to see that this has resulted in a more favorable validation of the reforms by the private sector," council secretary Jumoke Oduwole said in the statement.
"The council is focused on delivering even more substantive reforms for the improvement of the general business climate," Oduwole said.
There is progress with government efforts to create a stable business environment, but there should also be consideration for better education and training for entrepreneurs on how to run businesses, Brown said.
According to her, investing in teaching business owners ways to improve and grow their business will have a positive effect on the country's business climate.
"It's not just in the big skills. Small systematic things, like how to negotiate better with foreign partners, will help the ease of doing business," she said.
By Aisha Salaudeen
CNN
The country now ranks 131 on the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 index, released Wednesday. The west African nation moved up 15 places from its 2019 spot and has been tagged as one of the most improved economies in the world for running a business.
The index is a yearly ranking that assesses the business environment in 190 countries using various indicators including paying taxes, trading across borders, starting a business and protecting minority investors.
Tunde Leye, a Nigeria-based business analyst with SBM Intelligence, said the new rank is a major improvement from last year but there are existing counterproductive policies that make running businesses hard.
"The ease of doing business may be better, but the actual process of running a business has been stifled," he told CNN.
In 2016, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, set up a government organization -- the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) -- with the aim of minimizing the constraints that come with running businesses in the country.
The organization put together reforms geared toward making it more convenient for business owners to thrive.
Some of them include cutting down the time it takes to register a business, new grid connections for electricity and upgrading election systems for imports and exports.
But according to Leye, these policies may have the opposite of the desired effect as a lot of traders and business owners are losing revenue and goods, referencing the recent closure of the Nigerian land borders.
In August, Buhari closed Nigeria's land frontiers to goods traded with Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin, citing the need to protect the country's economy from frequent smuggling.
"This closure has erased millions' worth of trade. It is counterproductive in making business easy. We should not tamper with trade and monetary policy in that manner," Leye said.
Business transformation
Ola Brown, founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, a medical emergency services company, said some of the reforms have helped transform her business.
"I run an air ambulance business and visa on arrival, a simple policy change, has changed my business. We can now bring patients to Nigeria without having to get a visa in advance," she told CNN.
In 2017, as part of a plan to improve the country's business climate, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) reviewed the requirements for Nigerian visas to make them more customer-friendly.
Brown admits that despite the change she has experienced, every business will be hit differently by the reforms. "Depending on what your business is or what you do, everyone will have a different opinion about how the current reforms are working for them," she said.
"For me, visa on arrival has helped increase my revenue and improve my business," she added.
In a statement Thursday, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council said it has more plans to deliver sustainable economic growth and improvement of businesses across the country.
"We are committed to more engagement between reform-implementing organs of government and the private sector players and we are happy to see that this has resulted in a more favorable validation of the reforms by the private sector," council secretary Jumoke Oduwole said in the statement.
"The council is focused on delivering even more substantive reforms for the improvement of the general business climate," Oduwole said.
There is progress with government efforts to create a stable business environment, but there should also be consideration for better education and training for entrepreneurs on how to run businesses, Brown said.
According to her, investing in teaching business owners ways to improve and grow their business will have a positive effect on the country's business climate.
"It's not just in the big skills. Small systematic things, like how to negotiate better with foreign partners, will help the ease of doing business," she said.
By Aisha Salaudeen
CNN
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Video - Farming: Adewale Akinnuoye-Abaje directorial debut with emotive film
Nigerian-British actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Abaje has launched his directorial debut – Farming – in Lagos, Nigeria, just days after it was released in the UK. "It is an important part of British history as well as Nigerian culture... I'm hoping that it (the #film) would create a dialogue and a collective therapy for those that are still suffering," the actor said during the launch on 19 October. The movie will premiere in the US on 25 October.
Related story: Black skinhead film directed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje hopes to "heal" pain
18 dead due to floods in central Nigeria
Death toll has risen to 18 due to the floods caused by persistent rainfall in central Nigeria, said a local official on Wednesday.
Confirming the figure to reporters, Ibrahim Inga, head of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency in Nigeria's central region, said eight more deaths were recorded recently.
On October 16, Inga had earlier confirmed 10 deaths recorded over the past two months as the floods wreaked havoc in the state.
So far, 41,959 people have been displaced due to the disaster, the official said.
The floods, as a result of a localized high-intensity rainfall accompanied by torrential winds since August, also triggered massive run-off activities in streams and rivers in the state.
"The combined effect of the micro-climate trend and severe rainfall regime upstream of rivers Niger and Kaduna increased inflow in the basin, which resulted in the spillage of the water from the three hydropower dams," Inga told reporters.
He said 2,714 houses have been destroyed so far by the disaster. The flood swept through 20 local government areas, with 152 communities submerged.
The floods also badly damaged, roads, bridges, culverts and other buildings, the official said.
Inga said the excess waters had inundated several hectares of farmlands and displaced some dwellers in hinterland communities.
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, which is responsible for issuing flood alerts here, had since early August issued an alert over possible flooding due to the high intensity of rainfall across the country.
The hydrological body said the flooding incidents are due to high rainfall intensity of long duration, rainstorms, blockage of drainage systems and poor urban planning resulting from the erection of structures within the floodplains and waterways.
This year, Nigeria's 36 states and the federal capital territory, Abuja, would witness different levels of flooding, the hydrological body predicted.
Xinhua
Confirming the figure to reporters, Ibrahim Inga, head of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency in Nigeria's central region, said eight more deaths were recorded recently.
On October 16, Inga had earlier confirmed 10 deaths recorded over the past two months as the floods wreaked havoc in the state.
So far, 41,959 people have been displaced due to the disaster, the official said.
The floods, as a result of a localized high-intensity rainfall accompanied by torrential winds since August, also triggered massive run-off activities in streams and rivers in the state.
"The combined effect of the micro-climate trend and severe rainfall regime upstream of rivers Niger and Kaduna increased inflow in the basin, which resulted in the spillage of the water from the three hydropower dams," Inga told reporters.
He said 2,714 houses have been destroyed so far by the disaster. The flood swept through 20 local government areas, with 152 communities submerged.
The floods also badly damaged, roads, bridges, culverts and other buildings, the official said.
Inga said the excess waters had inundated several hectares of farmlands and displaced some dwellers in hinterland communities.
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, which is responsible for issuing flood alerts here, had since early August issued an alert over possible flooding due to the high intensity of rainfall across the country.
The hydrological body said the flooding incidents are due to high rainfall intensity of long duration, rainstorms, blockage of drainage systems and poor urban planning resulting from the erection of structures within the floodplains and waterways.
This year, Nigeria's 36 states and the federal capital territory, Abuja, would witness different levels of flooding, the hydrological body predicted.
Xinhua
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Video - Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri brings NBA trophy to Nigeria
Real Sports travels with Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri as he returns home to Nigeria with the NBA trophy. Real Sports is all-new Tuesday, October 22 at 10PM on HBO.
Related story: The remarkable story of British Nigerian football start Ola Aina
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