July 2022

29 July 2022
BusinessDay
Insecurity: ISWAP’s threat to attack Lagos State…
My dear concerned readers, lest we forget, when yours truly wrote and got published the opinion essays titled: ‘The Gathering Storm!’, ‘Of Gumi, Bandits and Impunity’ both in March, 2021 and followed them up with ‘Tackling Insecurity: The Hard Way, The Only Way’, it was with the fervent hope that the current crop of politicians, constitutionally entrusted with the protection of our irreplaceable lives and precious property would live up to their matching mandate…

28 July 2022
AIT
The Jollof Rice Index
@moneylinewithnancytv with Ikemesit Effiong, Head researcher, SBM Intelligence, extensively discussed The Jollof Rice Index, underlining the country’s economy’s increasing inflation rate, as well as challenges in feeding due to the high cost of products in the Nigerian market…

27 July 2022
Al Jazeera
Nigeria’s excess crude account plunges as economy bleeds
Nigeria’s rainy day fund from oil revenue has plunged to $376,655.09 at the end of June, from $35.37m in May, amid limited crude exports, biting fuel subsidies, piling debt and a struggling economy…

BusinessDay
Nigeria’s malnutrition rate rises as food prices spike
Surging food prices have been identified as one of the major drivers of malnutrition in Africa’s most populous country, according to a recent survey by SBM Intelligence…

People’s Gazette
Nigerians on verge of starvation, soon cannot afford jollof rice
Nigerians are running out of coping mechanisms and strategies to deal with the incessant increase in the cost of jollof rice ingredients, according to a report by strategic intelligence analysis firm SB Morgen (SBM)…

26 July 2022
Punch
Zamfara bandit’s coronation exposes elite collusion
The emerging facts from the conferment of a chieftaincy title on a notorious bandit and alleged mass murderer confirm elite collusion and a wrong response to terrorism by the Nigerian state…

23 July 2022
Leadership
Gun Control: 3 Steps In Opposite Directions
The developed nations have been pushing for gun control in recent times following the widespread shooting of school children and other fun seekers by gunmen. While the debate surges on the global stage, the governors of Benue, Katsina, and Zamfara states have increasingly sought to arm citizens against bandits and other non-state actors who attack and kill with little or no resistance at all…

Punch
₦13.662bn paid as ransom in 11 years
Over ₦13,662,500,000 have been paid to non-state actors as ransom between June 2011 and July 11, 2022. The figures were arrived at from media reports of prominent incidents where huge ransoms were paid to secure the release of abducted citizens, a private organisation and the Zamfara State government within the period under review…

22 July 2022
African Business
Nigeria’s NNPC becomes private company
“July 19 should go down as a special moment in the economic history of Nigeria,” wrote Premium Times columnist Reuben Abati. On that day, nearly a year after Nigeria’s long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill became law, providing the legal framework for the selling of shares, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation finally became a private company – the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd…

Al Jazeera
Mixed reactions as Nigeria’s state oil firm sheds public coat
After more than half a century in existence as a government monopoly, Nigeria’s oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), is set to open up its capital to private investors…

Nairametrics
Nigeria imports 12.3 million metric tons of petrol in first 7 months of 2022 – Navy
Nigeria imported 12.3 million metric tones of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol in the first seven months of 2022, making it a total of 202.9 million metric tons since 2015…

21 July 2022
The Africa Report
Buharinomics: Impact of CBN’s unorthodox monetary policy on businesses
Just a month after President Buhari’s election in 2015, the Central Bank of Nigeria barred importers of certain goods and services from accessing the foreign-exchange market…

AIT 
Taming Nigeria’s roaring inflation
@moneylinewithnancytv, with Ikemesit Effiong, Head of Research, SBM Intelligence, discussed extensively the looming inflation rate in Nigeria, as well as highlighting the CBN Monetary policy interest rate increase as a means to reduce inflation in the country…

BusinessDay
Jollof leaves bitter taste as prices surge 22%
Nigerians are now adopting survival strategies as the cost of preparing a pot of Jollof rice – a popular Nigerian delicacy has increased by 22.2 percent in one year, the latest Jollof Index report shows…

Premium Times
Cost of preparing Jollof rice up 8.3% in Q2 2022 amid fuel scarcity
The average cost of making a pot of jollof rice, a popular delicacy among Nigerians, rose from ₦8,595 to ₦9,311 at the end of Q2 2022, a report has said. SB Morgen, a geopolitical intelligence platform, disclosed the 8.3 percent rise in the cost of preparing the delicacy in its report titled, “The SBM Jollof Index Q2: A stitch in time saves nine”.

Sahara Reporters
Nigerian Children Showing Signs Of Malnutrition Under Buhari Government
A report by SBM Intelligence has shown how the rate of malnutrition has increased among children in Nigeria since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015. According to the report, information and data were gathered from different interview sessions conducted in 10 states across the country to examine how inflation has aggravated food scarcity in the country, particularly among young children…

20 July 2022
The Africa Report
Buharinomics: Rice, border closures, FX… Evaluating the impact of Buhari’s key policies
In February, the president unveiled a pyramid made of 1.2 million bags of rice in the country’s capital, Abuja, declaring that the country had doubled its paddy rice production to 9m metric tonnes per annum since 2015.

Nairametrics
Cost of making Jollof Rice rises to ₦9,311 per pot
The average cost of cooking a pot of Jollof Rice went up from ₦8,595 to ₦9,311 at the end of Q2 2022, an 8.3% increase. This was disclosed in the quarterly SBM Jollof index report for Q2 2022, published by SBM Intelligence…

19 July 2022
Blueprint
Why subsidy isn’t working – Experts
When it was announced last year that subsidy on fuel will be removed it came as a shock to ordinary Nigerians. Millions of Nigerians condemned the government’s plan but later, the decision was revised with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, saying the government would still need to consult with stakeholders before implementing the plan…

18 July 2022
BusinessDay
Does it matter who wins February’s presidential election? Nigeria’s economy is already damaged
The front runners in next year’s presidential election are stepping up their campaigns, but more and more Nigerians are asking if it would matter who wins the crucial election in 2023, given that the country’s economy has already been damaged by seven years of mismanagement under the outgoing government of President Muhammadu Buhari…

The Whistler
Zamfara Community’s Plan For Peace Runs Into Trouble After Awarding Bandit Chieftaincy Title
The quest for peace and the safety of Zamfara residents have prompted traditional rulers to initiate reconciliation with bandit leaders, further revealing the grave nature of insecurity in the state…

17 July 2022
IOL
Africa mulls how to circumvent Western sanctions and leans more to Russia
This week, Russian lawmakers met with African diplomats in a virtual conference to thrash out mutual ways to circumvent food security in the wake of the looming global supplies that aggravated by the ongoing Ukraine conflict…

15 July 2022
The Cable
13% derivation: Eight oil-producing states received ₦144bn in Q1 2022
Eight oil-producing states in Nigeria received ₦144.31 billion from the federation account in the first quarter of 2022…

Coda
Nigerian trolls defend the government and gaslight victims
It was a day of trouble and horror. As early as 9 a.m. on May 17, Bashir had already seen up to four corpses pulled out of the wreckage of a building that once stood in the Sabon Gari area of Nigeria’s populous northern Kano state…

ICIR
FACT-CHECK: Is Nigeria better today than before 2015 as claimed by Buhari?
President Muhammadu Buhari has claimed that he has performed better than his predecessors, particularly in the areas of security, economy, and anti-corruption…

14 July 2022
AFP
Nigerian prison assault deepens security crisis, jihadist threat
The raid bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group. After dividing themselves into three squads, more than a hundred gunmen stormed a Nigerian prison, using explosives to blast though a wall and free dozens of jailed jihadists…

BusinessDay
Only 41% of Nigerians have collected PVCs – Report
Forty-one percent of Nigerians who have commenced the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) process have been able to pick up their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), a new report by SBM Intelligence shows…

CNBC Africa
Nigerians below 35 years drop out of Continuous Voter Registration process
A report by SBM Intelligence is asking the INEC to publish the production of Permanent Voters Cards numbers on a monthly basis as it finds that young people below the age of 35 dropped out of the CVR process at a greater proportion…

NAN
Arms control centre engages CSOs on illicit arms-free society
The National Centre of the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) has engaged with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the fight against illicit arms proliferation in Nigeria…

Nigeria Info 99.3
Will Heads Roll For The Kuje Prison Break?
Here’s today’s Big Hard Fact: It’s been 9 days since terrorists attacked the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre. Will Heads Roll For The Kuje Prison Break..?

Sputnik
Russia-Ukraine War May Lead to Famine in Africa, Rest of Developing Countries
Alarm has been raised of likely famine in countries in Africa and other developing countries across the world as a result of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine…

13 July 2022
The Cable
29% of Nigerians registering to vote encountered violence
Twenty-nine percent of Nigerians who commenced the voter registration process encountered violence, according to a report by SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence…

12 July 2022
BusinessDay
Traffic congestion seen as strain on economic development
Hayes Emmanuel, an engineer who works at Ogudu and resides in Yaba, says he must leave the house on time in order to avoid spending more than two hours in traffic. And that he spends most of his useful time stuck in traffic.

11 July 2022
AP
Nigeria jailbreak raises more questions over insecurity
Nigerian authorities on Monday admitted shortcomings in security at a jail in the nation’s capital after an attack that resulted in the escape of hundreds of inmates last week…

BluePrint
Cost of fuel subsidy increases by 890% over 5-year period
The costs of fuel subsidy in Nigeria increased by 890 per cent over a five-year period (2017-2021) in Nigeria even though fuel prices have only increased by 12.1 per cent, and transport costs by 283 per cent, according to a report by SBM Intelligence…

Nairametrics
What Tinubu, Obi and Atiku are saying about fuel subsidy, power generation
As the February 2023 election draws closer, one major discussion the candidates representing the parties will have to focus on is the rising cost of fuel subsidies which forces the government to spend and neglect other areas in human capital development for petroleum motor fuel…

7 July 2022
AP
Extremists claim responsibility for Nigerian prison attack
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a prison in Nigeria’s capital which freed nearly 900 inmates including 60 of its members…

Premium Times
Matawalle’s guns
Nigeria is awash with arms – guns, bullets, charms, drugs and local stuff. Not just Nigeria. The entire Sahelian and sub-Saharan African region is drowning in deadly small arms and light weapons – so-called because of their portability and ease of use and adaptation…

6 July 2022
Daily Trust
Prisoners On The Loose, Bullets For The President And Guns For All
On several fronts and for several reasons, Nigerians could have woken up on Wednesday to the worst news possible. It could have been a great national tragedy or a huge national embarrassment. None of which is good, to be honest…

New Telegraph
CBN Intensifies Inflation Fight
Given that despite rising inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had voted to leave interest rates unchanged at its previous meetings in January and March this year, many analysts had expected members of the committee to vote in the same direction at their meeting in May…

Punch
Buhari, stop the endless bloodletting
Too much blood is flowing in Nigeria. A new tally by the Nigerian Security Tracker, run by the Council on Foreign Relations, showed that at least 3,478 people were killed across the country from December 2021 to June 15, 2022. Since then, more have died, felled by terrorists, bandits, gunmen, and cultists…

5 July 2022
BusinessDay
Nigerians voice frustrations over cost of living crisis
When Gbenga Oladejo, a 42-year-old carpenter in Lagos, was celebrating the victory of Muhammed Buhari in the 2015 presidential election, he was hoping for a better life from a president that promised to eliminate corruption, reform an economy hooked on petrodollars, reduce poverty and create jobs…

CNBC Africa
How Ukraine crisis is impacting cost of bakery materials
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine still causing global strain on durum wheat flour importation, Bakers in Nigeria have declared plans to stop bread production across the country from July the 13th due to an increase in baking materials…

Nairametrics
Governor Sanwo-Olu says Lagos residents spend ₦4.5 billion daily on food
Lagosians consume ₦4.5 billion worth of food daily and 50% of beef produced in the country. This was disclosed by Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu at a sensitisation workshop themed:  “Implementation of Food Systems Transformation Pathways in Nigeria 2022,” on Monday in Lagos, according to NAN…

The Nation
Zamfara: One man, one gun?
Guns, whether foreign or locally manufactured, do not seem to be too difficult to get, at least, in the Northwest states…

4 July 2022
BusinessDay
Companies take kidnapping insurance for top executives
Some companies, particularly multinationals in Nigeria, are taking up kidnapping insurance covers for their top executives, BusinessDay has learnt. This is in response to the rising insecurity across the country, where a lot of people have been kidnapped by bandits who demand payment of a ransom in millions of naira…

With options narrowing, Ghana seeks IMF bail out. WIll Nigeria follow in same path?
Ghana will begin talks with the International Monetary Fund to support the government’s economic program, reversing a policy decision not to seek assistance from the multilateral lender. Some analysts say Nigeria will have to go the same way after next year’s presidential election…

The Cable
Only Osun, Ondo allotted over 10% of their budgets to health sector in 2021
States’ funding of the health sector was lower in 2021 compared to the height of COVID pandemic in 2020, according to a report by SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence. In its health preparedness index for 2022, SBM said only Osun and Ondo states allotted more than 10 percent of their budgets to healthcare in 2021…

The Nigerian Voice
Nigerian Jihadists Hacked 2,543 Christians To Death In Jan-June 2022 And Abducted 1400 Others
We at the Int’l Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), Nigeria’s leading research and investigative Rights and Democracy organization since 2008 are deeply joyous, grateful and thankful to the respected US Senators…

2 July 2022
The Sun Nigeria
Securing the lives of Nigerians
A new report by SBM Intelligence has revealed that a total of 68 mass killings occurred in Nigeria between January 1, 2020 and June 9, 2022 and led to the killing of over 2,079 persons. However, in gathering the data for the report, the North East geo-political zone ravaged by insurgency was excluded…

1 July 2022
BusinessDay
BRT fare goes up by ₦100 on diesel prices
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor, has approved a flat rate increase by ₦100 in bus fares for all Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Standard Routes with effect from July 13…