January 2024

31 January 2024
BusinessDay
Abuja residents face rising rent, transport costs over kidnapping epidemic
House rents in upscale areas of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have surged in recent times due to the increasing incidents of kidnappings in suburban areas, a new report by SBM Intelligence says…

30 January 2024
AFP
Kidnappers Seize Children From Nigeria School Bus
Kidnappers attacked a Nigerian school bus and abducted five children along with their teachers, the school’s founder said on Tuesday as outrage grows over insecurity in the country…

OilPrice.com
Nigeria’s Oil Industry Expansion Threatened By Oil Major Exodus
Nigeria has been looking for years to stem a drop in its oil production, which has dragged government revenues down and didn’t allow Africa’s largest OPEC producer and exporter to take full advantage of the surge in oil prices in 2022…

Semafor
South Africa’s Gaza stance threatens trade ties with Israel
Citizens in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have been plagued by Islamist groups who terrorized communities, killing thousands and forcing thousands more to flee their homes for much of the last decade…

29 January 2024
BusinessDay
Africa’s free-trade area under threat as ECOWAS shrinks
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting the continent’s trading position in the global market, has a new challenge to contend with: the exit of three countries from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)…

Nigeria among top 5 countries with highest wage growth – Report
Nigeria is among the top five countries with the highest growth in minimum net monthly wage within a year, the latest 2024 Minimum Wages report has shown…

The Nation
Menace of kidnapping
Kidnapping has become an albatross on our country’s development and urgent stringent measures must be taken to curb the menace, so the multi-dimensional poverty afflicting Nigerians will not worsen…

Reuters
Nigeria oil enters unclear new era after Shell’s onshore asset sale
Shell’s exit from Nigeria’s onshore oil sector highlights risks oil majors face in Africa’s biggest exporter but has raised hopes that local firms could reverse the output decline from the Niger Delta, industry officials and analysts said…

28 January 2024
Associated Press
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso withdraw from West Africa regional bloc ECOWAS as tensions deepen
West African nations Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have withdrawn from the regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS, their respective juntas announced Sunday. They accused the bloc of “inhumane” sanctions to reverse the coups in their nations…

BusinessDay
Fear grips 19 states as kidnapping epidemic explodes
Beyond the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which has recently become a hotbed for kidnapping, a wave of fear now engulfs at least 19 states as abductions by brazen kingpins and their gangs spike alarmingly…

Nigeria’s debt burden: Soaring repayment amid dysfunctional education, health sectors
Nigeria’s ballooning debt, juxtaposed against the stagnant growth in education and health sectors, paints a stark picture of fiscal disparity. Since 2015, the nation’s budgeted debt service cost has skyrocketed to ₦33.7 trillion, dwarfing the ₦16.5 trillion allocated to crucial areas like education and health.

New Telegraph
Insecurity: Women Groups Demands Immediate Resumption Of Lawmakers To Tackle Menace
Womanifesto, a group of over 500 women organizations, activists, advocates, and practitioners has strongly condemned the recent wave of insecurities and kidnappings in Nigeria while asking members of National Assembly to resume immediately to curb the menace…

NIN-SIM Linkages: How Use of Technology Can Tame Insecurity –Security Experts
However, despite the certainty of death, chilling stories of how Nigerians are either kidnapped or sentenced to early graves by the lethal weapons of the merchants of death for refusing to pay ransom are causing a number of Nigerians to lose sleep, depositing sorrow and tears in homes and agony in their bones…

Vanguard
Beyond Abuja: 19 states battle kidnap-for-ransom
Beyond Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which has recorded several cases of kidnapping recently, there is heightened fear in no fewer than 19 states of the federation following a spike in the activities of kidnappers and their kingpins…

25 January 2024
AIT
Moneyline: The economics of Nigeria’s kidnap industry
Mr. Confidence Macharry, Senior Security Analyst, SBM Intelligence discusses the economics of Nigeria’s kidnapping industry on this Episode of Moneyline with Nancy…

Financial Times
Aliko Dangote faces toughest political challenge despite opening Nigeria refinery
After years of delay and cost overruns, the 650,000 barrels a day refinery in Nigeria owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, processed crude oil for the first time this month, marking the first operational step for a project he has dubbed a “game changer” for the country…

24 January 2024
BusinessDay
Nigeria’s growing debt handicaps future workforce
Nigeria’s growing debt service bill is on course to bring about dire consequences for its future generations, economy watchers have warned, saying this will slow down economic growth and development…

What FG can do to tackle high debt cost
Nigeria’s rising borrowing cost could threaten the stability and prosperity of its future of generations, experts say. Over the past decade, the federal government has spent more on servicing its debt than on critical sectors of the economy such as health and education…

Daily Post
Kidnappings: Concern mounts over crowdfunding for ransom
Amid killings, banditry, kidnappings, among other security challenges bedeviling most parts of the country, Nigerians, in a rather distressing trend, are now resorting to crowdfunding to secure the freedom of their family members and relatives…

Punch
Naira depreciation pushes drug imports to ₦900bn
Drug prices are set to remain high in 2024 as import prices of pharmaceutical products may hit over ₦900bn due to the depreciation of the naira…

23 January 2024
Leadership
Escalation Of Kidnapping In Abuja, A Cause For Concern
In the last few days and weeks, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory has been in the news for very wrong reasons. The media is awash with stories of kidnappings of citizens from both the outskirts and center of Abuja. People in FCT are no longer at ease…

The Street Journal
Nigerians grieve as kidnapping grows into billion naira industry
In light of the pervasive insecurity made worse by kidnapping and other forms of crimes in the land, the image of Nigeria in the eye of the global community is adjudged by analysts as blurry and unattractive…

22 January 2024
Humangle
Social Media ‘Crowdfunding’ Signals New Phase In Nigeria’s Spiralling Kidnapping Crisis
In Nigeria, kidnap-for-ransom has become a disturbingly booming enterprise over the past few years. There are frequent reports of violent attacks, resulting in the abduction of locals, either along highways where terrorists hold sway or in the comfort of their homes…

Vanguard
Wrong time to fall sick in Nigeria, as cost of medicines skyrockets
In Nigeria, falling sick can be challenging in normal times but seeking treatment is currently a double blow as the financial implication has become increasingly unbearable for many Nigerians…

21 January 2024
BBC
How police for Abuja rescue di five sisters wey be Bwari victims
Di Nigeria police don confam say di victims of di Bwari Area Council wey happun for Abuja, Nigeria capital for January don regain dia freedom…

Nigerian Tribune
Reign of terror as kidnappers resume operations nationwide
The growing concern among Nigerians nowadays is insecurity. For the past few weeks, the media have been awash with reports of abductions taking place across the country. But kidnapping is not a new trend in the most populous nation in Africa…

Punch
Nigerians devise self-defence strategies as kidnap epidemic deepens
Many citizens are taking to self-help to combat the recent spike in kidnapping and killings across the country, especially in the urban centres. Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory as well as Taraba, Kaduna, Borno, Katsina and Plateau states, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH, said they were making life-changing adjustments, including forming neighbourhood guards and vigilantes, to be able to resist the criminals who had shattered their peace and caused them unprecedented loss…

20 January 2024
AFP
Kidnapping of 5 Sisters Raises Outcry in Nigeria
The abduction of five young Nigerian sisters near Abuja has sparked a national outcry and raised fears about insecurity in the country’s capital…

The Cable
Data shows that Soludo and other south-east governors have made region safest in Nigeria
With the help of the federal government, the South East governors have made the South East the safest region in Nigeria. This assertion is supported by empirical evidence…

ICIR Nigeria
“We can’t sleep” FCT residents flee homes over bandits attacks, kidnappings
Persistent attacks and abductions are forcing residents of Kuchiko, a border town between the FCT and Niger state, to flee their homes while many battle sleeping disorders due to heavy gunshots at night…

Punch
Over 87 FCT residents killed, 176 kidnapped under Tinubu – Investigation
Over 200 violent attacks have been recorded across all six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023…

19 January 2024
BusinessDay
Nigerians buy more noodles as rice gets pricier
The sales of noodles in Nigeria increased by more than a third last year, new data show, as the soaring price of rice forced more consumers to opt for cheaper alternatives. A report by Euromonitor International, a global market research provider, shows that the sales value of noodles in the country’s formal market rose year-on-year by 38.2 percent to ₦427.2 billion in 2023, the highest in at least six years…

The Nation
Kidnapping and insecurity in FCT
My concern for the deplorable security situation in Nigeria is centred on its disruptive effects on the common hapless citizens that are being terrorized by the daredevil bandits while our politicians regale on frivolities…

University World News
Student’s murder prompts improvements in on-campus security
The murder of Deborah Modupe Atanda, a second-year nursing student at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) in Nigeria in 2023, set off a chain of events to enhance security on the campus, but experts warn about a general deterioration in safety that universities should address urgently…

18 January 2024
News Central TV
Ibadan Explosion: President Tinubu Demands Punishment For Culprits
President Tinubu reacts to the Ibadan explosion, demanding justice for the victims and punishment for those responsible. The incident, occurring on Tuesday night, claimed two lives, left 80 wounded, and caused extensive damage in the Bodija area…

People’s Daily
Abuja kidnapping quagmire: How safe is the Center of Unity?
It is pretty alarming and shameful to hear that a group of abductors has managed to invade the capital city of a nation without facing any resistance. Such a situation not only puts the safety and security of the citizens at risk but also raises serious questions about the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies and the government’s ability to protect its people…

Punch
Tinubu downplaying insecurity
Far from waning, insecurity is deteriorating sharply under the Bola Tinubu administration. It assumed frightening dimensions after the brazen killing of two victims, Nabeeha al-Kadriyar and Folashade Ariyo by bandits in the Federal Capital Territory. This has sent the country into a panic mode…

Western Post
Executive order to regulate drug costs coming soon, says Pate
Minister of Health Ali Pate has stated that the Federal Government will issue an executive order to manage pharmaceutical pricing and reduce the cost of vital pharmaceuticals in Nigeria…

16 January 2024
BusinessDay
Inflation nears 30% as uncertainty clouds MPC meeting
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate edged closer to 30 percent in December on the back of higher transport costs and weaker naira, even as it remains uncertain when the next meeting of the rate-setting committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will take place…

Escalating insecurity grips Abuja, residents demand urgent action
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is facing alarming surge in insecurity, prompting growing concerns among residents and authorities. The capital city, once considered relatively immune to the prevalent security challenges in other parts of the country, is now grappling with an escalating wave of criminal activities, particularly kidnappings…

FIJ 
Nigerians Crowdfund to Pay Ransoms While Government Launches Books
What would have been a regular day for Oluwatosin turned out to be one of the worst days of her life. It was some minutes past 8 pm when she heard the sound of shattering glass from her neighbour’s apartment. She was home with her brother’s wife and niece and had no clue who was shattering the glass or the intention behind it…

Politics Nigeria
Alarming surge in kidnappings sparks concerns among residents of Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is witnessing a worrying increase in insecurity, particularly kidnappings, causing growing apprehension among residents and authorities. Once considered immune to prevalent security challenges, Abuja is grappling with an escalating wave of criminal activities…

Punch
Nabeeha, Ariyo killings direct affront to Tinubu govt
In a direct affront to the Nigerian state, bandits are running riot all over the Federal Capital Territory, kidnapping and slaughtering innocent victims. In a sharp deterioration of the security situation in Abuja, the bandits have abducted over 10 persons and killed three of them as of Friday…

Sun Nigeria
Kidnappers rake in millions from Abuja victims
Despite the presence of 17 arms-bearing security agencies domiciled in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), kidnappers, in the last one year, raked millions of naira from hapless residents. A credible data made available to Daily Sun revealed that no fewer than 300 residents of the territory were kidnapped between January and December, 2023…

15 January 2024
BBC
Time dey run out for remaining five sisters wey bandits kidnap for Abuja
One crowdfunding campaign dey currently shele on X to raise moni for five sisters wey bandits bin kidnap wit dia papa for Abuja on 2 January. Di bandits later release di papa, Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, make im go hustle moni for ransom payment…

BusinessDay
Ban on dependents: UK varsities may suffer financial deficit – report
There are indications that many universities in the United Kingdom may witness a serious financial deficit as a result of a major decline in the admission of international students, following the announcement of a ban on bringing dependents into the country by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, effective January…

Leadership
Kidnapping In FCT…Concern As Pantami Raises Ransom For Victims
Following the abduction of six sisters and their father in the Bwari area council of the federal capital territory (FCT), and the killing of one of them, former minister of communications and digital economy, Dr Isa Pantami, has revealed that his friend has volunteered to pay the remaining ₦50 million out of the initial ₦60 million the bandits demanded…

14 January 2024
Pulse Nigeria
Nabeeha was happy to graduate at 20 — Nigeria’s kidnap industry ended her life at 21
In a December 1, 2023 post on her Substack, Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar provided two significant life updates to her readers: she had concluded her education as a student of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, where she studied Biological Science, and she celebrated her 21st birthday after that milestone…

11 January 2024
Bloomberg
Raid on Billionaire Dangote’s Office Spooks Nigerian Businesses
Last week’s raid by the anti-graft commission on the offices of Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person whose empire dominates the Nigerian corporate world, has sent panic through the country’s boardrooms. But the clues were hiding in plain sight…

Mondaq
Nigeria: Unaccounted Taxes In Nigeria: The Hidden Drain On The Economy
Nigeria, often referred to as the “Giant of Africa” boasts vast resources, a large and increasingly growing population, and a dynamic economy. Yet, despite its potential for prosperity, the country grapples with significant challenges, one of which is the issue of unaccounted taxes and other Government revenue…

Premium Times
15 persons kidnapped in 2024 as Abuja grapples with rising crime rate
No fewer than 15 persons have been reportedly kidnapped in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) since the beginning of 2024. The victims were kidnapped in two major incidents that occurred in the first week of the new year thus depicting rising cases of abduction in the nation’s capital…

9 January 2024
BusinessDay
Firms seen boosting wages in 2024 despite rising prices
Companies in the private sector may increase salaries in 2024 on the back of rising inflation and the Federal Government’s new wage regime set to be in place in April, analysts at CardinalStone Research say…

8 January 2024
BusinessDay
Analysts see cost of living easing in 2024
Nigerians should expect respite on the cost of living crisis as analysts see the pressure easing in 2024 compared to the previous year. The analysts are basing their optimism on downward trend of inflation globally, phasing out of the current impact of the petrol subsidy, and expectations of FX inflows amongst others…

7 January 2024
Leadership
Enough!
Enough is enough! That was the sentiment expressed by Nigerians following the recent gale of kidnappings and terror attacks unleashed by bandits on defenceless Nigerians in various parts of Nigeria, especially in the northern parts (Kaduna, Plateau and Taraba states) where trips hitherto classified as routine are now acknowledged as a walk in the valley of the shadow of death…

6 January 2024
Vanguard
Reduce insecurity in Nigeria, Prophet Ologbonyo implores Tinubu
Following insecurity that is ravaging the country, Prophet Joseph Ade Ologbonyo, the planter of the Christ Apostolic Church, Boanerges, Saturday urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to do more to reduce national insecurity…

5 January 2024
BusinessDay
Rice, pasta sales drop to 5-year low on rising prices
Rising inflation has made staple foods including rice and pasta less affordable for many Nigerians as sales fell to the lowest in five years, according to a new report by a global market research provider…

4 January 2024
BusinessDay
UK stops Nigerian students, other nationals from bringing dependants
The Home Office of the United Kingdom announced on Monday that it had commenced the implementation of its policy, stopping Nigerian students as well as students from other nationals from bringing in dependents through the study visa route…

3 January 2024
BusinessDay
What to expect from Nigeria’s economy in 2024
Many Nigerians are still smarting from last year’s economic shocks and expecting that things will turn the corner in 2024. Some analysts and economic experts have projected that the country’s economy will perform better this year on the back of the recovery of the oil sector from recession and gains from the Federal Government reforms…

Military Africa
China seeks to establish presence in Nigeria’s defence sector
China is looking to expand its military and economic influence in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous and largest economy, by establishing its military industry in the country. This was revealed by the Ambassador of China to Nigeria, Cui Jian Chun, during his visit to the Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, in Abuja last November…

2 January 2024
Sun Nigeria
Review: 2023: Naira redesign, FX unification, others headline Nigeria’s economic performance
There is no gainsaying that the Nigerian economy performed poorly in 2023 compared to 2022. The deterioration also had its bang effect on the banking sector owing to the whirlwind of policy changes carried out by the old and new administrations under former President Muhammadu Buhari, and current President, Bola Tinubu, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)…

1 January 2024
Africa Defense Forum
Children of Desperation
The 27-minute video shows how one of the Lake Chad Basin’s fiercest extremist groups turns children ages 8 to 16 into religious radicals, gun-toting extremists and assassins. Titled “The Empowerment Generation,” the January 2022 propaganda film is from the Islamic State West Africa Province’s (ISWAP) “Khilafah [Caliphate] Cadet School.” It’s the most detailed Islamic State group (IS) video of children released up to that point, according to The Jamestown Foundation. “It is meant to showcase a day in the life of a trainee at the school,” the foundation says…