Daily Watch – CBN cracks down on fintechs, France withdraws from Chad

11th December 2024

More than 50 women and children have been kidnapped in Kakin Dawa village in Zamfara state, police and residents said. Reuters reported. Zamfara police said the incident took place on Sunday and that additional security forces were being deployed to the area. Residents said dozens of assailants riding on motorcycles arrived in the village, armed with assault rifles, and went from house to house kidnapping residents. “Later we found out that they kidnapped more than 50 women, including married women and girls,” said Hassan Ya’u, who escaped the attack but whose younger sister was taken. “We are appealing to the federal and Zamfara state governments to send more soldiers and security personnel to fight those bandits,” he said. “We are currently waiting to hear the kidnappers’ demands for the release of the abducted individuals,” said Abdulkadir Sadia, another resident of the village. “The entire community is in distress.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) fined Moniepoint and OPay, ₦1 billion each in the second quarter of 2024, sources with direct knowledge told TechCabal. While several other fintech companies were also penalised, the two firms were the hardest hit. The penalties followed a routine CBN audit of the fintech sector, which revealed compliance issues. According to two sources, these regulatory checks are a standard procedure for banks and financial institutions under CBN oversight. At least four other fintech companies were similarly penalised, though the details of these fines remain unknown. The CBN has increasingly relied on fines to enforce regulatory compliance. In 2023, Nigerian banks paid a combined ₦678 million in penalties. In October 2024, the CBN and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) imposed a ₦15 billion fine on ten commercial banks, including Zenith and GTBank, for various infractions in the first half of the year.

The Ghana Police Service has sent a strong caution to individuals and groups engaging in violence, vandalism, and other criminal activities aimed at disturbing the peace of Ghana. According to Ansah Akrofi, Director of Public Affairs of Police Service, the police have recorded several incidents of vandalism and violence in various parts of the country, including the Ghana Gas, Ghana Petroleum Authority, passport office, Engineer Centre, Ayensuano in the Eastern Region, and Winchi. The police have worked closely with the Ghana Armed Forces to restore law and order in these areas, which, in the process of restoring law and order, led to an injury to one of the military men. As of Tuesday, the police have arrested a total of 107 persons in connection with the post-election violence and vandalism. Ansah Akrofi noted that perpetrators will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

France has started the withdrawal of its military from Chad with the departure of two warplanes based in the capital N’Djamena, the French army said. In a surprise move, the government of Chad ended the defence cooperation pact on 28 November. The withdrawal terms and conditions and whether any French troops will remain in the country altogether have yet to be agreed upon, but on Tuesday, the first Mirage warplanes returned to their base in eastern France. “It marks the beginning of the return of French equipment stationed in N’Djamena,” Army spokesperson Colonel Guillaume Vernet said after two Mirage fighter jets left Chad. Chad’s Army spokesman, Chanane Issakha Acheikh, confirmed the departure of the French warplanes and said that the public would be kept informed on the withdrawal “until the definitive departure of the (French) forces.”