The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the arrest of its officers who abducted a businessman in Abuja and extorted N29.9m from him in January. Hakuna matata.”The businessman was reportedly abducted at one of his sites in Abuja by armed police officers who detained him until he transferred all the money in his bank account to them. In a video watched by Punch Online, a narrator had said, “I posted about the case of N29,900,000 police extortion in Abuja, Nigeria. “So they took him round Abuja, took him round because some cases we have witnessed before before, that’s how they always operate. “In Abuja currently, you have heard about kidnapping cases, robbery cases and nobody knows who are these people operating like this.

The galaxy far, far away returns to the Soccar pitch. The Mandalorian meets Rocket League? Lucasfilm and Psyonix announced today that characters and iconography from The Mandalorian are blasting onto Rocket League in a special Limited Time Event called Mandalorian Mayhem. Mandalorian Mayhem will be the second Star Wars-themed event in Rocket League, following last May’s droid-centric release. So grab your jetpacks and get ready for a whole new Rocket League experience.

The World Bank’s latest Food Security Update report released on Tuesday says inflation in food prices remains high globally across low, middle, and high-income countries. The report highlighted that in 63.2 percent of low-income countries, inflation exceeded 5 percent indicating a 1.3 percentage points increase from the previous food update of January 17, 2023. However, the Bank said in high-income countries food inflation surpassed 5 percent in 44.4 percent of nations, marking a decrease of 1.9 percentage points from the previous food update. According to the report, in 71 percent of the 165 countries with available data, food price inflation outpaced overall inflation in real terms. The World Bank’s Food Security Update stated that the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) reports that recent assaults by Houthi rebels on vessels in the Red Sea have led to a 40 percent reduction in trade volumes through the Suez Canal, thereby reducing global food security.

A special presidential committee met at the presidential villa on Tuesday to articulate actions necessary to stem the tide including the release of available food in stock. It is a special presidential committee to address the issue of food shortage or lack of enough food on the table of most Nigerians. ⁣“Now, some of these will involve unlocking the foods that are available in most of the storage facilities (National Food Reserve) around the country. You know that the Federal Minister of Agriculture has some food reserves. To open it up, so that government will provide some intervention, discuss with them provide some intervention to make this food available to Nigerians.⁣“What the government is noticing is that actually there is still food in this country.

The naira strengthened at the official window on Monday, after the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, reassured that the apex bank was making efforts to tackle the volatility of the currency. The local currency appreciated by 1.09 per cent to close at 1,419.86/$ at the official forex window, according to data obtained from the FMDQ. Recall that the naira dropped significantly to an all-time low of 1482.57 /$ last week Tuesday at the official window, defying efforts by the apex bank and the Federal Government to boost liquidity in the foreign exchange market. The naira closed trading on Friday at 1,450/$ at the alternative forex market. The central bank commenced the clearing of FX backlog in banks in November 2023.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) warned that SIM cards that are not linked to the owners’ National Identity Number (NIN) will be deactivated by the end of February. NCC vice chairman, Aminu Maida, said this in an introductory meeting with the media in Abuja. Maida’s announcement follows a 2021 policy requiring NIN linkage with SIMs. “Pre-registered or illegally registered SIM has been a challenge for a long time,” Maida said. The NCC boss, while speaking on network tariffs and other irregularities on the part of licensed network providers, said the commission is equally collaborating with the industry players.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Tuesday sealed three alcoholic beverage-producing factories in Jos, for not complying with good manufacturing practices and operating without NAFDAC certification. Mr Suleiman said that one of the factories was also sealed for producing banned alcoholic beverages, adding that it also produced other products without the agency’s registration. Mr Suleiman cautioned producers of alcoholic beverages to desist from producing what had been banned by the agency as the raid was continuous. He cautioned sellers to desist from selling alcoholic beverages in sachets, small volume plastic and glass bottles from 100ml and below. NAFDAC In OsunAlso, NAFDAC officials, on Tuesday, began enforcement of the ban on sachets of alcoholic drinks in Osun.

), says the Nigerian Navy’s onslaught against oil thieves saved the nation 91,725.26 barrels of crude in 2023. Speaking on the topic, “Operational Level Warfare: Imperatives for Training and Command in the Nigerian Navy,” he said that this was against 889,890 barrels that were saved from thieves between January and December 2022. While commending the Navy for the feat, he said that more action was needed to reduce the activities of oil thieves to the barest level. On October 26, PUNCH reported that the Nigerian Navy arrested eight oil thieves in a wooden boat with over 300 drums and pumping machines with which they planned to store stolen crude oil. Subsequently, on December 7, the Nigerian Navy said its personnel arrested a 77-metre-long Motor Tanker Vinnalaris 1 Lagos.

The Federation of Nigeria Pharmaceutical Industry Associations is proposing the creation of N600bn Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Development Fund at five per cent interest over a minimum of seven to 10-year tenure. Akpa explained that the fund would help strengthen the local pharmaceutical industry and reduce the high cost of drugs, making drugs available, accessible, and affordable for all Nigerians. He urged the Federal Government to take decisive measures to tackle the challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry causing the recent scarcity of drugs and the attendant high costs. ”Based on extant fiscal policy, raw materials for pharmaceutical products are to be value-added-tax free and this should be sustained as against the recent push by the Nigeria Customs Service to introduce VAT to some pharmaceutical raw materials and even some finished pharmaceutical products. Our local industry will thrive.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Abubakar Ahmad Sirika, the younger brother of former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika, on suspicion of corruption. The arrest, which took place on Sunday, February, is linked to an ongoing investigation into the awarding of aviation ministry contracts. EFCC alleges that while Hadi Sirika served as minister, he conspired to abuse his office and divert public funds totaling N8,069,176,864. This allegedly occurred through four aviation contracts awarded to Engirios Nigeria Limited, a company owned by his younger brother. Abubakar is currently in EFCC custody, reportedly providing information about the financial activities of the aviation ministry under his brother’s tenure, the source added.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki have advocated stronger trade ties between Nigeria and Angola, emphasising the need for an improved economic partnership between the two Africa leading oil producers. The former President emphasised the necessity for a significant boost in trade ties between the two nations, highlighting the inadequacy of the existing relationship. The session, aimed at fostering collaboration, focused on unlocking the untapped potential for economic cooperation between Nigeria and Angola. Obasanjo said, “Sadly, there is no Foreign Direct Investment between Nigeria and Angola. Speaking on the efforts to address trade barriers and streamline visa processes, the President of the Angola-Nigeria Business Council, Fifi Ejindu, called for a positive step toward fostering smoother trade ties between Nigeria and Angola.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is working in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Energy Resources (DOS-ENR) under the Energy and Mineral Governance Program (EMGP) and Deloitte, as the implementing partner to meet its net-zero carbon goals by embarking on a project aimed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through methane abatement plans and strategies consistent with international leading practices. The pilot project which is at its conceptual stage was the focus of a three-day Technical Assistance on Oil & Gas Sector Global Methane Abatement and Decarbonisation Workshop which kicked off at the PTDF Tower, in Abuja, on Monday. According to the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, Olufemi O. Soneye, the workshop, which was a follow-up on the July 2023 capacity building training on Methane Baselining and Organisational Design and the Development of a Methane Technology Evaluation Framework, was aimed at defining the critical success elements for the Methane Abatement Pilot Project Implementation, Scaling and Financing. He said: “Participants at the workshop unanimously selected OML 34 located onshore in Western Niger Delta which has the Utorogu and Ughelli Fields as the operation site for the pilot stage of the project. “Participants were drawn from relevant NNPC Ltd.’s subsidiaries and Departments such as Exploration & Production; New Energy; Gas Infrastructure; Health, Safety, and Environment, as well as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, and Federal Government agencies like the National Council on Climate Change.”The project technical training is sponsored by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources’ Energy and Mineral Governance Programme (EMGP).

A renowned economist, Bismarck Rewane, on Monday, declared that the country’s official currency is undergoing transition and not cursed as being speculated in some quarters. While admitting that tough days lie ahead for Nigerians, Rewane said the free fall of the naira is not a problem that cannot be solved by one silver bullet. He said, “No, I don’t think the naira is jinxed. It is just a currency in transition. But the point is that you have to look at it in the context of the currency in transition to weigh its fair value.

For several years, Nigeria has over relied on the prospects of crude oil, as a major source of export and government revenue. Currently, crude oil accounts for 80 per cent of Nigeria’s export, a significant proportion of our foreign exchange earnings and government revenue. The 2024 budget estimates that the oil sector will contribute 42 per cent to government revenue. The government must discourage single-use plastics; it is estimated that Nigeria generates 2.5 million metric tons of plastic waste annually. The big-elephant in the room I reckon is the conversation on financing, Nigeria Energy Transition office, estimates that Nigeria requires $1.9trillion in investment to meet the net-zero target by 2060, which would require a minimum $10bn annually.

Green financing is the financing of projects or companies that are now trying to reduce carbon emission using alternate sources of energy. Green financing is specifically an initiative to combat climate change. The bottom line is that green financing is money or resources that will be provided for initiatives to combat climate change. How far do you think Africa can go to mitigate the effect of climate change using the Green Finance? Africa suffers the most, farmers and businesses are not well equipped to tap into green financing to make their production sustainable.