Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Lagos has held that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is constitutionally empowered to demand and collect the social media handles of their customers as part of the standard Know-Your-Customer procedure, saying it is not a breach of the right to privacy. Justice Dimgba made the declaration while ruling on a suit filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Chris Eke, seeking an order stopping the apex bank from demanding bank customers’ social media handles. Eke had prayed the court to declare that the regulation as contained in Section 6(a)(iv) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations, 2023, is undemocratic, unconstitutional, null and void to the extent of its inconsistency with Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). The lawyer had also prayed the court to grant an order of perpetual injunction restraining...

VistaJet has joined the growing list of business aviation operators in the Nigerian market, offering luxury, convenient and world-class services.The global business aviation company brings on board its two decades of experience and fleet capacity to offer the rich and classy Nigerians services that are next to owning a private jet. President of VistaJet, Europe & Africa, Philippe Scalabrini, at the roadshow static display held at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos recently, said the Nigerian market is a valuable addition to their footprints in Africa and beyond, crisscrossing 2,400 airports across 207 countries and territories. Scalabrini, who announced the commencement of operations in Nigeria, said the decision to expand services into Nigeria comes after three years of meticulous planning and development. He added that the company’s charter service would cater to the growing demand for private aviation services in the region and would be deploying three Challenger 605 aircraft in...

The trade volume between Nigeria and Taiwan declined from $1bn in 2021 to $500m in 2023 after imports from Nigeria matched Taiwan’s demand for imported agricultural products. The Chief of Mission of the Taiwan Government in Nigeria, Andy Liu, stated this during the 2024 Taiwan Business Forum in Nigeria. He said Taiwan was a net importer of Nigeria’s agricultural products, especially sesame seeds. According to him, despite the decline in trade volume by 50%, Nigeria still remained a destination for Taiwanese businesses. He said, “The highest peak of trade reached about $1 billion in 2021. It was the peak of COVID-19 with Nigeria enjoying a trade surplus with Taiwan. We imported more of Nigeria’s agricultural products such as sesame beside oil-related products. He said the Taiwanese government is working to address the adulteration and counterfeiting of Taiwanese products worldwide. “We have been having our delegates visiting the world to prove...

  A non-governmental organisation, Divine Era Development and Social Rights Initiative (DEDASRI), has accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of frustrating its inquiry into the construction of a 500MT Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) agreement in the federal capital, Abuja. The contracts were reportedly awarded in 2023. DEDASRI and its media partner, MAWA foundation, on January 9 this year, relied on the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to request information on the contracts awarded to Novertek Energy Limited and Femadec Energy for the petroleum gas depot and Compressed Natural Gas, respectively. They requested the exact amount for both contracts, their timeline for completion, reports of the procurement/tender bid leading to the selection of the two companies for execution of the contracts, and the exact location of the projects. Officials of the non-governmental organisations stated that they decided to make the request following...

Mr Shettima said the government of Renewed Hope led by President Tinubu attaches immense importance to religious pilgrimage due to its role in transforming behavioural and social vices of the believers beyond performing the pilgrimage. Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday revealed that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had subsidised the cost of the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage with N90 billion. Mr Shettima made this known at the inauguration of the 2024 National Hajj operation, held at the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State Capital. ” You may recall that this year, we had a major challenge in announcing the final hajj fare for the 2024 Muslim pilgrimage due to fluctuation in foreign exchange rates. ” President Bola Tinubu also works round the clock to control the downwards spiral of our local currency to bring relief to our pilgrims and other Nigerians, a move that eventually succeeded in lowering...

1 day ago The police in Ibadan on Wednesday arraigned Sulaiman Ikudaisi, 37, who allegedly tampered with a corpse. Ikudaisi, whose address was not provided, is charged with tampering with corpse but he pleaded not guilty before an Iyaganku Magistrates’ Court. The prosecutor, Insp. Toyin Ibrahim, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on May 11… 1 day ago The Nigeria Customs Service Board (NCSB), on Wednesday, confirmed the appointment of five Deputy Comptrollers-General (DCGs) and eight Assistant Comptrollers-General (ACGs) of Customs during its 59th regular meeting. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, disclosed this during a meeting at the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Abuja. The appointments… 1 day ago Former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, has vowed to appeal the ruling of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court, Apo, which dismissed his preliminary objection challenging the...

With the latest development, the LP has 11 members, while the PDP retains its majority position with 12 members. Two members of the Abia House of Assembly have defected to the Labour Party (LP) from the Young Progressives Party (YPP). The members- Iheanacho Nwogu and Fine Ahuama- announced their defection to the LP during a plenary on Tuesday, Speaker of the Assembly Emmanuel Emeruwa said in a post on his X handle Tuesday night. Mr Emeruwa, also a member of the LP, said Mr Nwogu, representing Osisioma North State Constituency, told the House that he was defecting to the LP because YPP expelled him from the party for alleged anti-party activities. The Speaker did not say why Mr Ahuama, who represents Osisioma South State Constituency, decided to switch to the LP. How Abia Assembly stands now Upon the inauguration of the Abia State Assembly on 14 June 2023, the PDP...

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), on Tuesday, accused Mr Karl Toriola, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd., of evading service of court documents in the alleged copyright infringement suit The NCC’s lawyer, Gladys Ojo, made the allegation before Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court, Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Ekwo had, on April 29, fixed today for Toriola and other co-defendants’ to take their plea following his failure to appear in court in the last adjourned date for their arraignment. NAN reports that the NCC had, in a charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/111/2024, sued MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd; Toriola; MTN Senior Executive Officer, Nkeakam Abhulimen; Fun Mobile Ltd, a telecommunications service provider; and Yahaya Maibe, its CEO, as 1st to 5th defendants, respectively. In the three-count charge dated March 19 and filed March 20 by Emeka Ogbonna on...

Tendai Rupapa in ABUJA, Nigeria NIGERIAN First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu says she looks up to First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa as a mentor due to her philanthropic works which she has described as highly commendable and inspiring. Sen Tinubu, who has been in office for one year and once visited Zimbabwe at the invitation of Amai Mnangagwa, said she was awestruck by Dr Mnangagwa’s hard work and passion for the people, especially women and the girl child. She said she had already started replicating some of Dr Mnangagwa’s works in her motherland. Sen Tinubu made the remarks when she paid a courtesy call on Dr Mnangagwa during which they deliberated on various issues, thereby cementing their relationship and sharing ideas on how best to serve their people. Dr Mnangagwa is among her regional counterparts in Nigeria at the invitation of Dr Tinubu for the launch of the #We are...

Three French prison officers were killed and two others wounded Tuesday in an attack on a prison van transporting an inmate who escaped, a police source told AFP. The hit-and-run attack took place late morning at a road toll in Incarville in the Eure region of northern France, another source close to the case added.… French police officers detain a demonstrator in Paris on July 2, 2023, five days after a 17-year-old man was killed by police in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris. – French police arrested 1311 people nationwide during a fourth consecutive night of rioting over the killing of a teenager by police, the interior ministry said on July 1, 2023. France had deployed 45,000 officers overnight backed by light armoured vehicles and crack police units to quell the violence over the death of 17-year-old Nahel, killed during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb on June...