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SEC Moves to Freeze CBEX Accounts Over N1.3 Trillion Crypto Ponzi Scheme

By
Ola Akinola
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0

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked the Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST) to immediately freeze all bank accounts belonging to Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) and 25 other defendants as it accuses of orchestrating one of Nigeria’s largest Ponzi schemes, with estimated investor losses exceeding N1.3 trillion ($800 million).

The application was filed in the ongoing case IST/OA/02/2025: *Securities and Exchange Commission & Anor v Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) & 25 Ors*, before the 6th Panel of the tribunal chaired by Hon. Aminu Jinaidu.

In addition to the account freeze, the SEC is seeking an order to seize luxury houses and other assets allegedly purchased with proceeds from the fraudulent platform.

According to the Commission, CBEX operated as an unregistered investment entity that lured Nigerians with promises of up to 100% returns within 30–45 days through “advanced AI-powered crypto trading”, in clear violation of Section 3(b) of the Investments and Securities Act 2025.

The platform, launched around July 2024 via a website and mobile app, was already flagged as suspicious by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission as far back as April 2024. It had also misleadingly adopted a name similar to a legitimate Chinese property-trading organisation.

When the defendants failed to appear in court on Tuesday, Tribunal Chairman Jinaidu ordered that hearing notices be served through publication in national newspapers.

The matter has been adjourned to 27 January 2026 for further hearing.

The SEC’s aggressive action marks the latest crackdown on unregistered crypto investment platforms that have wiped out billions of naira from Nigerian retail investors in recent years.

New NPC Chairman Vows Welfare Overhaul, Digital Push in First Staff Meeting

By
Ola Akinola
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0

Newly sworn-in Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Dr. Aminu Yusuf, has promised to place staff welfare at the top of his agenda, signalling an immediate shift toward better working conditions and digital modernisation.

Speaking at his maiden town-hall meeting with hundreds of NPC staff at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, Dr. Yusuf declared: “Your welfare is my priority. A motivated workforce is the heartbeat of any successful organisation.”

The meeting came barely 48 hours after he held a closed-door session with the leadership of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of NPC unions, where both sides reached what he described as “frank and far-reaching agreements” on long-standing grievances.

“Let us move forward together with sincerity of purpose,” Yusuf told cheering staff. “I am committed to repositioning the NPC as a model public institution — efficient, digital, and staff-centred.”

He urged employees to embrace professionalism and openness to change, promising that resolutions from the JAC parley would be implemented without delay to restore workplace harmony and boost productivity.

Staff union representative, Mrs. Ronke Adewunmi, welcomed the Chairman’s early outreach, calling it “a breath of fresh air.”

“Sir, the entire workforce has great expectations from your leadership,” she said. “We are ready to partner with you to resolve funding challenges, welfare issues, and structural bottlenecks that have held us back for too long.”

Adewunmi stressed that the unions see themselves as “collaborators in progress, not adversaries,” and pledged full support for reforms that strengthen the Commission.

Director-General of the NPC, Dr. Osifo Tellson Ojogun, attended both the JAC session and the general staff meeting.

Staff who spoke to NewsFocus afterwards expressed cautious optimism, with many describing the new Chairman’s tone as “refreshingly different” and his welfare pledge as the clearest signal in years that their concerns are finally being heard.

With a new census on the horizon and mounting pressure for accurate demographic data, all eyes are now on Dr. Yusuf to turn promises into swift action.

Nigeria at “Most Dangerous Moment in History” – CAN President Okoh Issues Stark Warning on Insecurity

By
Toyin Adebayo
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0

The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel C. Okoh, on Wednesday declared that the country is passing through “one of the most dangerous periods in its national history,” with rampant banditry, kidnapping, and violent extremism now threatening the very existence of the Nigerian state.

Speaking at the opening of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) quarterly meeting in Abuja, the CAN leader painted a grim picture: innocent lives lost daily, communities abandoned, farmers trapped in their homes, investors fleeing, and places of worship turned into killing fields.

“Citizens are increasingly anxious about their safety at home, on farms, on highways, and even in places of worship,” Archbishop Okoh told a packed hall at Barcelona Hotel, Wuse II. “This is alarming and heartbreaking.”

While acknowledging President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to overhaul the security architecture, Okoh warned that current measures are falling short of restoring public confidence.

“The daily carnage has become unbearable. The economy is bleeding, poverty is exploding, and frustration is boiling over,” he said.

Turning to faith leaders, the CAN President described churches and mosques as “the most trusted and far-reaching structures in Nigeria” and urged government at all levels to forge deeper, practical partnerships with NIREC and religious bodies to mobilise communities, fight misinformation, and restore calm.

“Peace without justice is impossible,” he stressed, demanding swift accountability for perpetrators and sponsors of violence, rehabilitation for victims, and equal protection under the rule of law for every Nigerian.

Archbishop Okoh praised Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, for his steadfast support of NIREC, and paid tribute to former SGF Boss Mustapha for his enduring commitment to interfaith harmony.

He ended with a rallying cry: “Let us pray harder, but also act bolder. Nigeria can still be saved — but only if government and faith communities walk hand-in-hand, today, not tomorrow.”

As the NIREC meeting continues behind closed doors, one message from the CAN President rings loud and clear: Nigeria stands at a critical crossroads — and time is running out.

Two More PDP Reps Dump Party for APC as Opposition Scrambles for Emergency Meeting

By
Ola Akinola
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0

The Peoples Democratic Party’s freefall deepened on Wednesday as two House of Representatives members formally defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), triggering an emergency caucus meeting of the remaining PDP lawmakers.

In separate letters read during plenary, Hon. Engr. Rodney Ebikebena Ambaiowei (Sagamu/Epe/Ejigbo, Bayelsa) and Hon. Abubakar Boko (Boko/Boko, Bauchi) cited the PDP’s “protracted leadership crisis” and “confusion over which faction controls the party” as reasons they could no longer stay.

Rodney, Chairman of the Nigeria–Switzerland Parliamentary Friendship Group, said the chaos had made it “increasingly difficult to effectively represent my constituents.”

Boko, who chairs the House Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies, added that he reached the decision after “wide consultations with my family and constituents.”

Both lawmakers have notified their ward executives and tendered formal resignations from the PDP.

The defections were greeted with applause from the APC side, with one senior ruling party member joking that the APC is “the biggest and greatest party in Africa.” The presiding officer quickly shut down further comment “for obvious reasons,” sparking laughter across the chamber.

Within hours, PDP Minority Whip Rt. Hon. Ali Isa Jegede fired off an urgent notice convening an emergency caucus meeting of all remaining PDP House members for 2:00 p.m. Wednesday in Room 4-1-7.

Sources say the agenda is simple but grim: stop the bleeding.

With Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara and 16 state lawmakers already gone, and now two more federal lawmakers jumping ship, the PDP’s once-mighty legislative bloc is shrinking fast — and 2027 is looking bleaker by the day.

The opposition’s emergency huddle begins in less than two hours. Expect fireworks.

Pharmacists Fire Back at Doctors: CPAN Brands NAMDA Petition “Fear-Driven, Unacademic Rubbish”

By
Toyin Adebayo
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0

The Clinical Pharmacists Association of Nigeria (CPAN) has torn into the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) with a blistering, evidence-loaded rebuttal, accusing doctors of launching a “fear-driven, intellectually dishonest” campaign to block consultant pharmacist and consultant nurse cadres.

In a statement signed by National Chairman Dr. Maureen Nwafor and National Secretary Dr. AbdulMuminu Isah, CPAN dismissed NAMDA’s December 1 petition to the Head of Service as “recycled falsehoods dressed up as scholarship” and “riddled with contradictions, emotional blackmail, and claims that collapse under the lightest academic scrutiny.”

“NAMDA’s document is not an academic submission — it is a panic attack on paper,” Dr. Nwafor declared. “It contains zero citations, zero new evidence, and 100% fear of losing monopoly.”

CPAN systematically demolished NAMDA’s core argument that pharmacists and nurses lack “clinical relevance”:

– Multiple peer-reviewed Nigerian and global studies show pharmacist-led interventions dramatically cut medication errors, boost adherence, and improve outcomes in diabetes, hypertension, HIV, asthma, epilepsy, and mental health.
– Even pharmacy interns and residents have published research proving measurable clinical impact — “something no honest academic can dismiss,” CPAN said.
– Consultant pharmacists are standard in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and South Africa — countries Nigeria wants to emulate, not lag behind.

CPAN reminded everyone that the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) Act 2022 — signed into law three years ago — is the current legal framework, rendering NAMDA’s reliance on decades-old statutes “legally obsolete and deliberately misleading.”

Dr. Nwafor warned that blocking consultant cadres would condemn Nigeria to “a 20th-century health system while the rest of the world moves forward.”

In a direct appeal to the Head of Service and the National Council on Establishments, CPAN urged: “Do not let fear masquerading as expertise derail reforms our patients desperately need.”

Ending with a call for unity, the pharmacists declared inter-professional rivalry a luxury Nigeria cannot afford: “Our common enemy is disease and death — not each other. History will judge those who chose turf wars over patient lives.”

The gloves are now off. Nigeria’s health sector power struggle just went nuclear.

Your Legacy Means Nothing If Insecurity Continues” – Religious Leaders Warn Tinubu

By
Ola Akinola
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0

Nigeria’s top religious and traditional leaders have issued a stinging, united rebuke to President Bola Tinubu: fix the country’s spiralling bloodshed or everything else you do will be meaningless.

The extraordinary message — delivered in person at a packed interfaith summit in Abuja on Monday — came from a rare coalition of Catholic cardinals, leading imams, Pentecostal presidents, and northern emirs who declared the security crisis a “national and spiritual emergency” now resting squarely on the President’s desk.

“Nigeria’s problem predates President Tinubu,” the leaders conceded in their communiqué. “But as the president of the day, the bulk of the job lies on his table. Everything he is doing will be meaningless if we don’t tackle insecurity.”

They issued the same blunt warning to the National Assembly: “You will have no constituencies left to represent if communities are consumed by violence.”

The high-powered gathering, organised by the Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, featured Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Sheikh Nurudeen Lemu, Rev. Stephen Baba (CAN Vice Chairman), Sheikh Nuru Khalid, Archbishop Sunday Onuoha, the Emir of Bangudu, the Emir of Doma, and dozens of other Christian, Muslim and traditional heavyweights.

Rev. Fr. Canice Enyiaka set the tone in his keynote: “When one Nigerian is killed, the entire nation bleeds. When one child is kidnapped, the whole nation is kidnapped.”

Quoting both the Bible and the Quran, he declared: “Whoever kills a single soul, it is as if he has killed all of humanity — and whoever saves a life has saved all of humanity.”

Speaker after speaker insisted no religion justifies the slaughter ravaging communities from Zamfara to Benue, and condemned clerics who remain silent or allow extremists to hijack faith.

The summit resolved to:
– Establish a Joint Interfaith Advocacy Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief
– Push for a National Commission on Freedom of Religion or Belief
– Strengthen local interfaith peace committees and early-warning systems
– Launch quarterly national interfaith consultations
– Document every incident of hate speech and religious violence

Archbishop Onuoha added a pragmatic note: “If we can borrow billions from abroad, we can also seek security expertise — but never at the cost of our sovereignty.”

Rev. John Hayab, Country Director of Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, called the meeting “a moral wake-up call to every leader and citizen.”

As the clerics and royals filed out of the hall, their message hung heavy in the air: Nigeria’s soul is bleeding — and the President has run out of excuses.

FCT Police Nab Zamfara Man Trying to Buy 1,000 Rounds of Ammunition for Bandits

By
Ola Akinola
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0

A 32-year-old man from Gusau, Zamfara State, has been arrested in the Federal Capital Territory for allegedly attempting to procure 1,000 rounds of live ammunition for bandit groups terrorising the North-West.

Ahmed Abubakar, who resides in Anguwan Dodo, Gwagwalada, was picked up on Saturday, 7 December 2025, at about 3:30 p.m. by operatives of the Mabushi Police Division acting on credible intelligence.

Security analyst Zagazola Makama, citing police sources, disclosed on Tuesday that Abubakar had contacted a serving soldier, Corporal Yusuf Mohammed, offering cash in exchange for the ammunition supply.

The suspect reportedly told the soldier the bullets were destined for bandit camps in Zamfara.

The arrest comes amid heightened concerns over the infiltration of arms trafficking networks into the FCT and the growing collaboration between serving military personnel and criminal elements.

Police authorities say Abubakar is currently in custody and assisting investigators, while efforts are underway to apprehend Corporal Mohammed and any other accomplices.

The FCT Police Command has yet to release an official statement, but sources say the suspect will soon be charged with criminal conspiracy and illegal arms procurement.

The development has once again spotlighted the deadly nexus between bandits, rogue insiders, and the illicit arms trade fuelling Nigeria’s decade-long insecurity crisis in the North-West.

Senate Backs Tinubu’s Benin Intervention: Troops Deployment Gets Swift, Unanimous Approval

By
Ola Akinola
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0

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday granted accelerated approval for President Bola Tinubu to deploy troops to the Republic of Benin, giving full legislative cover to the dramatic military operation that helped foil last Sunday’s attempted coup in Cotonou.

The decision followed an urgent letter from the President, read on the floor by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in which Tinubu formally sought Senate consent under Section 5(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Tinubu told lawmakers he had already consulted the National Defence Council and acted on an SOS from Benin’s President Patrice Talon, who requested “exceptional and immediate air support” after mutinous soldiers briefly seized the national television station and announced the overthrow of his government.

Describing the situation as “an attempted unconstitutional seizure of power,” the President warned that the crisis threatened democratic institutions across the sub-region and required urgent external intervention under existing ECOWAS security protocols.

Moving swiftly, Akpabio referred the request to the Committee of the Whole. After less than ten minutes of debate, senators voted unanimously in favour, with no objections recorded.

“An injury to one is an injury to all,” Akpabio declared, stressing that instability in any neighbouring country directly endangers Nigeria and the entire West African bloc.

The Senate President directed that the formal letter of approval be transmitted to the Presidency immediately.

Recall that on Sunday, 7 December 2025, Nigerian fighter jets and ground forces were deployed on Tinubu’s direct orders, joining loyal Beninese troops and ECOWAS contingents to crush the coup plot led by Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri’s “Military Committee for Refoundation” within hours.

With Tuesday’s Senate endorsement, Nigeria’s intervention, already hailed across the region, now carries full constitutional backing as a formal peacekeeping mission.

The upper chamber’s swift action underscores the growing alarm over successive coups in West Africa and Nigeria’s determination, under President Tinubu’s ECOWAS chairmanship, to draw a firm red line against unconstitutional changes of government.

First Lady Remi Tinubu Breaks Silence on Viral Mic Clash with Adeleke: “Public Figures Are Judged Harshly”

By
Ola Akinola
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0

First Lady Remi Tinubu Breaks Silence on Viral Mic Clash with Adeleke: “Public Figures Are Judged Harshly”

Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has finally spoken on the now-viral moment she threatened to “switch off” Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s microphone during the 10th coronation anniversary of the Ooni of Ife on Sunday.

In a measured Facebook post late Monday, accompanied by a smiling photograph of herself and the governor, Mrs Tinubu wrote:

“Public figures are often judged harshly for actions that might otherwise be overlooked in private settings. Let us continue to pray for our leaders and our nation.”

She did not mention the incident directly, but the timing and wording left little doubt.

The awkward exchange occurred moments after Mrs Tinubu was conferred with the prestigious title of Yeye Asiwaju Gbogbo Ile Oodua by the Ooni, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

Governor Adeleke, famous for his dancing and lively public performances, had taken the stage to deliver a goodwill message when he broke into a Christian praise song. Mrs Tinubu returned to the podium twice — first flashing five fingers to signal time was up, then declaring in Yoruba, “Mo maa pa mic yin o” (“I will switch off your mic”) before adding in English: “Enough of the music. Five minutes.”

The governor quickly wrapped up amid laughter and applause from the star-studded audience that included former President Olusegun Obasanjo, several governors and top traditional rulers.

The video exploded across social media within hours, triggering a national firestorm. Critics accused the First Lady of disrespecting a sitting governor and overstepping her ceremonial role, while supporters insisted she was simply enforcing protocol at a highly choreographed royal event.

On Tuesday, Osun State First Lady, Chief (Mrs) Titilola Adeleke, moved to douse the flames, posting warm congratulations to Mrs Tinubu on Instagram and describing her as “an epitome of elegance, strength and grace.”

Neither the Osun State Government nor the Presidency has issued an official statement on the incident.

Political observers say the episode — however brief — has reignited conversations about protocol, power and personality clashes in Nigeria’s often theatrical political space, especially with 2026 governorship elections already casting long shadows over Osun State.

For now, the First Lady appears content to let her understated social media response close the chapter, even as Nigerians continue to debate whether it was a harmless auntie-to-nephew correction or an uncomfortable public dressing-down of an elected governor.

PDP Slams Fubara’s APC Switch: “Pitiful Self-Inflicted Wound” – Democracy on the Brink

By
Ola Akinola
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0

The People’s Democratic Party has unleashed a withering broadside at Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, branding his shock defection to the All Progressives Congress as a “pitiful” act of self-sabotage that exposes the rotting core of Nigeria’s democracy.

In a statement dripping with sarcasm and sorrow issued Tuesday in Abuja, PDP National Publicity Secretary Comrade Ini Ememobong confirmed Fubara’s formal jump ship after months of political bloodletting in the oil-rich state.

“This news, as pitiful as it is, exemplifies the old legal maxim *Volenti non fit injuria* — to one who is willing, no harm can be done,” the party jabbed, accusing the governor of charting his own path to political exile.

Fubara dropped the bombshell at a tense stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt on Tuesday evening, December 9, 2025, crediting President Bola Tinubu for his survival during the state’s chaotic emergency rule earlier this year.

Without Mr. President, there wouldn’t be any His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara,” he admitted, flanked by allies as he declared: “Our decision this evening is that we are moving to the APC.

But the PDP isn’t buying the narrative of betrayal from his old camp. “Anyone who followed the chain of events knows he willingly chose this path,” Ememobong shot back. “He cannot now turn around and accuse our party — or anyone — of abandoning him.”

The party poured cold water on Fubara’s gripes about lacking “protection,” insisting he owes a debt of gratitude to the PDP, civil society, and everyday Nigerians who rallied to his defense amid the brutal power struggle with his godfather-turned-nemesis, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.

“Trauma may cloud memory, but the governor should have nothing less than praise for those who stood with him until he capitulated,” the statement read, laced with a warning: “We pray he doesn’t succumb to Stockholm Syndrome — falling in love with his captor.”

Beyond the personal sting, the PDP elevated the drama to a national crisis, painting Rivers as a stark warning of democracy’s fragility. “This is a testament to our dysfunctional system, where individuals tower over institutions and weaponize federal might to suffocate opponents,” Ememobong thundered.

With 16 pro-Wike lawmakers already defecting to the APC last Friday — citing the PDP’s “intractable crisis” — Fubara’s move leaves the South-South PDP a ghost of its former self, the last holdout in a region once painted red.

Analysts say it hands Wike a crushing victory, reshaping alliances ahead of 2027 and fueling fears of a one-party stranglehold.

“Democracy faces severe attack from the ruling party’s unrelenting push for dominance and the shrinking political space,” the PDP warned, rallying “all well-meaning Nigerians” to unite against this “ignoble slide toward electoral authoritarianism.

On X, reactions poured in like monsoon rain. “Fubara’s defection proves Wike owns Rivers,” one user scoffed, while another lamented: “Spineless move — insulted everyone who backed him.

Pundits like Reuben Abati piled on: “He defected for a second term, not the people.

For Fubara, it’s a high-stakes gamble on Tinubu’s grace. For the PDP, it’s battle cry time: “We pity the governor and wish him well” — but Nigeria’s democracy? That’s the real casualty in this Rivers reckoning.

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