General News
Booking.com Partners iamtheCODE.org in Search of Tech Solution to Human Trafficking in Africa

- Chowberry Inc. wants food waste curtailed
By peter oluka
Human trafficking has been identified as one of the major challenges in the tourism sector in Africa.
To curb the trend and related vices on the Continent, Booking.com, and IamtheCode.org, recently organised a hackaton event in Lagos, in collaboration with Chowberry Inc.
Seventy application developers participated at the ‘women-focused hackaton’, with intent to create meaningful work opportunities for younger women and girls.
Through that opportunity they will be empowered; they can access jobs, which reduces the risk of them been trafficked.
The developers were meant to ideate and develop technological solutions that will assist in tracking human traffickers.
Yimika Fagbenro, senior account manager, Booking.com (Nigeria & West Africa), said he was confident that applications from the coders will meet world standards and scalable to solve societal problems. “We are really excited about the knowledge and skills of Nigerians.
“I am happy to be part of this Hackaton in developing talents in Nigeria with special focus on the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Truly, Nigeria has fantastic talents. We are recruiting people for Nigeria to grow our operations in this economy and really contribute to the country and the world at large, especially with regards putting to an end the issue of human tracking. It is a sin against humanity and technology is what will enable us tackle the issue urgently”, he said.
On her part, Marieme Jamme, founder of iamtheCODE.org, said hackaton was part of the Initiative’s plans to grow one million women and girls coders around the world, but for Nigeria they are focused on addressing sustainable tourism. Jamme continues to say that Artificial intelligence can stop girls being trafficked as we now have the data”
“We are in Nigeria to organise a Hackaton with Booking.com on Sustainable Tourism.. I Am The Code is on the mission to grow one million women and girls coders- around the world by year 2030 and Nigeria should be part of the global data. So, we are here to engage with coders- to look into the back/front ends coders, test their skills on JAVA, Python; to be part of this global network where we are building Africa’s largest database of coders. The plan is to fill the skills deficit we have across Africa. A pioneer in Tech in Africa, Marieme Jamme is a coder herself, having not gone to school but learnt 7 coding languages in under 2 years”
“We are focusing on all the UN Sustainable Development Goals because they are totally interlinked. However, we want to educate on all goals, from zero hunger to goal number five and eight which dwells on gender equality and ending human trafficking. We want to address human trafficking that is hurting young girls across the world.,”, Marieme Jamme said.
Nodding in agreement, Oscar Ekponimo, Founder/CEO of Chowberry Inc., said that a social enterprise that does two things: reducing food waste and providing affordable nutrition to underserved communities in Nigeria, they are on a mission to foster sustainable tourism by including women and girls.
“Human trafficking is a big problem in the country and the continent at large. So, we must be able to do two major things- create meaningful work opportunities for younger women and girls. Through that opportunity they will be empowered; they can access jobs, which reduces the risk if them been trafficked. Also, we must find a way to track human traffickers. Those are areas we hope the developers should ideate and develop solutions to them via technology”, Ekponimo said.
He further explained that to curtail the trend, technology industry must leverage machine learning, artificial intelligence, data mining to create solutions for the tourism sector to reduce human trafficking (girls trafficking) and all kinds of challenges associated with travel and tourism.
General News
NCAA Orders Airlines to Enforce $10,000 Currency Declaration Rule

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has ordered all international airlines flying into Nigeria to enforce the $10,000 currency declaration rule.
The authority said the rule is required for passengers to declare cash or negotiable instruments above the limit, as part of efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering compliance.
According to the NCAA, the directive, referenced as NCAA/CPD/ABV/298, dated 24 April 2025 seeks to address gaps in the enforcement of existing currency declaration obligations for inbound passengers.
This was announced in a statement issued by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, via his official X account on Tuesday.
“International carriers must take two key actions, which include “Make inflight or pre-landing announcements informing passengers of their legal obligation to declare any currency or Bearer Negotiable Instruments exceeding $10,000 USD or its equivalent upon arrival in Nigeria.
“Distribute currency declaration forms onboard for passengers to complete before landing. The NCAA has received reports indicating that some airlines are yet to comply with this directive”, the statement read.
The NCAA said these requirements are consistent with international best practices and are vital to preventing the illegal movement of large sums of money across borders.
The Authority warned that full cooperation from international airlines is essential, saying, “Please note that the cooperation of all international airlines operating in Nigeria is critical to supporting the country’s efforts to align with global financial standards.”
Accordingly, the authority emphasised that full implementation of this directive, particularly as it concerns inbound passenger declarations, is of utmost importance.
“Compliance will be closely monitored, and non-compliant airlines will face appropriate sanctions,” it added.
General News
Appeal Court Nullifies Registration of ‘KPMG Professional Services’

The court of appeal in Lagos has asked the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to revoke the certificate of registration of “KPMG Professional Services”.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, the appellant court granted the reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against CAC and KPMG Professional Services.
The judgment was read by Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, the judge.
The two other judges are Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and A.M. Talba.
In 2002, KPMG Professional Services was registered as a company with CAC despite the existence of KPMG Nigeria, comprising its audit, tax, and consulting arms.
The KPMG Nigeria has long been registered in Nigeria before 2002.
KPMG Audit was registered in 1969, KPMG Tax Consultants in 1990, and KPMG Consulting in 1969.
Displeased with the registration of KPMG Professional Services, KPMG Nigeria approached the federal high court.
The consulting firm had argued that the name “KPMG Professional Services” was deceptively similar to its long-established identity.
In 2005, the lower court dismissed KPMG Nigeria’s case, citing an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte as reason the company could no longer assert rights to the name.
The lower upheld the second respondent’s (KPMG Professional Services) counterclaim and ordered that KPMG Nigeria’s name be struck off the CAC register.
The lower court had premised its decision on newspaper articles stating that KPMG Nigeria reportedly merged with Akintola Williams Deloitte.
Delivering the judgment, Bayero ruled that the lower court erred by relying on newspaper articles to ascertain that KPMG Nigeria allegedly merged with another company.
The judge said the documents showing the alleged merger were not presented before the lower court, and the form of the alleged merger could not have been known.
“In any event, the only branch of KPMG, if any, that entered into a merger with Akintola Williams as stated in the newspaper articles 18, is KPMG Audit,” the judge ruled.
“The other spheres were totally unaffected. It would therefore be wrong to state that the merger (which has not been shown to this Court) of KPMG Audit with Akintola Williams means all the other areas of business, including KPMG Consulting and KPMG Tax Consultants, also ceased to exist.
“Even if the Appellants (KPMG Nigeria) had ceased to do business as the Court seemed to have held, the 2nd Respondents (KPMG Professional Services) should not have been carrying on business until the Appellant’s certificate of registration is withdrawn or set aside.
“They cannot use the name until the Appellant’s certification of registration is withdrawn or set aside. They cannot use the name until the name is removed from the 1st Respondent’s (CAC) Register of Names.
“The 1st Respondents can only assign the name to the 2nd Respondents after first taking it away from the Appellants.”
The court ruled that CAC erred by registering KPMG Professional Services despite the existence of a business name, which is already registered.
The judge reversed the earlier ruling of the lower court and reaffirmed the primacy of statutory protection for existing business names under Nigerian corporate law.
General News
Air Peace Launches Abuja–London Heathrow, Gatwick flights October 26

Air Peace has announced the launch of direct flights from Abuja to London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, with operations scheduled to begin on October 26, 2025.
The airline said in a statement on Sunday that round-trip fares for the Abuja–London service will start from N1m, making it the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct connections from the capital to both of London’s major international airports. This was contained in a press release issued on Sunday by the airline’s spokesperson, Efe Osifo-Whiskey.
“Direct international flight services from Abuja to both London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports, effective October 26, 2025.
“Air Peace becomes the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct services from Abuja to both of London’s major international airports, further solidifying its role as a leader in regional and intercontinental aviation.
“Travellers originating from any of Air Peace’s domestic destinations across Nigeria can now book through fares via Abuja to either Heathrow or Gatwick using a single ticket, eliminating the need for multiple bookings or baggage re-checks,” the statement read.
Similarly, the new route opens convenient access for inbound passengers from the UK to cities across Nigeria.
“Travellers from London can access multiple destinations across Nigeria using a single Air Peace ticket through Abuja every morning. These destinations are Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Warri, Owerri, Kano, Yola, Gombe and Asaba, for now. Other destinations will be added later,” Osifo-Whiskey stated.
Air Peace is also offering what it describes as unprecedented value in pricing and service.
Osifo-Whiskey said, “It provides a distinct competitive advantage, enabling passengers to travel between Nigeria and the United Kingdom with greater ease, efficiency, and value, due to the possibility of choosing multiple cities entry and exit points.
“Has the cheapest fares ever, starting from only 1 Million Naira round trip. Huge baggage allowance.”
The Abuja–London launch comes months after the airline began Lagos–London Heathrow flights, which started earlier in 2024.
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