General News
SEC, Others Harp on Global Acceptance of Nigeria’s Commodities

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), among other stakeholders have demanded improved standard of locally produced commodities and take into cognizance internationally accepted standards.
Speaking at a commodities standards sensitisation workshop held in Lagos, the Executive Commissioner Operations SEC, Mr. Dayo Obisan called on the need to reduce the substandard commodities in the market and encourage global acceptance of commodities produced in Nigeria.
The SEC as part of the implementation of the 10-year capital market masterplan, constituted a technical committee in commodities trading ecosystem. The mandate of the committee was to identify challenges with the existing framework and develop a roadmap for a vibrant ecosystem.
However, Obisan said that it is globally recognized that the unique feature of the commodities exchange is the standardization of the commodities traded on the platform as each commodity traded on the exchange is graded by quality, size, weight and other criteria.
He said, however, that the determination of these grades and standards is dependent upon improved local standards, which will take into cognizance internationally accepted standards.
According to him, “in recognition of the statutory responsibility of standard setting in Nigeria lies with the Standards Organization of Nigeria.
“The Executive Management of the Commission on behalf of all stakeholders engaged with the management team of the Standards Organization of Nigeria, to ensure the expedited approval and publication of standards commodities.
“The establishment of relevant standards will significantly transform the Nigerian commodities trading ecosystem. Sequel to that engagement, the ecosystem roadmap implementation committee comprising key stakeholders has been working on the development of grading and standardization system.
The initial stage of the development process will concentrate on delivery of standards for agricultural commodities.
“In this regard, we are working with the SON to create awareness for existing agricultural commodities standard but more essentially to obtain feedback from you the stakeholders on the standards to be considered in this workshop and initiate a view of inadequate standards applicable.”
Obisan said the SEC remains a strong advocate for a thriving commodities trading ecosystem. We strongly believe this is a project of national importance, given that that commodities exchanges value chain has significant value and can transform our economy.
According to him: “As Nigerians thrive to achieve a sustainably diversified economy, given the current drive to guarantee food security, there is an urgent need for more complementary efforts from the government, regulators and critical stakeholders to ensure the approval and effective adoption of appropriate local standard benchmark against international practice to establish quality and reverse the unwarranted situation of perennial rejection of the Nigerian produced commodities.
“It is therefore my expectation for this workshop and other stakeholders’ engagement to serve as a rallying point for inclusive standards development process. As the ecosystem is driven towards standardization, the broader society will be impacted for greater prosperity”.
In his remarks, Mallam Farouk Salim, Director General of SON, said that the organisation is willing to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in ensuring that the development of standards follows the best international principles of standard development as this would lead to improved lives of Nigerians.
Represented by Dr. Omolara Okunlola, Head Food Group, Salim said the organization is ensuring it promotes confidence of Nigerians in Nigerian produce and ensuring that SON in line with the various Federal Government policies, develops standards in such areas.
“For the first time in history, we have the strategy already outlined under the Nigerian national standardization strategy. If you go through the strategy, you can see we have listed out standards to be developed, under agriculture, energy, transport, industry, a focus on SMEs, we also have for the health sector. The strategy is a living strategy, as policies from the government come up, we try to update the strategy “she stated.
Also speaking, Chairperson of the Commodities Trading Ecosystem Implementation Committee, Ms. Daisy Ekineh said with the strong global push for green economies and a net zero carbon emission, the era of fossil fuel in powering development is fast coming to an end hence, for an oil dependent economy like Nigeria, it is a race against time to effectively diversify the economy.
Ekineh said there is no doubt that efforts are on-going in this direction as evidenced by the various policies and programmes of government and the increasing contribution of the non-oil sectors to GDP which now exceeds 90% of GDP. Over 92per cent in Q2 2021.
She said, “The progress is commendable. Nonetheless, efforts need to be invigorated to speedily diversify the economy in all respect, for while the oil sector has shrunk in its contribution to GDP, it remains quite dominant in foreign exchange receipts and export trade. The economy is in other words, still mono product in some respect and significantly lacking in export diversification.
General News
Court Orders Lawyer to Produce “Bail-Jumping” Client in MTN Cyber Fraud Case

Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered Mr Nnamdi Kalu, a legal practitioner, to appear before the court on July 9, 2025, to provide explanations regarding the whereabouts of Richard Ironbar Edemadem, his client, who is accused of cyber-related fraud and has allegedly jumped bail.
The judge issued the directive during the ongoing trial of Edemadem and four others, namely: Samuel Okpapi, Nelson Ojovbo, Bamigbade Olushola, and ISD Technology Limited, who are standing trial on charges of tampering with the critical mobile telecommunications infrastructure of MTN Nigeria and illegally profiting from unsolicited messages sent to subscribers.
The prosecution, led by Mr Nnemeka Omewa of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), informed the court that Edemadem, the first defendant, had jumped bail and ceased communication with both his counsel and the court.
He further revealed that Mr Kalu, who represented the defendant at the early stage of the trial, had stopped appearing in court and was unreachable.
During the trial proceedings, Justice Alagoa queried the continued absence of the first defendant, especially as his name had come up repeatedly during the testimony of the EFCC’s witness.
Upon receiving the explanation from the prosecutor, the judge expressed concern that no attempt had been made to bring the sureties to account, as required when a defendant absconds.
Responding to the judge’s query, Omewa said the prosecution had made efforts to trace the sureties and review the bail bond documents.
However, they discovered that no valid documentation about the sureties or their contact addresses could be found in the court file.
Disturbed by the absence of such critical records, Justice Alagoa directed the absentee defendant’s counsel, Mr Kalu, to appear before the court on the next adjourned date to provide clarity on his client’s disappearance and explain his failure to participate further in the trial.
In the meantime, the trial resumed with the testimony of Mr Olamide Sadiq, the fourth prosecution witness and an investigating officer with the EFCC.
Sadiq detailed how the defendants fraudulently manipulated MTN’s telecom systems to send unsolicited messages to thousands of unsuspecting subscribers.
According to his testimony, the defendants, who were employed as IT professionals for various telecom value-added service providers, compromised MTN’s Critical Mobile Telecommunications Network System between 2017 and 2018, adding that by exploiting the system’s vulnerabilities, they deployed mass unsolicited messages that led to unauthorised deductions from subscribers’ airtime balances.
Sadiq explained that these illegal deductions were routed into multiple accounts linked to the defendants and their affiliated entities, notably ISD Technology Limited.
The stolen proceeds, totalling N36,837,438.20, were subsequently distributed among the conspirators, he said.
Following the witness’s testimony, the court adjourned the matter to July 9, 2025, for the continuation of the trial and to enable Mr Kalu to appear and address the court on the issue of his absconding client.
The EFCC had filed a three-count charge against the defendants, detailing their alleged roles in the multimillion-naira fraud.
On count one of the charges, the defendants, Richard Ironbar Edemadem, Samuel Okpapi, Nelson Ojovbo, Bamigbade Olushola, ISD Technology Limited, and a fugitive known only as “Sola”, were accused of conspiring to tamper with a critical mobile telecommunications network system.
This, the EFCC said, is contrary to Sections 27(6)(b) and 10 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, and punishable under the same law.
The second charge stated that the defendants were charged with unauthorised tampering with MTN’s network infrastructure, an offence also contrary to Section 10 of the Cybercrimes Act, punishable under the same provision.
Counts three of the charges posited that the defendants allegedly took possession of N36,837,438.20, which they reasonably ought to have known were proceeds of an unlawful act, namely, stealing, contrary to Sections 15(2)(d) and (6) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), and punishable under the same.
Source: Tribune
General News
Airtel Concludes Nationwide Environment Week with Market Clean-Up by Employees

Telecommunications provider, Airtel Nigeria, has wrapped up its 2025 World Environment Week campaign, themed ‘Ending Plastic Pollution’, with an employee-driven market clean-up exercise at Elegushi Model Market, Jakande, Lekki, Lagos.
The activity was supported by the Ecobarter Company, a social enterprise focused on the promotion of a circular economy. Branded #UnPlasticAfrica, the events spanned six states and mobilised Airtel employees, community leaders, government partners, and market communities in a united effort to combat plastic pollution.
With the Lagos Market Cleanup, Airtel staff and community members joined forces to remove plastic waste and sensitize the locals on individual contributions towards a plastic-free environment.
To support sustainability and align with Lagos State’s ban on single-use plastic, large bins for refuse sorting as well as parasols, and reusable tote with #UnPlasticAfrica messaging were distributed to traders and their customers in the market to encourage behavioural change.
Speaking on behalf of Airtel Nigeria CEO Dinesh Balsingh at the clean-up exercise, Director, Corporate Communications & CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Femi Adeniran, highlighted the critical importance of community participation in safeguarding the environment and commended the market leadership for their openness and commitment to such impactful initiatives.
“True environmental care starts with action: keeping our gutters and surroundings clean and ensuring that plastic waste never finds its way into our canals and waterways.
The Elegushi market community has shown remarkable leadership by welcoming this initiative, and we are proud to have partnered with them to make a tangible difference as we commemorate World Environment Day 2025. We believe that this effort will spark a ripple effect, inspiring communities across the nation to take bold steps towards a cleaner, healthier Nigeria,” he said.
In her response on behalf of the President of the Elegushi Model Market traders’ association Iyaloja Simbiat Ronke Lawal, the Secretary of the trade association Elizabeth Afolabi, conveyed the group’s appreciation to the volunteers and Airtel Nigeria as an organisation. She commended the company for the clean-up initiative which she noted would leave a positive impact on the market.
“We want to thank Airtel Nigeria and all the volunteers for coming to our market to help clean and support us. This has really helped us and made our market a better place. We are incredibly happy and promise to sustain what you have started here today,” she said.
Recall that the Airtel Nigeria World Environment Week campaign began on June 4 with an employee seminar led by Mr Balsingh, followed by market clean-up exercises at Bodija Market, Oyo State; Oba Market, Benin City, Edo State; Wuse Market, Abuja; Artisan Market, Enugu State; Yankaba Market, Kano State; and finally, Elegushi Model Market, Jakande, Lagos.
General News
Verraki to Host Groundbreaking Webinar on Scaling AI for African Enterprises

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) redefines competitive advantage across industries, African businesses are being challenged to evolve from passive observers to active implementers. Verraki, a leading African business and technology solutions firm and member of Andersen Consulting, is answering this call with a virtual event aimed at demystifying the AI journey for African enterprises.
Verraki will host a free webinar titled “From Idea to Action: How African Businesses Can Start and Scale AI Initiatives.” On Thursday, June 19, 2025, at 3:30 PM WAT, the session is designed to give business leaders a clear, executable path for embedding AI into their strategy and operations.
“We’ve moved past the point where AI is a buzzword; it is now a boardroom priority,” said Niyi Yusuf, Managing Partner at Verraki. “This webinar brings together African and global experts to provide actionable insight for businesses seeking to make that transition deliberately and profitably.”
Elevating Africa’s AI Readiness
Despite growing interest in AI, many African organizations struggle with where to begin, lacking both the technical know-how and the internal strategy to move forward. This webinar bridges that gap with both global case studies and local context, tailored to Africa’s unique business realities.
Featured Speakers include, keynote address by Randy McGraw, Chief Commercial Officer at Sertis, a Bangkok-based AI consultancy also a member of Andersen Consulting. Randy will unveil a playbook for implementing Private LLMs.
Fireside Chat with Kehinde Banasko, CEO of Skilladder AI, on how AI is revolutionizing workforce transformation and skills verification across Africa. The conversation will be moderated by Verraki’s Maanging Partner, Niyi Yusuf.
This event is ideal for CEOs, founders, product managers, innovation leads, and C-suite executives looking to implement AI tools that align with their business goals and drive sustainable results.
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