Economy

Stock Market Investors Lose N371bn Thursday

Published

6 years ago

20/03/2020

By Dipo Olowookere

The gains posted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday were quickly wiped out on Thursday following the decision of investors to take profit.

The growth printed by the market at the midweek session was unexpected and the next day, investors took action by selling off in order to re-enter or watch situations from the sidelines.

The global market has been plagued with coronavirus, with Nigeria not an exception. Yesterday the number of confirmed cases rose to 12 from eight after four new cases were discovered in Lagos, a day after five fresh ones were announced.

This situation forced federal government to announce the shutting down of schools (primary, secondary and tertiary) nationwide and state governments taking a similar action by banning large gatherings, including religious houses, bars and others.

At the close of market yesterday, stocks were down by 3.12 percent, stretching the year-to-date loss to 17.75 percent as a result of selloffs witnessed especially in the banking sector, which has posted gains in the past sessions.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 711.06 points to 22,078.58 points from 22,789.64 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N371 billion to N11.506 trillion from N11.876 trillion.

During the trading session, the number of stocks transacted by investors reduced by 21.69 percent to 525.8 million units from 671.5 million units, while the value of shares traded dropped by 55.16 percent to N4.7 billion from N10.6 billion, with the number of deals falling by 24.80 percent to 5,450 from 7,247.

Zenith Bank remained the most active stock yesterday, trading 118.5 million units worth N1.5 billion, while WAPIC Insurance exchanged 102.4 million units valued at N22.5 million.

GTBank traded 100.7 million shares for N1.8 billion, FBN Holdings sold 35.2 million stocks worth N140.8 million, while UBA transacted 30.8 million units for N155.5 million.

Business Post reports that the Customs Street closed Thursday’s trading session with 22 price losers and 13 price gainers.

Nestle Nigeria was the heaviest price loser, shedding N30 to settle at N850 per share, while MTN Nigeria lost N5 to stay at N99.50 per share.

Dangote Cement fell by N4.40 to sell at N129 per share, Zenith Bank depreciated by N1.35 to trade at N12.15 per unit, while Lafarge Africa declined by 70 kobo to quote at N10.10 per unit.

Conversely, Africa Prudential stayed on top of the advancers’ chart yesterday after adding 32 kobo to its share price to trade at N3.55 per share.

International Breweries appreciated by 25 kobo to sell at N5.50 per unit, Dangote Sugar gained 15 kobo to settle at N10 per share, Sterling Bank grew by 9 kobo to finish at N1.08 per share, while Livestock Feeds garnered 5 kobo to sell at 60 kobo per unit.

A look at the performances of the five key sectors of the market showed that the banking counter lost 7.75 percent on Thursday, followed by the industrial goods sector, which fell by 1.45 percent, and the consumer goods sector, which declined by 0.96 percent.

Only the insurance index gained yesterday, growing by 1.08 percent, while the energy counter closed flat.

Economy

Crypto Investor Bamu Gift Wandji of Polyfarm in EFCC Custody

Published

8 hours ago

31/01/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A cryptocurrency investor and owner of Polyfarm, Mr Bamu Gift Wandji, is currently cooling off in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He was handed over to the anti-money laundering agency by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday, January 30, 2026, after his arrest on Monday, January 12, 2026.

A statement from the EFCC yesterday disclosed that the suspect was apprehended by the NSCDC in Gwagwalada, Abuja for running an investment scheme without the authorisation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria.

It was claimed that Mr Wandji created a fraudulent crypto investment platform called Polyfarm, where he allegedly lured innocent Nigerians to invest in Polygon, a crypto token that attracts high returns.

Investigation further revealed that he also deceived the public that his project, Polyfarm, has its native token called “polyfarm coin” which he sold to the public.

In his bid to promote the scheme, the suspect posted about this on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, X (formally Twitter) and Telegram. He also conducted seminars in some major cities in Nigeria including Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where he described the scheme as a life-changing programme.

Further investigation revealed that in October, 2025, subscribers who could not access their funds were informed by the suspect that the site was attacked by Lazarus group, a cyber attacking group linked to North Korea.

Further investigations showed that Polyfarm is not registered and not licensed with SEC to carry out crypto transactions in Nigeria. Also, no investment happened with subscribers’ funds and that the suspect used funds paid by subscribers to pay others in the name of profit.

Investigation also revealed that native coin, polyfarm coin was never listed on coin market cap and that the suspect sold worthless coins to the general public.

Contrary to the claim of the suspect that his platform was attacked, EFCC’s investigations revealed that the platform was never attacked or hacked by anyone and that the suspect withdrew investors’ funds and utilized the same for his personal gains.

The EFCC, in the statement, disclosed that Mr Wandji would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

Economy

Nigerian Stocks Shed 0.09% on Mild Profit-Taking

Published

9 hours ago

31/01/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Profit-takers pounced on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, weakening it by 0.09 per cent at the close of transactions.

Investors toned down on their hunger for Nigerian stocks during the last trading session of the week, with selling pressure mainly on the banking space, which shed 0.78 per cent.

The bourse crumbled despite the other sectors closing green, with the consumer goods up by 0.10 per cent, and the energy index up by 0.02 per cent, while the industrial index closed flat.

Livestock Feeds depreciated by 10.00 per cent to sell for N6.30, Learn Africa declined by 10.00 per cent to N8.10, Living Trust Mortgage Bank also slipped by 10.00 per cent to N4.05, Deap Capital gave up 9.97 per cent to trade at N9.39, and Industrial and Medical Gases lost 9.61 per cent to finish at N31.50.

On the flip side, Zichis appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N4.19, Abbey Mortgage Bank gained 9.94 per cent to quote at N9.40, RT Briscoe jumped by 9.93 per cent to N7.86, Haldane McCall grew by 9.90 per cent to N4.33, and Omatek increased by 9.87 per cent to N3.00.

Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive despite the poor outcome, recording 33 price gainers and 31 price losers, representing strong investor sentiment.

The All-Share Index was down by 156.91 points during the session to 165,370.40 points from the 165,527.31 points achieved a day earlier, and the market capitalisation depleted by N184 billion to N106.153 trillion from N105.969 trillion.

Trading data showed that 687.4 million equities valued at N15.0 billion exchanged hands in 41,553 deals yesterday compared with the 691.4 million equities worth N15.4 billion traded in 38,665 deals on Thursday, implying a jump in the number of deals by 7.47 per cent, and a slip in the trading volume and value by 2.60 per cent, respectively.

The busiest stock on Friday was Veritas Kapital with 80.5 million units worth N197.0 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 79.3 million units valued at N87.5 million, Deap capital transacted 33.3 million units for N340.5 million, Access Holdings sold 31.0 million units valued at N703.0 million, and Zenith Bank exchanged 30.6 million units worth N2.2 billion.

Economy

NASD Exchange Rises 0.20%

Published

13 hours ago

31/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated by 0.20 per cent on Friday, January 30, supported by the gains achieved by two securities on the platform.

During the session, Okitipupa Plc went up by N15.70 to finish at N234.60 per share versus the previous day’s N218.90 per share and Paintcomm Investment Plc expanded by 5 Kobo to close at N11.05 per unit compared with the previous day’s N11.00 per unit.

It was observed that yesterday, there were three price losers led by Geo-Fluids Plc, which dropped 60 Kobo to sell at N5.75 per share versus N6.35 per share, Afriland Properties Plc declined by 35 Kobo to close at N13.65 per unit compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.00 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc depreciated by 3 Kobo to 66 Kobo per share from 69 Kobo per share.

At the close of business, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 7.34 points to 3,630.11 points from 3,622.77 points and the market capitalisation grew by N4.39 billion to N2.171 trillion from N2.167 trillion.

A total of 287,618 units of securities exchanged hands on Friday compared with the previous day’s 1.9 million units of securities, indicating a decline in the volume of trades by 85.6 per cent.

The value of transactions, according to data, was down by 77.2 per cent to N3.1 million from N13.4 million, but the number of deals increased by 31.3 per cent to 21 deals from 16 deals.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units exchanged for N623.0 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.6 million units traded for N108.5 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N61.1 million.

CSCS Plc also ended the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units sold for N623.0 million, followed by Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 10.1 million units worth N4.1 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N61.1 million.