Economy
Alleged N3.7bn Fraud: Court Fixes July 21 for UK Dion’s Trial
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Friday, July 21, 2023, has been fixed for the commencement of the trial of Mr Michael Ukiye Diongoli and his two companies, UK Dion Group and UK Dion Investment Limited.
The date was fixed by Justice Ambrose Lewis Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Court 3, Ikoyi Lagos after they were arraigned on a 61-count charge of defrauding unsuspecting investors to the tune of over N3.7 billion.
The defendants were accused of conspiring to obtain money from several individuals and organisations, including Dr Basil Onugu, Prof. Oyekachi Green Nwankwo, FSL Securities Ltd, Catholic Charismatic Renewal, MTN Employer Cooperative, Mr Chukwu Tengu, and the Nigerian Army Welfare Insurance Scheme, among others.
They were said to have committed this alleged crime between 2021 and 2022 after pretending to be a registered financial institution involved in wealth management.
They allegedly invited customers to pay money into their accounts and fix it for a period ranging from six months to one year with interest.
“That you, Micheal Ukiye Diongoli, Dion Investment Limited and others at large between March 2021 and May 2022 in Lagos, Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria with intent to defraud fraudulently obtained several sums of money to UK Dion under the pretence that you are a registered financial institution, and you are into wealth management wherein customers were invited to pay money into your account, fix it for a period ranging from 6 months to one year and the customer will get the money invested with interest, a statement the victims believed, which you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related to Offenses Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act,” one of the charges read.
When the charges were read to them, one of the defendants, Mr Diongoli, pleaded not guilty to all.
The suspects are also facing a criminal summons by Justice Zainab Abubakar of the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges of operating without the licence of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In the two-count charge brought against Mr Diongoli, UK Dion Group And UK Dion Investment Limited, all of No. 21 Buhari Street, Peace Court Estate, Lokogoma, Abuja, they are alleged to have on or between the year 2021 and 2022 within the jurisdiction of the court did commit a felony to wit: conspired among themselves together with their staff to make an illegal act – diversion of investment funds to the tune of over N3.6billion belonging to the investing public which includes Basil Onugu, Elizabeth Umenwa Nwankwo, Adetoun Sokoni, Ezeogu Victoria Ndozi and others you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of Criminal Code Act, laws of the Federation, 2004.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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