Economy
Court Dismisses Lafarge Africa’s Sale Objection Suit
By Adedapo Adesanya
The proposed sale of a majority stake of Lafarge Africa Plc to a Chinese firm, Huaxin Cement Limited, hit another snag as a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, dismissed a preliminary objection filed by the cement maker.
Justice Lewis Allagoa on Thursday ruled that the court has jurisdiction to hear the suit brought by Strategic Consultancy Limited, a Nigerian company and minority shareholder in Lafarge Africa.
Recall that the Nigerian Senate had also blocked the sale, citing issues around Chinese influence in March 2025.
Yesterday, the judge rejected Lafarge’s motion to strike out the case for lack of jurisdiction, marking a significant legal setback for the 66-year old cement giant.
“The 1st and 2nd defendants’ motion objecting to the Court’s jurisdiction is hereby dismissed,” Justice Allagoa stated in his ruling delivered on Thursday.
The suit, filed by Strategic Consultancy Limited, is challenging Lafarge’s planned sale of 83.81 per cent of its shares; currently held by Holcim Group to Huaxin Cement, a foreign company based in China.
The plaintiff alleges that the sale was conducted secretly and without the knowledge or involvement of minority shareholders.
According to court filings, Strategic Consultancy argued that the planned sale violates provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission Act, and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Act.
“The purported sale was done surreptitiously and without affording Strategic Consultancy Limited and other minority shareholders the opportunity to acquire the shares,” the plaintiff stated in its originating summons.
Represented by senior advocate Mr D.A. Awosika (SAN), Strategic Consultancy also contended that Huaxin Cement is not registered in Nigeria, thus making the transaction unlawful under Nigerian regulations.
Lafarge, represented by Mr Babatunde Fagbohunlu (SAN), and Holcim Group, represented by Mr Uzoma Azikiwe (SAN), had urged the court to dismiss the case on grounds that it lacked the jurisdiction to entertain it. However, Justice Allagoa disagreed.
In a related development, the judge also granted the plaintiff’s request to join Caricement BV (Netherlands) and Associated International Cements Ltd (England) as 5th and 6th defendants respectively, having been identified by the respondents as the actual shareholders involved in the transaction.
“It is hereby ordered that the persons sought to be joined herein and hereby joined as prayed, and leave to issue and serve the Originating Summons out of jurisdiction is hereby granted,” Justice Allagoa ruled.
The case has been adjourned to June 11, 2025, for further proceedings.
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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