Economy
Lawmakers Consider Stiffer Punishments for Crude Oil Thieves
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian lawmakers have thrown their weight behind the country’s efforts to boost Nigeria’s crude oil production and grow its reserves, saying they will consider stiffer consequences for crude oil thieves and vandals of the nation’s critical hydrocarbon infrastructure.
This is as the National Assembly pledged to play a better part in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited’s ongoing fight.
This assurance was given during an oversight visit to the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), an upstream arm of the NNPC Limited, at its headquarters in Lagos, on Tuesday, by the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream).
Oil theft is one of the reasons Nigeria can’t meet its 1.8 million barrels target, alongside underinvestment and a rising spate of divestment.
Jointly led by the Committee Chairmen from both chambers, Mr Eteng Jonah Williams and Mr Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the legislators described the menace of crude oil theft and vandalism of critical oil and gas infrastructure as major challenges to Nigeria’s revenue generation and budget targets, which must be curtailed.
In his remarks, Mr Williams said the National Assembly needed to come up with legislative action that would help stop crude oil theft and increase Nigeria’s crude oil production.
He said from what they found at NUIMS, it is duty-bound on the legislature to come up with decisive measures that will help the government achieve its set targets in the oil and gas sector.
On his part, Mr Doguwa said by their duties as a legislature, the lawmakers will fast-track the strengthening of a legislative framework to be able to check the excesses bedevilling the nation’s oil and gas sector.
Mr Doguwa, who commended NNPC efforts for its industry-wide security collaboration against the nation’s hydrocarbon infrastructure said more needs to be done to ensure the Company increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and grows its reserves.
He said the legislature would consider deploying the stick-and-carrot approach towards addressing the issue, but where it becomes necessary, the stick approach must be emphasised to rise vehemently against any encumbrance standing in the way of Nigeria’s economic growth and development.
The Chief Upstream Investment Officer (CUIO) of NNPC, Mr Bala Wunti, described NUIMS as a trustee of Nigeria’s upstream investments which ensures the country maximises returns through effective supervision of its Joint Venture (JV), Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) and Service Contracts (SC) operating partners.
Mr Wunti commended the lawmakers for their consistent support to the state oil firm and said engagements with the National Assembly are crucial as they will help the NNPC Ltd in the attainment of its mandate.
“We are here to see how the NASS will help us produce more barrels and deliver value to our shareholders. Increasing production is the new narrative and your support is needed to enable us to achieve our set targets based on our key principles of safety, speed, compliance and efficiency,” Mr Wunti informed the legislators.
He said so far, the industry-wide security collaboration against crude oil theft and vandalism of Nigeria’s critical hydrocarbon infrastructure through the four-way strategy of Detect, Deter, Respond and Recover has been instrumental in the recent restoration of some of the nation’s lost barrels.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns in Lagos State has been extended by one week from February 1 to 7, 2026.
This information was revealed in a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mrs Monsurat Amasa-Oyelude.
In the statement issued over the weekend, the chairman of the tax collecting organisation, Mr Ayodele Subair, explained that the statutory deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns is January 31, every year, noting that the extension is intended to provide employers with additional time to complete and submit accurate tax returns.
According to him, employers must give priority to the timely filing of their annual returns, noting that compliance should be embedded as a routine business practice.
He also reiterated that electronic filing through the LIRS eTax platform remains the only approved method for submitting annual returns, as manual filings have been completely phased out. Employers are therefore required to file their returns exclusively through the LIRS eTax portal: https://etax.lirs.net.
Describing the platform as secure, user-friendly, and accessible 24/7, Mr Subair advised employers to ensure that the Tax ID (Tax Identification Number) of all employees is correctly captured in their submissions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Sunil Kumar Taldar, has disclosed that the company is still on track to list its mobile money business, Airtel Money, before the end of June 2026.
Recall that Business Post reported in March 2024 that the mobile network operator was considering selling the shares of Airtel Money to the public through the IPO vehicle in a transaction expected to raise about $4 billion.
The firm had been in talks with possible advisors for a planned listing of the shares from the initial public offer on a stock exchange with some options including London, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or Europe.
However, so far no final decisions have been made regarding the timing, location, or scale of the IPO.
In September 2025, the telco reportedly picked Citigroup Incorporated as advisors for the planned IPO which will see Airtel Money become a standalone entity before it can attain the prestige of trading on a stock exchange.
Mr Taldar, noted that metrics continued to show improvements ahead of the listing with its customer base hitting 52 million, compared to around 44.6 million users it had as of June 2025.
He added that the subsidiary processed over $210 billion in a year, according to the company’s nine-month financial results released on Friday.
“Our push to enhance financial inclusion across the continent continues to gain momentum with our Mobile Money customer base expanding to 52 million, surpassing the 50 million milestone. Annualised total processed value of over $210 billion in Q3’26 underscores the depth of our merchants, agents, and partner ecosystem and remains a key player in driving improved access to financial services across Africa.
“We remain on track for the listing of Airtel Money in the first half of 2026,” Mr Taldar said.
Estimating Airtel Money at $4 billion is higher than its valuation of $2.65 billion in 2021. In 2021, Airtel Money received significant investments, including $200 million from TPG Incorporated at a valuation of $2.65 billion and $100 million from Mastercard. Later that same year, an affiliate of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund also acquired an undisclosed stake in the unit.
The mobile money sector in Africa is expanding rapidly, driven by a young population increasingly adopting technology for financial services, making the continent a key market for fintech companies.
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.
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