Economy
NSCDC Nabs Five Suspects Vandalising Heirs/NNPC Pipeline, Seizes 500,000L Stolen Crude
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered 10 illegal refineries with over 500,000 litres of crude oil and arrested five suspects in Odagwa Community, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The suspected oil thieves, according to NSCDC, had vandalised the wellhead of Heirs Energies/Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited JV located around the Imo River II field in Etche and used different pipes to siphon crude oil while processing them within the vicinity.
Speaking, the Spokesperson of NSCDC in Rivers State, Mr Olufemi Ayodele, explained that the feat was achieved by the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad based on credible intelligence.
He further said the illegal refining site had over 50 illegally constructed reservoirs, assuring that NSCDC will continue in the fight against crude oil theft, illegal mining, illegal dealings in petroleum products amongst others across the country.
He noted that the NSCDC Commandant General has been working across the federation to combat the menace of illegal dealings in petroleum products, crude oil theft, vandalism of railway lines, amongst others
“The Commandant General of the NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, has said that all acts of economic sabotage should be fought to stand still as suspects arrested would face the full wrath of the law irrespective of their sponsors, hence he gave a marching order to the Special Intelligence Squad to be more thorough and results oriented in their operations.
“Based on credible intelligence the squad swung into action and uncovered 10 illegal refineries in a forest located around Odagwa Community in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State where five suspects were caught in the act of illegally refining of crude oil.
“About 10 different cooking pots of 50,000 litres capacity were seen with one pumping machine, tanks, 25 rubber hoses used for pumping crude oil and many long galvanized pipes with unquantified litres of crude oil and illegally refined AGO stored in six large reservoirs and other 20 smaller reservoirs dugged in the ground.
“The names of the suspects arrested who have now been handed over to the Rivers State Command for further investigation and possible prosecution are: Favour Chukwu (M) 29 years, Desmond Umeh (M) 25 years, Godwin Amos (M) 22 years, Bineace Galion (M) 38 years and Goodnews David (M) 23 years.
“These unscrupulous elements who tapped into the oilwell head of Heirs Energies and NNPC Limted located around Imo River II oilfield at Odagwa in Etche, through different channels, inserted their galvanized pipes and siphoned crude oil while processing same within the premises without recourse.
“The uncovering of this massive illegal oil bunkering site is a landmark achievement and an indication that the NSCDC as the lead agency in the protection of all critical national assets and infrastructure will continue to combat crude oil theft with a renewed vigour even as we work in synergy with sister-security agencies to salvage the nation’s economy from saboteurs.
“Let me reassure you that thorough investigation has commenced to unravel those behind the scene while all suspects arrested in connection with this act of vandalism and crude oil theft would be charged to court of competent jurisdiction and their sponsors or cartels would be trailed and brought to book without compromise.”
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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