General
Human Rights Watch Begs FG to Reverse Ban of Shia Group
By Dipo Olowookere
The Human Rights Watch has said, “The sweeping court ruling against the Shia movement threatens the basic human rights of all Nigerians.
A Nigerian court ruled on July 26, 2019 that activities of the Shia Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) amount to “acts of terrorism and illegality” and ordered the government to ban the religious group.
Reacting to this, Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch, said “government should seek to reverse the ban, which prohibits the religious group’s members from exercising their right to meet and carry out peaceful activities.”
The IMN is a Shia minority sect with close ties to Iran, operating mostly in northern Nigeria. It began in the 1980s and is led by Sheik Ibrahim El Zakzaky, who was inspired by Iran’s revolutionary movement during his travels there. The sect has an estimated four million followers. It is separate from Boko Haram, an Islamist armed group also operating in northern Nigeria.
The move to ban the group came less than a week after police violently cracked down on members of the Shia movement in Abuja, the capital, as they protested the Zakzaky’s detention since 2015 and called for the authorities to allow him proper medical care. At least 11 protesters, a journalist, and a police officer were killed, while dozens of other protesters were wounded or arrested.
In its July 26 ruling, the court directed the government to publish the proscription order in the official Gazette and two national dailies. Nigeria’s solicitor general had brought a motion – called an ex parte application – before the court, seeking to have the group declared a terrorist organization and banned. The group’s representatives were not given an opportunity to participate in the hearing, as such an application is intended for emergency proceedings that do not require the opposing party to respond or be present.
In announcing the ban on the movement, the presidency stated that the government had “outlawed the criminality of the group,” which has engaged in terrorist activities, “including attacking soldiers, killing policemen and a youth corps member, destroying public property, consistently defying State authority.” The statement further specified that the ban was not against peaceful and law-abiding Shia Muslims in the country who are practicing their religion.
The Nigerian constitution and international human rights law guarantee the rights to freedom of religion, association and expression. Under international law, no restrictions may be placed on these rights unless provided by law, serve a legitimate government purpose in a democratic society, and are necessary for attaining that purpose.
“Allegations of criminality do not present legitimate grounds to ban the activities of a religious group, including protests for justice and the release of their leader,” Ewang said. “The ban on the Shia movement may portend an even worse security force crackdown on the group, which could have dire human rights implications throughout Nigeria.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
M-KOPA, a pan African fintech company headquartered in the United Kingdom, has made the Financial Times’ Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies rankings for the fourth consecutive year.
M-KOPA, operating in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda, has reached over 6 million customers to date achieving an impressive CAGR of 42 per cent for the 2020-23 period.
The company has accelerated even faster since 2023, delivering over 65 per cent year-over-year revenue growth in 2024. M-KOPA is continuing on the same profitable growth path in 2025 and is trending to surpass half a billion USD in annual revenue this year.
According to a statement announcing the milestone, the firm said as fintech continues to scale across the African continent, it exemplifies how purpose-driven businesses with sound fundamentals can be both profitable and impactful by serving traditionally overlooked “unbanked” consumers.
“The company continues to be laser focused on financing progress for non-salaried every day earners, of which there will be over 1 billion adults across Africa by 2040,” it said.
M-KOPA finances smartphones to everyday earners (with more than half its customers accessing the internet for the first time) and then delivers tailored mobile financial services through the device.
M-KOPA’s smart money platform has now issued millions of affordable credit, insurance, and subscription products. Its positive impact is independently measured by third party verification experts with the results published annually on the company website www.m-kopa.com/impact
In 2023, M-KOPA opened East Africa’s first and largest smartphone assembly factory, which is now producing over 1m smartphones annually and has created over 300 new jobs.
The next year, it then introduced its own range of branded smartphones which now account for over 20 per cent of all smartphones sold in Kenya.
In 2025, the organisation continued its pan African expansion and now acquires more customers outside of Kenya than in, with fast customer growth across Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and South Africa.
Commenting on the recognition, Mr Jesse Moore, CEO and Co-Founder of M-KOPA said: “We are thrilled to make the FT Fastest Growing Companies in Africa list for the 4th year in a row. Our growth continues to accelerate, and we now onboard a new customer to M-KOPA every 9 seconds.
“Thanks to Africa’s digital payment rails, we now receive 15 payments per second, which in turn creates a unique and deep dataset to understand the financial needs of everyday earners. We are still in the early stages of scaling, with an addressable market that will surpass 1 billion people in Africa by 2040.”
Business Post reports that six Nigerian startups, including Moniepoint, PalmPay, Paga, OmniRetail, Remedial Health, and Termii, made the list.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has sealed the premises of an entity operating under the name Community Crime Prevention Initiative of Nigeria (CCPIN) in Aba, Abia state.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr Ondaje Ijagwu, FCCPC’s director of corporate affairs, said the enforcement operation took place on Wednesday at Number 214 Aba-Owerri Road, in collaboration with law enforcement agents.
Mr Ijagwu said FCCPC’s action followed credible intelligence that CCPIN was falsely claiming affiliation with the commission and misleading the public by representing itself as an “authorised consumer protection NGO”.
“The entity had issued public notices alleging joint surveillance operations with FCCPC and was soliciting consumer complaints through unauthorised telephone lines,” the statement reads.
“During the operation, the operator of the facility, Dr Onwuka K. Okorie, was arrested on-site and is currently in police custody at World Bank Police Station, Abayi-Aba, Abia State, pending further investigation and prosecution.
“A number of exhibits bearing FCCPC’s name, logo, and false enforcement materials were recovered from the premises.”
The official said the commission has no affiliation with CCPIN and does not authorise or partner with the group or any similarly styled organisation for enforcement or consumer protection operations.
He added that FCCPC does not delegate such enforcement powers to NGOs, private entities, or individuals without formal legal authorisation.
Mr Ijagwu advised the public to disregard any announcements, sealing notices, or consumer-related campaigns issued by CCPIN or its representatives.
“To verify any enforcement or communication, members of the public can contact the Commission through its hotlines: 08056002020 and 08056003030. Official FCCPC activities and communications can also be verified via fccpc.gov.ng or social media handles (@fccpcnigeria),” he added.
The recognised consumer protection body also reaffirmed its commitment to operating with the highest level of transparency while ensuring consumer protection and market integrity.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder has dismantled nine illegal refining sites in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, seizing over 170,000 litres of suspected stolen and illegally refined petroleum products.
This is the latest in a long series of efforts to curb oil theft hampering crude oil production and economic growth in Africa’s largest oil producer.
The operation, carried out yesterday (Wednesday) uncovered a sprawling network of criminal infrastructure, including 45 ovens, 30 reservoirs, and 75 dugout pits, according to Commodore Cajethan Nnabuchi Aniaku, Commander of NNS Pathfinder.
He revealed that the illegal sites were stocked with approximately 60,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil, 80,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) known as diesel, and 33,000 litres of kerosene.
He said, “During the operation, the Tactical Riverine Assault Squadron Team acting on credible intelligence discovered two wellheads connected with pipes used for siphoning crude oil to illegal camps.
“The team dismantled the connected pipes to the wellheads and destroyed the illegal refining sites. The products were handled in accordance with anti-crude oil theft procedures,” he added.
The outfit could not make any arrests as the perpetrators fled on sighting the patrol team, the scale of the seizure underscores the magnitude of oil theft operations still active in the Niger Delta.
Commodore Aniaku praised the bravery and professionalism of the personnel involved and reaffirmed the Navy’s unwavering resolve to stamp out economic sabotage.
“Under the leadership of Vice Admiral E. I. Ogalla, the Nigerian Navy remains committed to combating crude oil theft and illegal bunkering activities which pose significant threats to the nation’s economy and energy security,” he stated.
The latest crackdown comes as the Navy intensifies its riverine operations across the oil-rich region, aligning with national efforts to boost crude production and plug revenue leakages caused by pipeline vandalism and illegal refining.
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