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Interswitch Boss Links Corruption With Poverty

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Mitchell Elegbe

Founder of Interswitch Group, Mr Mitchell Elegbe, has emphaised the importance of trust in becoming successful in life, saying being trusted goes hand-in-hand with trustworthiness, adding that trustworthiness was a culmination of ability, integrity and benevolence.

Speaking at the second InterswitchSPAK Masterclass held in Lagos recently, the entrepreneur also said the best way to fight corruption was to have the mindset of equity, stressing that corruption and poverty go hand-in-hand.

He explained the relationship between equality and equity, noting that not all have equal strengths, opportunities and privileges. However, he said with a sense of equity, the more privileged would share with the less privileged.

“While it is wrong for the less privileged to demand equity as a right – as that is extortion – it is important that the privileged have a mindset of equity, that allows them to share from their abundance. It is with this mindset of equity that prosperous communities are built and the fight against corruption is won,” Mr Elegbe said.

The Masterclass is part of the InterswitchSPAK Switch-a-Future- project, a CSR initiative of the company focused on driving increased interest in the study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects among Senior Secondary School students across Africa.

Participants at the Masterclass were made up of the top 81 students out of the over 13,322 students from various private and public secondary schools across the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT, who wrote the National Qualifying Examinations in April.

Other speakers at the Masterclass were Dr. Ola Orekunrin-Brown, MD / Founder, Flying Doctors Nigeria, who spoke on the topic: ‘Entrepreneurship – Creating Sustainable Impact by Solving Social Problems’. Dr. Brown shared the story of how she started Flying Doctors and the challenges she surmounted. She reiterated the need for basic financial literacy for budding entrepreneurs.

Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade, and Investment who was represented by Ayokunnu Ojeniyi, Project Manager, Enabling Business Environment Secretariat, Office of the Vice-President, spoke on the topic: ‘Collaborative Approach to Social Innovation’ and why it was important to think creatively and critically in addressing social problems.

In her welcome address, Enyioma Anaba, Group Head, Corporate Segment, Corporate Marketing, at Interswitch, said that the Masterclass was an integral part of the InterswitchSPAK project because the sessions were designed to inspire the young people to contribute to solving Africa’s many problems.

She said: “We brought together these 81 brilliant young minds to draw from the experiences and insights of accomplished thought leaders, thinkers and professionals who are leading lights in their respective spheres of influence and who are practical advocates of innovation, as a platform for social and economic development. We hope that the interactions during the sessions will provide them with the right mental and emotional foundations upon which to build their character for the long haul.”

The Masterclass was a full-day of knowledge sharing and engagement session and had these inspiring and successful men and women in our society sharing their experiences across school, work and family life.

The participants included the 81 finalists aged between 14 and 17 years, students from Slum2School Innovation lab, staff of Interswitch and the media.

Cherry Eromosele, Group Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Interswitch, disclosed that as a progressive organisation, Interswitch has the interest of the young African talents at heart.

She said: “For Africa’s youth to succeed in today’s knowledge-based economy, they need to acquire the right skill sets; their minds need to be re-engineered and reconciled with STEM education as well as introduced to other softer skills which are not readily taught in the classrooms. At Interswitch, we are creating a platform that allows them to not only compete within a job market that is globalized, but to become catalysts for the creation of job markets in themselves”.

In furtherance of the commitment to the pan-African spread of the initiative, the InterswitchSPAK Switch-a-Future project was launched in Kenya and the inaugural Masterclass for the finalists held in Nairobi on August 2, 2019.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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Afenifere Chieftain Ayo Adebanjo Dies at 96

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By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A chieftain of a Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, has died at the age of 96.

The elder statesman died on Friday morning at his Lekki residence in Lagos, a statement from his family confirmed.

He was said to have peacefully breathed his last today. A condolence register has been opened at his residence in Lagos and his country home in Isanya Ogbo, near Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

“With a heart full of gratitude for a selfless life spent in the service of God, the nation and humanity, we announce the passing on of our beloved patriarch, Chief Samuel Ayodele Adebanjo.

“He died peacefully this morning, Friday, February 14, 2025 at his Lekki, Lagos Nigeria home at the age of 96.

“The foremost nationalist, elder statesman, distinguished lawyer, very distinct politician, apostle of true federalism, former organising secretary of Action Group and the national leader of Afenifere is survived by his 94 year-old wife, Chief Christy Ayo-Adebanjo, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

“We will forever cherish his commitment to fighting for truth, equity and justice. His belief and struggle for a truly independent and progressive Nigeria was total and this he fought for until he breathed his last breath.

“The family is consulting with Papa’s friends, associates, and numerous interest groups across the length and breadth of Nigeria and beyond, to fine tune plans for a befitting funeral details which will be communicated in due course,” the statement read.

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Nigerian Lawmakers Asked $150m Bribe in Crypto—Binance Executive Gambaryan

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By Dipo Olowookere

One of the Binance executives detained by the Nigerian government last year, Mr Tigran Gambaryan, has alleged that a few members of the House of Representatives demanded bribe to the tune of $150 million in cryptocurrency from the crypto exchange.

In a lengthen post on his page on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday, he confirmed reports of bribery against the Nigerian officials, who met with employees of Binance in 2024.

Recall that Mr Gambaryan regained freedom last year after several months in detention after he honoured an invitation from the federal government through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), headed by Mr Nuhu Ribadu.

Binance was accused of being used to manipulate the local currency, the Naira, and was forced to delist the currency from its platform, especially for peer-to-peer (P2P) trading.

Narrating what transpired when he engaged Nigerian officials, Mr Gambaryan alleged that Mr Ribadu, who once headed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), also wanted money from Binance to pursue his future political career, probably the highest political office.

Below is his unedited narration;

The DSS was involved in the House of Representatives matter. We met with them at their office on Friday, January 5, 2024, as a prerequisite to our meeting with the House of Representatives. They alluded to the fact that we had to comply with whatever the House members instructed us to do.

At the House meeting, there were three members present. Two of them were Peter Akpanke and Philip Agbese, both working under the leadership of Ginger Obinna Onwusibe. There was a third House member, but I don’t recall his name. They set up fake cameras and media to make the meeting appear official, but the cameras weren’t even plugged in. As you may already know, this ended with them asking for a $150 million bribe, paid in cryptocurrency into their personal wallets. A Mickey Mouse operation at its best.

@NuhuRibadu invited us to the official meeting and worked through Sa’ad Abubakar. Another key figure in this situation was Hamma Adama Belloji. Ogunjobi was just a pawn; they used him too. This was a sold as a friendly meeting with the NSA, the head of the SEC, and the CBN governor and include the discussion of the bribe that was solicited by the house of representatives.

The $26 billion figure they kept pushing publicly as some mystery money escaping Nigeria is complete BS. This information was provided in response to their request and was simply cumulative trade data for Nigerians on the platform. This money didn’t leave Nigeria—it was just people buying and selling crypto. For example, if you trade $100 a hundred times, that’s $10,000 in trade volume, but in reality, you only used $100. Again, just another example of them lying to cover up their BS investigation.

They lied about Nadeem escaping during mosque prayers. In reality, he returned and escaped afterward. I don’t know exactly how he managed to flee. He emailed me in November, but we haven’t discussed the details of his escape. It’s possible he paid someone off, but I have no proof. If Belloji had simply checked his passport for a visa, he would have realized that Nadeem did not use that passport to travel to Nigeria.

They sent a letter to the U.S. Embassy and the British High Commission, falsely claiming that we were voluntarily participating in strategic talks. This was a blatant lie.

Nadeem did not escape lawful detention—we were being held illegally. Belloji even admitted that he would fabricate evidence to obtain a court order to detain us for 14 days. Once the court order expired, they were unable to get an extension from the judge. At that point, they continued holding us illegally and had no justification for doing so.

There was a lot of noise about using Interpol to capture Nadeem. As someone who has been involved in multiple extradition cases, I can confidently say this was a joke. Extradition is a lengthy legal process, and no rational judge in Kenya or wherever would ever approve extradition for someone who escaped illegal detention at the hands of rogue law enforcement—especially when that detention involved holding employees hostage to pressure their employer. All noise.

They tried to use us to violate international privacy laws by demanding user data on all Nigerians to target opposition members allegedly “manipulating the price of the naira.” However, they all knew that the naira’s devaluation was a direct result of Tinubu’s monetary policy, which depegged the naira from the dollar. I’m not saying this policy decision was wrong, but everyone understood that removing government intervention would lead to extreme devaluation. Instead of acknowledging this, they used Binance as a scapegoat.

They also detained innocent EFCC detectives who weren’t even present when Nadeem “escaped.” If anyone should have been detained, it was Belloji, for multiple basic law enforcement failures, incompetence, and negligence- including:

.Failing to search our belongings

.Not checking passports for visas

.Neglecting to coordinate with    immigration to issue travel restrictions or alerts

.Mismanaging the situation internationally, creating an unnecessary diplomatic crisis

We had a strong working relationship with Nigerian law enforcement, but their greed destroyed all cooperation between Nigeria and the entire industry.

They even threatened administrators at Nizamiya Hospital, instructing them not to admit me when I was extremely ill. Additionally, they pressured the hospital to withhold my medical records from my attorneys. This was later confirmed by the Turkish Ministry of Health when my friend met with their officials in Turkey.

Ribadu emphasized that he wanted billions in payouts to fund his future political ambition. However, when the corruption scandal came to light, he was trapped—because any settlement would now be perceived as a bribe. I guess he really wanted his boss’ job 🙂

Ribadu even hired a U.S. law firm to negotiate my release, but this failed due to their incompetence and greed. Looking at you Idayat Hassan.

Ribadu overstepped his authority and embarrassed Nigeria in front of U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Ribadu acting like an asshole angered the White House and led to diplomatic repercussions—the U.S. limited visas to the Nigerian delegation for UNGA, and Biden refused to meet with Tinubu until my situation was resolved.

In the end, Ribadu overestimated his influence. They thought they could secure a quick win, but instead, they created an international incident, exposing his incompetence on a global scale.

That’s it’s for me for now. I don’t want to dwell on this, but it’s important for Nigerians to get the facts. I met amazing people in Nigeria. It’s a shame that these muppets are in charge.

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Oil Spills: Niger Delta Communities Urge Shell to Take Responsibility

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By Adedapo Adesanya

Niger Deltans have once again called on Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) to take responsibility for environmental damage in the communities caused by oil spills as their lawsuit hearing brought against the British oil major began at the High Court in London, the United Kingdom.

Thousands of members of the Ogale and Bille communities are suing Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary SPDC over oil spills in the Niger Delta.

King Godwin Bebe Okpabi, the leader of the Ogale community in the Niger Delta, on Thursday called on the oil major to remediate the damage, which he said had “destroyed our way of life”.

Years of oil spills have caused widespread environmental damage, which has destroyed the livelihood of millions in the local farming and fishing communities and also impacted their health.

The king said Shell had made billions of dollars in Nigeria – which he called “blood money” – and had a moral responsibility to prevent and remediate oil spills.

“As we speak, people are dying in Ogale, my community,” he said. “It is sad that Shell will now want to take us through this very expensive, very troublesome trial, claiming one technicality or the other,” he told Reuters.

He was speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London ahead of a four-week hearing to determine issues of Nigerian law and whether Shell can be held liable for oil spills caused by third-party interference, ahead of a further trial in 2026.

On its part, Shell said the vast majority of spills were caused by illegal third-party interference, such as pipeline sabotage and theft, which is rife in the Niger Delta.

A Shell spokesperson told the publication that the litigation “does little to address the real problem in the Niger Delta: oil spills due to theft, illegal refining and sabotage, which cause the most environmental damage”.

Shell’s lawyers said in court filings that SPDC recognises it is obliged to compensate those harmed by oil spills even if SPDC is not at fault, but not where it has already done so or where spills were caused by “the malicious acts of third parties”.

The case, parts of which began nearly a decade ago, has already been to the UK’s Supreme Court, which ruled in 2021 that the case should be heard in the English courts.

The lawsuit is the latest example of multinationals being sued in London for the acts of overseas subsidiaries, following a landmark 2019 ruling in a separate case.

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