News
Nigeria to Benefit from US$500 million Development Plan
Nigeria to Benefit from US$500 million Development Plan
By: Michael Mike
Nigeria is one of the country to benefit from a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed for the co-financing of up to US$500 million of debt transactions to facilitate long-term sustainable development across developing economies and low-income countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
The MoU was signed between British International Investment (BII), the UK’s Development Finance Institution (DFI) and impact investor with Amsterdam-based ILX Management (ILX), an SDG and Climate-Focused Emerging Market Private Debt Fund.
According to a statement jointly signed by Clare Murray of British International Investment and Simone Boes of ILX Management, BII and ILX will invest across a broad range of sectors including renewable energy, infrastructure, financial services, manufacturing and agribusiness to increase the flow of capital into impactful businesses and projects.
The statement added that this new partnership will enable both parties to leverage each other’s expertise and provide additional financial firepower across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. ILX and BII will share information on prospective projects, emerging technologies, and financial innovation. They will also establish a roadmap to mobilise private sector capital, specifically focusing on providing institutional investors with greater access to high-impact private debt investment opportunities in scalable businesses driving productive, sustainable and inclusive growth.
CEO, BII, Nick O’Donohoe said: “This partnership has been driven by our shared view of the need to invest to meet the SDGs. It furthers our ambition to create new job opportunities in developing economies and will provide private credit to help bridge the finance gap faced by many businesses. This asset class remains nascent, comprising of just 3 per cent of private credit globally, and is the natural next step for allocators of global private credit.”
CEO, ILX Management B.V., Manfred Schepers, said “ILX has already received over US$1 billion in commitments from leading Dutch pension funds and is currently raising a successor fund for a targeted US$ 2 billion commitments from European pension funds. Working with BII, together we will increase financial capacity for project finance, financial services debt and private sector debt across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. We have a strong track record of investing alongside the leading Multilateral Development Banks and other Development Finance Institutions in climate, and SDG-targeted projects across emerging economies globally and look forward to the opportunities this partnership will bring.”
UK Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, on his part said “This MoU with ILX is an example of British International Investment’s pioneering approach to mobilising the private finance needed to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I am proud that FCDO provided early-stage funding to ILX, which went on to secure over US$1 billion in commitments to its first investment fund.
This new partnership will mobilise up to US$500m of additional finance for low-income countries across Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, improving access to renewable energy and quality infrastructure and helping businesses to thrive.”
Nigeria to Benefit from US$500 million Development Plan
News
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
By: Michael Mike
A former coordinator of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Earl Osaro Onaiwu, has called on the political class across party lines to support ongoing security efforts of the federal government.
Onaiwu in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday noted that insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation and was religious neutral, therefore, the need for politicians to eschew partisan slant on security matters.
He cautioned that failure by the political elite to support the fight against insecurity leading to several ungoverned spaces could disrupt elections, stressing that except there is a country, then elections are guaranteed.
The former NGF coordinator particularly commended the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his coordination and strategic efforts in streamlining security policies and engagements in tackling insecurity.
According to him, the recent delivery of military hardware by the United States Government to Nigeria is a demonstration that the NSA was working and his recent foray to the U.S. is yielding the desired results.
“The season requires patriots and this means that irrespective of party affiliations, every politician worth his name needs to support ongoing security efforts as coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
“Insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation, it is religious blind and those not respect societal status. Therefore, Nigerians, especially our political class, should lend their support, proffer solutions and galvanise the people to back the government’s security initiatives.
“Only on Tuesday, the federal government received critical military hardware from the United States Government. This is cheering and it shows that the NSA’s recent visit to the United States and the subsequent hosting of delegations in the country is bearing the desired results.
“Also, renewed military and police onslaughts against terrorists and bandits show that the federal government is taking the fight to those who are intent on denying us our peace and well-being.
“The least we can do as citizens is to support the government, provide real time intelligence from our communities and do not engage in fake news on social media against government’s efforts,” Onaiwu stated.
He further called on governors to match the energy of the federal government by supporting the NSA to address the various security challenges in their states as well as continued logistics and equipment to the military and police.
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
News
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
By: Michael Mike
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, is facing possible committal to prison following contempt proceedings initiated over an alleged failure to comply with a Federal High Court order relating to the abduction and disappearance of Mr. John Chukwuemeka Anozie.
The action was instituted by legal counsel to Mr. Anozie’s wife, Mr. Vincent Adodo, who accused the Nigeria Police Force under the leadership of the IGP of willfully disobeying a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 24, 2025.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/865/2025 between Mrs. Nnenna Anozie v. Inspector General of Police, Justice Binta Nyako ordered the IGP to produce for prosecution operatives of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) alleged to have abducted Mr. Anozie from his Lekki residence in Lagos on June 15, 2017.
The court also directed the police authorities to forward the investigation report and legal advice on the matter to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation for appropriate action.
The court further awarded ₦2 million in damages against the IGP for failing to respond to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Mrs. Anozie seeking details of investigations into her husband’s disappearance.
The SARS operatives listed in the judgment include officers attached to the former SARS unit in Akwuzu, Anambra State, who were accused of involvement in the alleged abduction.
According to court documents, despite being served with the judgment in October 2025, the IGP has neither complied with the orders of the court nor paid the damages awarded. This development prompted Mrs. Anozie’s legal team to initiate contempt proceedings by serving the IGP with Form 48 (Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Order) and Form 49 (Notice of Committal to Correctional Centre).
The applicant is now seeking an order of court committing the IGP to Kuje Correctional Centre until he complies fully with the judgment.
The motion for contempt has been scheduled for hearing on February 9, 2025, before the Federal High Court, Abuja.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force has not issued an official response to the contempt proceedings.
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
News
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
Urges African entrepreneurs to close ranks to fully harness continent’s huge potentials
By: Our Reporter
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has lauded the transformative impact of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on the global entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem that has raised over $1.5 billion dollars and created over 30,000 direct jobs in 20 years.
He, however, urged African entrepreneurs to close ranks in order to fully harness the continent’s huge potentials, leveraging MIT’s resource mobilization network and job creation opportunities.
The Vice President made the remarks on Wednesday when he received a delegation from Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025-2026 led by MIT’s Executive Director for the Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, Dina Sherif, on a courtesy visit at the presidential villa.

Senator Shettima called for unity of purpose among African professionals and entrepreneurs, saying “Africa is the new frontier and future belongs to the continent but its people must unite to transform potentials into tangible results that impact lives and livelihoods.
“Africa is blessed with enormous human and material resources but its people must fuse into one to benefit from the tremendous opportunities that abound across the continent,” he added.

He disclosed that Nigeria President Bola Tinubu is daring to leverage available opportunities to transform the entire economy, noting that “President Tinubu is not afraid of taking bold decisions that will reposition Nigeria’s economy and better the lives of the livelihoods of the people.”
Earlier in her remarks, the leader of the delegation, Sherif, said the delegation was at the Presidential Villa to brief the Vice President on the activities of MIT’s Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, assuring that the Centre is dedicated to “fueling the engine of entrepreneurship across the world”.
She noted that the team was in Nigeria in view of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship programme, which, according to her, has helped to entrench the spirit of entrepreneurship across the continent.

Sherif underscored the significance of collaboration among African startups, noting that Nigeria is a leading country, as evidenced in the progress recorded by startups across the continent.
She further assured of improved support for African-based startups from the centre through its various initiatives.

Also present at the meeting with the Vice President were the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, and some fellows of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025 – 2026 Session across Africa.
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
-
News2 years agoRoger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions4 years agoTHE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
News9 months agoFAILED COUP IN BURKINA FASO: HOW TRAORÉ NARROWLY ESCAPED ASSASSINATION PLOT AMID FOREIGN INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
-
Opinions4 years agoPOLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News2 years agoEYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
ACADEMICS2 years agoA History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Columns2 years agoArmy University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
Opinions2 years agoTinubu,Shettima: The epidemic of economic, insecurity in Nigeria
