Two senior executives at Binance have been detained in Nigeria as Africa’s populous country tries to rein in speculation on the naira by cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges. The executives flew to Nigeria following the country’s decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites last week but they were detained by the office of the country’s national security adviser and their passports seized, according to people familiar with the matter. An adviser to the office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Binance declined to comment. Nigerian authorities have turned their focus to cryptocurrency websites after a rapid devaluation of the naira that helped drive inflation to an almost three-decade high of 29.9 per cent. The sites have emerged as an alternative for trading and establishing an unofficial price for the Nigerian currency. Following the detention of the executives, Binance halted trading of the naira against bitcoin and tether digital coins on its excha...

The ongoing seized food distribution at the Yaba office of the organisation. Our reporter who was on ground covertly witnessed multiple casualties as about seven people fainted with one supposedly dead. The food distribution which turned rowdy had Service personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, 81 Division and the Nigerian Navy supporting the Customs Police on ground to checkmate rowdiness worsened the case by using force and violence to push back the crowd which then led to more people collapsing and also chaos as the crowd chanted hunger war song and defiled the security operatives. People running from Pepper spray Personnel from 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba, Lagos could be seen struggling with the crowd to get their share of the booty with a Lady Private (PTE) almost getting stampeded upon by the crowd during the scuffle. Some personnel of the Nigerian Army almost engaged in a free for all among themselves after a heated argument between two Corporal...

Ruined city of Avdiivka, Ukraine Avdiivka was on the front lines of war between Kyiv and Moscow for almost a decade. Fierce fighting raged there for months following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago. The withdrawal was far less drawn out. When the Ukrainian military abandoned the town on Saturday, handing Russia its most important victory in months, it was rapid and ruthless. “Leave the 300 (wounded),” one soldier was purportedly ordered, “and burn everything.” Hours after Russian troops raised their flags over Avdiivka, one horrifying story has emerged of several injured soldiers who failed to escape – and were later killed as Russian troops reached their position. Members of Ukraine's National Guard Omega Special Purpose fire a SPG-9 anti-tank grenade launcher toward Russian troops in the front line town of Avdiivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine November 8, 2023. The Ukrainian servicemen there were part of the 110th S...

A chopper transporting Herbert Wigwe, the CEO of Access Bank and Access Holdings, has crashed with him and about five others aboard in California, United States. Access Bank CEO: Herbert Wigwe The chopper was headed to Las Vegas when it crashed Friday night near Nipton, between Nevada and California. United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a statement confirmed all onboard are dead. FAA said no survivors had been found as of Saturday. “We were made aware of a downed aircraft at approximately 10:12 p.m., on February 10, 2024. The scene of the crash was determined to be east of the 15-Freeway, near Halloran Springs Road,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. The FAA identified the helicopter as a Eurocopter EC 130. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash at the time of filing this report.

There is currently panic and confusion in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, following an explosion on Tuesday evening.  A loud bang was heard and vibration was felt across several locations in Ibadan at about 7:45 p.m. The exact cause and location of the explosion are unknown at press time. Unconfirmed reports say the explosion emanated from a gas plant around the UI-Bodija axis of the city. Some affected persons shared pictures and videos of broken window glasses from their apartments. More to follow…

A 23-year-old lady, identified as Amanda Uchechi Ugo has reportedly killed a policeman attached to the Imo State Police Command, Cosmas Ugwu. It was gathered that Ugwu was shot dead on Tuesday by his lover, a native of Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of the State. However, a source who spoke with PUNCH, disclosed that the incident occurred around 6:30 pm on Boxing Day at the Ezinihitte Area Command. The source said: “When police officers ran into the room to see what was going on, they found Corporal Ugwu lying in a pool of his blood. “The girl shot him three times in his chest and his left hand. He was rushed immediately to Evergreen Hospital in Ezinihitte, where he was pronounced dead by the doctor on duty.” “Nobody actually knows what went wrong between the two, but how the girl was able to use a police rifle successfully is still a surprise to many. Maybe, Ugwu was the one who taught her.” Confirming the horrible event on Wednesday, the Police Public Relations Officer in Imo St...

Ondo State Governor: Akeredolu The Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, is dead. A family source told SaharaReporters on Wednesday that Akeredolu died in Lagos. WEXERES learnt that he was managed by State House doctors up to his death because they could not fly him abroad. “Akeredolu is dead; he died in Lagos,” the source said. “They were looking for dialysis machines to be sent to his secret location in Lagos last week.” He was 67 years old.  The ailing governor returned to Nigeria in September following a three-month medical leave in Germany and only recently proceeded on another one after he was directed by President Bola Tinubu to hand over power to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa. His deputy, Aiyedatiwa has been standing in as Acting Governor. Following his return to Nigeria in September, Akeredolu stayed in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital and tried to govern his state from there, leading to public outrage.  On July 9, Akeredolu’s wife, Betty announced the suspension of acti...