Six senior Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel have been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on suspicion of N6 billion in fraud. EFCC interrogators are currently grilling the senior staff at the commission’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.

It was gathered that the NSCDC personnel were turned over to the EFCC on Monday at the command of NSCDC Commandant General Ahmed Audi, despite the fact that specifics of the investigation are still hazy.

The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had already demanded in a letter to the NSCDC CG that the officers be released for questioning, according to impeccable sources who wished to remain anonymous.

It was gathered that, “Six senior NSCDC officers are currently in our custody. They’re being grilled by our investigators over alleged fraudulent activities running into over N6bn.”

Confirming the development, another source said, “The EFCC did not arrest the NSCDC CG, neither is he being probed. We only have six senior NSCDC officers in our custody, and they’re being probed over alleged N6bn fraud.

“The EFCC Chairman had earlier written to the NSCSC CG to provide the officers, and the CG did. Now they’re in our custody and are being grilled by EFCC interrogators.”

The spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, could not be reached for comments on Monday as phone calls and text messages to his phone lines were not responded to nor returned.

Meanwhile, when contacted for comments, the spokesperson for the NSCDC, Babawale Afolabi, said he was not aware of the development.

“I’m not aware of this,” Afolabi said in a terse WhatsApp message sent to our correspondent on Monday.

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Africa’s Global Bank , released its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2024, showing very strong growth across key performance measures.

The Group’s results, which were released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Friday May 3rd, 2024, saw outstanding year-on-year increases: Gross Earnings rose by 110%, from N271.1billion to N570.2 billion; Interest Income grew by 130%, to N440.7 billion. Operating Income increased by 115%, from N175.7 billion in 2023, to N378.59 billion.

Further consolidating the record performance delivered in the Group’s 2023 Full Year Audited Financials, UBA again saw Profit Before Tax rising significantly by 155% from N61.7 billion in Q1 2023, to N156.34 billion in Q1 2024; while Profit After Tax jumped from N53.5 billion to N142.5 billion, representing an impressive rise of 165% year-on-year.

Commenting on the results, UBA’s Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba, said the Group delivered strong first quarter performance, building on the solid momentum of 2023, as well as the ongoing execution of its long-held strategy of customer focus, geographic diversification and effective risk management and governance.

He said, “Our record Q1 profit before tax was delivered with triple digit gross earnings growth, supported by very strong interest and non-interest income. Fees and Commissions rose by 118% year-on-year on the back of improved efficiencies and continued digital adoption. This has helped drive improvement in efficiency and customer satisfaction, with the Group’s cost-to-income ratio held at 57.8%.”

“The Group’s balance sheet grew steadily with Total Assets increasing by 23% to N25.4 trillion. Customer deposits closed at N18.4 trillion, recording a 23% increase year-on-year, largely attributed to growth in current accounts and savings accounts.”

“Our unwavering commitment to sound governance, robust risk management, and financial strength positions us for continued growth, while we contribute meaningfully to inclusive economic development across our network.”

Also speaking on the performance, UBA’s Executive Director, Finance and Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said the Group’s operating results for the quarter showed the actions taken to enhance the Group’s performance continued to deliver.

He said, “Our first quarter results highlight our relentless customer focus and the strength of UBA’s geographic and product diversification, with good performance across all our regions. We continue to differentiate ourselves across all key financial metrics, with a keen focus on high-quality risk adjusted revenues and cost discipline, while maintaining very sound asset quality.“

“We remain committed to reducing both interest expense and operating expenses and expect to make steady progress as we move through the year toward our stated profitability targets,” Nwaghodoh stated.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-five million customers , across over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points, in 20 African countries and across 4 continents.

With presence in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France and the United Arab Emirates , UBA connects people and businesses across Africa through retail; commercial and corporate banking; innovative cross-border payments and remittances; trade finance and ancillary banking services.

The naira appreciated significantly against the US dollar at the foreign exchange as trade resumed on Monday.

The Naira strengthened from N1,400.4 per dollar on Friday to N1353.21 per dollar on Monday, according to FMDQ statistics.

In comparison to N1,400.4 exchanged on Friday, this indicates a gain of N46.83 against the dollar.

Similarly, naira gained N20 against the dollar in the parallel market. It was exchanged at N1400 per dollar compared to N1420 on weekends.

The naira had continued to record fluctuation in the FX market for months despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention.

The apex bank, on three occasions from March to date, has distributed dollars to Bureaux De Change operators to defend the naira in the FX market.

The Nigerian government at different fora blamed peer-to-peer cryptocurrency businesses for the naira fluctuation.

On Monday, the Security and Exchange Commission delisted naira from the crypto market.

In March, Binance, a crypto platform, departed from the naira market due to regulatory clampdown.

In April, two executives of Binance, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla(Now at large), were arraigned in Nigeria for tax evasion and financial fraud.