First Independent Mena Newspaper
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has raised the red flag following revelations of $2.1 billion in suspicious cryptocurrency transactions across West Africa in 2024, according to a study by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA). SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, speaking at the recent West Africa Compliance Summit in Cape […]
Rising costs of road freight across West Africa are threatening to derail the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), exporters and trade experts warn, as unofficial fees and bureaucratic bottlenecks mount along key trade corridors. A recent case study by the West African Association for Cross-Border Trade (WACTAF) reveals that transporting a truckload of goods […]
After more than a century abroad, 119 Benin Bronzes have returned to Nigeria, marking the largest single repatriation of looted artifacts to date. Originally stolen during a brutal British raid on the Benin Kingdom in 1897, the sculptures — including royal regalia, plaques, and ceremonial figures — were officially handed over by the Netherlands in […]
A total of 191 Nigerian migrants have been voluntarily repatriated from Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirmed on Wednesday, April 23. The return operation, carried out from the southern Libyan city of Sebha to Lagos, Nigeria, included 111 women among those brought home. According to a statement issued by the IOM, the operation […]
The African Union’s (AU) Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) is making significant strides, with 39 African nations now part of the initiative, promising the make air travel around the continent more affordable. Speaking at the AU Summit, AU commissioner for infrastructure and energy, Amani Abou-Zeid, emphasized that the SAATM is a critical component in […]
Generative AI was behind more than a third of new biometric fraud cases in Africa last year, according to a new report by Smile ID, the continent’s leading provider of identity verification solutions, warning that the surge in deepfakes threatens the data of millions of consumers whose details are held on insecure systems. The 2025 […]
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has unveiled its electronic Certificate of Origin, a digital system with the aim of enhancing trade facilitation and curbing fraudulent practices across the region. In broader terms, the E-Certificate of Origin (e-CO) is also a part of the ECOWAS’ deliberate and sustained efforts to boost intra-regional trade […]
Algiers and Tripoli were rooted at the bottom of a table as the third and second least livable cities in the world, on par with war-torn Damascus which has kept the notoriety of being the worst city to live in since 2013, the Economist said. Kyiv, at the heart of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, […]
Lagos State Governor on Wednesday (18 October) initiated the commencement of an ambitious $100 million Lagos Film City project, which aspires to transform the landscape of Nigeria’s entertainment industry. Presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony for the Film City, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the proposed project would amplify the voices of the country’s diverse communities and […]
Casablanca Finance City (CFC) has maintained its position as the leading African financial center in the half-yearly rankings of the 34th edition of the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) that has also included Mauritius, Kigali, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cape Town, and Lagos on the list. Within the North Africa and Middle East region, the leading Moroccan […]