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CBN sacks mgt. of Union Bank, Titan Trust, two other banks

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President Bola Tinubu has started the implementation of the report of the Special Investigator on Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and related entities, Jim Obazee with the dissolution of the board and management of Titan Trust Bank and three others.

The others are Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Polaris Bank, and Keystone Bank.

A report by Insidebusiness online disclosed that the decision to dissolve the boards was taken after a meeting between Yemi Cardoso, Obazee, and the board and management of the four banks.

Recall that the investors in Titan Trust Bank refused to honour the invitation to a meeting with the Special Investigator.

Obazee, a special investigator, says his team has uncovered how Godwin Emefiele, the former CBN governor, set up Titan Trust Bank (TTB) to acquire Union Bank of Nigeria.

Obazee, the head of the special investigation panel on the CBN and related entities, revealed that Emefiele used two Dubai-based companies — Luxis International DMCC (Luxis) and Magna International DMCC (MAGNA) — owned by Vink Corporation Middle East FZC, to set up Titan Trust Bank as proxies.

With the help of the Nigerian embassy in UAE, the panel report said the two companies do not have a physical presence in Dubai as claimed in their acquisition documents.

The panel also said such discovery contravenes section 3 subsection 5 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, adding that Luxis and Magna are not “supposed to be allowed to operate or acquire a bank in Nigeria”.

During the investigation, according to the panel, it was discovered that there is a mysterious shareholder who has issued interest-free, long-term loans to TTB with no fixed repayment plan.

The report said the mysterious shareholder was traced to be Emefiele.

From one financial scandal to another, Emefiele has been languishing in prison and facing a plethora of court charges concerning corruption since the beginning of Tinubu’s administration.

The former CBN governor was locked in the Kuje correctional facility after he was arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on procurement fraud valued at N1.2 billion from November 22 to December 12 because he failed to meet the N300 million bail granted him by a high court.

The Obazee-led panel said TTB had in a letter of October 25, 2021, sought CBN’s no-objection to its proposed consolidation with Union Bank excluding its UK operations.

This, the letter noted, should be in four phases: the acquisition of 91.5 percent of the issued shares of the UBN; mandatory tender offer (MTO) for the remaining shares of the UBN; buyout of any share not voluntarily sold to TTB on the MTO; and merger of TTB and UBN with UBN as the surviving entity.

According to the panel, the letter also stated that the consolidation was to be funded via a combination of debt and equity, and CBN via letters dated March 3 and 9, 2022, which granted no objections to TTB’s request to obtain a $300,000,000 facility from Afrexim Bank, as well as capital injection of $175,000,000 from two existing shareholders of TTB: Luxis and Magna.

The TTB, via a letter dated June 3, 2022, informed the CBN that it had made the payment of the purchase consideration to the selling shareholders on June 1, 2022, and had, thus, completed the acquisition of 93.4 percent of the issued shares of the Union Bank.

The report said the “ultimate goal of acquiring UBN hinged on the ongoing court-ordered scheme of arrangement between the TTB and the holders of the balance of 5.95%”

Obazee has asked the federal government to take over the Titan Trust and Union banks by strengthening it for a lucrative future sellout.

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IBADAN: Early Morning Fire Destroys Shops, Millions Lost in Property

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An early morning fire on Friday, September 12, 2025, gutted four shops at Saki Garage, opposite Trans Amusement Park in the Bodija area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

The fire, which started around 2:07 a.m., affected four out of eleven shops in the complex. No casualties were reported, but properties worth millions of naira were lost.

Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Service, Hon. Maroof Akinwande, confirmed the incident and said firefighters were able to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to nearby buildings.

The fire was traced to embers left unattended after business hours, which ignited nearby flammable materials.

Akinwande advised the public to be vigilant, keep fire extinguishers at home and in shops, and store emergency fire service numbers. He also commended Amotekun officers from the Bodija Division for providing security during the firefighting operation.

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Air Peace Differs with NSIB reports on crews involvement in drugs, alcohol

Air Peace conducts frequent alcohol and drug tests on our crew. We have a very strict alcohol use policy that is stricter than the 8 hours before the flight as provided in the regulations. Drug use is a NO-NO!

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Air Peace has responded to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) regarding the incident involving one of its aircraft at Port Harcourt on July 13, 2025.

The airline said to date, no official communication was received on crew toxicology results by NSI, B, and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had cleared the co-pilot on duty.

In a statement by Air Peace, it stated that it is yet to receive any official communications from the NSIB on such findings over a month after the incident and after the testing of the crew for alcohol, which took place in less than an hour of the incident!

“As a responsible airline, we place utmost priority on safety, transparency, and compliance, and it is important to set the record straight.

“Air Peace conducts frequent alcohol and drug tests on our crew. We have a very strict alcohol use policy that is stricter than the 8 hours before the flight as provided in the regulations. Drug use is a NO-NO!

The NSIB had on Thursday released the preliminary report on its ongoing investigation into the serious incident involving a Boeing 737-524 aircraft, operated by Air Peace, saying initial toxicological tests conducted on the flight crew revealed positive results for certain substances, including indicators of alcohol consumption.

The report said that a cabin crew member also tested positive for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component in cannabis.

“These results are being reviewed under the human performance and safety management components of the investigation.”, a statement on the report signed by Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, said.

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Hilda Baci Cooking World’s Largest Pot of Jollof Rice Today at Eko Hotel

Baci also disclosed she would be using 250 bags of rice to create what she hopes will become the world’s biggest pot of Nigerian jollof rice.

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Celebrity chef and Guinness World Record holder Hilda Baci is cooking what she describes as the world’s largest pot of Nigerian jollof rice at Eko Hotel and Suites today (Friday) in Lagos.

A video shared on her Instagram page on Thursday showed the moment the massive pot arrived at the venue of the record-breaking attempt in Lagos.

Another clip shared on her Snapchat story captured Hilda and her mother praying at the venue ahead of the event.

Baci announced on Wednesday that more than 20,000 people had registered to attend the event dubbed “Gino World Jollof Festival with Hilda Baci”

She emphasised that the event which kicks off at 9 a.m. on Friday, September 12, is free to attend, and that guests will “certainly not be paying for the amazing meal that I’m going to make for you.”

According to Baci, the historic attempt will feature a giant pot measuring six metres wide and six metres tall, in collaboration with seasoning and culinary brand Gino.

Baci also disclosed she would be using 250 bags of rice to create what she hopes will become the world’s biggest pot of Nigerian jollof rice

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