News
Binance Alleges Request of $150m Bribe by Some Nigerian Officials

Tigran Gambaryan, a compliance officer for Binance Holdings Ltd, giant cryptocurrency exchange, has alleged that the company was given 48 hours to make a payment of roughly $150 million in crypto to make its problems in Nigeria go away.

Richard Teng,, CEO, Binance Holdings Ltd
Also Richard Teng, chief executive officer of the company, in a recent blog post, confirmed that alleged extortion attempt the company faced in Nigeria.
Teng highlighted the demand for a significant payment to alleviate issues in the country amidst its crackdown on crypto and the devaluation of the naira.
“We were asked for a large payment in Nigeria to make problems there ‘go away’,” Teng stated, underscoring the challenges encountered by the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
He also reiterated Binance’s plea for the release of an employee detained in Nigeria.
But Gambaryan, a compliance officer for Binance said that on a trip to Nigeria in January,,he received an unsettling message:
The company had 48 hours to make a payment of roughly $150 million in crypto.
Mr. Gambaryan, a former U.S. law enforcement agent, understood the message as a request for a bribe from someone in the Nigerian government, according to five people familiar with the matter and messages reviewed by The New York Times.
He and a group of his Binance colleagues had just met with Nigerian legislators, who accused the company of tax violations and threatened to arrest its employees.
The Binance officials fled Nigeria in a panic. Later that month, Mr. Gambaryan wrote a three-page report describing the payment request and gave it to Binance’s lawyers, two people familiar with the report said.
He also alerted contacts in the Nigerian government, the people said, and recounted the incident to them.
The episode was the backdrop for a second trip to Nigeria that Mr. Gambaryan took in February.
On his return, he and a colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were arrested by the Nigerian authorities, setting off a crisis at Binance.
Mr. Gambaryan has been held in Kuje prison in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, for the last four weeks, after he was transferred there from a government compound on April 8.
His case is the latest legal headache for Binance, which agreed to a $4.3 billion fine last year to settle charges by the U.S. government that it allowed criminal activity to flourish on its platform. In April, the company’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced to four months in prison for his role in those violations.
The Nigerian authorities have charged both Binance and Mr. Gambaryan with tax evasion and money laundering. Binance has denied that Mr. Gambaryan had any “decision-making power” in the company.
“The message from the Nigerian government is clear,” Binance’s chief executive, Richard Teng, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. “We must detain an innocent, mid-level employee and a former U.S. federal agent, and place him in a dangerous prison in order to control Binance.”
Zakari Mijinyawa, a spokesman for Nigeria’s national security adviser, said in a text that the Nigerian government would make its case “on the strength of the facts and evidence, in accordance with due process.”
“We are confident that Nigeria has a good case,” Mr. Mijinyawa said. “Binance equally will have every opportunity under the rule of law to make its case and see justice delivered.”
In the blog post, Mr. Teng laid out the history of Binance’s engagement with Nigeria, which has become a hot spot for the crypto industry. It has the second-highest rate of crypto adoption in the world behind India, according to Chainalysis, a data firm.
In 2023, Nigerian financial regulators issued a statement directing Binance to stop soliciting investors in Nigeria. Binance halted its advertising in the country and offered to meet with government officials, Mr. Teng said.
But tensions continued to escalate. Over recent months, Nigerian officials have argued that trading on Binance contributed to the collapse of the country’s currency, the naira. And in December, a committee of the Nigerian House of Representatives asked that Binance representatives appear for a hearing.
On Jan. 8, Mr. Gambaryan and a group of Binance employees met with those lawmakers. Soon the meeting turned contentious:
The lawmakers read aloud a list of accusations against Binance, including tax violations.
They also threatened to pursue an arrest warrant for Mr. Teng, the blog post said.
As the Binance employees left the meeting, Mr. Teng wrote, they were approached by “unknown persons” who suggested that they make a payment to settle the allegations. Later, a local lawyer representing Binance spoke with someone purporting to be an agent of the House committee, Mr. Teng wrote.
The purported agent demanded “a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid in secret within 48 hours to make these issues go away,” Mr. Teng wrote. The amount was roughly $150 million, four people familiar with the matter said.
“Our team grew increasingly concerned about their safety in Nigeria and immediately departed,” Mr. Teng wrote in his post. “We, of course, declined the payment demand via our counsel, not viewing it to be a legitimate settlement offer.”
After he left Nigeria in January, Mr. Gambaryan discussed the incident with colleagues and circulated his report describing the payment request, two people familiar with the matter said.
Later that month, Mr. Gambaryan began setting up meetings with Nigerian security and financial crimes enforcement officials. At the time, he noted that senior leaders at the financial crimes office were eager to discuss what had happened during the Jan. 8 meeting, a person familiar with the conversations said.
In a text message last month, Dele Oyewale, a spokesman for Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, declined to comment on the payment solicitation.
He did not respond to a request for comment on Monday by New York Times.
In his post on Tuesday, Mr. Teng wrote that Binance had received assurances that Mr. Gambaryan would be safe if he returned to Nigeria.
A company adviser with deep local connections recommended that Binance officials meet with the Nigerian national security adviser’s office, Mr. Teng wrote.
Mr. Gambaryan and Mr. Anjarwalla arrived for that meeting on Feb. 26.
After a couple of hours of discussion, Mr. Teng wrote, a Nigerian financial crimes official took Mr. Gambaryan aside and told him that “everything was progressing well.”
Then different Nigerian officials entered the room, demanding that Binance provide granular information about its users in Nigeria — a request the company was unwilling to meet.
Mr. Gambaryan’s and Mr. Anjarwalla’s passports were confiscated, and the two men were held for three weeks in a secure compound.
On March 22, their lawyers received word that criminal charges were coming.
Mr. Anjarwalla escaped the next day. He left Nigeria and has not spoken publicly since.
Mr. Gambaryan was alone in the compound. Shortly after he arrived, financial crimes officials in Nigeria had sent a note to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, according to a copy of the message viewed by The Times.
“It is important to emphasize that Mr. Tigran is currently having a discussion with our team and the intent of his stay is purely for the purpose of constructive dialogue,” the letter said. “We assure you that the individual is participating willingly.”
Mr. Gambaryan was soon transferred to Kuje, a notorious facility where the Islamic State staged a prison break in 2022.
A trial was scheduled to begin last Thursday, but the court postponed it until May 17.
News
World Bank Maintains Nigeria’s Growth at 3.6% Amid Trade Tension

The World Bank has retained Nigeria’s annual growth at 3.6 percent in 2025 despite heightened trade tension and uncertainty that has dragged the global economy’s GDP to its worst levels in decades.
The Washington-based lender sees Africa’s most populous nation’s GDP improving by 0.2 percent this year up from 3.4 percent recorded in 2024 with services sector being the major growth driver.
“Growth in Nigeria is forecast to strengthen to 3.6 percent in 2025 and to an average of 3.8 percent in 2026-27,” the development lender said in a report released Tuesday.
“Services activity will continue to be the main driver of growth, while the industrial sector will remain constrained by subdued crude oil production as last year’s slight rebound wanes.”
Nigeria saw its fastest growth in at least a decade last year, primarily driven by financial and telecommunication services, a recovery in the transportation sector, and a slight rebound in oil production.
That momentum is expected to continue this year amid global headwinds and escalating trade tension that cut World’s growth from 2.7 percent to 2.3 percent.
Nigeria’s macroeconomic indicators have been mildly affected by the trade faceoffs triggered by President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs that have shocked economies and shifted dynamics of the global markets.
While Africa’s biggest oil producer suffered a declining oil prices that saw the naira fall slightly in the past months, the local currency is gaining and so is inflation easing, thanks to reforms that have put the country in a better position to weather global shocks.
According to the World Bank, the country’s bold reforms, including floating of the naira and scrapping fuel subsidy, has strengthened Nigeria’s fiscal position and led to a surge in revenues at the state level, and higher remittances from government-owned enterprises.
“Domestic reforms have helped spur investment, supporting growth in the services sector, especially in financial services and information and communication technology,” the World Bank said.
The multilateral lender sees inflation declining “gradually” this year as the monetary authorities continue to remain hawkish in a bid to rein in rising prices and ensure the naira remains at its fair value.
In response to high inflation, the central bank raised its policy rate six times last year. Although inflation has cooled somewhat in recent months, it remains elevated relative to the central bank target and pre-pandemic trends.
But the CBN continues to monitor the trends and has remained committed to its core mandate of price control.
News
Agriculture and its Potentials for Nigeria’s Economic Diversification

By Diana Tenebe, Chief Operating Officer, Foodstuff Store
Nigeria is a nation that is blessed with arable land and a teeming youthful population. For so long the nation has been tied to the fortunes of crude oil. Oil revenues have dominated the sustenance of economic development. The overall annual GDP growth for Nigeria in 2024 is reported at 3.40%.
The oil sector’s contribution to real GDP in Q4 2024 was 4.60%, with an annual growth rate of 5.54%. The agriculture sector contributed 24.64% to real GDP in Q4 2024, and 20.97% to aggregate nominal GDP for the full year, though its growth was more modest at 1.2% to 1.76% across different quarters. The non-oil sector, which includes agriculture, contributed a substantial 95.40% to real GDP in Q4 2024, indicating a decreasing reliance on oil as the main economic driver.
Nigeria’s economy is primarily driven by its non-oil sectors, with agriculture serving as a significant foundation, even with its ongoing productivity and security hurdles. There’s optimism that agriculture could spearhead the nation’s economic diversification in the future, especially if it’s strategically developed to generate foreign exchange and government revenue.
Agriculture was the bedrock of the Nigerian economy before the oil boom. Agriculture was the undisputed mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, contributing over 60% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing more than 70% of the population. Regions specialised in cashcrops like cocoa, palm oil, groundnuts, and rubber making Nigeria a significant global exporter. The revenue generated from these agricultural activities fueled infrastructural development, education and social amenities across the country. The oil boom in the 1970s led to a neglect of the agricultural sector and fostered an over-reliance on petrodollars and invariably led to the stifling of the development of a diversified economy.
Just weeks into office in July 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a national emergency on food security, signaling a commitment to transforming agriculture into a modern, productive, and resilient engine of growth. Key initiatives include the immediate release of fertilizers and grains from national strategic reserves, a harmonisation of efforts between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to enable all-season farming through expanded irrigation, and the proposed establishment of a National Commodity Board to stabilize food prices and strengthen reserves. The administration of President Bola Tinubu has embarked on significant reforms to position agriculture as an economic tool to drive diversification. The efforts are constantly challenged by the pervasive violence of bandits on Nigeria farmers.
One of the flagship programs is the Agro-Pocket Initiative under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme, targeting the cultivation of 750,000 hectares for staple crops like rice, maize, wheat, and cassava, providing targeted support and input vouchers to farmers. To cushion the effects of inflation, the administration also announced a 150-day suspension of duties and tariffs on essential food imports and facilitated the import of significant quantities of maize and wheat for small-scale processors. Furthermore, a new National Agricultural Extension Policy aims to deliver demand-driven, ICT-enabled, and market-oriented extension services, moving away from outdated methods.
The ambitious agricultural agenda faces a formidable adversary: widespread banditry and insecurity. Across various regions, particularly in the food-producing states, farmers are increasingly subjected to violent attacks, kidnappings, and extortion. These acts of violence have devastating consequences, forcing many farmers to abandon their farmlands, reducing cultivated areas, and disrupting the entire agricultural value chain. The fear of attack not only deters new investments but also jeopardizes the livelihoods of existing farmers, leading to reduced agricultural output and escalating food prices. The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) recently highlighted that “No Farmer, No Food: Attacks on Farmers Fuel Nigeria’s Hunger Crisis,” underscoring the direct link between insecurity and food insecurity.
The Tinubu administration acknowledges this critical challenge. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has reiterated the government’s commitment to returning displaced farmers to their communities and farms, emphasizing that sustainable peace cannot be achieved through kinetic responses alone. There’s a recognition that addressing the root causes of violent extremism, such as poverty and lack of opportunity, through inclusive, whole-of-government, and whole-of-society solutions, including integrated agricultural approaches, is crucial. The approval of Forest Guards is also seen as a transformative measure to enhance security for farmers.
Beyond the immediate crisis of insecurity, Nigeria’s agricultural sector still grapples with a myriad of systemic challenges. These include poor access to finance, with many farmers relying on informal lenders at exorbitant rates; high production costs, exacerbated by fuel subsidy removal; inadequate infrastructure, leading to significant post-harvest losses; and the impacts of climate change, such as erratic rainfall patterns and floods. Experts advocate for sustained investment in agricultural infrastructure, including irrigation systems, storage facilities, and rural road networks, to reduce post-harvest losses and improve market access.
Despite these hurdles, the potential for agriculture to drive Nigeria’s economic diversification remains immense. By focusing on value addition through agro-processing, leveraging modern agricultural technology (precision farming, irrigation, biotechnology, satellite imagery for yield prediction), diversifying crop production beyond traditional cash crops to include high-demand items, and investing in livestock and aquaculture, Nigeria can unlock significant economic growth. Public-private partnerships and accessible financial solutions, coupled with robust policy reforms, are vital to support smallholder farmers and attract necessary investments.
The journey beyond oil will be long and arduous, but agriculture offers Nigeria a tangible and sustainable path to economic resilience. President Tinubu’s reforms demonstrate a clear intent, but their success hinges on the government’s ability to effectively tackle the escalating violence against farmers. Without a secure environment, the seeds of diversification will struggle to take root, and the promise of a thriving agricultural sector will remain elusive. Only when farmers can work their lands in peace will agriculture truly become the robust engine Nigeria needs to diversify its economy and secure a prosperous future for its citizens.
News
Nigeria Police Dismantle WhatsApp Scam Syndicate, Freeze Millions

Nigeria Police Force has uncovered and dismantled a sophisticated cyber fraud syndicate that hijacked WhatsApp accounts belonging to high-profile Nigerians and used them to defraud their contacts.
The operation was carried out by the National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) following a complaint lodged on April 14, 2025.
According to Force Public Relations Officer ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the cyber intelligence team employed advanced digital forensics and investigative tactics to expose the syndicate’s inner workings.
Investigations revealed that the group relied on social engineering and mobile platform compromises to gain control of victims’ WhatsApp accounts.
During the course of the operation, police traced and froze illicit funds amounting to millions of naira across multiple Nigerian banks. A key suspect, Onajite Okoro, was arrested in Warri, Delta State.
He reportedly confessed to working with an accomplice known as “Chief Mallam Zaki,” whom he met through Facebook.
Okoro was found to have played a pivotal role in registering SIM cards, linking them to numerous bank accounts, and facilitating fraudulent transfers. Forensic analysis of his devices and financial records provided further evidence of his involvement in the scam.
Authorities say several other members of the syndicate are still at large, and efforts are underway to apprehend and prosecute them. Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun reaffirmed the Force’s zero-tolerance stance on cyber and financial crimes, emphasizing the NPF’s commitment to staying ahead of emerging digital threats.
The police urged the public to strengthen their digital security by enabling multi-factor authentication, securing communication apps, and remaining cautious of unexpected messages, even from familiar contacts.
The Force reiterated its dedication to safeguarding Nigeria’s cyberspace and ensuring all cybercriminals are brought to justice.
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