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AltBank, FUNAAB, Tulima Join Forces on AI Smart Farm Project
…hydroponic venture in Abeokuta aims to cut food imports, boost year-round production
By Gloria Ikibah
The Alternative Bank (AltBank) has taken a significant step in its push to strengthen Nigeria’s real economy, advancing plans with the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) and Egypt-based Tulima Farms and Agri-Processing LLC to establish an AI-powered hydroponic farming hub on the university’s campus.
The proposed facility is designed as a large-scale, technology-driven farming ecosystem that brings together finance, research and technical expertise. By shifting cultivation indoors and relying on automated systems, the partners intend to reduce exposure to familiar agricultural threats such as drought and pest infestations.
The Ogun State project is being positioned as a flagship model that could be replicated nationwide. Its focus will include the local production of exotic vegetables that are currently imported by air, with the broader aim of reducing Nigeria’s food import bill.
Abeokuta has been identified as a promising investment destination, with FUNAAB seen as a natural anchor institution. The university’s strong agricultural research base, extensive farmland, innovation centres and pool of skilled personnel were cited as key advantages. Its long-standing role in advancing agricultural science and sustainable farming practices has placed it at the forefront of efforts to modernise agriculture across the continent.
The AltBank delegation was led by Ugonwa Ikegwuonu, Head of Agric Finance at The Alternative Bank, who outlined the thinking behind the initiative.
“The synergy between AltBank’s financial innovation, Tulima’s technical expertise, and FUNAAB’s research depth creates a unique ecosystem for growth. Our goal is to transform traditional agribusiness into a high-tech, data-driven sector that creates jobs and sets a new global standard for African agricultural excellence,” she said.
Welcoming the delegation, FUNAAB Vice-Chancellor Babatunde Kehinde expressed the university’s readiness to host and drive the collaboration. He reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to industry partnerships capable of delivering tangible economic and developmental benefits.
The AI-enabled hydroponic project forms part of wider efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s food systems through import substitution, climate resilience and all-year-round production. Using data-led nutrient management, efficient water use and controlled-environment farming, the initiative is expected to deliver consistently high yields with minimal waste.
Beyond boosting domestic food supply, the partners say the project could stimulate agribusiness expansion, create employment and support economic diversification, while offering a template for smart agriculture across Africa.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tulima Farms, Mohamed Salama, provided a detailed technical overview of the proposed production model, investment framework and risk-sharing structure. He stressed the importance of assembling a cross-disciplinary university team spanning agriculture, engineering, research, infrastructure and enterprise development to fast-track implementation.
Tulima Farms and Agri-Processing LLC is known internationally for its sustainable indoor farming systems, using climate-controlled greenhouses and modular container farms to grow pesticide-free, nutrient-rich crops within an integrated farm-to-table chain.
The new hydroponics venture builds on AltBank’s earlier agricultural interventions, including recent Alfalfa trials in Plateau State. Those trials demonstrated how innovative fodder production could contribute to national security by easing farmer-herder tensions.
Through initiatives such as these, the bank continues to position finance as a driver of a more secure, sustainable and innovation-led agricultural future for Nigeria and the wider African continent.
Japa on reverse lane as the United States Department of Homeland Security, DHS, has updated its list of Nigerians facing removal from the country, reducing the number to 112 and publishing their names and photographs online.
The latest list features Nigerians from different parts of the country and was published through the DHS official website.
Among those listed are Cletus Onyali, Olaolu Alabi, Marcus Unigwe, Mkpouto Etukudoh, Blessing Uchanma, Olaniyi Ojikutu, Richard Ugbah, Oluwamuyiwa Olawoye, Anthony Asanya and Ebele Agbasiele
Others identified on the list include Izuchukwu Okoye, Olufemi Olufisayo Olutiola, Abiemwense Obanor, Chibuzo Nwaonu, Oluchi Jennifer Chimdimma Chime, Ifeanyi Okoro, Oluwaseun Kassim, Quazeem Adeyinka and Talatu Dada.
The complete list contains 112 names, with the photographs and details of the other individuals available through the DHS online portal.
The publication comes amid stepped-up immigration enforcement by the US government, particularly involving undocumented immigrants and individuals with outstanding removal orders.
It also comes against the backdrop of efforts by US authorities to obtain increased cooperation from foreign governments in receiving their nationals who have been ordered to leave the United States.
Nigeria has previously faced pressure from the US over the repatriation of its nationals subject to deportation.
The updated publication provides public access to the identities and photographs of the Nigerians currently identified by DHS for removal from the United States.
The Department of State Services, DSS, on Thursday re-arraigned five men accused of complicity in the May 15 kidnap of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and the subsequent killing of two of the victims.
They were arraigned on a seven-count amended charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2026, filed by the DSS on behalf of the Federal Government.
The defendants, accused of being members of the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) terrorist group, are Mahmud Muhammad (aka Abu Bara’a, Abbas Mukhtar); Abubakar Abbas (aka Isah Adam, Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri); Abdulrazak Umar (aka Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid); Yunusa Musa (aka Abu Yunusa Bin Musa); and Shamsu Adamu Sani (aka Abu Itisar).
All five defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them by the Registrar of the court.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who led the DSS legal team, applied for the immediate trial of the defendants in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
He also applied for the names of witnesses lined up to testify in the trial to be shielded and for them to be permitted to wear masks to ensure their protection.
Following no objection from counsel to the defendants, Bala Dakum, Justice Salim Ibrahim granted the request of the DSS counsel.
At the time of filing this report, arrangements for the full-scale trial were being put in place.
LAGOS — A post-mortem examination conducted by the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has confirmed that 20-year-old journalist Pelumi Onifade died from a penetrating firearm injury to the abdomen.
The finding is contained in a six-page autopsy report dated July 30, 2026, and submitted to the Lagos State Coroner’s Court investigating the circumstances surrounding the young journalist’s death during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
According to the report, Onifade died from massive haemoperitoneum, a severe accumulation of blood in the abdominal cavity, caused by a high-velocity projectile that penetrated his abdomen.
The forensic finding provides medical evidence establishing a gunshot injury as the cause of death, while the circumstances surrounding who fired the shot and the events that followed remain matters before the coroner’s proceedings.
How Onifade Died
Onifade was a 200-level History student of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) and worked as an intern reporter with Gboah TV, a Lagos-based online news platform.
On October 24, 2020, during the nationwide #EndSARS protests against police brutality, he was assigned to cover an attempted looting at a government palliative storage facility in the Abattoir area of Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos.
According to accounts presented by his family and colleagues, Onifade was wearing a press jacket and carrying reporting equipment when officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force opened fire while attempting to disperse the crowd.
He was reportedly struck by a bullet and subsequently taken away in a police van, commonly referred to as a Black Maria.
A colleague who was with him at the scene reportedly attempted to identify him as a journalist and explain that he was carrying camera equipment, but those efforts were unsuccessful.
Onifade was not seen alive again after that incident.
Family Searched Police Stations, Hospitals
Following his disappearance, his family and colleagues searched police stations, detention facilities and hospitals across Lagos in an attempt to establish his whereabouts.
According to the family, police authorities denied having him in custody.
Six days later, on October 30, 2020, the family located his body at the mortuary of Ikorodu General Hospital, where it had been registered as a “brought-in-dead” case under body number 1385.
The discovery triggered years of demands for an independent investigation into how the young journalist died and how his remains ended up in the mortuary.
DNA Test Identified the Body
The identity of the body was subsequently confirmed through forensic DNA testing.
Results from the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre established a match between the unidentified body bearing tag number 1385 and reference samples obtained from Onifade’s parents.
The DNA confirmation provided a crucial breakthrough after years of uncertainty surrounding the whereabouts and identity of the missing journalist.
Court Ordered Coroner’s Inquest
The search for accountability later moved into the courts.
In July 2024, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the Lagos State Government and the police to conduct a coroner’s inquest into Onifade’s death.
The objective of the inquest is to establish the circumstances surrounding his death and determine the facts surrounding the actions of the security personnel involved.
The ongoing proceedings before the Lagos State Coroner’s Court are being presided over by Magistrate Temitope Oladele.
Following the submission of the post-mortem report, the court has directed key witnesses, including police personnel who were on duty in the Oko-Oba area on October 24, 2020, to appear and testify.
Rights Groups Demand Accountability
Media Rights Agenda (MRA), which has supported the Onifade family in its legal efforts, has described the post-mortem findings as significant evidence in the case.
Rights activists, journalist unions, and the deceased’s family continue to demand the public prosecution of the police officers who fired the shot and those who supervised the deployment during the Lagos #EndSARS demonstrations.
Japa on reverse lane as US releases names, photos of 112 Nigerians on deportation list
Oyo kidnap: Five defendants plead not guilty to seven count charges
Autopsy Confirms #EndSARS Journalist Pelumi Onifade Died From Gunshot Wound
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