News

Riots spread across UK as officials deploy 6,000 officers to calm situation

Published

3 months ago

August 6, 2024

By Francesca Hangeior

Nearly a week of street riots across England have thrown up the first major crisis for Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he marks one month since his landslide election win.

Starmer enjoyed a smooth start after sweeping into Downing Street on July 5, taking to the world stage for several summits.

But the tumult of the past week has punctured hopes of a prolonged honeymoon for the 61-year-old leader.

The UK government said on Tuesday that 6,000 specialist police officers were ready to deal with far-right rioting that broke out following the murder of three children, triggering a week of violence.

On Monday, six people were arrested and several police officers injured when they were attacked by rioters hurling bricks and fireworks in Plymouth, southern England.

Officers in Belfast, Northern Ireland, were attacked as rioters attempted to set fire to a shop owned by a foreign national.

Police said a man in his 30s was seriously assaulted during the disorder and that they are treating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime.

Meanwhile, a group of men who gathered in Birmingham, central England, to counter a rumoured far-right demonstration, forced a Sky News reporter off air shouting: “Free Palestine”. She was then followed by a man in a balaclava holding a knife.

Another reporter said he was chased by members of the group “with what looked like a weapon”, while police said there had also been incidents of criminal damage to a pub and a car.

The unrest broke out last Tuesday after three children were killed in a stabbing spree at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, northwest England.

Riots have since flared up in several cities and towns, leading to hundreds of arrests.
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander told BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday that the government had freed up an extra 500 prison places and drafted in 6,000 specialist police officers to deal with the ongoing violence.

“We will make sure that anyone who is given a custodial sentence as a result of the riots and disorder will have a prison waiting for them,” she said.

News

Access Holdings Reports ₦41.1trn Total Assets, ₦3.4trn Gross Revenue In Q3

Published

55 mins ago

November 5, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

Access Holdings Plc has reported its unaudited results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024, as the financial results reveals the group’s continued growth momentum, emphasising resilience and sustainable performance as it works to deliver good returns for its shareholders.

Gross revenue for the nine-month period rose by 114.5% year-on-year, climbing from ₦1.6 trillion in 2023 to ₦3.4 trillion in 2024. Interest income, a major driver of this growth, represented 70% of gross revenue at ₦2.4 trillion, while non-interest income contributed ₦1.0 trillion, marking an 87.2% increase due to higher transaction volumes on digital channels and other alternative platforms. Despite inflationary pressures, the cost-to-income ratio remained stable at 60.8%, while profit before tax saw an 89.6% rise to ₦558.2 billion, and profit after tax rose 82.8% to ₦457.7 billion. This robust performance translated to an annualised return on equity of 22.2%, with earnings per share up to ₦12.40.

Access Holdings reported significant gains in Q3 2024, driven by strong performance across its banking and non-banking subsidiaries, including Access ARM Pensions, Hydrogen Payments, and Access Insurance Brokers. The Group’s total assets surged to ₦41.1 trillion, up by 54.0% year-to-date, while shareholders’ equity grew by 51.0% to ₦3.3 trillion. Customer deposits saw an impressive rise of 45.4%, increasing from ₦15.3 trillion in December 2023 to ₦22.3 trillion by Q3 2024, while gross loans and advances grew 56.2%, reaching ₦13.9 trillion.

Access Bank continued its strong performance, with both interest and non-interest income contributing significantly to gross earnings. Subsidiaries in the UK and across Africa performed particularly well, delivering 54.8% of the Banking Group’s profit before tax, an increase of 185.8% year-on-year. The Group remains committed to expanding its footprint by offering tailored banking solutions in each region, enhancing customer experience, and advancing cross-border banking capabilities.

The non-banking subsidiaries of Access Holdings also delivered consistent growth. Access ARM Pensions, following a merger with ARM Pensions, now oversees ₦3.1 trillion in assets under management. Hydrogen Payments processed ₦27.5 trillion in transactions, growing its operating profit by 516% year-on-year to ₦5.7 billion. Access Insurance Brokers, still in its first year of operations, posted a gross written premium of ₦8.3 billion and a profit before tax of ₦641 million. New entrant, Oxygen X Finance, the group’s digital lending subsidiary, reported ₦2.1 billion in operating income and a profit before tax of ₦412 million.

Looking ahead, Access Holdings remains focused on enhancing profitability through diversified revenue streams across all markets. The group is deeply committed to advancing sustainability, embedding environmental, social, and governance principles into its operations to foster positive community impact. Through ongoing investments in employee development, Access Holdings is building a culture of innovation and excellence, further positioning the group as a driver of long-term value for its shareholders.

News

Digital Excellence: Access Bank Clinches Best Digital, Best Website Awards

Published

1 hour ago

November 5, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

Access Bank Plc has won the 2024 Best “Digital Award Winner” in the Commercial Banks Category at the Digital Jurist Awards, organized by Phillips Consulting (pcl.).

The Bank also secured the “Best Website Award”, achieving an impressive score of 201 points for its engaging and user-friendly digital experience. Access Bank’s cumulative score of 380 points reflects its excellence across digital touchpoints, including its website, web portal, mobile app, and social media.

Commenting on the recognition, Amaechi Okobi, Chief Communications Officer of Access Holdings PLC, said, “We are honoured to receive the Best Digital and Best Website Awards at this year’s Digital Jurist Awards.

“At Access, our focus on digital innovation is driven by our commitment to deliver seamless, secure, and customer-centric solutions across all touchpoints.

“This recognition validates our ongoing efforts to enhance our digital platforms, making financial services more accessible and efficient for our customers. We thank Phillips Consulting for recognising our efforts and will continue to raise the bar in digital excellence.”

Phillips Consulting has long served as a development partner to Nigerian financial institutions and other organisations with an online presence. Leveraging its proprietary Digital Jurist platform, the firm has conducted assessments of digital touchpoints in various sectors, from financial services and insurance to telecommunications and government agencies, over the past 17 years.

Originally established as Web Jurist®, the platform was reimagined as Digital Jurist to assess new and diversified digital channels in the evolving digital economy. Digital Jurist’s evaluation framework examines a range of factors, including user experience, accessibility, performance, functionality, security, customer service, support, marketing, and content engagement across digital platforms.

These awards reinforce Access Bank’s leadership in digital banking, adding to recent accolades including 2024 Best Digital Bank and Best Mobile Banking App by World Finance, Best Mobile Banking App and Best Digital Bank by The Digital Banker Awards, and Best Digital Banking Initiative at the Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2024.

News

Govt official arrested for 400 s3xtapes with president’s sister, ministers’ wives, others

Published

6 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF) in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar Engonga, has been arrested for allegedly recording over 400 sextapes of women, including the sister of the country’s president.

The sextapes were recovered from Engonga’s house and office following a raid by ANIF officials who carried out the operation in a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old economist.

The ANIF officials were said to have come across several CDs that later showed Engonga’s sexcapades with different married women.

The videos, according to a local media platform, Ahora EG, include encounters with high-profile individuals, including Engonga’s brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Director General of Police’s wife, and about 20 of the country’s ministers’ wives, among others.

The video discovered in his office was said to have been recorded with consent and has since been leaked online.

In a report by a local media platform, Ahora EG, since last October, Engonga has been involved in a sexual scandal unprecedented in the history of Equatorial Guinea.

Ahora EG stated: “The most striking thing is that some scenes took place in his work office, including moments in which he is seen sleeping with a woman next to the National Flag. Based on this sexual scandal, the Executive has stated that the measure is a direct response to the acts that have affected the image of the country.

“With these new measures, the Government hopes to establish a clear precedent on the expected conduct of public officials in order to create a more respectful work environment in the public and private administration of Equatorial Guinea. For days now, erotic videos have been circulating on social media featuring Baltasar EBANG ENGONGA, better known as ‘Bello’.

“Baltasar EBANG ENGONGA is said to have filmed these scenes with the consent of the women themselves, which exonerates him from a possible crime of violation of integrity. In the videos, he is seen having unprotected sex with several women, including those married to powerful and well-known people in the country, but also with the most “diva and influential” single women in Equatorial Guinea. Some scenes take place in hotel rooms, houses, even in the protagonist’s office at the Ministry of Finance,” it added.

Speaking on the viral sextapes, the Attorney General of Equatorial Guinea, Nzang Nguema, said although the videos suggest that the women involved were not forced to participate, the law does not consider consensual sexual relations to be a crime, unless coercion or violence is proven.

“The possibility of a contagious disease being spread through these sexual interactions makes the situation even more critical,” Nguema added.

Reacting to the development on Monday, the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Nguema Mangue, said Engonga’s behaviours violated the country’s Code of Conduct and the Public Ethics Law.