 Kidnapped students from Zamfara State plead for help in new video released by Bandits. Their doctors demand 350 million Naira ransom. Four financial technology firms whose accounts have been frozen assure customers of safety of funds. And like I said this morning, we'll take a look at the prevalence of cancer in children and the options for treatment. Good morning and welcome to the Breakfast on Plus TV Africa. Thank you so much for joining us and waking up with us on a Thursday morning. Great to have you here. I am Osaugi Ogbanwan. And I am Annette Felix. Our first up-trend history today continues from the conversations we had yesterday and that's regarding the fact that a federal high court in Abuja has actually granted the request of the Central Bank of Nigeria to go ahead to freeze assets of actually six financial technology firms, you know, saying that they were trading in assets management without licenses. The Sabian also made reference to a circular it released on July 1st, 2015, saying that it banned all activities of any, you know, foreign, any, you know, whether local or foreign firms that are into financial technology trading in stocks, foreign exchange and all of that, you know, without appropriate licenses. That really was the bone of contention that we saw yesterday. It set Nigerians into panic mode because lots of Nigerians actually invest on those platforms, you know, they trade on the NSC, they trade on the US stock exchange and all of that, you know, but what we've seen is these companies, we've seen bamboo, Trive, we've seen Rise as well, Rise Vest, we've seen Chaka, a couple of these other companies coming out to say that, you know, your money is safe with us and that even if our accounts are frozen, the funds are being managed by third-party organizations that are in the US and Nigeria. So hopefully this, you know, is resolved because, you know, like Ms. Adebola said yesterday, it's now up to these financial technology companies to go ahead and, you know, make their case that they can file for a still execution and, you know, prove why their accounts should not be frozen and states, if according to them, their dealings have been legal so far, you know, but what this just reminds us of is how Nigerians complain that it seems that the federal government, you know, has been making laws that seem to be clamping down on startups, on fintechs, you know, young Nigerians who try to create innovative solutions to, you know, problems, especially in the financial sector, but that really is where we are. Yeah, and, you know, I agree, to be honest, you know, I think the narrative is pretty much the same thing, you know, and I haven't seen a lot of people who have said, oh, we totally support what the CBN has done or what the court ruling, you know, says. There's more people who have seen this as, you know, once again, a clampdown on the growth of other, you know, ways that Nigerians have, you know, sourced, you know, living for themselves. There's a lot of things that should have been put into consideration before, you know, this court order, how these companies will survive for the next six months, you know, they have staff that they need to pay you're sending, they're very likely going to be sending a few more people back into the labor market. True. Those things weren't considered, you know, and, you know, I said it yesterday that, you know, my challenge really is the way that, you know, the Nigerian government acts, you know, every now and then, you know, pretty much the same thing when Twitter was banned, you know, and almost the same thing when, you know, the Forex, you know, trading by BDCs also, you know, took place, that ruling, you know, also took place. There's also pretty much similar with when Gokada was banned here in Lagos, you know, it doesn't seem like there's a lot of consideration into other, you know, aspects on a particular issue when they take this decision. It feels like a knee-jerk reaction every single time. And so when people say that, you know, it feels like the Nigerian government continues to strangulate or to, you know, put a choke hold on, you know, businesses that are thriving or that seem to be thriving, you really can't fault them. You're fault that narrative. Because what exactly, you know, necessitates them being frozen for six months? They are coming for six months. You know, anybody, you know, should try to make, you know, this, you know, easier to understand if you need to investigate. We have had a billion and one cases where the government acts in this way, you know, where instead of you to do a proper investigation, instead of you to say, okay, well, we seem, you know, you know, it seems like you may have been going against, you know, some of the rules that CBN has put in place and, you know, send out warnings, send out letters to these fintech companies, you know, and things like that. Instead of that, we take very, very drastic steps and go to a court that, of course, will simply go ahead and give a six-month ban on fintechs, you know, and not ban on fintechs, you know, but Freezy accounts for six months. Very much the same thing then just like I said yesterday with the Nigerian police not wanting to investigate properly before making an arrest. Once you simply look like you may have some money or account you arrested and then after arrest, then you go to the station to find out why you've been arrested or then they start to look through your phone to find out reasons why they arrested you. So at the time when these decisions are taken, it's not like they have 100% proof of what, you know, their claims are, but they take these decisions and why, you know, does a judge not see through these things? I mean, how anybody understand why any court in Nigeria doesn't see through these things or at least, you know, think otherwise, you know, before taking a decision like this and freezing accounts of these companies for six months. Like I guess I said, you know, and of course one of the things that we mentioned yesterday was that they can counter or they can, you know, challenge this ruling and, you know, hope that they can get a stay of execution and, you know, continue their business until they settle issues with the CBN. Whether it will affect businesses, obviously a lot of people are going to be trying to pull out their money because they feel unsafe with, you know, what is going on. There's also going to be something that I read yesterday was, you know, someone saying that, you know, they might put out these statements reassuring their customers that there's nothing to be afraid of. But, you know, you wouldn't also be surprised if after two, three weeks, it starts to become difficult to withdraw money or to do certain transactions on these apps or these, you know, through these platforms. It just doesn't in any way look good, you know, and that's the truth. One point, and I shouldn't, you know, miss out on saying this, one point that was made as one of the reasons why this was, this decision was taken, why the accounts were frozen, was that they apparently are contributing to the devaluing of the Naira. It says that they, let's see if I can quickly find it, they contribute to making the Naira weaker than the dollar, you know. These four companies that are just about four years old are suddenly, you know, one of the reasons why the Naira is weaker. Bearing in mind or simply forgetting that Nigerians spend, let me show it with you, Nigerians spend about $1 billion annually on medical tourism. And you know the reason why they spend $1 billion on medical tourism? It's simply because there's no good enough healthcare here in Nigeria. Nigeria also spends about $9.01 billion on foreign travels in 2019 and that's with regards to healthcare. And $4.55 billion on education travel also in 2019. So this is how billions and billions of dollars are spent in other countries or sourced because of education and healthcare. Because of the failed system that we have here, it's very likely not because of these four companies. It is mostly because of the fact that a lot of things aren't working here and also we've been making mouth about diversifying our economy for so many years now. The economy is going to be diversified. We're going to have other sources of income for the country when they're going to be solely dependent on oil and some of all of that. Nothing seems to be different from what it was 10 years ago than it is today. And so you cannot blame these four companies for making the Naira weaker than the dollar. Okay, so I think one question we need to critically look at is why in the first place does Nigerians, you know, why do Nigerians go ahead to invest in foreign stocks? You know, you need to really take a look at that situation because that's one of the reasons why these companies were created to ensure that Nigerians especially get an opportunity to invest in foreign stocks. You see that there's a perception regarding the NSE, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, that it's only for the elite and the super rich that can invest in the NSE. You also see, first of all, Nigerians to a new economy. Our current economic realities is so bad, so oblique. And then you see that it then seems that the devaluation of the Naira makes it people feel that it's easier to have assets in foreign currencies and things like that. So if you fix your economy, the economy is functioning properly. You know, who's to say that other countries will not want to invest in a stock exchange and get stocks in Naira. But if the economy is weak and people are trying to find their way out to ensure that the value of the asset do not depreciate over time because of inflation and all that, who are you to blame them? But that's where we are regarding this. Let's take a look at our next big story here. And this is something we hear, you know, many times. And it's about the amoteco, right? When the amoteco came up, first of all, I think it's called the tiger. It's a code name, you know, the tiger. That's what it means in Yoruba. And they said this was to provide original security for the Southwest. There were lots of opposition to this. But eventually they, you know, they went on with that. It was inaugurated. They trained some people, lots of, you know, back and forth regarding whether they should carry arms or not. But the thing is, we heard time and time again about extra judicial killings by the amoteco core. And right now, there was a particular situation like that. And the person in question here is a 14-year-old boy. His name is Pizza Okaofo. So what the story says is that in the Yorca capital of Ibadon, amoteco core said they were allegedly chasing an armed robber and some stray bullets hit this 14-year-old boy. You know, I mean, that's what the eyewitnesses say. But when, you know, the amoteco spokesman spoke about this, the state commander of amoteco, Ola Inka, Ola Yoju, he said that the amoteco is not responsible for Pizza's death. He said that amoteco operatives were nowhere near the scene of the crime, nowhere near the scene of the incident, that they were only deployed in Alaro community around Songo by 1 a.m. after they received a distress call of an armed robber attack and that they were never near the vicinity where Pizza Okaofo died. But people who were there when this happened said they saw amoteco members, you know, fire bullets that hit this Pizza Okaofo guy. And the issue here is that they're now protesting the burning tires on the roads, costing, you know, traffic jam on the roads, saying that they would not tolerate, you know, members of amoteco going ahead to, you know, kill people. And if we're going to talk about the stray bullets, is it that they were not trained regarding how to aim? I mean, you should be trained in, you know, how to handle weapons because how long will we continue to hear stories about a Nigerian being killed by a stray bullet? If the police is trying to aim at a threat, don't they know how to aim? Why do we keep having stories of Nigerians being killed by stray bullets? And I think that's just a shame on the skill, so to speak, or the training of these law enforcement agencies. And then it seems that these amoteco guys have really grown some wings if these stories of extra-dissue killings are true. Well, those who are trained also, you know, misfire every now and then. The stray bullet incidents, you know, didn't start with amoteco and started with Nigerian police, which you expect that, you know, are properly trained to handle weapons, you know, in every regard. I think we also brought up something yesterday that I was asking about the value of the Nigerian life and who should take responsibility. That is with the Lagos State Task Force and accusations that they also, you know, caused the death of a person, a driver here in Nigeria. So it's not, you know, it's pretty much in the same space, you know, the value of the Nigerian life. And if anybody will truly be questioned or be arrested or be made to pay, you know, for the loss of this particular life, there's also video clip that I had seen a couple of days ago of someone being tortured, you know, by, you know, same amoteco call. And, you know, what for me this really is that, you know, it just tells me that something I've always known that if you give a Nigerian some level of power, they very likely, so 80% chance they very likely would use it in oppressing the next Nigerian. You can see that attitude in the smallest Gitman or smallest security guard in any bank or in any office across Lagos, across Nigeria. As long as you give him, you know, a uniform, he automatically, you know, starts to feel like he can oppress the next person who he feels is beneath him. And it's almost a Nigerian attitude. You see it everywhere. So that's pretty much the same thing with amoteco. And one of the fears that, you know, were mentioned when they were being set up, people were asking and saying that we hope that they don't now start to take laws into their hands or they don't now go beyond the control of their state government or any, you know, state in the Southwest where they are functional. They obviously seem to be, you know, taking these laws into their hands or going beyond, you know, their jurisdiction or going beyond what is expected of them. Amoteco has no business with torture in anybody. They have no business whatsoever. There are certain, you know, cases that you really should be living for the police. They are not meant to be walking around the streets looking for petty thieves. I remember when they were formed, you know, there were talks about them, you know, being formed to ensure regional security against killer-headers. So how they now go ahead chasing robbers and, you know, so, yes, that's the reason they were formed, but you would also expect that in times of, you know, crimes being committed if there's a robbery and they are somewhere around them, maybe they can also step in and assist the Nigerian police because of the inadequacies of the Nigerian police. But there obviously needs to be a lot more done with regards to controlling the excesses. They have no business with torture. They have no business with, you know, shooting, you know, at, you know, suspected criminals. And even if it wasn't a kid, you know, that they were fired. I mean, this particular guy, Pisa Okafor, he was supposed to, you know, take WIAC exams and now his... Yeah, you know, so the point is, regardless if it was, you know, an 80-year-old man or a 14-year-old kid, you know, there's obviously a lot of control that needs to be put in with regards to the mode of oppression of Amotecum. You know, they should know where, you know, their boundaries, you know, are and what they're able to do and not do. After being around the bush, you know, we can still call these allegations because nobody is 100% sure exactly, you know, if they are guilty here. But after all of what this has said and done, it's now left for the Oya State Government to do everything possible to ensure that, you know, justice is served to that life that was lost and to that family who has lost a family member, whoever it is that is responsible if it is an Amotecum member, if it is the call that needs to be suspended if it is called a member of the court if it is to be disciplined, something must be done. And in the lack of, you know, a society that is just and fair to its citizens, there will continue to be chaos regardless of where it's coming from. Whether it's ESN or it's Amotecum or it is Hisba in the north, there would continue to be chaos if these people cannot at least, you know... All right, just a correction there. The Amotecum, yes, it's actually the translation of... Leopard. Leopard, yes, not tiger. And also, Nigeria has secured the first gold medal at the World on the 20 Athletics Championship. Ah, great news. Team Nigeria won that first gold at the 4x400 meters relay in Kenya, in Nairobi. And the Nigerians that made this happen for us are Cidera Namani, Debora Okimabong and Bami Dele. They claimed this gold with the championship record for Nigeria on Wednesday. They also made history as the first winners of the event at the World on the 20 Championship between Poland and India. Congratulations to them. And once again, there's so much more that we can achieve if we have better environments to develop these talents, better funding to also develop these talents. There's so much. Nigeria is very likely the most talented country that has most talents in the whole of Africa. I'm not even going to say just West Africa, the whole of Africa. Nigerians are extremely talented in every single field that you can imagine. They just need a place to thrive and need an environment that really can support them and support these talents to grow. So congratulations to them. Hopefully they get to make it to the biggest stage and maybe also contest in the next Olympics or World Athletics, the next Athletics Championships. Indeed. Congratulations again to the team, Nigeria. We'll take a break here and return with Off The Press. Stay with us.