The Ripple-based token rallied strongly during the mid-week trading session, posting an intra-day gain of about 8% for the day as it looked set to breach the $2.55 mark.

The altcoin is now the third-largest crypto asset by market valuation, trading at $144.5 billion, displacing Tether (USDT) with a valuation of $142 billion into fourth place.

The atmosphere in the Ripple ecosystem significantly elevated after the inclusion of Ripple’s XRP in President Trump’s statement on the Crypto Strategic Reserve.

President Donald Trump stated that XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL) will now be part of the US crypto reserve.

This comes after he signed an executive order creating a working group on digital assets tasked with establishing clear regulations for the cryptocurrency industry and determining whether a national digital asset stockpile is feasible.

The main goal of the proposed reserve is to strengthen the US digital asset market. The plan highlights three well-known cryptocurrency assets as essential parts of the recommended reserve structure. By suggesting a more crypto-friendly SEC chair and establishing a strategic reserve with US-based coins, President Trump reportedly intended to make cryptocurrency development easier.

Technical Analysis

The market action demonstrated that XRP has failed to hold the $2.55 support line, confirming a tug-of-war between bulls and bears.

Market indicators show that if the $2.55 support line is not recovered, the current recovery will likely be vulnerable. If the price breaks above $2.65, price discovery will occur. The RSI’s declining peaks affirmed market sentiment that such a rally was likely a liquidity trap for small portfolios.

Market Fundamentals

The main concern for Ripple is the SEC litigation and actual adoption, which is even more significant than Trump’s increased visibility of XRP. Whales understand this and would rather profit quickly than risk a false “strategic reserve” status.

Cryptocurrencies like XRP are now more accepted thanks to the SEC’s recent reform. In the past, the commission vigorously examined a variety of digital assets under Gary Gensler’s direction, even bringing legal challenges against Ripple Labs.

XRP has prospered under the Trump-led administration due to the change in regulatory attention.

XRP had no chance of success under the Joe Biden-led administration, underscoring the importance of regulatory certainty in asset performance.

Ripple Has No Obligation to XRP Holders

David Schwartz, the CTO of Ripple, recently affirmed that Ripple is under no obligation to hold XRP, attributing this notion to XRP’s security misrepresentation.

• He made his remarks in response to a continuing debate concerning Ripple’s obligations to token holders. Pierre Rochard, an XRP critic and supporter of Bitcoin, contended that Ripple has no function to benefit XRP holders. He claimed that even if selling its substantial XRP holdings hurts retail investors, the company is still free to do so. In his opinion, this is what renders XRP insecure.
• Remarkably, Schwartz concurred, stressing that Ripple acts in its best interests, like any other company.
• He likened owning XRP to owning early pieces of art by a budding artist. Investors are under no duty to support the artist’s continued creation of value that enhances their holdings, even though they may wish to.
• He emphasized that no business, including Ripple, should be expected to act against its interests to please investors. The CTO of Ripple noted that the company has been a well-known participant in the market for almost 14 years. The business has more XRP than it could realistically sell off quickly.

A well-known Ripple critic, who goes by the handle “ScamDaddy,” posted a screenshot of the exchange after Schwartz’s most recent comments. He implied that this has always been obvious and asked why anyone would be shocked by Ripple giving its business objectives top priority. In response, Schwartz said that people promoting the idea that XRP is a security are primarily to blame for the misunderstanding regarding Ripple’s role in the ecosystem.

He suggested that such a group had purposefully misrepresented how XRP and Ripple are related. “The ‘XRP is a security’ crowd is primarily to blame for purposefully causing misunderstanding regarding the connection between Ripple and XRP,” he added.

[Nairametrics]

Concerns are growing within the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) over the continued stay of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, despite exceeding the statutory retirement age of 60 years.

While several senior officers have been compulsorily retired due to alleged age falsification and violations of service rules, Egbetokun has remained in office, an issue that has sparked internal discontent.

By March 3, 2025, Egbetokun officially retired all his coursemates, filling their positions with senior officers perceived to be loyal to him.

However, insiders within the police hierarchy are questioning why the IGP himself has not stepped aside, despite strictly enforcing retirement policies on his colleagues.

A source within the force told SaharaReporters that Egbetokun has privately admitted that he nearly lost his position but was saved by the intervention of First Lady Remi Tinubu, with whom he is said to have close ties.

“The IGP almost lost his job, but the First Lady intervened.

“Now, he is more confident than ever and is making strategic moves to secure his position,” a senior government official revealed.

Egbetokun Moves To Force Out AIG Owohunwa

The latest officer to face uncertainty under Egbetokun’s leadership is Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Idowu Owohunwa, whom the IGP reportedly considers an “archenemy” and a threat to his continued stay in office.

Sources disclosed that Owohunwa’s retirement letter has already been prepared and is expected to be issued next week after he failed to secure promotion to Deputy Inspector General (DIG).

The Police Service Commission (PSC) declined to promote Owohunwa, effectively sealing his fate.

Earlier this week, Naija News reported that the PSC approved the appointment of six new Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs) to replace those who were recently forced into retirement by police authorities.

[NaijaNews]

The gruesome killing of Adedamola Quadri Ogunbode, a recent graduate of Lagos State University (LASU), is yet another chilling reminder of the pervasive horror of ritual killings in Nigeria. His murder, allegedly at the hands of a so-called prophet within the supposed sacred confines of a church, is a tragic irony that further exposes the moral rot in our society. It is heartbreaking that a place meant to offer spiritual solace instead became a slaughterhouse where a young man’s life was cut short in the most barbaric manner.

As painful as Adedamola’s death is, the even more terrifying reality is that his case is not an isolated one. Across Nigeria, ritual killings have become a widespread epidemic, claiming the lives of countless innocent victims. From Lagos to Ibadan, from Benin to Port Harcourt, reports of human sacrifices, body mutilations, and disappearances fill the pages of our newspapers almost daily. The killers, driven by greed, desperation, and a twisted belief in supernatural wealth acquisition, have turned human life into a mere commodity to be traded for money and power.

The sad truth is that Nigeria has become a breeding ground for ritualistic killings, with victims spanning across all demographics, children, young women, students, and even elderly people. Many of these murders are fueled by the insatiable quest for instant wealth, often encouraged by fraudulent clerics, self-styled prophets, and traditionalists who prey on the gullibility and desperation of their followers.

The shocking aspect of Adedamola’s case is the involvement of a church. This gruesome act reaffirms the painful reality that not all religious institutions are truly places of worship. Some have become mere fronts for criminal activities, engaging in fake miracles, extortions, and now, even murder. It is beyond tragic that those who should be offering hope and salvation are instead engineering destruction and death.

The belief that human sacrifice brings prosperity is not only archaic but also deeply dangerous. This age-old superstition, perpetuated by con artists masquerading as spiritual leaders, has no place in a modern society. The fact that many so-called men of God have been arrested in connection with ritual killings speaks volumes about the extent to which greed and deception have infiltrated religious institutions.

In recent years, Nigeria has witnessed an alarming surge in ritual-related killings. In 2022, the shocking case of the four teenagers in Abeokuta who murdered their female friend for ritual purposes shook the nation. Their reason? They had been told that using human parts for money rituals would make them wealthy. In the same year, a security guard in Ondo State was caught with a fresh human skull, allegedly obtained for ritual purposes.

The cycle of these crimes continues unchecked due to weak law enforcement, lack of swift judicial action, and, in some cases, complicity by authorities. Many ritualists operate with impunity, knowing that even if they are caught, they can bribe their way out of prosecution. Worse still, some high-profile individuals suspected of being involved in such heinous acts walk free due to their connections to influential people.

The persistence of ritual killings in Nigeria is not just a failure of law enforcement but also a reflection of a deeper societal problem. The desperation for wealth and the idolization of money at all costs have led many down dark and dangerous paths. Social media, with its glorification of sudden riches, has further fueled this craze, making the younger generation believe that anything, including human sacrifice, is a legitimate means to success.

Moreover, Nigeria’s harsh economic realities have pushed many into desperation. With unemployment at an all-time high and the cost of living soaring, people are increasingly willing to try anything to escape poverty, even if it means taking another person’s life. The failure of leadership to provide a conducive environment for economic growth has, in part, contributed to the normalization of such wickedness.

Given the foregoing, it is not abysmal to ask, “Where Do We Go from Here?” The foregoing question becomes more salient as it is not enough to mourn Adedamola’s tragic death; we must take deliberate action to prevent further occurrences. The Nigerian government and law enforcement agencies must treat ritual killings with the seriousness they deserve. This means ensuring that perpetrators are swiftly arrested, prosecuted, and given maximum punishment to serve as a deterrent.

Religious institutions must also be scrutinized. Not every so-called prophet or pastor is truly called by God. Many of them are simply charlatans who have weaponized spirituality for personal gain. Regulatory bodies overseeing religious establishments must be more proactive in investigating and shutting down churches and shrines involved in suspicious activities.

Education and public awareness are also crucial. Nigerians need to understand that there is no shortcut to wealth, and that ritual killings are not only criminal but also morally reprehensible. Schools, religious bodies, and media outlets should intensify campaigns against superstitious beliefs that encourage human sacrifice.

Furthermore, community vigilance must be heightened. People must be encouraged to report suspicious activities in their neighborhoods to authorities. The role of security agencies cannot be overstated—they must be empowered to carry out thorough investigations and bring perpetrators to justice without delay.

The death of Adedamola Quadri Ogunbode is a painful reminder of the darkness that has taken root in Nigeria. But we cannot afford to let his death be in vain. The perpetrators of this heinous act must be made to face the full wrath of the law. His family, friends, and the LASU community deserve justice, and the country must not let yet another case of ritual murder slip into oblivion.

In fact, the government, religious leaders, law enforcement agencies, and every well-meaning Nigerian must come together to fight this menace. If we continue to allow ritual killings to fester, we are not just losing individual lives, we are losing our collective humanity.

Adedamola had dreams. He had a future ahead of him. But his life was brutally stolen by a society that has failed to protect its own. Now is the time to take a stand. Now is the time to say, ‘Enough is enough!’

May his soul rest in peace, and may Nigeria finally wake up to the horror of ritual killings before it consumes us all.

Super Eagles head coach, Éric Sékou Chelle, has included Kano Pillars forward Ahmed Musa in his provisional squad for the crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe. This marks Musa’s return to the national team for the first time since the AFCON 2023 in Côte d’Ivoire.

Musa headlines the 39-man provisional list released by the new head coach yesterday. Genk striker Tolu Arokodare also makes the cut, following his impressive tally of 15 goals in the Belgian Jupiler League this season.

Among the fresh faces in Chelle’s provisional squad are Anthony Dennis (FC Göztepe), Papa Daniel Mustapha (Niger Tornadoes), and Slavia Prague’s Igoh Ogbu.

The squad sees the return of Kayode Bankole, the Remo Stars goalkeeper, and Southampton forward Paul Onuachu, as Nigeria aims to rekindle their hopes of qualification.

The provisional list includes prominent players such as captain William Ekong, Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen, Stanley Nwabali, Adeleye Adebayo, Calvin Bassey, Olaoluwa Aina, Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi, and Simon Moses.

Further inclusions comprise goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, defenders Bruno Onyemaechi and Zaidu Sanusi, midfielders Frank Onyeka and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, as well as forwards Samuel Chukwueze and Sadiq Umar.

Defenders Igoh Ogbu and Ifeanyi Onyebuchi, midfielders Anthony Dennis, Chrisantus Uche, and Papa Daniel Mustapha, along with forwards Tolu Arokodare and Jerome Akor Adams, have received their first call-ups. Additionally, home-based goalkeeper Kayode Bankole, defender Jordan Torunarigha, midfielder Joseph Ayodele-Aribo, and forwards Cyriel Dessers and Nathan Tella could make a return if they are included in the final squad of 23 players.

Nigeria currently sits fifth in Group C, trailing behind Rwanda, South Africa, Benin Republic, and Lesotho. The Super Eagles will first face group leaders Amavubi of Rwanda in Kigali on Friday, 21st March, before squaring off against Zimbabwe’s Warriors at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo four days later.

[Leadership]

President of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said he is currently resting after delivering his refinery project.

The 650,000-barrel refinery and petrochemicals project worth over $20bn has come to disrupt the oil and gas market in Africa and the world even as the refinery now exports refined products to other countries in Africa and Middle East.

Dangote recently spoke about the challenges he faced constructing the refinery which he described as the biggest risk of his life, saying he went through hell.

But speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony of the 43-storey building new First Bank Head Office at Eko Atlantic City in Lagos, Dangote said he’s now resting after delivering the project.

He commended his friend and ally, Mr. Femi Otedola, who is the Chairman of FirstHoldCo for daring to put up a 43-storey edifice in Eko Atlantic as the new Head Office of FirstBank, Nigeria’s oldest financial institution.

He said Eko Atlantic has become the new City of Lagos and with FirstBank joining the list of corporate entities in the emerging industrial city, more banks would come in.

Dangote however stated that Otedola had also invited him to come to Eko Atlantic, adding, “Maybe soon, not now I’m resting right now. Having delivered the refinery I need some rest but I’ll come, I’ll be here very soon. So I want to congratulate you (Otedola) and the entire board and management of First Bank for taking this bold move of building a massive edifice in the new City of Lagos.”

The groundbreaking is being attended by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Governors of Lagos, Ogun and Ondo – Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Dapo Abiodun and Lucky Aiyedatiwa respectively.

Others are Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Femi Hamza; former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, among others.

[DailyPost]

Popular gospel singer, Ebuka Songs has broken his silence on why he left Moses Bliss’ record label, Spotlite Nation.

DAILY POST recalls that Ebuka who signed a three-year contract with the record label, left after 11 months.

Moses Bliss during an interview in December 2024, stated that his signee, Ebuka Song left the label to pursue his music independently.

However, speaking for the first time after his departure, Ebuka stated that he left to focus on his ministry.

Speaking In an interview with the Open Up podcast, Ebuka said “I will always be grateful for Moses Bliss’ role in my life because as at that time, I had the anointing and gift but i don’t know how to go about it professionally.

“I am grateful for the journey that I have been through but at this point now, the next level is to focus on my ministry. And we are in our good space.

“The reason why I kept quiet about my exit or say anything since that time is because I don’t want it to generate more conversations. We all get to the point where we just want to be focused on the next phase of our lives, and because of the assignment of God upon my life.”

[DailyPost]

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, arrived in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday for a series of official engagements, including a meeting with the President of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana.

Wike is also expected to engage with agribusiness investors during his visit.

According to a statement issued in Milan by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the minister departed Abuja on Tuesday night and arrived in Milan at about 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday. 

He was received by the Charge d’Affaires of the Nigerian Embassy in Italy, Ambassador Mustapha Mohammed.

He said: “While in Milan, the FCT Minister will hold a meeting with the President of Lombardy Region on Thursday, and also meet agribusiness investors.

“Lombardy is adjudged as the first region of Italy in terms of economic importance, with population of about 10 million people. It is the second most populous region of the European Union (EU) and the second region of the European Union by nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“The FCT Minister’s meeting with the Attilio Fontana will center on seeking collaboration and evaluating possible prospects in the areas of Agriculture and Vocational Education, as well as strategic development partners with the Lombardy Region. 

“Subsequently, Wike will meet investors in agribusiness and experts in vocational training, with a view to unlock new opportunities.

“The FCT Mandate Secretaries for Education, Dr. Danlami Hayyo and Mandate Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, Lawan Geidam, as well as Senior Special Assistant on Administration, Dr. Udo Samuel Atang and Senior Special Assistant on Legal and Multi-Lateral Cooperation, Barrister Benedict Daudu, accompanied the Minister on the trip”.

The senior citizen that reads this column every week, almost without fail, called in the other day, neither to endorse nor condemn the view expressed here on the posturing of Northern Nigeria’s political establishment that is wont to threaten to use its phantom voting strength to upset Nigeria’s political applecart.

He came with the suggestion that there must be a way to ensure that Nigeria’s political elite, in all the realms of the nation, have a consensus on principles, concepts and values that they all will share, regardless of their ethnic, regional, religious, ideological or partisan leanings.

The tendency of Nigerian politics has continued to be centrifugal such that policymakers and their policies seem to serve only sectional, ethnic, regional, and even religious interests, and not the common interest of all Nigerians.

In his book, “Pathway to Nigerian Freedom”, Obafemi Awolowo, the first Premier of Western Nigeria, observed, “Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no ‘Nigerians’, in the sense as there are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’, or ‘French’”.

The word, ‘Nigerian’, is merely an appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria from those who do not. Could Awolowo’s conclusion be partly responsible for the failure of Nigerians to think or act Nigerian?

In a verbal spat with the late National Leader of Pan Niger Delta Development Forum, Edwin Clark, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said, “Tribe has to be suppressed for the (Nigerian) state to emerge. And until the state emerges, Nigeria will not make the desired progress as tribesmen will always sacrifice state for tribe.”

A politician of Nigeria’s First Republic was reputed to have been extremely intentional in employing Nigerians mainly from his ethnic stock into the Nigeria Railway Corporation, so much that other Nigerians thought they should not seek employment there.

As a result, NRC suffered gravely from the herd mentality of its management and staff, most of whom shared the same language and culture. In recent years, the same ethnic orientation wrought incurable lethargy on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its successor, NNPCL.

This esteemed caller, a retired corporate guru, thought that the Nigerian Institute of Political and Strategic Studies, on whose founding committee he served, was a good place to fashion the consensus of values for Nigerian leaders. NIPSS was founded in 1979 as a think tank for policy formulation, research and training for bureaucrats, military officers and private sector leaders.

But regrettably, many who attended NIPSS courses hardly demonstrated the value they supposedly acquired in their choices of policies, programmes and projects as they worked in the legislatures, courts, government ministries, departments and agencies.

Thus, the NIPPS’ Director-General, Prof Ayo Omotayo, who boasted at the institute’s recent graduation ceremony, “We have made significant strides in making our research outputs relevant to today’s critical issues… (as) the (graduating) class represents a new wave of leaders equipped to drive change in  Nigeria,” may just be talking to himself.

Governance in Nigeria, civilian or military, has not been very inspiring, despite the quantum of alumni of NIPSS and the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria that have had the privilege to run the affairs of this great country.

Maybe the British template of catching the future political elite young by putting them through an interdisciplinary course of study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at institutions like Oxford and Cambridge universities will do the trick.

PPE explains the complex interactions of Britain’s capitalist or market-driven economy, the welfare aspects of public policy, the political institutions, culture and conventions, international relations and diplomacy, the universities, the media and social institutions.

By going through the same intellectual drills, those who studied PPE and ended up as prime ministers, ministers, senior civil servants, and military officers of Britain have a shared knowledge of the core values, institutions, goals and visions of the British realm. And so, they do not work at cross-purposes, as it obtains in Nigeria.

They understand the role and nuances of Britain’s Unwritten Constitution and its conventions, the monarchy, the political parties, the parliament, the cabinet, the civil service, the military, the secret service, the private sector, the media and other agencies of governance.

When you tell a Briton about The Firm, Westminster, 10 Downing Street, Whitehall, the City, Fleet Street, he instantly knows that you are talking about the monarchy, the parliament, the prime minister, the civil service, the British equivalent of America’s Wall Street or the private sector investors and the media, respectively.

As of 2024, 31 of the 58 British prime ministers attended Oxford, and another 14 attended Cambridge, making 45 or roughly 78 per cent of the whole. Incidentally also, 20 and 7, or roughly 47 per cent, of the prime ministers, attended either Eton College or Harrow College, two of Britain’s most prestigious elite secondary schools.

Just as you might accuse these individuals of inbreeding of ideas or even parochial herd mentality, you must also agree that shared values can lead to easy agreement and swift decision-making in the interest of the people of Nigeria.

Perhaps the underlying cause of the inability of the political elite to agree on what is best for Nigeria is the 180-degree divergence of objectives and political philosophy between Northern and Southern Nigeria.

British parliamentarian, Thomas Fowell Buxton, saw a difference in the characters of Northern and Southern monarchs, and suggested, “Whatever difficulties (Britain) may… encounter with the chiefs of the coast (of Nigeria)… there is good reason to believe that we shall find a better disposition on the part of the Sultans and sovereigns of the interior…”

Britain used missionaries and traders in relating with the Southern Protectorate of Nigeria, with a “deliberate effort to teach, to elevate and to influence by direct contact”. On the other hand, the Northern Protectorate was run by Lord Frederick Lugard, with “the soldier’s love of discipline, ranks… for (whom) law and authority proceeded downwards… and not… through discussion and democratic process”.

In his book, “A Fatherless People”, Dele Ogun notes that the British “recognised the reality of differences between the two Nigeria, to the point that it produced two types of British colonial administrations, those recruited for Northern Nigeria, schooled in (Islam and) in Arabic, and those for Southern Nigeria”, largely Christian, fluent in English and familiar with Judeo-Christian traditions.

Thus, democratic values and Christianity were encouraged in the Southern Protectorate by British officers and their Nigerian successors that were derogatively called “natives”, and the Northern Protectorate was ruled by force of arms and indirect rule that grafted the Moslem traditional institutions, designated as native authorities, to British colonial administration.

This dual ruling template was adopted when the British colonialists began to observe that Western education and the emergence of the newspaper were fast corroding their hold on the people of the Southern Protectorate. They reasoned, “Let us, rendered wise by the experience elsewhere, set our faces like flint against the ‘Europeanising’ of Northern Nigeria.”

Though the British colonial masters have set the values of Northern Nigeria against those of the South, those who identify as Nigerians must find a way to overcome this dilemma. As long as the people of the Nigeria area continue to relate with each other through ethnic prisms, so will the Nigerian state of their dream be elusive.

X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com,