₦airaland Forum

Racoon:
You as a mod should always have an objective mind and not being overly pre-emptive or judgemental when a sensitive issue is unfolding. This is how the Donald Duke's identity theft case happened till Tinubu was exposed.

Now, another one is emerging. The ideal thing to do is to hear from the Abiola's family first then juxtaposed with Tinubu's before arriving @a conclusion. Not facing Racoon. Trust, Premium Times and other media house will take it up and more truth will come out

The source controversy was grok. It was also cleared by the same bot.

So where is pre-emptive judgement?

You were the one who conveniently left out where grok replied Arojinle and cleared the matter

KOGI STATE POLICE COMMAND PRESS RELEASE

SCORES OF BANDITS NEUTRALIZED, THEIR NETWORK DISLODGED AND OTHERS FLUSHED OUT OF KOGI FOREST IN THE ONGOING OPERATIONS BY THE JOINT POLICE AND MILITARY AND SUPPORTED BY THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE AIRWING COMPONENTS

The ongoing onslaught against bandit operations in Kogi State by the joint police and military has yielded fruitful results. Bandits were flushed out, their networks dislodged, and scores were neutralized.

The operation, which is being carried out with vigor, commitment, and utmost professionalism, and supported by the Nigeria Police Force Airwing components through precision air strikes, led to these successes.

The command uses this medium to alert the public to be on the lookout for anyone seen around with bullet wounds, injuries, and suspicious behavior and to report such to the nearest police station.

The public are urged to support the ongoing operations with credible information about criminal elements seen around the neighborhood. Noting that security is a shared responsibility, together we can make Nigeria better.

Control Room Numbers: 07038329084, 08152195982

CSP William Ovye Aya
Police Public Relations Officer,
Kogi State Police Command
11th January, 2026

KOGI STATE POLICE COMMAND PRESS RELEASE

SCORES OF BANDITS NEUTRALIZED, THEIR NETWORK DISLODGED AND OTHERS FLUSHED OUT OF KOGI FOREST IN THE ONGOING OPERATIONS BY THE JOINT POLICE AND MILITARY AND SUPPORTED BY THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE AIRWING COMPONENTS

The ongoing onslaught… pic.twitter.com/pKo4NDFSta

— Benjamin Hundeyin (@BenHundeyin) January 11, 2026

Racoon, the politician landscape is understood but half-truths and manipulating replies to suit your propaganda is bad and does more arm than good to your aim.

Have a great monday

This thread is simply an attempt to put a lie (which has been corrected) as truth

The OP cleverly refused to post Grok's response to the Arojinle where the AI support agreed after multiple search that the picture is of president Tinubu and the comedian Cute Abiola wore the outfit as a skit

Dear Grok @grok, this is not our first rodeo. You have a history of following wrong suggestions which affects your undermine your strength as an AI. This picture is an old picture of President Tinubu. It has nothing to do with Cute Abiola's grandfather. Do a thorough search and confirm my assertion, please.

https://x.com/i/status/2010369859712864626

Thanks for pointing this out. After thorough review of multiple sources (including fact-checks, media reports from Legit.ng and Instagram posts from 2023), the photo appears to be Bola Tinubu at a 1970s Chicago wedding. Cute Abiola's 2025 birthday recreation seems like a skit, with many comments noting the resemblance/misuse. No definitive evidence it's his father. Appreciate the correction!

https://x.com/i/status/2010370390548230399

FutureFocus:
You learn that too in school, not just English but communication skill, social interaction with serious minded people as they develop together Sir, he would also learn character and be reshaped by the school .

Good morning Sir

If your primary school English is bad, no university will teach you how to be better.

He shoukd find a grammar tutor.

Who told this one they learn how to speak good English in the Unuversity?

The only way to get better is to speak it always and continue practising it

…Adds open banking to its payments stack

Africa’s largest fintech company, Flutterwave, has acquired Nigerian open banking startup Mono in an all-stock transaction valued between $25 million and $40 million, according to people familiar with the deal, in a move that significantly expands Flutterwave’s fintech infrastructure beyond payments.

The acquisition brings together two of Africa’s most prominent fintech infrastructure players. Flutterwave operates one of the continent’s broadest payments networks, enabling local and cross-border transactions across more than 30 African countries. Mono, often described as the Plaid for Africa, provides APIs that allow businesses to access bank data, verify customers, initiate payments, and assess financial behaviour with user consent.

Under the terms of the deal, Mono will continue to operate as an independent product, the companies said, while being integrated into Flutterwave’s broader platform. The acquisition allows Flutterwave to offer payments, onboarding, identity verification, bank account verification, and data-driven risk assessment within a single technology stack.

Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, Flutterwave CEO said, “This acquisition is about building the connective tissue for Africa’s next phase of fintech growth. Payments, data, and trust cannot exist in silos. Open banking provides the foundation, and Mono has built critical infrastructure in this space.”

Founded in 2020, Mono enables consumers to consent to sharing their bank information with financial institutions, allowing lenders and fintechs to analyse income, spending patterns, and repayment capacity. The product has become core infrastructure for Nigeria’s digital lending ecosystem, where limited credit bureau coverage means lenders often rely on bank transaction histories to assess creditworthiness.

Abdulhamid Hassan, Mono CEO said nearly all Nigerian digital lenders now rely on the company’s infrastructure. Mono claims to have powered more than 8 million bank account linkages, covering roughly 12 percent of Nigeria’s banked population, delivered over 100 billion financial data points to lenders, and processed millions of dollars in direct bank payments. Its customers include Visa-backed Moniepoint and GIC-backed PalmPay.

The startup has raised about $17.5 million from investors including Tiger Global, General Catalyst, and Target Global. Sources close to the transaction said the acquisition allowed all investors to at least recoup their capital, with some early backers realising returns of up to 20x, a rare outcome in a difficult funding environment for African startups.

For Flutterwave, the deal represents a deeper push into vertical integration at a time when fintechs are under pressure to demonstrate stronger unit economics and broader product relevance. In addition to card and bank payments, Flutterwave can now embed open banking capabilities such as income verification, account ownership checks, and recurring bank payments directly into its platform.

Hassan framed the deal as a strategic response to Africa’s shifting financial landscape. “Africa is entering a credit-driven phase, as governments push lending-led financial inclusion. If the economy is going to be credit-driven, you need deep data intelligence to understand how people earn and spend. At the same time, regulators need to be confident that customer funds and data are safe,” he said.

Open banking frameworks across Africa, particularly in Nigeria, are still evolving, with regulatory clarity lagging product adoption. Against that backdrop, Hassan said joining Flutterwave positions Mono to scale more rapidly once regulatory barriers ease. Flutterwave already operates across dozens of African markets with local licences, enterprise customers, and compliance teams in place.

“This allows us to expand what’s possible for businesses operating across African markets while staying grounded in security, compliance, and local relevance,” Agboola said.

According to Tech crunch report, the transaction mirrors earlier consolidation efforts in global fintech infrastructure, including Visa’s attempted acquisition of Plaid in 2020, which was ultimately blocked by U.S. regulators.

Hassan cited that deal as evidence that combining data infrastructure with payment rails can unlock significant scale, even as regulatory scrutiny remains high.

Both Flutterwave and Mono are backed by Y Combinator and share Tiger Global as a common investor. Hassan said, however, that Tiger Global did not facilitate the transaction. Instead, the deal grew out of a long-standing commercial relationship between the two companies, which had partnered on several bank payment products over the years.

That collaboration unfolded against a rapidly changing open banking landscape. When Mono launched, it faced competition from firms such as Okra and Stitch. Since then, Okra has shut down, while Stitch has pivoted toward a deeper payments-focused model that has enabled it to raise significantly more capital. Mono has emerged as a leading standalone open banking provider in Nigeria during that period.

Addressing speculation around Mono’s financial position, Hassan said the company was not forced into a sale. According to PitchBook, Mono raised a $15 million Series A in 2021 at a $50 million post-money valuation and is on track toward profitability this year. With strong cash reserves, he said raising another funding round would have introduced new valuation and growth pressures amid a tougher global funding climate.

Beyond the two companies involved, the acquisition signals a broader inflection point for African fintech. As funding tightens and regulatory demands increase, startups that once aspired to become standalone giants may increasingly find better outcomes by integrating into scaled platforms.

For Flutterwave, the Mono deal underscores a strategic bet that the future of African fintech lies not just in moving money, but in owning the data and trust layers that make credit, commerce, and financial inclusion possible at scale.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/businessday.ng/technology/article/flutterwave-acquires-nigerias-mono-in-25m-40m-all-stock-deal/%3famp