Last week, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states.  These three states have been hotbed of Boko Haram insurgency over the last four years. The security situation has deteriorated to the extent that there is fear in the land that it is just a matter of time before Boko Haram insurgents would declare an independent state because they were already unfurling a flag and other symbols that directly challenged the sovereignty and suzerainty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its defined territorial integrity.

The unwarranted and unprovoked mayhem in the country which is threatening the security and sovereignty of Nigeria prompted the declaration of emergency rule in three Northern states as an antidote to insecurity of the nation. ONYEWUCHI OJINNAKA and GOODLUCK ANOSIKE write.

The present state of insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria has become a clog on the wheel of brands that abound there. In this report, stakeholders share their views on this crucial issue and how it affects brands. LINDA UGWUOTI writes.

The latest banking sector development report as contained in the 2011 annual report of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation(NDIC), may have stated the obvious while analyzing the fraud record in the banking industry in 2011. For those Nigerians who have been close to the trends in electronic banking and the spate of job cuts in the sector, the 54 per cent rise since last two years may really appear largely under-estimated.  In the real sense of it, fraud-free banking or a sharp reduction of it, is not any of the promises of electronic banking. In fact , the escalation of fraud and the expansion in its reach are some of the greatest fears of the innovation. Two years after the cashless project has potentially taken off in most cities and has become accepted by various private institutions and government commercial units, the exposure of a horrendous fraud report has taken some unsuspecting enthusiasts of the policy aback.