The Nigerian Stock Exchange concluded Friday’s trading session on a downward trajectory, marking a significant weekly loss for investors who saw N491 billion wiped from market value.

Market capitalization contracted by 0.64 percent, falling from Thursday’s N76.453 trillion to N75.962 trillion at the close of trading. The benchmark All-Share Index mirrored this decline, dropping 776.92 points (0.64 percent) to settle at 119,995.76, down from the previous session’s 120,772.68.

The market’s bearish sentiment was primarily attributed to widespread selling pressure across multiple equities, with Legend Internet, BUA Cement, FTN Cocoa Processor, and Oando among the 32 stocks that experienced declines during the session.

Notable Decliners

Legend Internet topped the losers’ list with a steep 9.98 percent decline, closing at N8.03 per share. BUA Cement followed closely with a 9.92 percent drop to N95.40, while FTN Cocoa Processor fell 9.76 percent to N3.33. Oil marketing company Oando shed 8.72 percent of its value, ending at N56.50 per share, and McNichols rounded out the top five decliners with an 8.44 percent loss to N2.17.

Market Bright Spots

Despite the overall negative sentiment, 28 stocks managed to post gains. Neimeth Pharmaceuticals led the winners with a 10 percent surge to N5.94 per share. Learn Africa and Mecure both recorded identical 9.91 percent increases, closing at N5.10 and N12.20 respectively. Academy gained 9.44 percent to N5.10, while Smart Products Nigeria advanced 9.09 percent to close at 60 kobo per share.

Trading Activity

Market activity showed reduced intensity compared to the previous session. A total of 625.78 million shares changed hands in 21,800 transactions, generating N12.78 billion in turnover. This represented a significant decrease from the prior trading day’s volume of 892.97 million shares worth N18.23 billion across 25,375 deals.

Ja Paul Gold dominated trading volume with 88.26 million shares worth N192.04 million, followed by another unnamed stock with 80.04 million shares valued at N555.75 million. Access Corporation moved 56.02 million shares for N1.25 billion, while Caverton and Zenith Bank recorded trading volumes of 53.98 million shares (N271.15 million) and 30.55 million shares (N1.76 billion) respectively.

Battling to survive, Hamas faces defiant clans and doubts over Iran

Short of commanders, deprived of much of its tunnel network and unsure of support from its ally Iran, Hamas is battling to survive in Gaza in the face of rebellious local clans and relentless Israeli military pressure.

Hamas fighters are operating autonomously under orders to hold out as long as possible but the Islamist group is struggling to maintain its grip as Israel openly backs tribes opposing it, three sources close to Hamas said.

With a humanitarian crisis in Gaza intensifying international pressure for a ceasefire, Hamas badly needs a pause in the fighting, one of the people said.

Not only would a ceasefire offer respite to weary Gazans, who are growing increasingly critical of Hamas, but it would also allow the Islamist group to crush rogue elements, including some clans and looters who have been stealing aid, the person said.

To counter the immediate threat, Hamas has sent some of its top fighters to kill one rebellious leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, but so far he has remained beyond their reach in the Rafah area held by Israeli troops, according to two Hamas sources and two other sources familiar with the situation.

Reuters spoke to 16 sources including people close to Hamas, Israeli security sources and diplomats who painted a picture of a severely weakened group, retaining some sway and operational capacity in Gaza despite its setbacks, but facing stiff challenges.

Hamas is still capable of landing blows: it killed seven Israeli soldiers in an attack in southern Gaza on Tuesday. But three diplomats in the Middle East said intelligence assessments showed it had lost its centralised command and control and was reduced to limited, surprise attacks.

An Israeli military official estimated Israel had killed 20,000 or more Hamas fighters and destroyed or rendered unusable hundreds of miles of tunnels under the coastal strip. Much of Gaza has been turned to rubble in 20 months of conflict.

One Israeli security source said the average age of Hamas fighters was "getting lower by the day". Israeli security sources say Hamas is recruiting from hundreds of thousands of impoverished, unemployed, displaced young men.

Hamas does not disclose how many of its fighters have died.

"They're hiding because they are being instantly hit by planes but they appear here and there, organising queues in front of bakeries, protecting aid trucks, or punishing criminals," said Essam, 57 a construction worker in Gaza City.

"They're not like before the war, but they exist."

Asked for comment for this story, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the group was working for an agreement to end the war with Israel but "surrender is not an option".

Hamas remained committed to negotiations and was "ready to release all prisoners at once", he said, referring to Israeli hostages, but it wanted the killing to stop and Israel to withdraw.

'IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD'

Hamas is a shadow of the group that attacked Israel in 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's offensive has killed more than 56,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.

The damage inflicted by Israel is unlike anything Hamas has suffered since its creation, with most of its top military commanders in Gaza killed. Founded in 1987, Hamas had gradually established itself as the main rival of the Fatah faction led by President Mahmoud Abbas and finally seized Gaza from his control in 2007.

With a U.S.-brokered truce in the Iran-Israel war holding, attention has switched back to the possibility of a Gaza deal that might end the conflict and release the remaining hostages.

One of the people close to Hamas told Reuters it would welcome a truce, even for a couple of months, to confront the local clans that are gaining influence.

But he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's terms for ending the war - including Hamas leaders leaving Gaza - would amount to total defeat, and Hamas would never surrender.

"We keep the faith, but in reality it doesn't look good," the source said.

Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said he believed Hamas was simply trying to survive. That was not just a physical challenge of holding out militarily, he said, but above all a political one.

"They face being eliminated on the ground in Gaza if the war doesn't stop, but they also face being erased from any governing formula that ends the war in Gaza (if such a thing can be found)," he wrote in response to Reuters' questions.

Palestinian tribes have emerged as part of Israel's strategy to counter Hamas. Netanyahu has said publicly that Israel has been arming clans that oppose Hamas, but has not said which.

One of the most prominent challenges has come from Abu Shabab, a Palestinian Bedouin based in the Rafah area, which is under Israeli control.

Hamas wants Abu Shabab captured, dead or alive, accusing him of collaboration with Israel and planning attacks on the Islamist group, three Hamas sources told Reuters.

Abu Shabab controls eastern Rafah and his group is believed to have freedom of movement in the wider Rafah area. Images on their Facebook page show their armed men organising the entry of aid trucks from the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Announcements by his group indicate that it is trying to build an independent administration in the area, though they deny trying to become a governing authority. The group has called on people from Rafah now in other areas of Gaza to return home, promising food and shelter.

In response to Reuters' questions, Abu Shabab's group denied getting support from Israel or contacts with the Israeli army, describing itself as a popular force protecting humanitarian aid from looting by escorting aid trucks.

It accused Hamas of violence and muzzling dissent.

A Hamas security official said the Palestinian security services would "strike with an iron fist to uproot the gangs of the collaborator Yasser Abu Shabab", saying they would show no mercy or hesitation and accusing him of being part of "an effort to create chaos and lawlessness".

Not all of Gaza's clans are at odds with Hamas, however.

On Thursday, a tribal alliance said its men had protected aid trucks from looters in northern Gaza. Sources close to Hamas said the group had approved of the alliance's involvement.

Israel said Hamas fighters had in fact commandeered the trucks, which both the clans and Hamas denied.

IRAN UNCERTAINTY

Palestinian analyst Akram Attallah said the emergence of Abu Shabab was a result of the weakness of Hamas, though he expected him to fail ultimately because Palestinians broadly reject any hint of collaboration with Israel.

Nevertheless, regardless of how small Abu Shabab's group is, the fact Hamas has an enemy from the same culture was dangerous, he said. "It remains a threat until it is dealt with."

Israel's bombing campaign against Iran has added to the uncertainties facing Hamas. Tehran's backing for Hamas played a big part in developing its armed wing into a force capable of shooting missiles deep into Israel.

While both Iran and Israel have claimed victory, Netanyahu on Sunday indicated the Israeli campaign against Tehran had further strengthened his hand in Gaza, saying it would "help us expedite our victory and the release of all our hostages".

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that great progress was being made on Gaza, adding that the strike on Iran would help get the hostages released.

A Palestinian official close to Hamas said the group was weighing the risk of diminished Iranian backing, anticipating "the impact will be on the shape of funding and the expertise Iran used to give to the resistance and Hamas".

One target of Israel's campaign in Iran was a Revolutionary Guards officer who oversaw coordination with Hamas. Israel said Saeed Izadi, whose death it announced on Saturday, was the driving force behind the Iran-Hamas axis.

Hamas extended condolences to Iran on Thursday, calling Izadi a friend who was directly responsible for ties with "the leadership of the Palestinian resistance".

A source from an Iran-backed group in the region said Izadi helped develop Hamas capabilities, including how to carry out complex attacks, including rocket launches, infiltration operations, and drones.

Asked about how the Israeli campaign against Iran might affect its support for Hamas, Abu Zuhri said Iran was a large and powerful country that would not be defeated.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia ready for new talks with Ukraine – Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is prepared for a third round of negotiations with Kiev, adding that the talks should center on proposed agreements to resolve the Ukraine conflict.

The president made the remarks on Friday in Minsk, following a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. Asked by reporters how the settlement process was progressing – and when a third round of talks with Ukraine might take place – Putin said the heads of both negotiating teams remain in constant contact, speaking regularly by phone.

He added that draft proposals from both Russia and Ukraine should form the basis of the next round of negotiations, the time and venue for which still need to be agreed on.

”These are two completely opposing documents. But that’s exactly what negotiations are for – to look for ways to bridge the gap. The fact that they’re polar opposites isn’t surprising in my view,” Putin said. ”I’d rather not go into details, because I believe it’s neither appropriate nor helpful to get ahead of the negotiations themselves.”

During the previous round of direct negotiations in Istanbul earlier this month, Russian and Ukrainian representatives exchanged draft memorandums outlining their respective visions for a road map toward a peace deal and agreed to exchange prisoners of war. Moscow also unilaterally decided to repatriate the bodies of slain Ukrainian troops as a humanitarian gesture.

Since then, Moscow has handed over 6,000 bodies to Kiev and is ready to return nearly 3,000 more, Putin said. “But it’s now up to the Ukrainian side to accept the remains of their fallen soldiers,” he added. ”We agreed that once this stage is completed, we would hold a third round of negotiations. Overall, we’re ready – we just need to agree on the time and place.”

Putin thanked his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for supporting the negotiation process, saying he expects Ankara to maintain its stance. “We’re ready to hold the meeting in Istanbul,” he added.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says it hits four warplanes in Russia's Volgograd region

Ukraine's military said on Friday it had struck four warplanes at an airbase in central Russia's Volgograd Region as part of a drive to hit Russian war assets.

In a post on the Telegram messaging app, the military said it had hit four Su-34 aircraft at the Marinovka base outside the city of Volgograd, some 900 km (550 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The post said the operation was conducted by the military's special operations branch, together with the SBU security service and other services of the military.

"According to preliminary information, four aircraft were hit, specifically SU-34 planes, as well as technical-operational facilities where different warplanes are serviced and repaired," the statement said.

There was no immediate comment from the Russian military.

Ukraine has engaged in a number of long-range operations against military targets in recent months -- industrial, energy and other sites.

Earlier this month, the Ukrainian military carried out a major strike, dubbed "Operation Spider's Web," in which large numbers of long-range Russian bombers were hit at several Russian airbases far from Ukrainian territory.

The latest statement said the damage caused by the strike on Marinovka was being assessed.

It described the Su-34 as Russia's main aircraft used in bombing raids on Ukrainian territory, deployed in particular for launching guided bombs, used increasingly in attacks on Ukrainian cities.

RT/Reuters

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday signed into law four tax reform bills aimed at overhauling Nigeria’s complex and inequitable tax system. The new laws will come into effect on January 1, 2026.

The four bills are:

• The Nigeria Tax (Fair Taxation) Law

• The Nigeria Tax Administration Law

• The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Law

• The Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Law

Together, they establish a unified framework for tax administration, abolish redundant agencies, and redefine who is eligible to pay taxes, how taxes are collected, and how revenue is shared between federal, state, and local governments.

At a signing ceremony held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Tinubu described the new laws as the “first major, pro-people tax cuts in a generation,” promising targeted relief for low-income earners, small businesses, and working families.

“For too long, our tax system has been a patchwork—complex, inequitable, and burdensome,” Tinubu said. “It has weighed down the vulnerable and shielded inefficiency. That era ends today.”

The president also said the reforms will eliminate duplications, reduce red tape, restore investor confidence, and foster greater transparency and coordination across all levels of government.

The bills, originally transmitted to the National Assembly in October 2024, faced initial opposition from some northern governors who feared the reforms would disadvantage their states. However, following negotiations and the adoption of a more equitable VAT-sharing formula, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum endorsed the bills in January 2025. The House of Representatives passed them in March, and the Senate followed in May. The bills were transmitted to the president for assent on June 18.

Among those present at the signing were Senate President Godswill Akpabio, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, House Majority Leader Julius Ihonvbere, Governors Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara) and Hope Uzodinma (Imo), Finance Minister Wale Edun, and key figures in Nigeria’s fiscal reform architecture.

The reforms also rename the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), granting it expanded authority beyond taxes to include the collection of all federal revenue. The NRS is now empowered with improved technology, streamlined processes, and broader enforcement tools.

Speaking to journalists after the ceremony, FIRS chairman Zacch Adedeji said the laws will be implemented from January 1, 2026, allowing a seven-month transition period for public awareness, alignment with Nigeria’s fiscal calendar, and system restructuring.

“This is not about raising more taxes. It’s about simplifying the system, removing inefficiencies, and putting more money in the hands of ordinary Nigerians,” Adedeji said.

He highlighted key features of the reforms:

• Exemptions from VAT: Basic items like food, education, medical services, and accommodation will be exempted, easing the cost of living.

• Transparent Incentives: The laws establish clearer, fairer rules for tax incentives, closing loopholes and ending arbitrary exemptions.

• Enhanced Taxpayer Rights: The reforms emphasize accountability, reduce harassment, and clarify the government’s obligations to citizens.

Describing the reforms as “a dream come true,” Adedeji praised Tinubu’s political will and the leadership of Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Tax and Fiscal Reforms Committee, for steering the process.

The Lagos State Government has launched an investigation into the demolition of a property belonging to the brother of former presidential candidate Peter Obi, while firmly denying any state involvement in the incident.

Lagos Commissioner for Information Gbenga Omotoso issued a statement rejecting claims that state agencies participated in the demolition, calling Obi’s allegations “disturbing and without facts.”

The Incident

On Tuesday, Peter Obi, who was the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, took to social media to report that his younger brother’s company property in Ikeja, Lagos had been demolished without proper legal authorization.

According to Obi’s account, his brother contacted him after a group of individuals invaded the company premises and began tearing down the building. The former Anambra State governor noted that the court order presented by the demolition team listed “person unknown” as the defendant, raising questions about the legal basis for the action.

While Obi did not directly blame federal or state authorities for the demolition, he mentioned that some individuals at the scene identified themselves as being from “Lagos state” and claimed they were acting under a “safety order.”

Obi suggested the incident might be connected to what he described as ongoing harassment following his participation in the presidential election.

State Response and Investigation

In response to the allegations, the Lagos State Government has directed the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the demolition.

Olajide Abiodun Babatunde, Special Adviser for eGIS & Urban Development who oversees LASBCA, confirmed that the agency had no role in the demolition activity.

Omotoso called on the public to dismiss Obi’s claims, stating that the government remains committed to maintaining law and order throughout the state. He emphasized that the administration would not be deterred by what he characterized as unfounded accusations.

The investigation aims to establish the facts surrounding the demolition and determine what actions, if any, should be taken based on the findings.

Israel halts aid into northern Gaza, officials say, clans deny Hamas is stealing it

Israel has stopped aid from entering northern Gaza but is still allowing it to enter from the south, two officials said on Thursday after images circulated of masked men on aid trucks who clan leaders said were protecting aid, not Hamas stealing it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, said late on Wednesday that he had ordered the military to present a plan within two days to prevent Hamas from taking control of aid.

They cited new unspecified information indicating that Hamas was seizing aid intended for civilians in northern Gaza. A video circulating on Wednesday showed dozens of masked men, some armed with rifles but most carrying sticks, riding on aid trucks.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters that aid was continuing to enter from the south but did not specify whether any supplies were entering in the north.

The U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates aid distribution sites in southern and central Gaza, said on X that it was the only humanitarian organization permitted on Thursday to distribute food in Gaza.

A spokesperson said the foundation was exempt from a two-day suspension of humanitarian aid deliveries into the territory.

The Israeli prime minister's office and the defense ministry did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs, which represents influential clans in Gaza, said that trucks had been protected as part of an aid security process managed "solely through tribal efforts". The commission said that no Palestinian faction, a reference to Hamas, had taken part in the process.

Hamas, the militant group that has ruled Gaza for more than two decades but now controls only parts of the territory after nearly two years of war with Israel, denied any involvement.

Throughout the war, numerous clans, civil society groups and factions - including Hamas' secular political rival Fatah - have stepped in to help provide security for the aid convoys.

Clans made up of extended families connected through blood and marriage have long been a fundamental part of Gazan society.

ACUTE SHORTAGE

Amjad al-Shawa, director of an umbrella body for Palestinian non-governmental organisations, said the aid protected by clans on Wednesday was being distributed to vulnerable families.

There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year military campaign by Israel that has displaced most of Gaza's two million inhabitants.

Aid trucks and warehouses storing supplies have often been looted, frequently by desperate and starving Palestinians. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies.

"The clans came ... to form a stance to prevent the aggressors and the thieves from stealing the food that belongs to our people," Abu Salman Al Moghani, a representative of Gazan clans, said, referring to Wednesday's operation.

The Wednesday video was shared on X by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who claimed that Hamas had taken control of aid allowed into Gaza by the Israeli government. Bennett is widely seen as the most viable challenger to Netanyahu at the next election.

Netanyahu has also faced pressure from within his right-wing coalition, with some hardline members threatening to quit over ceasefire negotiations and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage into Gaza.

In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza.

At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since Wednesday, local health authorities said, including some shot near an aid distribution point, the latest in a series of such incidents.

Twenty hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, while Hamas is also holding the bodies of 30 who have died.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia captures village in eastern Ukraine near lithium deposit, Russian-backed official says

Russian troops have taken control of a village in eastern Ukraine which is close to a lithium deposit after fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces, a Russian-backed official said on Thursday.

The village of Shevchenko is located in Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions - in addition to Crimea - that Moscow has claimed as its own territory in annexations that Kyiv and Western powers reject as illegal.

The Russian Defence Ministry announced earlier on Thursday that Shevchenko had been taken along with another settlement called Novoserhiivka.

Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Open source mapping from Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian military blogging resource, showed Shevchenko under Russian control.

Soviet geologists who discovered the lithium deposit there in 1982 suggested it could be significant. It sits at a depth that would allow commercial mining, and Russian-backed officials have suggested it will be developed when the situation permits.

"The village of Shevchenko, which is located on the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region, is another settlement that has a lithium deposit. This was one of the reasons why the Ukrainian armed forces sent a huge number of their soldiers to hold it," Igor Klimakovsky, a Russian-appointed official in Donetsk, was cited by the state TASS news agency as saying on Thursday.

The Ukrainian Geological Survey says the deposit is located on Shevchenko's eastern outskirts and covers an area of nearly 40 hectares.

Parts of the Russian press incorrectly claimed in January that the Shevchenko deposit had already been captured, confusing it with the seizure of another settlement of the same name elsewhere.

Lithium is a coveted global resource because of its use in a host of industries and technologies from mobile phones to electric cars. Ukraine has reserves of about 500,000 tons, and Russia has double that, according to U.S. government estimates.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

NATO summit ‘grim sign’ for Kiev – NYT

The recent NATO summit signaled a bleak outlook for Kiev’s hopes of sustained Western support as the US-led bloc turned its attention toward US President Donald Trump, The New York Times has reported, in a feature-style review of the gathering.

NATO chief Mark Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, hosting the event at The Hague, pledged continued support for what he described as Ukraine’s “irreversible path to membership.”

However Kiev’s aspirations were notably absent from the final summit communiqué, which offered only a brief mention of the bloc’s “enduring sovereign commitments to provide support to Ukraine,” according to the newspaper.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who was invited to the two-day summit, was “not feted as in years past,” the newspaper noted. Nor was he “the center of attention” anymore, it added. A meeting between Trump and Zelensky on the sidelines of the event also failed to produce any “specific promises,” the outlet wrote.

After the meeting, which lasted roughly 50 minutes, Trump denied that the two had discussed a potential ceasefire between Kiev and Moscow, contradicting an earlier statement by Zelensky.

”Ukraine? What’s Ukraine?” Michael John Williams, a former NATO adviser, exclaimed to the NYT. “The Europeans were saying how committed they are to Ukraine… But there was also really an attempt to keep controversial issues off the table. Ukraine wasn’t the front and center discussion it has been.”

 The summit was “choreographed” to address “the security interests of NATO allies – and then comes Ukraine,” Liana Fix, a Europe expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, told NYT on Wednesday, published in a separate piece.

”There was no meaningful deliverable for Ukraine,” added Torrey Taussig, a former Biden-era Europe director at the National Security Council.

This year’s meeting marked a sharp departure from last year’s summit, where Ukraine’s NATO membership was on the agenda. This time, NATO members committed only to increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, in response to what they called a “long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security.”

On Wednesday, Rutte told reporters simply that “our aim is to keep Ukraine in the fight today.”

Reuters/RT