By Francis Wilfred

JAIZ Bank Plc on Wednesday reported a robust performance in its 2025 financial year, with a 24% growth in gross earnings for the year ended December 31, 2025.

Briefing journalists at the end of its 14th Annual General Meeting held virtually in Abuja, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Haruna Musa, said the bank delivered strong, balanced growth across all key financial metrics despite a challenging macroeconomic environment marked by inflationary pressures, exchange rate volatility, and an elevated cost of living in the country.

Musa said the bank’s performance demonstrates its resilience, discipline, and strong execution of its strategic initiatives to reaffirm the strength of its non-interest banking business model in Nigeria.

“The 2025 financial year was another period of remarkable growth and strategic progress for our bank,” Dr. Musa said. “We have demonstrated resilience, discipline, and very strong execution of our strategic initiatives.”

He said total assets of the Bank rose by 19%, from approximately N1 trillion in 2024 to nearly N1.3 trillion in 2025, consolidating JAIZ Bank’s position as Nigeria’s leading non-interest bank, while customer deposits grew by over 24%, from N904 billion to more than N1.12 trillion, reflecting deepening customer confidence in the bank’s brand and product offerings.

Also, he said net risk assets and investments expanded by 27%, from N671 billion to N849 billion, signalling increased financing of productive sectors, while maintaining prudent risk management.

Besides, the Bank’s gross earnings rose 24% to N102.81 billion, from N82.87 billion in 2024, while profit before tax jumped 28% to N31.24 billion, up from N24.4 billion the previous year.

Again, operational efficiency recorded significant improvement, with the cost-to-income ratio declining from 60.42% in 2024 to 58.09% in 2025, driven by digital transformation, process optimisation, and disciplined cost management.

In addition, the bank’s capital adequacy ratio improved significantly to 26.89% from 23.87%, a year-on-year increase of about 12.6%, while its statutory liquidity ratio stood at 43.45% — well above the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stipulated regulatory minimum.

Strategic Milestones
Beyond the financial numbers, Dr. Musa highlighted 2025 as a transformational year for the institution, with key achievements including a successful corporate rebranding programme under the “JAIZ Bank — With You for Life” campaign; an upgrade of its credit rating by GCR from BBB- to BBB, and an expansion of its digital and alternative banking channels.

The MD said the most notable of the achievements was JAIZ Bank becoming the first African institution to be admitted as a primary dealer of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), significantly bolstering its global Islamic finance credentials.

To encourage the Bank to forge ahead with its plan to expand its capacity to ensure sustainable growth, the MD said shareholders, during the meeting, approved plans by the Board to raise an additional N150 billion in capital to strengthen the bank’s capital base to fund its ambitious expansion drive.

Although the Bank has already met the minimum benchmark stipulated by the CBN as its capital base, the MD said the bank would move swiftly to appoint transaction parties and seek regulatory clearance for the N150 billion capital raise, which could be executed in two or three tranches, with the process targeted for completion before the end of September 2026.

The capital injection, he said, is designed to bring JAIZ Bank’s total capital base in line with — or even surpassing — the approximately N200 billion capital base of some conventional commercial banks.

“The conventional players’ capital ceiling is about N200 billion. With this additional N150 billion, JAIZ Bank intends to be at par, or even more than some of the conventional players,” Dr. Musa noted, adding that the bank’s share price has already recorded over 100% improvement from about N4 per share to almost N9.

On branch expansion, he said the Bank plans to grow from its current 55 branches to 65 by December 2026, and ultimately achieve a presence in all state capitals across Nigeria within the next two years, up from the present 26 states.

Financial Inclusion at the Core
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, Dr. Musa said the Bank would deepen financial inclusion through agency banking partnerships, enhanced mobile and internet banking platforms, and a suite of new small and medium enterprise (SME) and retail products awaiting CBN approval and roll out.

The goal, he said, is to enable customers to access financing seamlessly from their mobile devices in the comfort of their homes and offices without visiting a branch.

“We are very confident that the foundation laid in 2025 will give us the opportunity to achieve even greater milestones in the years ahead,” he said.

*Third Defendant Discharged as Chief *Judge Commends DSS Prosecutors

By Gabriel Udeh

Two men arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) have been sentenced to death by an Ekiti State High Court, following their conviction for kidnapping a staff of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

While the kidnappers, Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar, were convicted and sentence of to death, the third defendant, Usman Abubakar, was discharged after the Court found insufficient evidence linking him to the crime.

The case bordered on the 22nd April 2022 abduction of Omoboade Adesina, a female staff member of the NYSC in the state. Both convicts were subsequently arrested and prosecuted by the DSS.

Delivering judgment, the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Lekan Ogunmoye, sentenced both defendants to death by hanging, but discharged the third.

The Chief Judge commended the diligence of DSS prosecutors in proving the case beyond reasonable doubt. He specifically highlighted the identification parade conducted by the Service and the analysis of call data records during investigation as pivotal to the conviction.

The conviction marks yet another major courtroom victory for the DSS. This comies on the heels of a death sentence handed down by a Sokoto High Court against three men convicted of terrorism and cross-border arms proliferation, as well as the conviction a kidnapper in Kogi State earlier secured by the Service among others.

The string of successful prosecutions further underscores the effectiveness of the DSS’s intelligence-driven approach to investigating and prosecuting violent crimes. This also reaffirms the commitment of the Service in ensuring that perpetrators of kidnapping, terrorism, and related offences do not escape the full weight of the law.

By Ogenyi Ogenyi,Uyo

Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom,  Baba Azare, has called on senior police officers to embrace mentorship as a fundamental leadership responsibility and a critical tool for building the next generation of professional police leaders within the Nigeria Police Force.

Azare made the call while delivering a lecture titled “Mentorship in Policing: Building the Next Generation of Professional Police Leaders” during the Command’s End-of-the-Month Conference with senior officers in Uyo yesterday.

Addressing officers drawn from Area Commands, Divisions, Tactical Units, Departments, and Formations across the State, the commissioner emphasized that the future strength, effectiveness, and credibility of the Nigeria Police Force would depend largely on the quality of leadership being cultivated today.

He noted that mentorship remains one of the most powerful instruments for institutional growth, stressing that policing is not merely about enforcing the law but also about developing capable, disciplined, ethical, and service-oriented officers who will sustain the vision and values of the Force.

According to him, “every senior officer bears a dual responsibility: not only to command personnel and achieve operational objectives but also to intentionally guide, coach, and develop younger officers for future leadership roles.

“Commissioners of Police, Assistant Inspectors General, Deputy Inspectors General, and Inspectors General of tomorrow are among today’s junior officers and must therefore be properly nurtured through deliberate mentorship.”.

CP Azare further highlighted the importance of transferring institutional knowledge, operational experience, professional ethics, investigative skills, intelligence-gathering techniques, and leadership values from experienced officers to younger personnel and stressed that many of the critical competencies required for effective policing are acquired through practical experience and guided exposure rather than formal classroom instruction alone.

The Commissioner underscored the role of mentorship in promoting professionalism, discipline, accountability, and respect for human rights insisting that officers who receive proper guidance and positive leadership are more likely to demonstrate integrity, uphold ethical standards, and avoid misconduct, corruption, abuse of authority, and other unprofessional behaviours capable of undermining public trust in the Police.

Speaking on leadership succession, Azare urged senior officers to see mentorship as a strategic investment in the future of the Force adding that, “true leadership is not measured solely by crime statistics, arrests, or operational achievements, but by the number of officers developed, the quality of future leaders produced, and the professional values transmitted to succeeding generations.

He reminded officers that modern policing would demand professionalism, transparency, accountability, respect for human dignity, and adherence to the rule of law, noting that the conduct of police officers directly influence public confidence and the image of the Force.

The lecture generated robust discussions among participants, who acknowledged the importance of mentorship in strengthening leadership capacity, enhancing professionalism, and ensuring sustainable succession within the Nigeria Police Force.