….Wins Best Bank in Nine out of 20 African Subsidiaries

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has once again, reaffirmed its leadership as one of the continent’s most innovative and resilient financial institutions, as the bank has, for the third time in five years, been named the African Bank of the year 2025 by the Banker.com.

UBA also won the Best Bank of the Year awards in nine of its 20 African subsidiaries, bringing its total awards this year to ten as UBA Benin, UBA Chad, UBA Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), UBA Liberia, UBA Mali, UBA Mozambique, UBA Senegal, UBA Sierra Leone, and UBA Zambia, all came out tops as the best banks in their respective countries, underscoring the bank’s strength across West, Central and Southern Africa and highlighting the depth of its Pan-African franchise.

The Banker.com, a leading global finance news publication published by the Financial Times of London, organises the annual Bank of the Year Awards, and this year’s edition was held at a grand ceremony at the Peninsula, London, on Wednesday.

The Chief Executive Officer, UBA UK, Deji Adeyelure, received the awards on behalf of the bank, representing the Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, and was accompanied by the bank’s Head Business Development, Mark Ifashe, and Head, Financial Institutions, Shilpam Jha.

The Banker’s awards are widely regarded as the most respected and rigorous in the global banking industry, celebrating institutions that demonstrate outstanding performance, innovation and strategic execution.

In its remarks on UBA’s winnings, the banker.com said, “For the third time in five years, UBA Group has won the coveted Bank of the Year award for Africa. UBA Group time after time punches above its weight against its larger African rivals. The bank this year also takes home nine separate country awards (one more than it gained for its last continental win in 2024), equivalent to around a quarter of the awards for the continent, and more than any of its continent-wide rivals.”

Continuing, it said, “Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that the awards were won across a broad geographic spread, going to lenders based in the Economic Community of West African States (Benin, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and former member Mali), the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (Chad, Republic of Congo) and the Southern African Development Community (Mozambique, Zambia). Its award wins were particularly notable in the highly competitive categories for Benin and Mozambique.”

The Banker also highlighted UBA’s strong financial performance and commitment to future growth. In 2024, the Group recorded a 46.8 per cent increase in assets and a 6.1 per cent rise in pre-tax profits in local currency terms, while continuing to invest significantly in talent and technology. West Africa remains UBA’s heartland, with operating revenue and profit increasing by 87 per cent and 89 per cent respectively in H1 2025.

The bank’s digital and innovation leadership was equally recognised. During the year under review, and launched its Advance Top-Up buy-now-pay-later feature on the *919# USSD platform, expanding financial access for customers, while the bank’s chatbot Leo continued its strong growth trajectory, with transaction volumes rising by 29 per cent year-on-year in H1 2025. Notably, in August, Leo became the first African banking chatbot to enable cross-border payments via the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, while reacting to the achievement, said the recognition affirms the bank’s long-term strategy and customer-first philosophy.

“This honour reflects the strength of our Pan-African network, the trust of our customers, and the dedication of our people. Winning Africa’s Bank of the Year for the third time in five years is not by chance; it is a testament to disciplined execution, innovation, and a deep understanding of the markets we serve,” Alawuba said.

“Our nine country awards across diverse regions of Africa show that UBA is not just growing, but growing with impact. We remain committed to driving financial inclusion, supporting economic development, and deploying technology that makes banking simpler, faster, and more accessible to Africans everywhere,” he added.

United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group-wide and serving over 45 million customers globally. Operating in twenty African countries, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting-edge technology.

The Federal Government has reportedly secured the release of 100 schoolchildren abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State.

Bandits on 21 November 2025, attacked the school in the remote community of Papiri.

Arriving around 2:00 a.m. on motorbikes, the gunmen stormed the school dormitories over a three-hour period, abducting 315 people—303 students and 12 teachers.

Security forces and community hunters were deployed to comb nearby forests for the abductees.

In the immediate aftermath, 50 pupils escaped within the first day and were reunited with their families.

However, 265 individuals—including 253 children and all 12 teachers—remained in captivity.

The Federal Government responded by imposing a 24-hour security cordon and launching aerial surveillance across parts of Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger States.

President Bola Tinubu cancelled planned international travel to address the crisis.

Authorities also ordered the indefinite closure of all schools in Niger State and many federal institutions in high-risk regions.

FG’s Assurance
Last Monday, the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Nuhu Ribadu, reassured parents and authorities of St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State, that the abducted pupils “are doing fine and will return soon.”

He conveyed President Tinubu’s message of hope, noting that efforts to rescue the children were progressing and security deployment in the affected area had been intensified.

“God is with them and God is with us. Evil will never win. They are going to come back. I give you that assurance,” Ribadu said during a visit to the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and Proprietor of the school, Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, as well as parents of the abducted children at St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral, Kontagora.

Many people have been reportedly killed and others injured as bandits launched a deadly attack on the Gatawa community in the Sabon-Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

According to local sources who spoke with Sahara Reporters, the attackers on Saturday stormed the community in large numbers, opening fire and causing widespread panic as residents fled to safety.

Authorities have yet to release official casualty figures.

The incident adds to a persistent wave of violent attacks in parts of Sokoto State, intensifying concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the region.

Bandits launched a deadly attack on worshippers observing the Subh prayer in Kiba Ruwa in the early hours of Saturday.

Kiba Ruwa is a community in the Sabon-Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

According to local sources who spoke with Egbe Mekun Parrots, the assailants stormed the mosque at dawn, opening fire on the congregants.

Two people including the imam who was leading the prayer were confirmed dead.

Several worshippers were also abducted during the assault, with the exact number yet to be verified.