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Truecaller Launches Spam Eliminating Feature, Two Other Things And A Trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today.

1. Truecaller launches spam eliminating feature

The world’s most trusted and accurate Caller ID and telephone search engine, Truecaller, has launched a new feature to further augment its user experience.

The new feature will serve as a spam filter, helping users focus on important messages.

According to Truecaller, the feature was introduced based on user feedback and was designed to cater to the evolving needs of consumers.

It is expected that the new feature will offer a host of new services to make day-to-day communication a lot more convenient.

Speaking on the development, Zakaria Abdulkadir Hersi, Truecaller’s Director of Business Development & Partnerships Africa, noted that the new feature was to reduce distractions of users.

He said: “Roughly 80% of SMSes one receives daily are from businesses, disengaging users from important/useful messages. To combat that, SMS apps need to become smarter by filtering out spam and categorising useful information”.

Tech Trivia: Brilliance Auto is from which country?

A. Nigeria
B. Korea
C. China
D. Russia

Answer: See end of post.

2. Ghana’s Motito launches interest-free credit venture

Ghana’s ‘buy now, pay later’ platform, Motito, has announced launching a venture to offer interest-free credit to small businesses.

The startup, which only launched in Ghana last November, participated in MEST Express accelerator programme, and is one of the three Ghanaian startups selected to receive equity-free grant funding and support from MEST and the Mastercard Foundation.

According to local media, Motito is a value added service for merchants, and offers consumers increased affordability and convenience.

The startup recently took part in the Pan-African Fintech Accelerator programme.

Since its launch, users can download the app, sign up, go through an underwriting process tied to source of income, and then proceed to buy now, while they pay later.

Speaking on what inspired the initiative, Tobi Martins, co-founder of Motito, lamented the inefficiencies of exciting solutions.

He said: “Access to credit is still relatively low on the continent, credit cards are practically ineffective and micro lenders have high interest rates.

“For payment plans that go beyond four weeks, we charge a five per cent service charge to our customers as well.”

3. Payment24 launches ‘vehicle biometrics’ to fast track refueling

South African payment solutions specialist, Payment24, has launched a ‘pay by car, not by card’ model as it looks to drive cardless, contactless payment in South Africa.

Under the name FastLane, the technology works as a ‘biometrics for the vehicle’ and is capable of identifying any vehicle enrolled in the system as it drives into the forecourt.

According to Payment24, after identity is confirmed, the technology then authorises refuelling and automates payment.

The new solution is designed to allow petroleum companies and organisations operating their own fuelling homebases to improve service and efficiency, while also reducing the risk of fraud.

Operating in the artificial intelligence field, FastLane system uses programmed cameras to detect a vehicle’s registration number, make, model, colour and type as it drives into the refuelling station.

Speaking on the new technology, Nolan Daniel, CEO, Payment24, stated that the development of the new model was to shift the payment game away from traditional methods while leveraging technology.

He said: “We are advancing to a stage in which the vehicle becomes the payment mechanism, taking away the time and effort that was traditionally needed to refuel a vehicle. Using advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence, we have made ‘paying by car’ a lot faster and more secure than using something like a fleet card.

“It’s the gateway to a world of cashless transactions, real-time visibility, and satisfied customers. Payment24 FastLane is a way to distinguish yourself, giving customers peace of mind and building loyalty with them.”

Tech Trivia Answer: China

Huachen Automotive Group Holdings Co. Ltd., known for its brand name Brilliance Auto Group, is a Chinese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Shenyang. Its products include automobiles, microvans, and automotive components. Its principal activity is the design, development, manufacture and sale of passenger cars sold under the Brilliance brand.

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Police foil N14m ransom payment, rescue kidnap victim, arrest suspects

A kidnap victim, Semiu Ogunniyi, who was abducted from a hotel in Ikare-Akoko, Akoko North-East Local Government Area of Ondo State, has been rescued by police operatives and local hunters.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Wilfred Afolabi, who disclosed this, revealed that one of the suspected kidnappers involved in the abduction of Ogunniyi, Muhammed Babuga, was arrested in the course of the rescue operation.

According to Afolabi, the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of N14 million for the release of the victim, after which the movement of the suspects was trailed through actionable intelligence.

The police boss disclosed that during the interception, the suspects engaged the operatives in a fierce gun duel, with several suspects sustaining gunshot injuries during the exchange of gunfire.

While speaking with newsmen at the headquarters of the state police command, Afolabi added that two suspected kidnappers, Ibrahim Umar, 25, and Paul Osanyinduro, 38, were arrested in Owo, headquarters of Owo Local Council Area of the state. Abubakar Bamoh, 30, a logistics provider for the kidnappers terrorising various parts of the South-West, was also arrested.

He said, “Command also arrested 3 suspected kidnappers who have confessed to their involvement in various kidnapping cases across the state. This operation marks yet another success in the Command’s ongoing offensive against kidnapping and violent crime in the state.

“Acting on credible intelligence regarding the activities of one Abubakar Bamoh, male, aged 30 years, an indigene of Bunza Local Government Area of Kebbi State, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Command swung into action and successfully apprehended the suspect at one of the Fulani camps in Igbara-Oke, Ondo State.”
(Daily post)

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SERAP demands explanation over missing N500bn oil revenue from NNPCL

Allow 7m Nigerians to complete voter registration or face legal action, SERAP tells INEC

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has asked the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mr Bayo Ojulari, to immediately account for and explain the whereabouts of the N500 billion oil revenue the company allegedly failed to remit to the Federation Account between October and December 2024.

In a letter dated May 17, 2025, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP cited recent revelations by the World Bank which showed that out of N1.1 trillion earned from crude oil sales and other income in 2024, only N600 billion was remitted by the NNPCL, leaving a staggering N500 billion unaccounted for.

The organisation is demanding full disclosure and recovery of the missing funds, and has threatened legal action should the company fail to act within seven days.

“SERAP is writing to request you to use your good offices and leadership position to promptly account for and explain the whereabouts of the missing N500 billion, which the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited failed to remit to the Federation Account,” the letter stated.JAMB’s

SERAP also urged Ojulari to identify and surcharge those responsible for the missing funds and hand them over to anti-graft agencies for investigation and prosecution.

“SERAP urges you to promptly identify those suspected to be responsible for the alleged missing oil money, surcharge them for the full amount involved, and hand them over to the ICPC and the EFCC,” the group wrote.

Citing the World Bank report, the group noted that revenue from oil sales and other sources was expected to be fully paid into the Federation Account and shared by all tiers of government, but the NNPCL failed to comply.

“Nigerians have the right to know why the NNPCL is remitting only 50 per cent of the gains generated from the removal of petrol subsidies to the Federation Account,” SERAP said.

“The failure by the NNPCL to remit the money is a grave violation of the public trust and the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, national anti-corruption laws, and international obligations under the UN Convention against Corruption.”

SERAP warned that the alleged disappearance of such a large sum has serious implications for economic development, poverty alleviation, and the provision of basic public services at a time of national hardship.

“Despite the country’s enormous oil wealth, ordinary Nigerians have derived very little benefit from oil money primarily because of widespread grand corruption, and the entrenched culture of impunity of perpetrators,” the group added.

It stressed that the failure of the NNPCL to uphold transparency and accountability standards has worsened the country’s fiscal crisis.

“The missing oil revenue reflects a failure of NNPCL accountability more generally and is directly linked to the institution’s continuing failure to uphold the principles of transparency,” SERAP noted.

Citing paragraph 3112(ii) of the Financial Regulations 2009, the group said any public officer who fails to account for government revenue “shall be surcharged for the full amount involved and handed over to either the EFCC or the ICPC.”

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Security Operatives Nab ‘Wanted’ Kidnapper In Abuja Hajj Camp

Security operatives have reportedly arrested a wanted kidnapper at the hajj camp in Abuja.

A security source at the camp confirmed the arrest to our correspondent, on Sunday.

He said the suspect was nabbed during screening of pilgrims who were preparing to be airlifted to Saudi Arabia. He disclosed that the suspect identified as Yahaya Zango resided at Paikon -Kore in Gwagwalada area council of the FCT.

The source said security agencies had declared him wanted, following his alleged involvement in some kidnappings.

He said the suspect presented his passport alongside other Muslim contingent from Abuja who were on their way to observe this year’s hajj. “It was this afternoon during the screening at the hajj camp in airport when the DSS operatives apprehended him and whisked him away,” he said

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