News

Mangu LGA Imposes 24-Hour Curfew Amidst Growing Terrorist Attacks

Published

3 years ago

June 19, 2023

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In response to escalating security concerns, the Interim Management Committee Chairman of Mangu Local Government Area, Hon. Markus Artu, has announced a strict 24-hour curfew throughout the region. The curfew, which took immediate effect, aims to ensure the safety and security of residents in the face of mounting unrest.

With this declaration, all vehicular movement within Mangu Local Government Area has been brought to a standstill. The measure, intended to minimize the risk of violence and protect the local population, will only allow the movement of security personnel and essential workers who have been assigned critical duties.

The decision to enforce a round-the-clock curfew comes in the wake of increasing security challenges within the local government area. Hon. Markus Artu stressed the importance of prioritizing the safety of Mangu’s residents and maintaining peace and order in the region.

The 24-hour curfew imposes restrictions on all non-essential activities, urging residents to remain indoors and adhere to the regulations strictly. The local government authorities have called for the cooperation of residents during this challenging period, urging them to support the security agencies and provide any necessary information that could assist in ensuring the restoration of peace.

Hon. Markus Artu assured the residents that the government is committed to bringing the situation under control swiftly and that measures are being implemented to restore peace and normalcy in Mangu Local Government Area. Security agencies have been deployed strategically to maintain law and order, and residents are encouraged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the authorities promptly.

The local government further emphasized that the curfew will remain in effect until the security situation stabilizes and it is deemed safe for normal activities to resume. The Mangu Local Government Area authorities are actively monitoring the situation and will provide updates as the circumstances evolve.

As the curfew takes effect, residents are urged to prioritize their safety and cooperate fully with security personnel to maintain peace and security in the region. The local government also advises residents to stay updated through official channels for any changes or developments regarding the curfew.

The imposition of the 24-hour curfew in Mangu Local Government Area reflects the commitment of the authorities to protect the lives and property of residents amidst the prevailing security challenges. The government remains resolute in its determination to restore normalcy and ensure the well-being of the community.

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Business

Lasaco Assurance’s ₦18.47bn Rights Issue Closes May 13

Published

1 hour ago

April 21, 2026

Preport

BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—Lasaco Assurance Plc has announced that v will officially close on May 13, 2026, marking the end date for eligible shareholders to participate in the capital raising exercise.

The offer is part of the company’s strategy to strengthen its financial base, boost underwriting capacity, and support its expansion plans within Nigeria’s insurance sector.

The offer comprises 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, priced at ₦2.00 per share, on the basis of five (5) new shares for every six (6) existing shares held. The Rights Issue is open to shareholders whose names appeared on the Company’s register as at the close of business on February 20, 2026.

The exercise is expected to raise approximately ₦18.47 billion, which will be strategically deployed to strengthen the Company’s capital base, enhance underwriting capacity, and support the expansion of its market presence within Nigeria’s competitive insurance landscape.

Meristem Capital Limited is acting as Lead Issuing House, while PAC Capital serves as Joint Issuing House on the transaction.

Commenting on the development, the Managing Director of Lasaco Assurance Plc, Ademoye Shobo, reaffirmed the Company’s commitment to maintaining a robust capital position to meet its obligations and deliver sustained value to policyholders and stakeholders.

This initiative aligns with broader efforts across the Nigerian insurance industry to meet evolving regulatory capital requirements, strengthen balance sheets, and position operators to underwrite larger and more complex risks across key sectors of the economy.

The post Lasaco Assurance’s ₦18.47bn Rights Issue Closes May 13 appeared first on Business Today NG.

News

AI research lab NeoCognition lands $40M seed to build agents that learn like humans

Published

2 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Preport

Investors are aggressively courting AI researchers to build startups that can make AI more reliable and efficient.

Yu Su, an Ohio State professor leading an AI agent lab, said he initially resisted the pressure from VCs to commercialize his work. He finally took the leap last year and spun out his work into a startup when he saw that foundational model advances could make agents truly personalized.

NeoCognition, a startup Su describes as a research lab developing self-learning AI agents, has just emerged from stealth with $40 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Cambium Capital and Walden Catalyst Ventures, with participation from Vista Equity Partners and angels, including Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and Databricks co-founder Ion Stoica.

“Today’s agents are generalists,” Su (pictured left) told TechCrunch. “Every time you ask them to do a task, you take a leap of faith.”

According to Su, the issue lies in a lack of consistency. Current agents, whether from Claude Code, OpenClaw or Perplexity’s computer tools, successfully complete tasks as intended only about 50% of the time, he said.

Since agents are still so unreliable, they are not ready to be trusted, independent workers, Su told TechCrunch. NeoCognition intends to change that by developing an agent system that can self-learn to become an expert in any domain, similar to how humans learn.

Su argues that while human intelligence is broad, its real power is our ability to specialize. When we enter a new environment or profession, we can rapidly master its unique rules, relationships, and consequences.

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NeoCognition is building agents to mirror this exact approach.

“For humans, our continued learning process is essentially the process of building a world model for any profession, any environment,” Su said. “We believe for agents to become experts, they need to learn autonomously to build a model of any given micro world.”

Su views this capacity for rapid specialization as the critical missing link to getting AI to work reliably on its own.

While it is possible to train agents for autonomous tasks, they must be custom-engineered for a specific vertical. NeoCognition is different because it’s building agents that are generalists capable of self-learning and specializing in any domain.

NeoCognition intends to sell its agent systems primarily to enterprises, including established SaaS companies, which can use them to build agent-workers or to enhance existing product offerings.

Su highlighted that an investment from Vista Equity Partners is especially valuable for this reason. As one of the largest private equity firms in the software space, Vista can provide NeoCognition with direct access to a vast portfolio of companies looking to modernize their products with AI.

NeoCognition currently has about 15 employees, the majority of whom hold PhDs.

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