Nigeria’s annual inflation rose to 12.13% in January, highest level in nearly two years, according to data released by National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, as prices increased across all categories measured.
Inflation stood at 12.13% in January, compared with 11.98% in December, marking the fifth straight month of increases.
Nigeria closed parts of its borders in August to fight smuggling of rice and other goods, but economists say the move has driven inflation.
In October, the head of customs, Hameed Ali confirmed that all trade in goods via land borders had been halted indefinitely.
The consumer inflation rate in January was the highest since April 2018, when it stood at 12.48%. Inflation had dropped to its lowest in almost four years in August but has risen steadily in the wake of the border closures.
A separate food price index showed inflation at 14.85% in January, compared with 14.67% in the previous month.
“This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, meat, oils and fats, potatoes, yam and other tubers and fish,” the statistics office said in its report.
The central bank has said it expects to keep monetary policy tight in 2020 to combat inflation and support the currency amidst slow growth.
The bank, which has targeted single-digit inflation, held its main interest rate at 13.5% at its last meeting, in January.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
