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Court acquits tricycle driver accused of murder

A Kano State High Court sitting on Miller Road has acquitted a commercial tricycle driver, Imran Mustapha, of a murder charge.

The court, presided over by Justice Adam Abdullahi, discharged and acquitted Mustapha after finding him not guilty of the offence

The prosecution counsel, Barr. Usman Abdullahi, said the government was dissatisfied with the judgment and would appeal the decision

The Kano State Government had charged Mustapha with murder under Section 221 of the Penal Code

He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

During the trial, the prosecution called six witnesses to establish its case, while defence counsel, Barrister Mubarak, presented the defendant to testify in his own defence

The case stemmed from an allegation that Mustapha hit the vehicle of the late Alhaji Muhammad Mustapha at a filling station

The deceased was said to have followed Mustapha’s vehicle after the incident, leading to an argument between them

The prosecution alleged that Mustapha subsequently hit Muhammad Mustapha with his vehicle again, resulting in his death

However, after considering the evidence and submissions from both sides, the court held that the prosecution had failed to establish the charge against Mustapha beyond the required standard and consequently acquitted him.

Groups Sue Kano Cleric, Lawan Triumph, Over Alleged Blasphemy

The Upper Sharia Court sitting at Kofar Kudu in Kano municipality has commenced hearing in a case filed by some Islamic groups against Kano-based cleric Lawan Abubakar Triumph over alleged blasphemous remarks.

Counsel to the complainants, Barrister Aliyu Usman Hajj, told the court presided over by Justice Ibrahim Sarki Yola that they had filed a direct criminal complaint against the defendant.

He urged the court to forward the complaint to the Kano State Commissioner of Police for investigation.

However, counsel to the defendant, Barrister Abdurrazak A. Ahmad, asked for time to study the allegations and respond to them, while challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the case. Barrister Ibrahim Umar led the team of lawyers representing Lawan.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court declined a request to order the closure of the mosque led by Lawan, saying it lacked the authority to do so.

The judge adjourned the case until September 24, 2026, to state its position on the matter.

Parliament seeks deeper ties with UK House of Commons

The Ugandan Parliament is seeking deep institutional ties with the United Kingdom’s House of Commons to strengthen parliamentary diplomacy and draw lessons for reforms in the country’s legislature.

Speaker Jacob Markson Oboth said Uganda could draw valuable lessons from the UK Parliament’s long institutional history as it undertakes reforms to improve management and affairs of the legislature.

Oboth made the call on September 17 during his meeting with the Speaker of the UK House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, in London.

Their discussion centred on legislative accountability, transparency and deepening UK-Uganda parliamentary diplomacy.

The meeting is part of Oboth’s broader efforts to reset the systems, structures and operations of Parliament, whose institutional framework was historically modelled on that of the House of Commons.

The House of Commons is the democratically elected house of the UK Parliament, responsible for making laws and checking the work of government.

Oboth said stronger relations could create opportunities for members and staff to share experiences through exchanges, attachments and benchmarking programmes.

“This is about consolidating our efforts to reset, revive and rejuvenate the management and affairs of the Parliament of Uganda,” Oboth said.

He further proposed an inter-parliamentary network to support cooperation between Uganda and the UK in areas of education, trade and mining.

“Such parliamentary relations should be strengthened to a level that brings the two parliaments and the two nations closer in jointly pursuing shared interests,” Oboth said.

The meeting is expected to pave way for further engagements, including cooperation in governance, education, trade and parliamentary administration.

Sir Hoyle congratulated Oboth on his elevation to the third office in the land and described his approach to parliamentary leadership as visionary.

He said the UK Parliament was willing to support efforts to strengthen inter-parliamentary diplomacy between the two countries.

He also framed the engagement within a wider Commonwealth context, saying such diplomacy should serve as a vehicle to preserve and strengthen the Commonwealth family.

He expressed hope that the process could eventually help bring African nations together as a unified bloc within the Commonwealth, pursuing a shared agenda.

Since assuming office as Speaker of the 12th Parliament on March 25, 2026, Oboth has championed a programme aimed at restoring Parliament’s legacy.

In his maiden speech, Oboth promised to rebuild public trust and clean up the institution’s image following years of corruption allegations and public criticism directed at previous leadership, vowing to steer the House on a path of accountability, transparency and people-centred leadership.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia Warn Against Treating Sudan Army, RSF As Equals

Egypt and Saudi Arabia have warned against treating the Sudanese Armed Forces and rival militias as equals, backing the primacy of the country’s military institutions in an explicit signal to regional and international peace mediators.

The joint position emerged from talks in Cairo on Tuesday between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

War erupted in Sudan in April 2023 between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), driving millions from their homes and triggering famine conditions across parts of the country.

Egyptian presidential spokesperson Mohamed El-Shennawy said both leaders rejected placing the armed forces on equal footing with any militias or parallel entities, affirming that national state institutions must retain exclusive legitimacy.

The joint statement warned that any fragmentation of Sudan or threat to its territorial integrity represents a direct risk to the collective security of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and neighbouring states.

The declaration reflects Cairo’s close backing of Sudan’s regular military and marks an important shift in Riyadh’s diplomatic messaging, as it has co-sponsored intermittent peace talks in Jeddah in which both belligerents were engaged as warring parties.

Sudan’s army-led sovereign council has repeatedly refused initiatives that put it on par with the RSF, accusing the paramilitary force of widespread atrocities, including ethnic killings in Darfur, systematic looting, and sexual violence.

The RSF has consistently denied carrying out systematic abuses, blaming rogue actors and accusing the military of indiscriminate air strikes on civilian infrastructure.

During their meeting, Sisi and Prince Mohammed also addressed broader regional security concerns, including threats to shipping lanes in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Strait of Hormuz.

Sudan asks IGAD to back domestic dialogue

Meanwhile, Sudan has called on East African regional bloc IGAD to support an internal political dialogue free from outside interference, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, as the army reported battlefield advances against rival paramilitary forces.

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Muawiya Osman Khalid made the appeal during an Intergovernmental Authority on Development ministerial meeting in Djibouti, according to a ministry statement.

Khalid said the Sudanese-led initiative aimed to address the country’s crises without foreign dictates, highlighting efforts by an independent preparatory committee to engage political and civil society factions.

The military-led government has backed the committee’s work, pledging not to arrest participants and dismissing legal charges previously filed against several political figures.

The move comes as a five-party diplomatic group, comprising IGAD, the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Arab League, conducts consultations to bridge divisions among Sudanese stakeholders and revive a transition process.

Envoys from the mechanism visited Khartoum last week to align foreign mediation efforts with local initiatives, stressing that any political track must move in tandem with concrete steps to end the war.

Khalid told the Djibouti meeting that security had improved significantly following recent territorial advances by the Sudanese Armed Forces.

He accused the RSF of widespread destruction and targeting civilians, citing international characterisations of the abuses as genocide.

The RSF has consistently denied targeting civilians, accusing the army of carrying out indiscriminate air strikes against residential areas.

Khalid said the government remained committed to keeping border corridors open for humanitarian relief shipments, but accused the RSF of exploiting aid passages for non-humanitarian operations.

On the sidelines of the summit, Khalid delivered a written message from army chief and Sovereign Council head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh regarding bilateral relations and developments in the conflict.

The NIRSAL effect: Transforming risk into sustainable agricultural finance

Earlier this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria concluded the recapitalisation programme of Nigeria’s banking sector, an effort aimed at enhancing the financial system’s capacity to support the economy, amongst other objectives. Now stronger and more resilient, Nigeria’s banking system is only as valuable as the economic activity it enables.

This was the crux of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s challenge to financial institutions at the 19th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. He challenged them to look beyond balance-sheet growth, profitability and shareholder returns and consider how their strength can support the productive economy. Stronger balance sheets, he argued, must ultimately translate into investment, production, jobs, and improved living standards.

The challenge is one of economic impact transmission. How does financial-sector strength translate into financing for productive investment, and productive investment into jobs, incomes and improved living standards? Macroeconomic gains cannot lead to broad-based prosperity if they remain disconnected from the businesses that create output, employment, and income.

For banks, however, financing the productive economy must be balanced against their responsibility to protect depositors’ funds, preserve capital, and maintain portfolio quality. The question, therefore, is how to expand private financing of productive enterprise without weakening the commercial and risk disciplines that sustain a sound banking system.

This is where credit enhancements can play an important role. By sharing or absorbing a defined portion of credit risk, they can improve the risk-adjusted economics of lending and help direct private capital towards productive sectors where risk constrains financing. Agriculture provides a particularly important case because production, market, and value-chain risks can make lenders cautious about financing or scaling exposure.

Answering the economic transmission charge without widening risk appetite

A credit guarantee is one practical form of credit enhancement, providing defined protection against credit losses and improving the risk-adjusted economics of lending. It does not remove the lender’s risk or replace sound credit assessment; rather, it changes the economics of taking that risk. This can allow a financial institution to enter or expand an exposure while remaining within its established risk appetite and credit limits.

NIRSAL’s experience provides a useful case study on how credit guarantees can operate in practice. NIRSAL provides participating financial institutions with partial coverage against defined credit losses on eligible agricultural transactions. The relevance of the model, however, lies not simply in the protection provided on individual facilities, but in what repeated transactions can reveal about how lenders and borrowers respond to reduced risk.

For agricultural lender-borrower relationships that returned for subsequent NIRSAL-backed credit facilities between 2025 and H1 2026, the average transaction size increased 1.35 times, from N2.93 billion in 2025 to N3.94 billion by H1 2026. Over the same period, lenders that repeatedly utilised the Credit Risk Guarantee increased the value of additional credit extended to agribusinesses that might otherwise have been declined by 1.27 times, from N9.36 billion to N11.86 billion.

These movements provide an indication of what can happen after the initial risk constraint is addressed. With each subsequent transaction, the lender gains more information about the borrower and underlying business, the borrower establishes a stronger repayment record, and the relationship becomes more familiar and commercially grounded.

The significance, therefore, extends beyond the individual guarantee. Risk-sharing can create the conditions for information, experience, and credit history to accumulate, potentially allowing financing relationships to deepen over time.

The NIRSAL experience illustrates this two-sided learning process. The lender gains greater familiarity with agricultural risk; the borrower builds a track record with the financial system; and both sides accumulate information that can support larger and potentially less third-party-dependent financing relationships.

The objective of such mechanisms is therefore not perpetual reliance on guarantees, but the progressive reduction and/or understanding of perceived risk and the deepening of private capital flows into productive sectors.

Getting ahead of the risk sustainably

The value of a credit guarantee is ultimately tested when the underlying risk crystallises, that is, when the borrower defaults on repayment. A credit guarantee provides the lender with a defined layer of protection over the percentage of the loan covered; in NIRSAL’s case, up to 75% of principal and accrued interest. NIRSAL has honoured guarantee claims valued at N4.5 billion, all within an average settlement period of 30 days.

But the more important question is not simply how speedily a guarantee responds when a loss occurs, but whether the conditions that lead to crystallisation can be reduced in the first place.

Herein lies a crucial aspect of NIRSAL’s work: strengthening agricultural value chains in readiness for commercial finance. The historical performance of facilities backed by NIRSAL’s Credit Risk Guarantee suggests that agricultural finance is better approached holistically; combining risk-sharing on the finance side with interventions that address weaknesses across the value chain and improve the underlying conditions for successful borrowing. The results are instructive: non-performing loans across NIRSAL’s guaranteed portfolio stand at 0.32%, compared with 9.85% for the banking industry’s agricultural loan portfolio.

Agricultural finance does not fail only because a borrower cannot repay. Repayment itself is often a consequence of risks further upstream in the value chain, from input availability and production conditions to aggregation, storage, logistics, market access and price volatility. Weather and other production risks can create additional exposures that cannot be addressed through a credit guarantee alone.

NIRSAL therefore operates across these different points of the risk chain. Credit risk is addressed through the Credit Risk Guarantee; value-chain constraints can be addressed through interventions that strengthen the commercial and operational conditions underlying the financing; and insurance advocacy and facilitation can help transfer specified production risks that would otherwise sit directly with farmers, agribusinesses, or lenders.

This distinction is important. The guarantee provides protection when a defined credit loss occurs. The broader risk-management approach seeks to reduce the likelihood and severity of that crystallisation by improving the conditions in which the financed business operates. This positions NIRSAL differently from a conventional credit guarantee provider. Its role is not simply to stand behind a loan when things go wrong, but to work with financial institutions and value-chain participants to make difficult agricultural exposures more understandable, manageable, and financeable.

In this sense, NIRSAL acts as a system enabler. It helps financial institutions navigate areas where information, market structure or risk characteristics may otherwise constrain participation, while allowing the institutions themselves to retain the customer relationship, credit discipline, and commercial decision-making.

The objective is therefore not to take agricultural risk away from the financial system. It is to help the financial system understand, share, mitigate and ultimately price that risk more effectively. That is an important distinction in the transition from risk-sharing to sustainable agricultural finance.

Where transmission becomes measurable

The significance of NIRSAL’s experience ultimately lies beyond the individual guarantee. In H1 2026, every N1 of NIRSAL guarantee capital was associated with N2.29 of commercial bank lending to agriculture. Across 46 agribusinesses, this financing supported an estimated 3,279 jobs, more than 82,000 tonnes of food output and an estimated 16,395 lives impacted. How? Credit enhancement helps make financing possible; financing enables productive investment; and productive investment generates output, employment and income.

Indeed, a stronger financial system creates economic value when its capacity reaches the businesses that produce, employ, and generate income. In agriculture, that transmission extends beyond individual enterprises to entire value chains; supporting production, processing, trade, food supply, and livelihoods.

NIRSAL’s work illustrates the role a development-oriented financial institution can play in strengthening this transmission. Its purpose is not to replace commercial finance, but to enable more of it. In this sense, the NIRSAL model represents a deliberate shift away from direct intervention towards a more sustainable approach to financing Nigeria’s largest economic sector; helping financial institutions navigate the risks and market constraints that might otherwise limit their participation in viable agricultural enterprises.

Nigeria’s agricultural credit gap remains significant. Closing it will require moving beyond the success of individual transactions towards deeper market participation… where banks, agribusinesses, insurers, and other value-chain actors operate within a more coordinated ecosystem capable of mobilising agricultural finance at scale.

The next move for Nigerian banks

Nigeria has strengthened the capital base of its banking industry. The next question is: what will that capital build?

The opportunity now is to create stronger pathways through which commercial interests and national development priorities can converge. For banks, financing agriculture need not be an act of corporate social responsibility or patriotism; it can and should be good business.

NIRSAL provides a mechanism for making that proposition more viable, enabling financial institutions to expand productive lending to agriculture while managing risk and preserving commercial objectives. At the same time, viable agribusinesses gain access to growth capital, while successful transactions build the credit histories, market knowledge, and lender confidence required to attract progressively larger volumes of commercial finance.

For financial institutions seeking to deploy more capital into Nigeria’s productive economy, agriculture therefore need not represent an uncomfortable leap into the unknown. The opportunities exist, the risks can be better understood and shared, and NIRSAL provides a proven mechanism for doing so.

For agribusinesses seeking to grow, every successful financing cycle strengthens credit profile and improves prospects for accessing larger facilities. Businesses requiring additional capital should therefore engage their financial institutions on structuring eligible facilities with the support of NIRSAL’s Credit Risk Guarantee.

This is the NIRSAL Effect; not simply taking risk away from the bank, but helping transform risk into information, information into confidence, and confidence into sustainable commercial finance for agriculture.

N’Assembly Transmits 2026 Constitution Amendment Bill To 36 States

N’Assembly transmits 2026 Constitution amendment Bill to 36 states By Musa Luka Musa The National Assembly has transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for consideration and approval. The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, saying the transmission followed a directive from the leadership of the National Assembly. He said the action was taken in accordance with Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that a Bill seeking to alter the Constitution must be approved by at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly before it can be passed by the National Assembly. Ogunlana urged the state legislatures to consider the Bill in line with their respective legislative procedures and communicate their resolutions to the National Assembly after concluding deliberations. He said although the Constitution does not prescribe a specific timeframe for state assemblies to communicate their decisions on constitutional alteration Bills, they are expected to do so within 30 days of receiving the Bill. He, however, clarified that the 30-day period was an administrative timeframe and not a constitutional deadline. ‘The National Assembly recognises the constitutional responsibility vested in the State Houses of Assembly and respects their independence in the consideration of the Bill,’ the statement said. It added that the transmission was aimed at facilitating the orderly discharge of the state assemblies’ constitutional responsibilities in the amendment process. According to the statement, the National Assembly would proceed with the next steps upon receiving the resolutions of the 36 state Houses of Assembly, in line with the provisions of the Constitution. The National Assembly also reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the constitutional alteration process complied with the Constitution and the principles of due process, institutional cooperation and respect for the legislative responsibilities of all tiers of government.

Five rescued from Otedola Bridge multiple accidents

Five persons were rescued yesterday from a multiple-vehicle accidents on Otedola Bridge in Lagos.

The Permanent Secretary(PS), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, said the victims were trapped in the crash.

Oke-Osanyintolu said the agency deployed its rescue team after receiving a distress call.

He said the LRT Tiger Squad stationed at C3 was dispatched at 1:18 p.m. and arrived at the scene at 10 minutes later.

‘On arrival, first responders observed a multiple-vehicle crash involving five vehicles, including a truck laden with a generator, a containerised truck with registration number ENU 135ZG, a loaded trailer with an unknown registration number, a white Honda with registration number LSR 870BF, and a Lexus car with registration number KTU 682HX,’ he said.

Oke-Osanyintolu explained that the crash occurred after the containerised truck developed a fault while in motion, lost control before ramming into three other vehicles.

He added that another truck rammed into the vehicles from behind, resulting in the multiple collision.

The agency’s LRT, in collaboration with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the Nigeria Police Force, implemented traffic control and safety measures to prevent secondary incidents and protect road users. Nigeria News Subscription

According to the PS, the victims were given medical attention at the scene by Lagos Response Unit paramedics before being transferred to the Trauma Centre for further treatment.

Recovery operations are ongoing with the support of private towing trucks and a private crane to evacuate the affected vehicles from the roadway and restore free flow of traffic.

Oke-Osanyintolu commended the response team, LASTMA, police and private partners for their prompt intervention and coordination.

He reiterated the state government’s commitment to protecting lives and property through continuous investment in emergency response capacity, modern equipment and strategic decentralisation of response units for rapid intervention across the state.

The Permanent Secretary urged motorists, particularly drivers of heavy-duty and articulated vehicles, to maintain their vehicles regularly, comply with road safety regulations and exercise caution on major highways.

He also urged the public to report emergencies promptly through the 767 and 112 toll-free emergency lines for swift intervention.

30 Ships Deliver Fuel, Food, Others To Lagos Ports

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has announced that 30 ships carrying petroleum products, food items and other cargoes are expected to arrive at the Apapa, Lekki Deep Sea and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos between September 15 and 28.

The authority disclosed this in its Daily Shipping Position released on Tuesday.

According to the NPA, 10 of the expected vessels will arrive with containers carrying various goods, while five others will transport aviation fuel.

The remaining 15 vessels are expected to deliver crude oil, diesel, general cargo, bulk gypsum, fresh fish and bulk wheat.

The expected arrivals are coming amid ongoing vessel activities at the three ports, with 12 ships and tanker vessels already at the ports awaiting berthing.

The NPA said the vessels waiting to berth are expected to discharge bulk urea, petrol, diesel, crude oil and bulk salt.

Meanwhile, 21 ships are currently discharging various cargoes at the three ports, according to the authority.

The cargoes being discharged include containers, fresh fish, general cargo, bulk pallets, bulk urea, bulk sugar, bulk salt, aviation fuel and petrol.

The latest shipping position highlights continued vessel movements and cargo-handling activities at Lagos ports, which remain important gateways for the importation of petroleum products, food commodities and other goods into the country.

Zikoko Citizen’s Health Compendium: If Health Is Political, Whose Survival Counts?

Nigeria records over 127,000 new cancer cases and roughly 79,000 cancer-related deaths every year. To treat that burden properly, the country needs about 280 radiotherapy machines. It has fewer than 10, for over 200 million people.

That gap is not an accident of nature but the outcome of choices about where public money goes, whose voices shape policy, and whether commitments outlive the announcements. Making those choices visible is the purpose of The Nigerian Life Compendium, a research-driven editorial series from Zikoko Citizen whose first edition is devoted to health.

The Health edition brings together eight contributors on crises that shape millions of Nigerians lives but rarely enter political conversation. A patient in Ibadan spent 13 hours being shuttled between hospitals in search of antivenom that should have been in stock. Twenty-eight of Nigeria’s 36 states have zero federal psychiatric presence, meaning a mental health crisis means a bus fare to another state, or nothing at all. The failures fall hardest on women, young people, low-income families, rural communities, and those whose conditions remain stigmatised.

‘When we started working on this compendium, the issues dominating Nigerian commentary concerned which parties would produce which candidates for which elections. Several months on, that conversation has barely moved,’ said Afolabi Adekaiyaoja, Coordinating Editor of the Compendium.

‘Nigerians have lived through an unresolved fuel subsidy hangover, rising food prices, and a federal health ministry that received ?36 million of a ?218 billion capital budget. The opportunity cost is not the political activities that will inevitably happen as we trudge towards 2027, but the actual welfare systems millions of Nigerians depend on to survive.’

‘Nigerians are constantly told to wait for institutions to explain the country to them,’ said Anita Eboigbe, COO of Big Cabal Media.

‘They deserve evidence they can point to and demand action on. The Compendium is our attempt to build that evidence base, in the open, for anyone to use.’

Chigozie Victor, Senior Editor at Zikoko Citizen, puts it plainly: ‘You send this to someone when they ask you to prove it’s that bad.’

In the health edition, contributors are asking critical questions. Chime Asonye examines the gap between mental health law and the experience of seeking care. Hassana Maina asks who truly holds power over women’s bodies. Temie Giwa-Tubosun shows that emergency survival depends on systems that coordinate in time, not individual courage. Adam Abdullahi asks whether Nigeria is preparing before the next epidemic. Oyeronke Oyebanji weighs repeated false starts on vaccine manufacturing.

Luke Alade examines two decades of donor-funded projects and local ownership. Omei Bongos links fiscal policy to unequal access. Vivianne Ihekweazu closes on the central question: if health is a political choice, is Nigeria prepared to choose differently?

We praise Nigerians for resilience but resilience should never excuse institutional failure. People should not have to be extraordinary to receive ordinary care, and survival should not depend on where you live or who you know.

Insurance for All: Building a More Secure Future for Sri Lanka

With insurance penetration in Sri Lanka still relatively low, we have a broader responsibility that extends beyond simply growing our individual businesses. We have a duty to increase insurance awareness, expand access to insurance and strengthen financial protection for individuals and businesses. By doing so, we can contribute to the sustainable growth and resilience of the national economy.

As we mark National Insurance Month, 1 September, it is an opportune moment to reflect on a fundamental question: how can we make insurance more accessible, understandable and relevant to every Sri Lankan?

Insurance is often viewed simply as a product that protects a vehicle, property or business. Yet its purpose extends much further. At its core, insurance is about financial resilience-the ability of individuals, families and businesses to withstand unexpected events without putting their financial futures at risk.

This is particularly relevant for Sri Lanka. Economic pressures, natural disasters, changing climate-related risks and emerging threats continue to demonstrate how quickly an unexpected event can affect livelihoods and businesses. Building resilience therefore cannot begin after a crisis occurs. It must begin with preparedness.

Making insurance more inclusive

Sri Lanka’s insurance industry has continued to evolve, but there remains an important opportunity to extend meaningful insurance protection to a much broader section of society.

The ambition should not simply be to increase the number of policies sold. It should be to ensure that more Sri Lankans understand the risks they face and have access to protection that is relevant to their circumstances.

A young professional, a small business owner, a farmer and a large corporate organisation will all have very different risk profiles. Insurance inclusion therefore requires solutions that are accessible, flexible and designed around real customer needs.

Building financial

literacy and trust

Greater insurance inclusion must begin with greater financial literacy.

Insurance can sometimes appear complex, with technical terminology, conditions and different levels of cover. As an industry, we have a responsibility to communicate more simply and transparently, enabling customers to understand what they are protecting, why it matters and what their policy provides.

Importantly, our responsibility does not end when a policy is purchased. Insurance is ultimately judged when a customer experiences a loss and turns to their insurer for support. A fair, transparent and efficient claims experience is therefore fundamental to building trust in the industry.

Technology can also play an important role by making insurance easier to access, simplifying transactions and improving customer engagement. However, digital convenience must go hand in hand with human understanding and trust.

Preparing for a changing risk landscape

The risks facing Sri Lanka are evolving. Natural catastrophes, climate-related events, road accidents, business interruption, cyber threats and other emerging risks can have significant financial consequences.

This makes risk awareness increasingly important-not only for businesses, but for households and individuals as well.

The insurance industry, regulators, financial institutions, businesses and other stakeholders all have a role to play in strengthening this awareness. Creating a stronger insurance culture cannot be achieved through one campaign or one month; it requires sustained engagement throughout the year.

Ultimately, ‘Insurance for All’ should be viewed not simply as an aspiration to expand insurance coverage, but as a broader commitment to financial resilience.

If more Sri Lankans understand their risks, make informed decisions and have access to meaningful protection, we can help build stronger families, more resilient businesses and a more resilient economy.

As we begin National Insurance Month, this is an opportunity for the industry to challenge itself to listen more closely, communicate more clearly and innovate with purpose.

Because insurance is not simply about protecting what we have today. It is about giving individuals, families and businesses the confidence to face tomorrow with greater security.