The Nigerian stocks climbed 1.3 per cent on Monday to hit a six-week high after its biggest listed firm Dangote Cement and some consumer goods companies gained.
The main share index rose for the fourth straight day on Monday to near 37,000 points, a level it last reach in August.
READ: Nigeria’s economy is working under Buhari – Osinbajo
Foreign investors and pension funds have been buying shares since September ahead of third quarter earning season due to start this month, traders said, driving the index higher.
Dangote Cement, which withdrew its bid for South African cement rival PPC on Friday, gained 2.94 percent to 224 naira.
The index of Nigeria’s oil and consumer goods stocks each rose more than 1 percent.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was established in 1960 as the Lagos Stock Exchange.
In 1977, its name was changed from the Lagos Stock Exchange to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
As at March 7, 2017, it has 176 listed companies with a total market capitalization of about N8.5 trillion.
All listings are included in the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Shares index. In terms of market capitalization, the Nigerian Stock Exchange is the third largest stock exchange in Africa.
![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")