Dimensions of Electronic Fraud and Governance of Trust in Nigeria's Cashless Ecosystem.

A negative outcome of the nascent cashless policy in Nigeria has been persistent electronic banking fraud (e-fraud). Fraud occurrence in any financial space indicates insecurity and loopholes being exploited by fraudsters. This underscores the importance of trust governance in electronic banking and its centrality in a transiting cashless economy like Nigeria. Against this background, we investigated e-banking fraud and the role trust governance plays in both the adoption and refusal to migrate and use electronic banking in Nigeria. Using qualitative methods (in-depth and key informant interviews) of data collection, 30 participants were purposively selected and in some instances reached through the snowball and referral methods. Findings showed internal, external, and collaborative dimensions of e-fraud. Experiences of fraud reportedly affected adoption and migration of bank customers to e-banking platforms. Although weak governance mechanism was reported, banks nonetheless are embracing security mechanisms such as sending SCAM alert messages to customers, while shaming and sack of compromised staff were employed as within-bank measures to secure the confidence of customers in the evolving financial ecosystem.

Phytobiological-facilitated Production of Silver Nanoparticles From Selected Non-cultivated Vegetables in Nigeria and Their Biological Potential.

OBJECTIVES: Plant-mediated synthesis [silver (Ag) to form Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs)] is becoming progressively well accepted in many scientific and pharmaceutical fields. The aim of this study was to synthesize AgNPs using air-dried leaves of four neglected vegetables, i.e. Ceratotheca sesamoides, Ceiba pentandra, Crassocephalum crepidioides, and Launaea taraxacifolia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for characterization. Cell stabilization membrane and lipoxidase assays were used to determine used to assess the antiinflammatory activities while 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS+) assays were used to assess the antioxidant activities of AgNPs [L. taraxacifolia-AgNPs, C. sesamoides Ag nanoparticles (CS-AgNPs), C. pentandra Ag nanoparticles (CP-AgNPs), and C. crepidioides AgNPs (CC-AgNPs)]. RESULTS: The UV-Vis spectra of the synthesized NPs displayed absorption bands at around 360-440 nm, which is a characteristic band for AgNPs. The SEM image showed that the AgNPs formed were spherical in morphology. CC-AgNPs exhibited the most significant inhibitory activity against human red blood cell membrane stabilizasyonu [median inhibitory concentration (IC50): 32.2 µg/mL] while CS-AgNPs displayed the most significant inhibitory activity against lipoxygenases (IC50: 32.8 µg/mL). CP-AgNPs exhibited the most significant antioxidant effect against both ABTS and DPPH (IC50: 5.5 and 6.4 µg/mL) when compared to ascorbic acid (IC50: 4.7 µg/mL). CONCLUSION: The synthesized AgNPs were found to be stable and the FTIR evidence suggested that the phytochemicals in the vegetables might have played an important role in the reduction and stabilization of AgNPs. This work showed that the synthesized AgNPs from non-cultivated vegetables can find relevance and application in health, drugs, food and environmental science. The evidences herein further confirmed their ethnopharmacological applications.