Nigerian oil tycoon Mohammed Indimi pockets $1 million as Islamic banking pioneer raises dividend 57%

Nigerian oil billionaire Mohammed Indimi is set to receive a dividend of about N1.44 billion ($1.05 million) after shareholders of Jaiz Bank approved a higher cash payout following another year of strong earnings growth.

• Oil billionaire Mohammed Indimi is entitled to a N1.44 billion ($1.05 million) dividend from Jaiz Bank after shareholders approved a higher payout.
• The dividend follows a 28% increase in annual profit and reflects the continued growth of Nigeria’s Islamic banking sector.
• Jaiz Bank raised its dividend by 57% to 11 kobo per share after reporting stronger earnings and a larger balance sheet.
• The payout highlights how non-interest banking is becoming an increasingly profitable segment of Nigeria’s financial industry.

The dividend, approved at the bank’s 14th Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, represents more than 29% of the lender’s total dividend distribution of N4.91 billion ($3.57 million) for the 2025 financial year.

Jaiz Bank declared a final dividend of 11 kobo per share, up 57% from the 7 kobo paid a year earlier, extending its track record of rewarding shareholders as profits continue to grow.

As the bank’s largest shareholder, Indimi owns 29.36% of Jaiz Bank, equivalent to about 13.09 billion shares, making him the biggest beneficiary of the dividend increase.

Strong earnings drive higher shareholder returns

The higher payout follows another year of robust financial performance.

Jaiz Bank reported a 28.4% increase in profit to N30.16 billion ($21.99 million) in 2025, supported by stronger financing income and investment returns. Total assets rose 19.1% to N1.29 trillion ($938.7 million), while retained earnings climbed more than 83%, strengthening the bank’s capital position and supporting a larger dividend.

The performance has also been reflected in the bank’s share price. Jaiz Bank was among the Nigerian Exchange’s strongest-performing banking stocks in the first half of 2026, buoyed by stronger earnings, recapitalisation progress and growing investor interest in non-interest banking.

Several market reports show the stock more than doubled over the period before experiencing periods of profit-taking.

Beyond oil

For Indimi, the dividend illustrates how some of Africa’s richest industrialists are increasingly generating wealth from financial services in addition to their core businesses.

Best known as the founder of Oriental Energy Resources, one of Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil exploration companies, Indimi has spent years building strategic investments outside the energy sector, with Jaiz Bank representing one of his most significant financial holdings.

Rather than reflecting a one-off windfall, the latest payout demonstrates the growing contribution of banking investments to the wealth portfolios of some of Nigeria’s leading business figures.

Nigeria’s Islamic finance industry gathers momentum

Founded in 2012, Jaiz Bank became Nigeria’s first fully-fledged non-interest commercial bank and remains the country’s largest standalone Islamic lender.

The bank operates under Islamic finance principles, which prohibit interest-based lending and instead rely on asset-backed financing and profit-sharing structures.

Although Islamic banking still accounts for a relatively small share of Nigeria’s financial system, the industry has expanded steadily over the past decade as demand grows for ethical and Shariah-compliant financial products.

Competition has also intensified with the emergence of newer non-interest lenders such as TAJBank and Lotus Bank. At the same time, conventional lenders have introduced Islamic banking windows to tap into the growing market.

Beyond retail banking, Jaiz has expanded into SME financing, agriculture, infrastructure funding and Sukuk investments, helping position itself as a key player in Nigeria’s broader financial inclusion strategy.

The bank also became Africa’s first Primary Dealer of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), strengthening its access to global Islamic liquidity markets.

The dividend increase shows more than a profitable year for one bank. It highlights the steady maturation of Nigeria’s non-interest banking industry at a time when investors are looking beyond conventional lenders for growth opportunities.

With stronger earnings, expanding assets and rising shareholder returns, Jaiz Bank is demonstrating that Islamic banking is evolving from a niche segment into a more significant part of Nigeria’s financial landscape.