Author: Rommy Imah

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to accelerate the scale and sophistication of cyberattacks worldwide, Nigeria’s leading cybersecurity professional services firm, Digital Encode, has launched DEPAS AI, a fully autonomous enterprise penetration testing platform designed to help organisations identify and address vulnerabilities continuously. The launch comes against the backdrop of growing AI-driven cyber threats. According to IBM’s 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report, AI-enabled breaches now account for 25 per cent of all malicious incidents, representing a 56 per cent year-on-year increase. The report also puts the average cost of an AI-enabled breach at US$6.04 million, significantly above the global…

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has challenged government institutions and private-sector stakeholders to move beyond the policy framework of the Nigerian Startup Act (NSA) and ensure that its incentives translate into tangible benefits for startups, investors and other players in the innovation ecosystem. The agency made the call at the NSA Incentives Activation Co-Creation Session in Abuja, organised by NITDA’s subsidiary, the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), to identify implementation gaps and develop practical mechanisms for activating the incentives provided under the legislation. Representing NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, ONDI National Coordinator, Victoria Fabunmi, said the focus must…

Mastercard and TeamApt Ltd., a subsidiary of Moniepoint Inc. and a leading provider of financial infrastructure and payment solutions, have forged a strategic collaboration aimed at expanding digital payment acceptance and strengthening transaction infrastructure for businesses and financial institutions across Africa. A key element of the partnership is TeamApt’s integration directly with Mastercard’s global payments network as a non-bank acquirer. The arrangement will enhance TeamApt’s capacity to onboard credible, licensed entities and provide secure payment acceptance, transaction processing and acquiring services across multiple markets. The collaboration is also expected to significantly broaden TeamApt’s card acceptance infrastructure, enabling more merchants to…

The Anambra State ICT Agency has commenced the deployment of a locally trained artificial intelligence (AI) system to automate its operations and explore the application of AI in governance, revenue management and public-sector productivity. The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Mr. Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata, disclosed this on Thursday during a virtual parley with journalists, where he outlined the priorities of his second tenure and the Agency’s evolving digital transformation agenda. Agbata said the AI initiative formed part of the Agency’s broader strategy to build on the gains recorded during his first tenure, with greater emphasis on leveraging emerging…

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has charged Geometric Power to strengthen its gas supply and backup arrangements to ensure that prolonged power outages do not recur in Aba, stressing that residents and businesses have now come to expect reliable electricity. Governor Otti gave the charge on Tuesday, when he received the management of Geometric Power, led by its Chairman, Prof. Barth Nnaji, at his office. The Governor commended the company for restoring electricity supply to Aba and its environs after several days of blackout, acknowledging the disruption the outage caused to residents, businesses and economic activities across the Enyimba…

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc is accelerating the transformation of Nigeria’s payments ecosystem with the rollout of the National Payment Stack (NPS), as the new sovereign payment infrastructure records 26.55 million transactions worth ₦1.4 trillion across 48 participating institutions. Designed as the successor to the 15-year-old NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) infrastructure, the NPS is an ISO 20022-compliant, multi-currency digital rail that brings payments, identity and data onto a unified intelligent platform. The early adoption figures underscore growing industry confidence in the new infrastructure, with First Bank of Nigeria recording the highest transaction volume and Fidelity Bank leading by…

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has commenced a forensic investigation into the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lotus Bank and Hackerbella Ltd over allegations that students’ personal data were used to open bank accounts without a lawful basis. The investigation followed public complaints alleging the unauthorised collection and use of students’ personal information in connection with the opening of bank accounts. In a statement signed by Babatunde Bamigboye, Head of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations at the NDPC, the Commission said its National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Vincent Olatunji, had directed the investigation team to conduct a comprehensive assessment…

The Digital Assets Coalition (DAC), a body representing participants and operators in Nigeria’s digital assets ecosystem, has called on the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) to review key provisions of the recently introduced Guidelines on the Taxation of Virtual Assets, warning that some of the proposed taxes could discourage compliance, drive users to offshore platforms and ultimately reduce government revenue. In a comprehensive position paper titled “Tax the Profit, Not the Movement of Money,” and released in August 2026, the Coalition made it clear that it is not opposed to taxing cryptocurrency transactions. Rather, it argues that the current framework taxes…

To accelerate Nigeria’s digital transformation through homegrown innovation, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening research partnerships with universities to develop technology-based solutions that address real-life national challenges across critical sectors. The commitment was made by the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, when the management of Yakubu Gowon University (formerly the University of Abuja), led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi, paid a familiarisation visit to the Agency’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja. Speaking during the meeting, Abdullahi stressed that collaboration between government and academia remains essential to building a thriving innovation…

Nigeria has taken a major step towards operationalising its National Regulatory Sandbox, with the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, urging regulatory agencies to strengthen collaboration in building a coordinated framework that supports innovation while safeguarding public interest. Speaking through the National Coordinator of the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), Ms. Victoria Fabunmi, at the National Regulatory Sandbox Governance and Implementation Planning Workshop in Abuja, Inuwa said inter-agency cooperation would be critical to the successful implementation of the initiative, which is designed to provide innovators with a structured environment to safely test emerging…