Telecom
NDPB Investigates 110 Companies for Data Breaches
Nigeria Data Protection Bureau has said that it is presently investigating over 110 companies in Nigeria over allegations of data breach.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of the Bureau, disclosed this on Monday while speaking to media men.
According to him, the investigated companies include banks, telecom, gaming, and online lending. He said the vulnerabilities in these sectors are high partly due to the capabilities of intrusive mobile apps they deploy in rendering their services.
Olatunji said those found guilty may be made to pay 2 per cent of their revenue to the government according to the Data Protection law.
He said that the government’s position is that those who are into data would have nothing to fear. Still, the consequences of their acts and omissions might constitute a civil or criminal liability. He added that the Nigeria Police Force is currently working with the bureau.
Among those being investigated are some companies in the financial and telecom sectors. They include four banks, online lending companies. one telecom company and one gaming company.
He said, ” the vulnerabilities in these sectors are high partly due to the capabilities of intrusive mobile apps. When you factor in a lack of due diligence on the part of data controllers in engaging data processors or vendors who have access to the personal data of customers, what you see in some cases is a pattern of abuses in violation of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) and section 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to him, the government’s position is that those who deal with data have nothing to fear but the consequences of their acts and omissions, which may constitute civil or criminal liability.
Olatunji disclosed that the Bureau recently licensed 48 Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs), which increased the number of DPCOs to 138, which has boosted the wealth and job creation in the ecosystem.
He said that Nigeria was prepared for a leading role in advancing data protection and exploring the opportunities of the global digital economy. Olatunji reassured citizens that every data controller and data processor within or outside Nigeria would be held accountable for any unlawful processing of personal data from their jurisdiction.
The NDPB was established in February 2002 by President Muhammadu Buhari as the nation’s data protection authority and to fully implement the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) issued in 2019.
He also said Bureau had generated N5.5 billion into the coffers of the Federal Government from its operations in the last year partly through the license of 138 Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs), which has boosted the wealth and job creation in the ecosystem.
“Similarly, the rate of NDPR Compliance Audit Returns filing increased from 1229 in 2021 to 1,777 in 2022,” he said.
He said that last year, the Bureau took necessary institutional measures to lay the foundation of the bulwark for a sustainable digital economy.
According to him, these are the official launching of the core values, digital platform and symbol for the seamless and effective implementation of the NDPR 5/4/22, adding that the agency has been carrying out strategic awareness campaigns across the country.
“We recalibrated the “Adopt-A-School” Awareness Programme, which is now called “Catch – them-Young”. We were able to reach over 3000 students and pupils in about 70 schools with the message of data privacy,” Cr Olatunji said.
He said the Bureau has also carried out stakeholder engagement for Accelerated Integration of Public Sector Data Controllers into the Data Privacy and Protection Framework. The public institutions engaged, he said, including the National Assembly, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Health, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Police Force, Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).
“As a result of these engagements, we now have a-100 per cent increase in the rate of integration of the public sector into the Data Privacy and Protection Framework,” he said.
In capacity building and National Certification on Data Privacy and Protection, he said the target is to create a pool of 250,000 globally competent data privacy and protection experts.
To achieve this, 15 capacity-building programmes for members of staff of the Bureau have so far been organized. In contrast, training has been done for the ICT and Cybersecurity Committee of the Senate, ICT and Cybersecurity Committee of the House of Representatives, Federal Ministry of Justice, Nigeria Television Authority, Voice of Nigeria, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and Designated Data Protection Officers from over 100 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Bureau of Public Procurement, Ministry of Health and Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria, have also been scheduled to benefit from the capacity-building programme.
He said: “On the reinforcement of NDPR Implementation Framework. This was achieved through the Federal Government Circular through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation directing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to comply with the NDPR Circular no SGF/OP/I/S.3/XII/186 7/11/22
“Service-wide Guidelines on Personal Information Technology Devices by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation makes compliance with NDPR obligatory in public service. circular number OHCSF/ICTD/152/I/ dated 16/11/22.
“Resolution of the 10th Meeting of the National Council on Communications and Digital Economy (NCCDE), which urges data controllers and data processors at Federal, State and Local levels to comply with the NDPR. 9/12/22
“MoU with Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission; developing Code of Conduct for Data Protection Compliance Organizations and drafting the Nigeria Data Protection Bill 2022.
“As you are aware, the Federal Executive Council approved the Nigeria Data Protection Bill on the 25th of January, 2023. It will be transmitted to the National Assembly as an Executive Bill. The Legislature has reiterated its preparedness to pass the bill into law,” he said.
Renowned digital innovation expert, Prof. Chris Uwaje, has celebrated Leo Stan Ekeh as a visionary “digital anticipator” and pioneer on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
Leo Stan Ekeh
In a heartfelt tribute, Uwaje hailed Ekeh as the “Saint Leo of all Stars from the Ekeh Universe,” saluting his masterclass contributions to human innovation, development, and global youth empowerment.
Visionary Impact on Africa, World
Uwaje praised Ekeh’s foresight, emotional intelligence, and resilience in transforming digital entrepreneurship, creating millions of jobs, billions in economic value, and expanded education access worldwide.
The encomium spotlighted Ekeh’s trailblazing solutions driving sustainable development, employment, and economic growth across Africa and beyond.
“Your legacy continues to shape a brighter future,” Uwaje noted, adding that Ekeh’s “extraordinary best is yet to come” as the “Field-Marshall of ANTICIPATORS.”
Cheers to More Foresighted Legacy
Uwaje declared: “From the gaze into the digital cloud: ‘the world ain’t seen nothing yet’!” while toasting Ekeh as the “true digital Conqueror of Africa and the world.”
The tribute underscores Ekeh’s enduring influence in digital disruption, innovation, and youth-focused initiatives that continue to inspire global progress.
Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria is positioning as a regional Internet Exchange hub for West Africa in terms of infrastructure and traffic. Muhammed Rudman, chief executive officer, IXPN, stated this at its 2026 members engagement forum held in Lagos. He noted some of the major milestone IXPN achieved last year to include one terabit of traffic recorded in March 2025.
“At that time, we became the 63rd internet exchange point in the world. Among all the exchanges in Europe and America and in the entire world, we become the number 63 in the world. To achieve that one terabit of traffic. Again, we were able to achieve two terabits of traffic within seven, eight months of the year.
“We achieve this by ensuring that we push for members to upgrade, those that were on 1 Gig to 10 Gig, those on 10 Gig to 100 Gig. We had a strategic infrastructure upgrade across our networks, put 400 Gig enable switches, increase our fiber links to all the data centers and we onboarded 17 new members last year. All the trainings and the operational excellence ensured that our network is up and running 24/7,” he said.
Industry Impact
The impact of that one terabit traffic is data sovereignty. “We were able to domesticate. Based on the survey we conducted, 54% of our members said that they are exchanging 50% of their traffic and above locally, which is really, significant one.
“We are also setting up a benchmark for other African IXPs. I can assure you that in all the community driven internet exchange points in Africa, we are the number one. There’s a community driven internet exchange point in South Africa that was established 10 years before IXPN. There is one in Kenya that was established 6 years before IXPN, but we are way ahead of them when it comes to internet traffic.
“We are also promoting intra African connectivity. As at today, we have customers from Niger, from, Burkina Faso, trying to reach to Nigeria. Recently, we onboarded a very large company in Ivory Coast, to connect to Nigeria.
“Gradually, Nigeria is tilting towards becoming the regional hub for West Africa, where you see Internet Service Providers coming to achieve that. And in terms of the traffic, in 2015 we were at four Gigabits per second. It moves to 21 in 2017 and 52 gigabits per second.
“But by the year 2023 it has reached 540 gigabits. By 2024 we have reached 900 gigabits. But by the end of 2025 we have achieved the two terabits of traffic”.
Network Infrastructure Development
Some of the technical feet IXPN achieved includes, deployment of sFlow; which is a peer to peer traffic analysis. “We’re able to see what members are exchanging between themselves and between the data centers, not the actual content or information, but rather the volume of traffic, and also between our data centers. And based on this, we’re able to do the upgrades.
“We did a multiple link upgrades from 300 Gigabits last year from Digital Realty to Equinix. It was 300 Gig as at the end of 2024, and by 2025, we’ve increased that to 500 gigabits per second. Digital Realty to Rack Center, it was 200 Gigabits per second. We also upgraded that to 500 Gigabits per second.
Open Access Data Centre to Equinix. We’ve upgraded from 20 Gigabits per second to 200 Gigabits per second. We always monitor the ports, and based on that, we increase immediately we reach the threshold of 80%.
“We did an upgrade on the IXP manager. This allows each member to have a login portal to see the traffic they are exchanging and other details, the port as well as to do their own configuration,” he added.
Technical Project Milestones
Microsoft connected cache. “We deployed Microsoft content cache and that has been deployed in Lagos. It was 25 Gigabits per second as of 2024 by 2025 we had to upgrade the infrastructure to 75 Gigabits per second servers, that will be able to accommodate all the Microsoft updates they are doing, exports, download and among others.
“This is part of the content that Microsoft is not providing locally, but we got those servers deployed, and our intention is by next year to see how we can replicate this across the country. Last year, we also deployed the same server in Abuja so that the Abuja people and the Kano people can reach that content without coming back to Lagos.
The Google Global Cache (GGC); “We are hosting all these at IXPN. We also upgraded from 53 Gigabits per second servers in 2024 to 153 Gigabits per second. And this is a huge traffic of YouTube. And as we speak, we are also working towards upgrading those servers,” he explained.
Strategic Partnerships
“We signed an MoU last year between us and an IXP in Senegal, when we went for West African peering forum. A lot of African ISPs are looking to us to see how we can guide them and support them.
“For example, internet exchange point from Gabon, internet exchange point from Rwanda and ISPs in Africa are looking at us as a model to copy, and we tend to support them. We also had a strategic partnership with CIRA, the Canada Internet Registry Association, which is similar to Nira, the Nigerian Internet Registration Association, to have their secondary authoritative servers into Nigeria as an anycast instance. And when they are hosting that, they are hosting other top-level domains as well, like alibaba.info.org.ca, are also hosted with us.
“Since they launched last year, we have seen a traffic of over 1000 DNS responses per second. Presently, there are 13 global root servers in the world, and those 13 servers are the ones that translate your IP address into a domain name. Any website you browse, you put a domain name, it translates into an IP address and its chain of referrals, Nigeria has.ng as a country, called Top Level Domain”.
Earlier in his welcome address, Charles Nmeregini, Business Development Manager, IXPN, said that the members engagement forum is more than an annual country. “Today, we pause to celebrate the milestone, the milestone that we have reached together, the milestone that have bolstered our local traffic exchange, reduce latency and significantly lower the cost of Internet access across the nations and beyond.
“However, today is equally about the horizon. It is a strategic moment as we unveil our 2026 service road map, a forward-looking rubbing designed to deepen interconnection, enhance service delivery and unlock new value across the ecosystem. In an era defined by rapid technological shift, standing still is not an option.
“This forum will spotlight exclusive, strategic business opportunities, new avenues for growth, enhanced pairing capabilities and innovative service model tailored to give your organization a competitive edge. We are not just exchanging data, we are exchanging ideas that will drive the next wave of Nigeria digital economy,” he added.
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, having a trusted and reputable IT partner is no longer optional—it’s essential. Consumers and businesses alike face numerous challenges: buying smartphones, tablets, and laptops that are substandard or incompatible, worrying about device security, and struggling with costly repairs when gadgets break down.
Menxtt NG
This is where Menxtt NG stands out as a true industry leader, providing EU-specification devices, nationwide service, and unmatched support across Nigeria.
As an official BitDefender reseller, Menxtt NG ensures that every device comes fortified with premium cybersecurity solutions. This addresses one of the biggest issues consumers face today: digital threats. With Menxtt NG, customers don’t just get a gadget—they get peace of mind knowing their data and devices are protected.
Beyond security, the company solves a critical problem in tech ownership: the lack of reliable warranties and repair services. Many users find themselves forced to buy new devices due to broken phones, laptops, or tablets.
Menxtt NG addresses this by offering repair services for all major gadgets, saving customers significant money while extending the life of their devices. And for new devices, they provide fully tested EU-spec phones, laptops, and tablets with a 6-month warranty, ensuring both performance and durability.
Accessibility is another barrier Menxtt NG tackles head-on. With free nationwide delivery and a free charging cord included with purchases, they make premium technology available across Nigeria.
Their presence in Ola Ayeni Street, Computer Village, Ikeja, combined with easy contact via 08115919964, 08140902614, 0802 061 1299, 0802 893 1940, +234 916 642 2759, as well as online support at www.menxtt.com.ng and [email protected], ensures convenience for every customer.
Anthony Nwosu, CEO of Menxtt NG, highlights the company’s mission: to deliver top-quality, secure, and durable devices while providing accessible repair and support services.
This comprehensive approach addresses all the pain points consumers face—device quality, security, warranty, and after-sales care—making Menxtt NG more than just a retailer; it’s a reliable IT partner.
In a market flooded with subpar devices and unreliable service, Menxtt NG proves that choosing a reputable IT plug is crucial. With EU-spec devices, nationwide delivery, genuine warranties, and expert repair services, Menxtt NG doesn’t just sell technology—they empower customers to enjoy, protect, and maximize the life of their devices.
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