General News

Published

16 years ago

August 23, 2010

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Mohammed Rudman is the managing director of Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN).
In his over a decade experience in the information and communications technology, Rudman has worked as network administrator in Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) from where he moved to Galaxy Backbone.
He spoke to chike onwuegbuchi on how IXPN will help stimulate growth in internet service delivery and local content.

Exchange Point and Nigerian Economy
Our role is to interconnect service providers, Telcos, Universities, financial sectors and virtually almost every organization that deals with information technology so that they can exchange local traffic locally within Nigeria.
This will benefit the economy tremendously, because it will have multiple effects. Apart from the direct benefit; there are other indirect benefits to the economy. When you look at all our service providers, they interconnect right now outside the country and therefore their traffic is being exchanged outside the country, on the process they pay for that interconnection outside the country in foreign currency, so that is capital flight, for traffic that suppose to be exchanged within the country, you now export it for you to bring it back. So, to save the country that capital flight, it means that local traffic should be made local which is the reason behind the establishment of Internet Exchange of Nigeria.
And if you look at issue of our security, because our traffic is no longer going outside the country, it remains local within the country; it means that we are secured to some extent because we are communicating within ourselves. By the time you push those Email outside Nigeria to come back it is possible for somebody to see your own email, it means we are a bit vulnerable, but by the time we are all interconnected such email will not be taken away.
Also if you look at our educational institution, they can interconnect with us, and right now we are working with University of Lagos to have what is called Eko Connect, which is higher educational connectivity project to interconnect higher educational institutions within Lagos towards national research and educational network, so this also will have multiple effect on the economy, because they are training our graduates, and they should be able to collaborate for research. It also promotes local content development, because with us you can start posting content locally, so with this you can promote culture and heritage.
Value Added Services
First, because exchange points are very suitable for centralized infrastructure within the country, we decided to discuss with one of the thirteen global root server operators in the world for them to keep their servers in Nigeria. This will make local translations of names in the internet possible in Nigeria and our discussions have reach advanced level and within the next one month, the root servers will be active in Nigeria, which will be the first root server in West Africa.
Secondly, we are also trying to put time server within Nigeria so that one can synchronize his or her time with us, like if you have a computer at home or in your office you can synchronize it with us so that their timing will be exactly the same because right now there is no public time server for Nigeria, so with that, different network can now synchronize their time from one source. We have already implemented what is called Community DNS in Nigeria. It has been implemented 100% and it is working.
So we are doing other things like that so as to promote local content and provide centralized infrastructure.
ISPs with Foreign Partners
This will not affect our services because this site is very important, we put them in remote places where people can have access to the internet and it will continue because we have so many remote areas that needs internet access.
Also some of them are already thinking in this direction and are relocating their hubs back into the country. They want to localize their traffic and have brought back their hub from US back to the country, for them to be interconnected to the exchange point. By the time all of them bring back their hub, it means that local content within Nigeria remains local and it will also save them some satellite bandwidth.
New Undersea Cable Initiative as Boost to ISPs in Nigeria
This will help to lower the cost of internet access generally, and will promote reliability because it is more than one cable, formally we have only one submarine cable, SAT 3, now Glo 1 is coming Main One is coming and WACS will come maybe next year, so with this, it means that we have multiple redundancy. Because internet is becoming our ways of life, it is becoming also a critical infrastructure just like water, power and so on. It is very good that we are having this many cables coming in so that, we will now have reliability incase one cable fails, and normally when it happens we have back ups because competitors are coming in and because they are many. I believe that due to competition the prices of internet will really drop and it will be available to the common man as long as the distributing channels are there. As they all are coming in through the sea to the landing stations in Lagos, just like you have containers coming in ships to Lagos, now if we don’t have the road to distribute these containers then there is a problem. The distribution network is in terms of fiber network connecting to the most remote part of the country like Sokoto, Maidugri etc., if such infrastructure exists in these locations, I think it will really lower the cost.
Success Made so Far
Formally the progress and the success were a bit small because we are new and people don’t want to change. We are telling them to change, instead of having one direct path to the internet, to start having two interconnections, one to the left and the other one to the right, if you are going to the internet, you go to the left and if you are going to the Nigerian content, you go right. So this means a change from the one single direction to two directions. It was difficult trying to bring competitors to cooperate for the common interest of both parties. It has been difficult, but eventually we have broken that barrier and it is now happening. The service providers are now cooperating. Though they are competing outside publicly, but they are collaborating privately trying to save the country and to promote efficient services to their customers.
The traffic has increased from very small to more than few thousand percent from the time we started. I think we have made a reasonable progress and we are right now at what is called the tipping point, where things will eventually start changing so fast because we have made the progress to this level and there will be tremendous progress because international organization are even coming to join us like Google now is coming to connect to us very soon.
Force on Operators to Interconnect
The answer could be yes or could be no, because there is a say that you will take the horse to the river but cannot force it to drink water. You can force them to interconnect but you cannot force them to exchange traffic, and on the other hand when you force them to interconnect, you might awaken them to see the actual benefit that formally they were not seeing, so it has a good side for the regulators to force them and it also has a bad side.
Required Capacity to Carry theTraffic
We have more than what is required. Right now, we are using less than 5% of our capacity; we have excess capacity that we can accommodate. We can easily handle all the traffics, so I think we have the capacity to handle almost everybody.
Expansion of Operations
We intend to be in six geopolitical zones, and we are partnering with National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to add two additional exchange points before the end of this year in two regions within Nigeria.
The Way Forward
We have a program right now; we are trying to move to a better modern facility, and this is where we are going to have the switching equipment, the browsing equipment and this is all because of the support from Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC). They are funding the movement and I want to also use this opportunity to thank them for this; and with this infrastructure we will be able to provide quality service because the international organizations are coming in and they wouldn’t want to compromise on quality. That is why we are providing a high standard world class facility for them and for the entire Nigerian service providers to connect.
IP Version Six
IP version 6 is a new standard protocol for IP communication, right now we are using IP version 4. Because of limitation on size of IP version 4, it is almost going into extinction and it is anticipated that in the next one year it will no longer be available for use that is why globally people are moving into IP version 6. Unfortunately, Nigeria is left behind and that is why we are battling with original internet registry for them to start training in Nigeria for IP version 6.
The first training is going to take place in September, first week of September most likely in Lagos and on the second week in Abuja and we intend to continue this training so we can make the impact, so that the networks here can move from IP version 4 to IP version 6.

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General News

SERAP Asks Tinubu to Probe Alleged N6.79Bn Missing Police Funds, Firearms

Published

21 hours ago

August 3, 2026

Ebere Melum-Nwogbo

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Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to direct, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), attorney general of the federation and minister of Justice; Olatunji Rilwan Disu, inspector-general of Police, and relevant anti-corruption agencies to investigate allegations that more than ₦6.79 billion in public funds were missing, diverted or misapplied within the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs.

SERAP Asks Tinubu to Probe Alleged N6.79Bn Missing Police Funds, Firearms

The allegations are contained in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2022 Annual Report, published on September 9, 2025.

In a letter dated August 1, 2026, and signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director, SERAP, the organisation urged the government to ensure that anyone implicated in the report is prosecuted and that all missing public funds, firearms and ammunition are recovered.

“Anyone suspected to be responsible—including contractors, companies and public officials implicated in the report—should be promptly prosecuted, while all missing public funds, firearms and ammunition should be fully recovered, secured and properly accounted for.”

SERAP described the Auditor-General’s findings as a serious breach of public trust.

“The Auditor-General’s findings suggest a grave betrayal of the public trust and raise serious concerns about corruption and the management of public funds, police exhibits, firearms and ammunition.”

The organisation also expressed concern over allegations involving missing firearms, unauthorised use and release of police exhibits, and poor storage of weapons.

“The report also raises serious concerns over missing firearms and ammunition, the unauthorised use and release of police exhibits, failures to properly account for exhibits, and the insecure storage of firearms, creating significant risks to public safety and national security.”

According to SERAP, the alleged diversion of funds meant for policing and the reported irregularities have weakened the operational effectiveness of the Nigeria Police Force.

“The diversion of funds meant for policing, abandoned security projects, missing firearms and ammunition, and the misuse of police exhibits undermine the operational effectiveness of the Nigeria Police Force, weaken public confidence and may contribute to Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.”

The organisation said the Auditor-General’s report documented several alleged financial irregularities, including payments for projects that were never executed, abandoned contracts, inflated contract costs, irregular procurement, unretired cash advances, unsettled insurance claims and payments for services allegedly not rendered.

“The report documented numerous alleged financial irregularities within the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs, including payments for projects that were never executed, abandoned contracts, inflated contract costs, and irregular procurement.”

“The report also documented unretired cash advances, unsettled insurance claims, payments for services allegedly not rendered, and other suspected diversion and misapplication of public funds amounting to over ₦6.79 billion.”SERAP further cited allegations of missing firearms and ammunition, failures to properly account for recovered weapons and exhibits, and insecure storage of firearms.

“The allegations also include missing firearms and ammunition, the unauthorised use and release of police exhibits, failures to properly account for recovered firearms and other exhibits, and the insecure storage of firearms, posing serious risks to public safety and national security.”

The organisation gave the Federal Government seven days to act on its demands, warning that it would pursue legal action if no response is received.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal action to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”

SERAP also argued that the allegations, if left unaddressed, would violate constitutional provisions requiring the government to combat corruption and safeguard the welfare and security of Nigerians.

Among the specific findings cited from the Auditor-General’s report were allegations of payments for abandoned and unexecuted police projects worth hundreds of millions of naira, inflated contract values, unretired cash advances, irregular procurement processes, unsettled insurance claims exceeding ₦681 million, over ₦1 billion in uncleared insurance policy liabilities, missing firearms and ammunition, unauthorised release of police exhibits, and contracts allegedly awarded without due diligence by the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs.

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Dare Tackles Onaiyekan over Criticism of Tinubu, Says Economic is Working

Published

21 hours ago

August 3, 2026

Ebere Melum-Nwogbo

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Sunday Dare, special adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, has faulted the criticism directed at President Bola Tinubu and his economic policies by John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).

Dare Tackles Onaiyekan over Criticism of Tinubu, Says Economic is Working

Sunday Dare, special adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication,

During an interview with Arise TV, Onaiyekan, who had led Catholic Bishops on a visit to the President, revealed details of their discussion.

“When the nation is bleeding, you cannot expect a polite meeting with the Head of State. We told him the economy is not helping our poor people; he told us the economy is doing fine. Frankly speaking, he told us quite clearly that he did not agree with us,” Onaiyekan said.

He added, “We didn’t expect him to agree with us. We have done our duty, we have delivered our message, and we have a feeling that somehow, along the line, somebody will show him a few of the things we said.”

Reacting, Dare stated that while Onaiyekan and his cohort choose the easy path of populist lamentation, the facts of President Tinubu’s administration reveal a relentless, methodical restoration of the Nigerian state. He said that by courageously removing the petrol subsidy and unifying the foreign exchange windows within his first days in office, President Tinubu ended decades of economic illusion.

“State and local governments now receive record-breaking monthly allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), enabling governors—including those in the Catholic heartlands—to pay salaries, fund local infrastructure, and service pensions promptly. The debt service-to-revenue ratio has been dramatically slashed to under 65%, pulling Nigeria back from the edge of default and restoring international credit rating confidence, he said..

According to Dare, the administration did not merely reform numbers; it invested in human dignity. He noted that through the landmark establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), millions of indigent students across tertiary institutions now access interest-free loans for tuition and stipends. “Academic calendar stability has been restored, ending the agony of prolonged university strikes that once paralysed national development,” he said.

The presidential spokesperson revealed that to counter global inflation and local supply shocks, the Tinubu administration deployed emergency agricultural interventions that involve direct distribution of hundreds of thousands of metric tons of grains and fertilisers to smallholder farmers nationwide, the multi-billion naira investments in dry-season farming, mechanisation hubs, and irrigation infrastructure aimed at achieving permanent food self-sufficiency.

He said to understand the weight of President Tinubu’s achievements, one must first measure the abyss Nigeria faced on the eve of his inauguration. He recalled that in May 2023, the Nigerian nation was hovering on the precipice of total economic collapse and structural paralysis.

“The unsustainable petrol subsidy regime was draining trillion-naira holes into the national treasury monthly, enriching a parasitic cabal of smugglers and middlemen while starving sub-national governments of basic infrastructure funding. A fraudulent multi-tiered foreign exchange system had turned the Central Bank of Nigeria into an arbitrage engine, crippling legitimate manufacturing, scaring off foreign direct investment, and burning through scarce external reserves.

“The nation’s debt service-to-revenue ratio had spiralled to an unsustainable 97 per cent, meaning Nigeria was literally borrowing money to pay interest on past loans while operational governance ran on fiscal fumes. This was the broken, bleeding nation handed over to President Tinubu. It required bold surgery, not diplomatic sedation. Yet, when the President applied the sharp scalpel of structural reform, armchair critics and political opponents decried the incision while ignoring the terminal tumour it removed,” he said.

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General News

Lenacapavir, HIV Injectable Drug Offers Pregnant, Lactating Mothers 100 Percent Protection – Study

Published

21 hours ago

August 3, 2026

Ebere Melum-Nwogbo

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Lenacapavir, injectable HIV prevention drug, has been found to provide 100 percent protection against HIV infection among pregnant and breastfeeding women using it as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Lenacapavir, HIV Injectable Drug Offers Pregnant, Lactating Mothers 100 Percent Protection - Study

This is according to sub-study of the landmark clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the twice-yearly injectable HIV prevention drug.

The Phase 3 PURPOSE 1 trial results, published in the Lancet Medical Journal last week and presented at the ongoing 2026 International AIDS Conference Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, show the injection to be safe for use in pregnancy.

While Lenacapavir was previously studied and demonstrated high efficacy and safety as PrEP in cisgender women, its use during pregnancy and lactation, when women are disproportionately vulnerable to HIV acquisition, was not described in the initial studies that formed the World Health Organisation’s global recommendation for the drug.

Now, in the latest study, Dr Flavia Matovu Kiweewa, a senior Research Scientist at MUJHU, said they checked for drug traces in breast milk and exposure to an unborn baby and found drug exposure levels across all trimesters and postpartum were comparable to non-pregnant participants, confirming no dose adjustments are needed for this group.

Among 5345 women enrolled between Sept 28, 2021, and Sept 15, 2023, 487 participants, 184 allocated to Lenacapavir and 303 allocated to oral PrEP, had one or more pregnancies, resulting in 509 total pregnancies with 512 pregnancy outcomes, including three sets of twins.

While the study involved women aged between 16 and 26 years in both South Africa and Uganda, 80 percent of all the pregnancies recorded were in Uganda. Results show Lenacapavir was present in breast milk, but exposure in breastfed infants was minimal. Drug concentrations were measured in the blood of the mothers, breast milk, and breastfed infants’ blood.

Kiweewa said thatthese results are a breakthrough as pregnant and postpartum women face elevated vulnerability of HIV acquisition, yet historically they have been excluded from early prevention trials, leading to years-long evidence gaps.

The study compared twice-yearly Lenacapavir with daily oral PrEP in women who were not pregnant at enrollment.

But, unlike previous studies, women who got pregnant while participating in the study were, for the first time, left on their allocated study drug.

Now, because of the new findings, Kiweewa said at one of their study sites in Mityana District Hospital, they have decided to dedicate seventy percent of their drug supplies to women.

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