News
Confusion over Postal Bill, Stakeholders Bicker
National Postal Policy and Nigeria Postal Service Bill, a set of all important documents touted as transformative for the postal industry is still embroiled in web of claims and counter charges seven years after stakeholders began moves to rejig the industry, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.
In the absence of a fresh set of laws, the industry is loosely regulated with Nigeria Postal Service (Nipost) playing both the roles of a regulator and a player.
The industry is also plagued by myriad of problems ranging from activities of quacks; loss of mails; poor public perception; dearth of infrastructure; high operating costs; and operational inefficiency; among others.
Stakeholders believe that creating a workable regulatory paradigm that will provide efficient, transparent and accountable system of control for the postal market should be uppermost.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered following agitations to reform sector since 2004, the federal government engaged Nethpost Consultancy of Netherlands to conduct feasibility analysis and provide restructuring options for Nipost and the postal sector.
The draft policy was brought out in 2005 but spanners are at still works on this all important policy, seven years after.
Interestingly, one of the key recommendations of the consultants is the establishment of an independent regulatory body for the postal sector as against the present practice where the Consumer Regulatory Department (CRD), an organ of the Nipost, a player in the industry is calling the shots as regulator in the sector.
Courier operators are anxious to see that the postal bill is ratified to allow the Postal Service Commission, an independent body that will regulate the postal and courier industry come on stream.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek however gathered that intrigues and administrative bottleneck have conspired to setback in passage of the bill.
From the National Assembly to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to the ministry of Communications Technology, supervising ministry and the stakeholders, there are different accounts of the state of the bill.
While the national assembly claimed it is harmonizing the bill, the BPE said the postal policy and new postal legislation are near completion.
Elsewhere, supervising ministry then still under information and communications claimed it is still taking inputs from stakeholders but operators seem confused on the actual state of the document.
Dr. Simon Emeje, senior assistant postmaster general and head, Courier Regulatory Department (CRD) however said that Nipost was not averse to a giant and independent regulator.
Emeje, who spoke on the sideline of the bill at a recent two-day courier business session organized by CRD for stakeholders in the industry, said plans are on towards establishment of a regulatory body for the postal sector.
“As a regulatory department, we need the cooperation of everybody-the operators, the registrars, and the government that we represent. Of course, the industry needs such a regulatory agency and NIPOST has been in the vanguard, however, biased statements and unfruitful gestures exhibited by some operators have led to the cold feet witnessed in the process,” he said.
Emeje added that with a robust regulating agency, the sector will pursue a strategy of aggressive growth and efficiency, diversification, and internationalization, and possibly turn the country into Africa’s preeminent postal and communications haven.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that the objectives of the postal reform include: to grant the postal sector sufficient autonomy to run its own affairs; guarantee all segments of the population access to universal service; and provision of quality services which support the Universal Service Obligation (USO).
Other are separate between operators, regulator and policy makers; ensure an open, liberalised market with equal opportunity for all competitors; guarantee economic viability of the public postal operator and ensure that the population has access to services according to the technological evolution of the postal service; and as well as achieve quality standards similar to best international practice.
Glovo, a multi-category tech company, has announced its integration into the generative AI ecosystem with the launch of its “Shopping Assistant” for ChatGPT and Claude. Users can now discover retail products, compare prices, and seamlessly order any item using natural conversational language with the AI systems.
The Glovo experience inside such platforms introduces a conversational commerce model that shifts from a search-based web to an intent-based web. Rather than navigating traditional app menus and filters, users can express needs, such as asking for a “last-minute gift for a coffee lover under ₦50,000”, and the assistant handles semantic search, location validation, and product curation.
A Seamless, Concierge-Like Experience
Once both platforms have been connected through either ChatGPT or Claude apps, the user will be able to have a multi-turn dialogue where the assistant remembers context and constraints, such as budget caps. Users receive a visual carousel of up to five highly customised product options available at local stores. Each product displays its image, name, store details and ratings, and price. While the search and discovery experience takes place directly on the Generative AI platforms, selecting a product via the “view on Glovo” button takes the user to the Glovo mobile or web app, where the payment and final purchase are exclusively completed.
Strategic Focus on Retail and Growth
Glovo is prioritising the retail and grocery sectors for this initial launch, capturing the established habit of using AI for product research. Generative AI has driven a significant jump in retail traffic globally, so this first-mover advantage aims to meet customers where they are meeting Gen AI daily, and ensure it captures high-intent organic traffic as search behaviours evolve.
“We’re always looking for ways to meet our customers where they already are. Being available on Claude and ChatGPT means people can discover what Glovo has to offer as part of a natural conversation, with no friction. Glovo has always been about being the everyday app that provides choice and convenience, and this is another step in that direction”, said Shiro Theuri, Chief Technology Officer at Glovo.
How to look for products in the Glovo app through ChatGPT or Claude
- The user must sync ChatGPT or Claude with the Glovo app with the plug-in.
- Once synced, the user must type in @glovo followed by their request.
- The AI platform displays a carousel with 5 available options for the user.
- If the user wants to purchase any of the products or continue searching within the Glovo app, they must click “View on Glovo”, which will redirect the user to the Glovo app or website.
- After the order is confirmed, the store will prepare the item(s) and the courier will head up to the pick-up location. The user will receive the order in minutes.
Southeast Asia cybercrime networks are expanding operations into Africa as crackdowns intensify in the subregion, according to a recent report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The massive, unintended geographic shift triggered by intense pressure from international task forces in Myanmar and Cambodia,have seen highly sophisticated criminal networks now establishing footholds in major tech hubs across Kenya and Nigeria, transforming local technical talent into accomplices for industrial-scale digital theft as reported by https://streamlinefeed.co.ke/
This strategic migration represents a critical evolution in the $17 billion crypto scam economy.
Transnational scam syndicates are organized criminal networks that run industrial-scale online fraud using trapped or trafficked labor.
The UNODC has documented this diversification, noting that African nations are increasingly targeted as operational bases due to robust internet infrastructure and a surplus of unemployed tech workers.
In response, local authorities are engaged in a frantic game of catch-up against well-funded foreign cartels.
Recall that in 2025, UNODC, described the shift as part of a broader trend in which crime “spreads like a cancer,” into regions with weaker enforcement and limited digital safeguards.
The report pointed to the rapid proliferation of online fraud operations, including cryptocurrency scams and phishing schemes, moving from countries like Myanmar and Cambodia into new footholds in Africa—particularly Nigeria.
A recent case publicized June 12, 2025 by the WeChat public account West Africa Chinese Voice illustrates the trend: Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested 177 Chinese nationals in Lagos and Abuja between December 2024 and January 2025.
The suspects were allegedly running scam centers under the guise of corporate offices, where local Nigerians were trained to carry out online investment frauds—many following the “pig-butchering” model, which builds trust with victims before luring them into fraudulent crypto investments.
Authorities seized hundreds of SIM cards, high-performance computers, and prewritten scam scripts during the raids
Ugochukwu Eze, a 47 year-old man, was on Thursday arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly hacking into the server of SunTrust Bank to steal a total of N800m.
Ugochukwu also known as Amazon, was arraigned before the court by the operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS).
DSS accused Ugochukwu of fraudulently hacking into the server of SunTrust Bank to remove and divert the sum of N800 million into several accounts in other financial institutions.
M. Bajela,prosecuting counsel, DSS, in the charges filed before the court alleged that the defendant and others now at large, between 2023 and 2026, conspired among themselves and unlawfully and seriously hindered the function of Suntrust Bank Plc’s computer system server and in the process fraudulently diverted over N800 million belonging to the bank.
Ugochukwu was also accused of concealing and transferring various sums of money traced to the unlawful cyber-attacks to some account in some financial institutions.
The offences alleged to have been committed by the defendant according to the prosecutor contravened sections 5; 6(1) and 8 of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2024. And Sections 10, 20 and 18(2)(D) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
Based on his plea of not guilty, the prosecutor asked the court for a trial date, and prayed the court to remand the defendant in the facility of the correctional services pending the time trial will commence.
However, E. Afrogha, defendant’s lawyer, told the court that she has filed her client’s bail application. adding that her client has been in the DSS custody for over a month.
But the prosecution counsel told the court that he has not been served with the bail application, not withstanding that his witnesses are available.
Based on the counsels’ submissions, Justice Friday Ogazi, presiding judge, adjourned the matter to August 24,2026 for hearing of the bail application.
The judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) pending the hearing of the bail application.
One of the counts against the defendant reads: “That you UGOCHUKWU EZE (AKA AMAZON) (M) (47 YEARS) sometime between 2023 and 2026 in Lagos, and other places within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, unlawfully seriously hindered the function of SunTrust Bank Plc’s computer system, and in the process fraudulently diverted over N800, 000,000.00 (Eight Hundred Million Naira) belonging to the said SunTrust Bank thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 8 of the cybercrime (prohibition, prevention etc.) Act, 2024.”
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