Telecom
Court Strikes out Funtua’s Suit against 9mobile over Shares Ownership

Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has struck out a suit filed by Abubakar Funtua, businessman who challenged the alleged transfer of his 43 million shares to Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited (EMTS), operators of 9mobile, without his consent.

Abubakar Funtua,
Delivering judgment on the matter marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1971/2024, Justice Mohammed Umar, held that Funtua, the lone plaintiff, lacked the locus standi (legal capacity) to file the action against the nine defendants.
The defendants in the case were Seltrix Limited, Hayatu Hassan Hadejia, Teleology Nigeria Limited, Mohammed Edewor, EMTS, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), LH Telecommunication Limited, and General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma.
Funtua, through his counsel, Femi Atteh (SAN), had commenced the suit on 27 December 2024, seeking 11 reliefs, including a declaration that he was the beneficial owner of the disputed shares allegedly held in trust for him by Seltrix Ltd in Teleology Nigeria Ltd.
However, the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, and 9th defendants, represented by Michael Aondakaa (SAN), C.I. Okpoko (SAN), R.O. Atabo (SAN), A.T. Kohol, and C.C. Ogbonna, filed a joint preliminary objection dated 5 February 2025, urging the court to dismiss the case for want of jurisdiction and as an abuse of court process.
After reviewing arguments from all parties, Justice Umar, on 24 September 2025, upheld the objection, ruling that Funtua failed to show any legal interest in the subject matter.
Justice Umar held: “I carefully perused the said exhibit to see if the allegation of the Plaintiff is substantiated; I did not find any. Nowhere was there any figure of the 43 million ordinary shares held in trust for the Plaintiff by the 1st Defendant mentioned.
“In fact, the 2nd Defendant denied any business dealings with the Plaintiff, and these facts were not controverted by the Plaintiff.
“The said exhibits cannot, by any imagination, constitute a trust to confer locus standi on the Plaintiff. The said exhibits were tendered by the Plaintiff, but nowhere did they link the Plaintiff to his claims to enable him to institute an action on the facts alleged therein.”
Furthermore, the court held that the plaintiff failed to establish the facts he asserted and to link his claims to the exhibits he himself tendered by virtue of averment in this suit.
“I find that the objectors have adequately countered the said exhibits in their reply on points of law in tandem with the law that failure to respond to a counter-affidavit is deemed to be an admission,” Justice Umar held.
In the final analysis, the judge added: “I resolve the issue of locus standi against the Plaintiff, and the law is that where a Plaintiff has been adjudged to lack locus standi, it does not matter what other issues have been raised for determination in the suit.”
The court noted that, since the Plaintiff lacked the capacity to institute the action, there was no need to make a pronouncement on grounds two to nine (2–9) of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, and 9th Defendants’ Notice of Preliminary Objections, which included claims that the suit was statute-barred, incompetent, and that Funtua was a “meddlesome interloper” seeking to frustrate the operations of EMTS.
The court, therefore, made an order striking out this action for lack of locus standi of the Plaintiff. “This is the order of this Court,” the judge declared.
Telecom
AVEVA Showcases Next-Gen Digital Twin Enhancements at Innovation Summit

AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, is setting a new standard for the industrial digital twin by converging all data onto CONNECT industrial intelligence platform.

Rob-McGreevy, Chief-Product Officer, AVEVA
Through enhancements to AVEVA Asset Information Management, AVEVA System Platform and AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure, AVEVA can enable the visualisation of engineering and operations data in one interface, offering organisations the ability to scale digital twin solutions more flexibly and reduce IT overhead.
The new enhancements, showcased at Schneider Electric’s Innovation Summit, will streamline the transfer of data to the CONNECT industrial intelligence platform in the cloud, improving data availability, reducing infrastructure costs, and enabling more precise, scalable analytics for digital twin applications.
Hosted from 22-23rd October the Innovation Summit featured a variety of speakers including Caspar Herzberg, CEO, AVEVA who discussed the role of software and industrial intelligence in accelerating the energy transition and CEO of Schneider Electric, Olivier Blum who shared his vision for the future of AI and energy transformation.
The event offered the opportunity to connect with industry trailblazers and energy technology luminaries for inspiring discussions on the energy transition, AI, and staying agile in fast-changing markets.
At this year’s Schneider Innovation summit, AVEVA showcased its solutions and vision for its industrial digital twin.
The new product enhancements will enable industrial organisations to create scalable, high-fidelity use cases that deliver real-time insight, improve asset reliability, accelerate decision-making, and support enterprise-wide transformation.
By eliminating data silos and enabling seamless collaboration across engineering, operations and IT, this will ensure AVEVA customers can drive better performance, carbon efficiency, and actionable industrial intelligence across the asset lifecycle.
“AVEVA’s technology is being used to aggregate, contextualize and validate asset information following industry data standard rules to provide a trusted digital twin.
“The technology will unify trusted asset information, such as equipment specifications, maintenance records, and engineering documentation, with real-time operational data from sensors, control systems, and industrial processes.
“This convergence happens within the CONNECT platform, built on Microsoft Azure, where contextualized data from AVEVA Asset Information Management and the AVEVA™ PI System™ portfolio is visualised together to unlock more value through AI-powered dashboards and analytics. We’re excited to bring this new software deliverable to the market,” comments Rob McGreevy, chief product officer, AVEVA.
For AVEVA Asset Information Management, the new enhancements will bring together trusted asset contexts, accessible through the CONNECT visualisation offering a single flexible and unified UI to visualise trusted engineering, asset and maintenance data. From P&IDs, drawings, and documents to real-time sensor readings, process events, and historical performance metrics, teams can view and analyse all relevant data in one place.
Meanwhile, AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure, is an ever-advancing modern and flexible foundation for rapidly connecting, contextualising and acting on industrial insights from operations data.
Its sophisticated data management capabilities continue to drive value across enterprises and new enhancements ensure enhanced hybrid connectivity, visualisation and analytics for AVEVA’s industrial digital twin.
“Our collaboration with AVEVA continues to evolve,” said Dayan Rodriguez, Corporate VP for Manufacturing, Microsoft. “By expanding the capabilities of the AVEVA portfolio and of the CONNECT platform on Microsoft Azure, AVEVA is unlocking new possibilities for industrial digital twin—bringing together trusted asset information and real-time operational data to deliver AI-powered insights, seamless visualisation, and enterprise-wide scalability.”
Telecom
MTN Unveils YelloTide Campaign to Spark Joy and Unity This Holiday Season

After days of online conversations and speculation, MTN Nigeria has officially unveiled its much-anticipated Festive campaign, YelloTide, a nationwide celebration aimed at spreading joy, kindness, and connection across the country.

The campaign officially kicks off this week, following a three-day teaser that had Nigerians across social media guessing what MTN had up its sleeve. Now, the wait is over.
According to the brand, the initiative will unfold in three major phases designed to light up the festive season with colour, community engagements, and giving spirit.
Activities begin with Y’ello Santa, a three-day activation held from Thursday, November 13 to Saturday, November 15, 2025, in six key cities: Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Enugu, Kano, and Ibadan. Each stop will feature surprise appearances, and special giveaways, turning everyday spaces into pockets of celebration.
Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, said: “This season, we want to bring the smiles back. We want people to remember what it feels like to come together, celebrate each other, and share happiness. From city centres to small communities, we’re taking the celebration to where Nigerians are.”
The campaign will run through the festive period into early 2026, combining physical activations, digital engagement via the MTN portal – yellotide.mtn.ng, and heartfelt community moments.
With millions of Nigerians already interacting online and city-wide celebrations set to begin, MTN’s festive campaign is shaping up to be one of the most unifying and memorable projects of the season.
Telecom
Girls Slug it Out for N5m Prize in Glo Innov8 STEM Finale

The race is down to three as the Glo Innov8 National STEM Competition for Girls approaches its grand finale. The competition, organized by the Glo Foundation, Globacom’s corporate social responsibility arm, will take place at the Mike Adenuga Centre (Alliance Française), Ikoyi, Lagos.

From over 200 schools that entered nationwide, 20 were initially shortlisted, and 10 went on to compete for a place in the finals. The three schools that made it to the last stage are Ephraim High School, Isolo Campus, Lagos; Regina Pacis International School, Onitsha, Anambra State; and Peakfield Academy, Jos, Plateau State.
Hundreds of students across several states, including Plateau, Kano, Lagos, Rivers, Edo, Borno, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Oyo, Anambra, FCT, Delta, Kaduna, and Adamawa submitted entries after the Glo Foundation’s nationwide call for participation.
The initiative, designed as a STEM-driven challenge, was launched to mark this year’s International Day of the Girl Child — celebrating creativity, innovation, and inclusion among young women in science and technology.
According to the Glo Foundation, “The competition is aimed at inspiring young girls to Compete, Innovate, and Win — while strengthening their confidence and expanding their knowledge in STEM subjects.”
The winning school will take home ₦2,000,000 cash prize, with each of its two student representatives receiving a brand-new laptop and the Teacher/Mentor/STEM Coordinator earning ₦200,000. Runners-up will also receive valuable consolation prizes.
The three judges of the virtual stage expressed delight at the quality of presentations from the top 20 schools. Tosin Olabode praised the participants’ creativity, saying, “I was particularly impressed by the prototype presentations — some schools clearly did their homework.”
Another judge, Amina Gabriel, highlighted the diversity of ideas, noting, “The schools presented innovative solutions addressing issues in agriculture, security, waste management, and firefighting. The prototypes ranged from apps to robots, making the competition truly engaging. I’m grateful to Glo Foundation for giving me the chance to support young girls in STEM.”
On her part, Sharon Ibejih added that “this competition has showcased a highly competitive next generation of women leaders in STEM. It’s a brilliant platform to nurture problem-solving and innovative thinking among students.”
As the final stage approaches, anticipation is high for what promises to be a memorable showcase of brilliant young Nigerian girls and a testament to Globacom’s commitment to empowering the next generation of innovators.
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