Telecom
Digital Encode Rewards Cyberchain Hackathon Winners, Commits to Raise Cyber Defenders for Nigeria
Digital Encode Limited, a frontline Cybersecurity and Consultancy firm in Africa, has again endeared itself to the young community in the cybersecurity space in Nigeria.
The 18+ year old company rewarded winners of the Cyberchain Hackathon program as part of activities for the 2021 conference and exhibition, held in Lagos over the weekend.
Digital Encode doled out N500,000.00 to reward Team NOHATS which took the first prize; Team LYTES (first runner-up) received N300,000.00 and Team KURUPT68 (second runner-up) took home N200,000. The third and fourth runner-ups – C7ROW and SECACE received consolation prizes too.
Speaking shortly after the prize presentation ceremony, Dr. Peter Obadare, Co-Founder/CVO, Digital Encode Limited, said that the teams’ performances during the hackathon were beyond Digital Encode expectations.
“The teams performed very well; even beyond our expectations. We never envisaged the level of response we got. We are very delighted in what we have seen with these teams. They need to be mentored so they can go far in the industry. There are people here who came all the way from Rivers and Niger States. It shows that young Nigerians are hungry for success.
They are ready to put in their best to affect the economy. I am sure that within the next five years Nigeria will have enough cyber warriors to defend the country and businesses”.
Dr. Obadare said that results from the hackathon gives the company confidence that cybercrime will soon become a thing of the past in Nigeria, “because we have people that will be protecting the cyber space. So, you are launching your product; be it Fintech, edutech, healthtech, agritech or e-Government platforms, you will do that with the mindset that you will be protected.
These are young people that would become cyber traitors themselves, but they are putting their skills to good use; working to protect the financial ecosystem and Nigeria’s critical digital infrastructure. We are confident that we are going to do very well in the future.
Dr. Oluseyi Akindeinde, Co-Founder/CTO, Digital Encode Limited, also expressed delight with the results, adding that the hackathon was part of the company’s means of giving back to the society.
“We believe in the saying that ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’. It is our own way of giving back to the industry and to encourage the younger generation. We know what it means to start, and grow a business in an environment like in Nigeria.
“We would have loved for this kind of thing to happen 18 years ago when we started Digital Encode. So, we told ourselves that whatever will enable other young people to be focused in this field, we have to support them. That decision gave us the push to do this.
“The essence of the hackathon was to encourage the youths and expose them to the opportunities inherent in Information and Communications Technology.
“The truth is, if there were lots of money to be made legitimately leveraging technology, there shouldn’t be Internet scams among the youths. However, they need to be exposed and guided on how technology can be used to make money,” he said.
Jude Ozinegbe, the Convener of Cyberchain Conference & Exhibition said that the world is rapidly transiting from a consumer economy to a prosumer economy and technology is the fastest way to achieving this.
He said that whilst undergoing this process of economic transformation from the analogue and paper model to the digital approach, businesses need to also pay attention to the security concerns.
In his words, “Cybersecurity plays a major role in the digital economy, and everyone ought to have at least some basic knowledge on how to protect their digital assets from compromise”.
Ozinegbe also emphasized why Nigeria should not play catchup to the Blockchain technology as it did with the dotcom era, stressing that the Blockchain Technology comes with numerous untapped opportunities for the country, as it offers open, secure and decentralized cross-border business engagements for individuals and organisations irrespective of location, ethnicity or time difference.
He thanked Digital Encode for sponsoring the hackathon, adding that aside from the cash prize the participants are taking home the exposure and experience in programming and coding.
He said that this will in no small measure discourage unethical hacking which has become a bane of the society and rampant among the youths.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that Nigeria’s internet usage reached a record 1.24 million terabytes in November 2025.
According to the latest data from the NCC, the figure rose modestly from 1.235 million terabytes in October, reflecting steady growth in digital activity across the country.
Broadband penetration in Nigeria crossed the halfway mark in November 2025, reaching 50.58 per cent, up from 45.61 per cent in January, the telecoms regulator reported.
The figure, however, falls short of the 70 per cent coverage target outlined in the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025, which expires this month.
The country had roughly 109 million broadband subscriptions by November. Growth has been uneven, hindered by infrastructure and regulatory constraints, including frequent fibre-optic vandalism that triggers 30 to 43 network cuts daily, high right-of-way fees, and declining subscriber numbers earlier in the year.
Expansion of mobile networks, particularly 3G and 4G services, alongside limited 5G rollouts in urban centres, affordable smartphones, and competitive data plans, has driven uptake.
Investments in the National Communications Backbone and private-sector initiatives have also improved access, especially in underserved areas.
While Nigeria is gradually improving digital inclusion, achieving the original broadband plan remains challenging due to high infrastructure costs, coverage limitations, and deployment hurdles.
The NCC maintains that continued investment in mobile networks and broadband infrastructure will sustain gradual growth in the sector.
Commenting on the development, some Nigerian analysts attributed the surge to the broader mobile and broadband adoption and the growing appetite for streaming, online learning and other digital services.
According to the analysts, the figures suggest that internet connectivity is no longer a luxury but a necessity for both business and leisure, underscoring the slow but steady expansion of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) has named the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among the top three Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government with the Best Ranking in Website Performance for 2025.
L-R: Head Special Projects, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Salamatu Andu; Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Engr. Abaraham Oshadame; Director General Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Head Customer Support Service, Galaxy Backbone, Rosemary Ehize; Secretary to the ES. Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Tahir Aminu at the BPSR award ceremony for top four MDAs in BPSR Website Performance and Ranking 2025 at the BPSR office on Tuesday, 23rd December, 2025.
This is coming barely three weeks after the telecom regulator was recognized as one of the top five best-performing Federal Government agencies for 2025 by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) – a testament to the Commission’s consistency in investment in technology for ensuring efficient service delivery.
In the BPSR 2024/2025 scorecard ranking of agencies’ websites, the NCC came second in the ranking, trailing behind Galaxy Backbone Limited, which came first while the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) clinched the third position, from a pool of 235 MDAs, whose website were evaluated.
BPSR deployed 14 evaluation criteria in include MDA’s website compliance with .gov.ng domain name, appearance and aesthetics (look and feel) of the website, content, relevance to MDAs mandate/government policy and the website’ structure.
Others include website’s responsiveness (device compatibility), security, load time, usability/ease of navigation, availability/uptime, functionality, interactivity, accessibility and capacity building.
The recognition was announced at the official release of Federal Government 2024/2025 Scorecard Ranking for MDAs’ Website held at the Federal Ministry of Finance Auditorium in Abuja on Monday (December 22, 2025) while the award presentation took place at BPSR’s Office on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).
The award, which is an important index metric of the National e-Government Masterplan for determining the Nigeria e-Government Status, was received by the Commission in recognition of its commitment to maintaining a world-class website that enhances service delivery to the citizens.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Abraham Oshadami, appreciated the BPSR for the recognition, describing the award as “another encouragement for the Commission to be a better public service institution leveraging digital platforms such as our web presence to enhance public service delivery to our various stakeholders, thereby implementing the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business policy direction.”
While presenting the award to the NCC, alongside other two agencies, BPSR’s Director-General, Mr. Dasuki Arabi, commended the top three for their proactive decisions in maintaining world-class websites, which are compliant with the Federal Government’s policy direction in effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens.
According to the DG, the 2024/2025 MDA’s websites’ ranking represents a collective effort of federal public institutions in Nigeria to be transparent, accountable and open in governance, as well as a confirmation to align with global best practices in service delivery to the citizens.
Developed about six years ago, Arabi said as a result of the annual ranking, more public institutions have indicated readiness to embrace reforms, and align with the policy direction of the current administration’s Renewed Hope agenda on improve governance for effective service delivery, as introduced by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The ideals of harnessing and deploying technological tools for service delivery has become imperative following the COVID pandemic, and distortions of socio-economic system of nations, culminating in the evolution of competitiveness, cost effectiveness, and agile governance.
“As engine room of governance, it behoves on us in the public service to perform our statutory duties and we must put in place technological innovations and standardized websites to operate services as well as deliver service needs to citizens,” he said.
The Scorecard exercise, he said, is part of the BPSR reform broader function of conducting research on reform implementation efforts and presenting ‘best practice’ models to the entire Public Service, and to among others, improve access to government information, facilitate seamless financial transaction, eliminate corruption and cyber theft, as well as facilitate access to government services.
Speaking on the rigorous nature of the exercise that produced the top three winners, the DG said “in the past few weeks members of the Scorecard Jury drawn from inter-Ministerial Agencies, had worked tirelessly to mill websites of selected MDAs through a rigorous process of enduring criteria for the ranking and the outcome had also passed through a quality assurance mechanism to validate the outcome.”
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has dismissed reports that bank accounts not linked to a Tax Identification Number (TIN) will be frozen or automatically debited from January 1, 2026.
Taiwo Oyedele
Oyedele described the claims as false and misleading, warning Nigerians against panic over misinformation surrounding recent tax and financial reforms.
In a post on his X handle Tuesday morning, he wrote: “Don’t let anyone manipulate you. Your bank account is safe. Misinformation makes you panic and fear a reform that is designed to help you.
“When they tell you that your account will be frozen or automatically debited from January 2026, ask them for the evidence in the new law. Be wise.”
He stressed that no provision in the new tax laws authorises the freezing of bank accounts, adding that the rumours are part of widespread misrepresentation of the reforms.
The committee chairman reiterated that the reforms are intended to simplify Nigeria’s tax system and ease the burden on ordinary citizens, not to impose punitive measures on bank customers.
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