Broadcasting
How Nigerian Companies are Leading a More Responsible Digital Transformation
By Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria
Artificial intelligence is everywhere–in polished social media posts, in the recommendations that guide our viewing habits, and in the bots that handle customer queries before a human agent steps in. On LinkedIn, AI-assisted writing has become standard practice. A year ago, more than half of English long-form posts that went viral were estimated to have been written by or assisted by AI. If that’s the norm on the world’s biggest business network, it’s no surprise that AI is driving conversations in Nigerian boardrooms as companies move from experimentation to embedding AI into their daily operations.
Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria
Part of the package
The Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), modelled on the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, together with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, requires companies to build privacy into their systems from the outset rather than adding it later. This clear regulatory framework has evolved alongside a rapid rise in AI adoption.
New research from Zoho on responsible AI adoption highlights the impact of the regulations. As per the report, 93% of Nigerian companies have already started using AI in their daily operations; 84% have tightened their privacy controls after adoption, and 94% now have a dedicated privacy officer or team, which is well above global averages.
The survey, conducted by Arion Research LLC among 386 senior executives, shows just how deeply embedded AI has become in Nigeria. One in four companies already uses it across several departments, and nearly a third report advanced integration. Financial services firms are pioneers in this sector, using AI to automate client interactions, streamline operations and sharpen their marketing, while staying compliant with data protection rules.
The NDPA has helped make privacy part of business planning. Four in ten companies now spend more than 30% of their IT budgets on privacy. Regular audits, privacy impact assessments and explainability checks are becoming standard practice.
Skills, compliance and capacity
Rapid adoption brings challenges. More than a third of businesses say that their biggest obstacle is a lack of technical skills, and another 35% cite privacy and security risks. Instead of outsourcing, most are building capacity in-house: nearly 70% of companies are training staff in data analysis, more than half are improving general AI literacy, and 40% are investing in prompt engineering for generative tools.
The understanding of the NDPA regulation, which came into force in 2023, has also improved. 65% of organisations see compliance as essential. Many voluntarily apply data-minimisation and transparency standards even when not required to do so, aligning more closely with international norms and easing collaboration with global partners.
Privacy is increasingly influencing business decisions — from investment priorities to system design. Companies are asking tougher questions: is specific data essential? How can exposure be limited? How can fairness and transparency be proven?
Trusted systems
As privacy becomes part of how technology is built, companies are being more cautious about the tools they use because they now want systems that protect customer data, with clear boundaries between data and model training, straightforward controls, and reliable records for compliance teams.
Demand for business software that balances productivity with privacy is also growing. Zoho, among others, has seen strong customer growth as more organisations are looking for platforms that support responsible data handling.
The study identifies three main reasons behind AI adoption: to make work more efficient by automating routine tasks, to support better decision-making by identifying patterns sooner, and to improve customer engagement through faster, more relevant interactions. But none of this can succeed without trust. Nigeria’s experience shows that privacy and innovation can reinforce each other when they’re built together.
There’s still work to do because some industries are moving faster than others, and smaller businesses often face the biggest hurdles in time, cost and skills. Enforcement is also patchy; while the law is clear, application across sectors and geographies is a work in progress.
The next steps are more practical, requiring investment in skills – from data analysis and AI literacy to sector-specific training – and for governance to be put in place, with clear responsibilities, written policies, and a plan for managing errors or breaches. Privacy impact assessments should become part of every new system rollout, enabled by technology.
As AI becomes fundamental to doing business, Nigerian companies that build it carefully and responsibly will be better able to compete at home and abroad.
More than 100 channels have signed on to broadcast free-to-air digital content under Nigeria’s Digital Switchover (DSO) programme, marking a major milestone in the country’s transition to digital broadcasting.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, saying the development followed the unveiling of FreeTV, a free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) national platform supported by satellite and Internet Protocol (IP) delivery.
According to the commission, the platform offers a broad mix of content targeted at Nigerian households.
It said the channel line-up includes 14 news and current affairs stations, 15 general entertainment channels, six kids and family channels, two lifestyle and talk shows, three music and entertainment channels, one business and finance station, and five movie channels.
The commission added that 57 of the channels are already live and accessible through the FreeTV app and the NigSat satellite platform.
It advised viewers to download the FreeTV application from Google Play Store to access the services.
Director-General of NBC, Charles Ebuebu, said the initiative would improve television access and viewing quality for Nigerians.
“We will deliver digital TV with clearer pictures, more free channels, and opportunities for every family.
“It is one simple change for a better future,” he said.
Ebuebu noted that with over 100 stations onboard and a satellite-led strategy, Nigeria’s digital migration was making significant progress.
The DSO project was launched in 2008 following the Geneva 2006 Agreement (GE06) as part of efforts to modernise the nation’s broadcasting ecosystem.
Its objectives include improving picture and sound quality, freeing up spectrum space for broadband development, and supporting Nigeria’s creative industry.
The commission acknowledged that the project had faced delays despite its official launch in 2016 and an earlier pilot phase in Jos.
It said nationwide implementation had remained slow due to infrastructural and logistical challenges.
According to NBC, a major turnaround came after President Bola Tinubu approved a N10 billion intervention fund in August 2024 to accelerate the project.
The commission said the funding enabled the adoption of a new satellite-first model under a partnership between NBC and the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT).
The strategy replaces the earlier terrestrial tower-heavy rollout with direct satellite broadcasting using the NigComSat-1R satellite.
“This technological leap is expected to accelerate nationwide rollout by over 65 per cent while avoiding infrastructure bottlenecks,” Ebuebu said.
He added that about 10 million Nigerian households already own satellite-ready televisions or DVB-S2 set-top boxes and can immediately access the channels.
For households without compatible devices, NBC said hybrid set-top boxes combining satellite reception and internet streaming would be introduced.
The commission added that the DSO initiative would also support local content creation, with 40 per cent of channel slots allocated to independent and regional producers.
It said plans were also underway for local production of five million set-top boxes annually, a move expected to generate more than 20,000 jobs.
Music streaming platform Spotify has introduced a new verification system, “Verified by Spotify,” to help users identify authentic human artists and distinguish them from AI-generated music content.
Spotify
The company disclosed that the new verification badge, represented by a green checkmark on artist profiles and search results, would be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Spotify said only artists who meet specific authenticity requirements would qualify for verification.
According to the company, eligibility criteria include consistent listener engagement, compliance with platform policies, and proof of an active presence beyond the platform, such as live performances or verified social media activity.
“In the AI era, it is more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to,” Spotify said in a statement.
The company added that more than 99 per cent of artists actively searched by users are expected to be verified at launch, covering hundreds of thousands of musicians across multiple genres and regions.
Spotify’s move comes amid a rapid rise in AI-generated music on streaming services.
Music platform Deezer recently reported that approximately 44 per cent of daily uploads on its platform are fully AI-generated, while Apple Music has also recorded growing uploads created using artificial intelligence tools.
Spotify stated that profiles primarily dedicated to AI-generated music or virtual personas would not be eligible for the verification badge.
The company said the policy forms part of broader efforts to improve transparency and build user trust on the platform.
In addition to the verification badge, Spotify is also rolling out expanded profile details for all artists, including release history, touring activity, and career milestones.
The company described the feature as similar to “nutrition facts” for music, offering listeners clearer insight into an artist’s background and credibility.
Spotify noted that the initiative is part of wider measures to address growing concerns around AI in the music industry, including impersonation, spam uploads, and reduced visibility for human creators.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have jointly sued the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over what they described as an “arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful” threat to sanction broadcast stations and presenters.
The development was disclosed in a Sunday statement signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director, and Onuoha Ukeh, general secretary of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
According to the statement, SERAP and NGE challenged a recent directive by NBC, warning presenters and journalists against “expressing personal opinions as facts,” “bullying or intimidating guests,” and failing to maintain neutrality.
The statement reads, “SERAP and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have filed a lawsuit against the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful ‘Formal Notice’, which threatens to sanction broadcast stations and presenters for allegedly ‘expressing personal opinions as facts, bullying or intimidating guests, or failing to maintain neutrality.’
“The NBC had recently threatened to sanction broadcast stations and presenters who ‘express personal opinions as facts’ or ‘bully and intimidate guests,’ claiming it had ‘identified a sustained increase in breaches of the 6th Edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code across news, current affairs, and political programmes.’”
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/854/2026 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos State, SERAP and NGE asked the court to determine whether the various provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code relied upon by the NBC in the directive are inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s international human rights obligations.
According to the statement, the groups disclosed that Femi Falana (SAN), human rights lawyer, would lead a team of senior lawyers to represent SERAP and NGE in the lawsuit.
SERAP and NGE asked the court to declare that the provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code used by the NBC are vague and constitute a fundamental breach of press freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.
The statement added, “SERAP and NGE are asking the court for a declaration that the provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code used by the NBC are vague and overly broad and constitute a fundamental breach of freedom of expression and media freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.”
The groups also sought an interim injunction to restrain the NBC, its agents and other authorities from imposing sanctions on broadcast stations and presenters based on what they described as “unlawful provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code”, pending the hearing and determination of the motion.
“SERAP and NGE are also seeking an order of interim injunction restraining the NBC, its agents or privies, whether jointly or severally or any other authority, from imposing sanctions on broadcast stations and presenters based on the patently unlawful provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed simultaneously in this suit,” the statement concluded.
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