General News
Keeping Internet Traffic Local Can Improve Nigeria’s Cyber Security-Mohammed Rudman
By chukwuemeka fred agbata
All serious digitally-driven economies invest heavily in infrastructure and one critical aspect is what is known as an Internet Exchange Point, IXP, which is simply a physical infrastructure that allows the several internet provider, ISP’s and network operators to exchange traffic between their networks.
Nigeria also owns one, that is tasked with facilitating internet operations, localising traffic as well as reducing local internet routing costs.
I recently had a chat with Mohammed Rudman, CEO, Internet eXchange Point of Nigeria and he was able to break down some of the complex, behind the scene activities that make the internet tick.
Mohammed stated that what happens when you visit a website from your device is that you put a name into the browser of your computer and there is a resolver that actually talks to what is called a DNS server that does the translation. “It is a series of referrals that happens from your computer to the service provider’s computers, to the entire internet computers, to get you an answer”, he stressed.
Mohammed further explained that behind the website you are browsing, there is what is called an IP Address. “Each computer in the world and each website in the world, has what is called an IP Address. It is a number that is hidden”, he stated. “Nigerian networks are eyeball content heavy”, he opined.
He explained that there are two kinds of networks on the internet. The first one is what he calls the ‘eyeball network’. These are people trying to browse or networks that have people behind them, such as MTN, Airtel, etc. The second is content networks that have the content, such as Google, yahoo, Facebook, etc. “Nigerian networks are eyeball content heavy”, he opined.
On why it is important to keep the traffic search on the internet local, Mohammed gave 5 good reasons why this should be so. The first benefit is that Nigeria will reduce the capital flight incurred in hosting in other countries, which is in US Dollars. The second benefit is that, the reduction is capital flight will also lead to reduction in latency and cost reduction as well as higher quality of service.
The third advantage of hosting locally to keep the traffic local, is that it further strengthens the cyber security of the country, as passing of data through international borders is now sidetracked. The fourth advantage, according to Mohammed, is business continuity. He stated that we depend on submarine cables for hosting internationally. If a natural disaster occurs, such as a Tsunami, and damages these submarine cables, this will definitely mean a disruption in the local individual and business communication flow.
The fifth benefit of hosting the internet traffic search locally, is that we will gain and develop the technical skills to manage data centers to host ourselves instead of depending on other countries that host. This also, inadvertently, means the creation of more jobs for Nigerian.
Mohammed is of the view that we are ready to keep the traffic locally by hosting here in Nigeria, as the data centers currently have adequate infrastructure on ground to support the weight. “Most of them also have the potentials to expand their facilities”, he observed.
Mohammed also explained what an Internet Exchange Point is and does. “An Internet Exchange Point, is a physical infrastructure, where all internet providers, educational institutions and any other organisations that are IP-centric that they usually, physically get connected to, so that they can exchange their traffic locally”, he stressed. He also said that a country can have as many exchange points as possible, but it has to be in a community where not less than 3 service providers are available, because they must exchange traffic.
On the fact that Nigeria is not playing big in content and what we can do to rectify this, Mohammed is of the view that we need to improve on our advocacy.
He stated that we cannot be content consumers alone, but we must also be content creators too.
He stated that the content that Nigerians generate are hosted outside Nigeria and in his opinion, government and other stakeholders should evolve policies that will change the ‘center of gravity of content on the internet’ from South Africa to Nigeria.
Chinonso Akujobi, former staff of Access Bank in Lagos, has been remanded in Ikoyi prison after she was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N294.5m.
Akujobi who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
EFCC alleged that Akujobi stole the money between January and December 2025 while under the employment of Access Bank Plc.
As stated in one the charges, the defendant stole the money through unauthorized payments from the general ledger of Access Bank to her account number 0036668871 with the name Chinonso A., Uchechi A. and Florence A., thereby committing an offence of stealing, contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendant pleaded “not guilty“ to the charges when they were read to her.
In view of this, S.M.Yabo, prosecution counsel, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed for the remand of the defendant in a Correctional centre.
Justice Ijelu, thereafter, adjourned the case till October 8, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and the commencement of trial.
The Judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi correctional Centre.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says the flight captain of the VMO Aero aircraft that landed on a roadway near Asaba Airport in Delta State told investigators that the observer pilot mistakenly identified the paved road as the runway before touchdown.
The bureau disclosed this in a preliminary report released on Thursday on the June 10 incident, which prompted the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ground the private jet.
The aircraft had seven people on board, including the pilot-in-command (PIC), second-in-command (SIC), an observer pilot, a cabin crew member and three passengers.
According to the report, the aircraft was cleared by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to approach Runway 11 at Asaba Airport after the crew requested a right orbit.
The crew initially discontinued the approach, executed a missed approach and repositioned for a second landing attempt.
NSIB said the crew reported that the aircraft’s navigation systems indicated it was correctly established on the published RNAV Runway 11 approach.
“The PIC and SIC reported that the observer pilot identified the paved surface ahead as the runway,” the report stated.
However, the observer pilot gave investigators a different version of events.
According to NSIB, he said the aircraft remained inside cloud until late in the approach and that the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) repeatedly issued “TERRAIN, TERRAIN, PULL UP” alerts.
He also said he observed a telecommunications mast directly ahead and instructed the flight captain to abandon the approach and climb immediately.
The bureau further disclosed that a cabin crew member reported that one of the passengers became concerned after overhearing discussions among the pilots and asked whether one of them was undergoing training. The passenger was reportedly reassured that all three pilots on board were experienced captains.
NSIB said no abnormal events were reported in the cabin before touchdown.
The aircraft eventually landed at about 8:57 a.m. on an under-construction paved roadway near Asaba Airport instead of the designated runway.
The bureau said its investigation into the incident is ongoing, while the preliminary report highlights conflicting accounts among the cockpit crew over the circumstances that led to the erroneous landing.
European Union has warned Meta Platforms Inc. that it could face a significant financial penalty unless it changes what regulators describe as the “addictive design” features of Facebook and Instagram.
The European Commission issued the warning in preliminary findings released on Friday, saying Meta had failed to sufficiently address risks posed by its platforms, particularly to children and vulnerable users.
The Commission said features such as infinite scrolling, personalised content recommendations and automatic video playback were designed in ways that encouraged excessive engagement with the platforms.
EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said protecting the physical and mental well-being of European citizens should be a priority for social media companies.
The Commission said Meta should consider introducing design changes, including disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, providing effective screen-time reminders and adjusting recommendation systems to reduce the focus on maximising user engagement.
The findings were issued under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which sets obligations for major online platforms to address risks associated with their services.
Meta, however, rejected the Commission’s conclusions, saying it disagreed with the findings but would continue engaging with European regulators.
The company said it had already implemented measures aimed at protecting younger users, including Teen Accounts that allow parents to manage screen time limits and restrict access during night hours.
The EU said its investigation, which began in 2024, found that existing time-management tools on Facebook and Instagram could easily be bypassed, while parental controls required technical knowledge that limited their effectiveness.
Regulators also expressed concerns over children’s nighttime use of the platforms and the possibility that features such as Reels and Stories could encourage compulsive behaviour.
If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to six per cent of its annual global revenue under the DSA.
The warning comes as the EU steps up efforts to strengthen online safety measures for children, with an expert panel established by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expected to present recommendations on protecting minors online.
Several EU member states, including France, have also supported discussions on restricting social media access for children, following Australia’s decision to ban users under 16 from accessing social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the Commission is continuing a separate investigation into whether Meta’s recommendation algorithms create “rabbit hole” effects by directing users towards increasingly extreme content.
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