Telecom
Legal Battle over CyberCrimes Act Moves to the Supreme Court
The legal battle over the constitutionality of sections of the Cybercrimes Act 2015 has now moved to the Supreme Court.
Three civil society organisations, namely Media Rights Agenda, Paradigm Initiative and Enough Is Enough Nigeria are pleading with apex court to expunge Sections 24 and 38 of the Cybercrimes Act 2015.
The organisations filed a notice of appeal with the Supreme Court on July 31, 2018.
The organizations commenced this journey in May 2016, when, their lawyer Olumide Babalola first filed an action for judicial review of the aforementioned sections of the Act at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
On January 20, 2017, the court, however, ruled that the sections were constitutional.
The unfavourable decision at the High Court pushed the organisations to approach the Court of Appeal.
The appeal with case number A/L/556/2017 was however decided against the appellants, in a judgement delivered on June 22, 2018.
The organisations are now putting their hope in the Supreme Court to ensure Sections 24 and 38 of the Cybercrimes Act 2015 are stricken off the Nigerian law book.
According to Tope Ogundipe, Paradigm Initiative’s Director of Programs, “It bears repeating here that Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act is about Cyberstalking and that section has been repeatedly used to harass and persecute journalists and critics.
“It’s arguably the most dangerous provision against freedom of speech, opinion and inquiry.
“Sections 38 provides for the duties of a service provider vis-a-vis data retention and contains provisions that we believe are too vague and borderline unconstitutional.”
Ogundipe continued, “While we respect the learned Justices who did not agree with our submissions on the unconstitutionality of the sections, we, however, believe the courts have failed to carefully consider our arguments.
“In a concurring judgement, one of the justices of the appellate court agreed that the law should be reviewed to whittle-down its arbitrariness.
“We believe the sections should be removed in their entirety and we hope the Supreme Court would agree with us.”
The respondents in the case are the Attorney General of the Federation, the Inspector General of the Police and the National Assembly.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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