Telecom
Pantami Commends Agencies in the Communications Sector, Tasks them on NDEPS Plan
Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), has commended all the agencies in the communications and digital economy sector for being dedicated to the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, and urged them to work collaboratively and co-ordinately in order to achieve the Federal Government’s strategic objectives as articulated in NDEPS.
Pantami stated this at a retreat organised by Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (FMoCDE) for senior management staff of the Ministry and all its agencies which commenced on March 31, 2022.
The retreat was convened to evaluate the implementation of NDEPS in the context of what has been achieved, what needs to be achieved, and what processes should be emplaced to enhance the capacity of the Ministry and Agencies it superintends to mobilise all stakeholders to accomplish the objectives of NDEPS.
The retreat took place at the Nigerian Army Officers Wives’ Association (NAOWA) Centre at Mambilla Barracks, Abuja.
Citing the most recent report of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Minister in his keynote and opening address told the forum that synergy among stakeholders in terms of co-operative posture, collaboration, coordination, deployment of social skills such as good listening skills, critical and analytical thinking, emotional intelligence, as well as project management and quality assurance skills, are central to organisational effectiveness, successes and the future of work, as projected by WEF. Pantami then urged all the agencies and their staff to challenge themselves to do more rather than think of themselves as competitors.
Also speaking at the retreat, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta asserted that the NCC has acted superlatively in implementing NDEPS and in the context of the vision of Federal Government and the supervision of the Ministry.
Danbatta who made clearly methodical presentation that chronologically documented NCC accomplishments under each of the eight (8) pillars of NDEPS, cited 10 of the 16 regulations that have been instituted in giving expression to Governments vision on developmental regulation, which is the first pillar of NDEPS.
These regulations were focused on Enforcement Processes, Lawful Interception, Quality of Service, Competition Practices, Licensing Regulations, and Universal Access and Universal Service among others.
Danbatta promised to also complete the review of the remaining soonest and activate their implementation. Danbatta, who used a triangulation method in contextualising the achievement of NCC under the first pillar, itemised the guidelines, regulations and policy development initiatives to discharge the burden of proof of NCC’s effectiveness in the regulation of ICT and digital economy sector through approaches that enabled development.
In implementing Digital Literacy and Skills, the second pillar, Danbatta also stated in his clearly explanatory presentation, that the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), set up by NCC in 2004, had trained 5,352 students through 49 institutions, provided educational training software to 398 secondary schools, and endowed 7 professorial chairs in various Nigerian universities across all the geopolitical zones.
On Solid Infrastructure, the third pillar of NDEPS, Danbatta stated that broadband penetration as at December 2021 was 40.88 percent, thus enabling 80 million Nigerians to have access to broadband services.
To reinforce the intensity of NCC’s commitment to improving broadband penetration, the EVC declared to the forum that NCC has emplaced a process for the deployment of optic fibre cable using Infrastructure Companies (Infracos). Danbatta was emphatic that the licensed Infracos have been directed by the Commission to commence immediate roll out without recourse to counterpart funding because the licence issued to them is independent of the counterpart funding agreement.
The Infracos are expected to lay 38,296Km of fibre optic cable. Also, in keeping with Government’s directive through a Federal Executive Council decision of 2005, NCC has constructed 32 Emergency Communication Centres (EECs) in various states, and 32 of those have been activated and are operational. Prof. Danbatta also documented copiously in his presentation, Commission’s achievement in the other five pillar areas.
Dr. Armstrong Takang, an innovative and technology-for-development specialist, who presented the lead paper as guest speaker, praised the Federal Government for concretely aligning ICT, and digital economy with national economic imperatives. Additionally, he commended NCC for driving the necessary infrastructure purposely and strategically, and for its effectiveness in regulating the telecom sector.
Takang, citing Lagos State and the Federal Capital Territory Administration as good models, Takang emphasised the correlates of adoption of technology or automation in economic growth and effective governance, crediting technology for improved internally-generated revenue in Lagos State. Takang recommended that Nigeria must link technology to specific programmes that are impacting and sustainable. He also asserted that Nigeria needs to undertake pilots for projects that are planned for implementation and utilise the results of the pilots to scale up and for budgeting. Takang also bemoaned the human capital challenge in the ICT sector in Nigeria, insisting that at least 500,000 software engineers are required to redirect efforts for effectiveness of policy.
The Director overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary in FMoCDE, Engr. Abubakar Ladan, and the following CEOs of the other agencies in the Ministry also made presentations on their efforts and activities towards accomplishing the objectives of NDEPS: Mr. Ayuba Shuaibu, Acting Executive Secretary, Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF); Dr. Abimbola Alale, Managing Director of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), represented by Engr. Abdulrahman Adajah; Engr. Aliyu Aziz, Director General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC); Kachifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); Prof. Muhammed Abubakar, Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone Plc; Dr. Adebayo Adewusi, Postmaster General of the Federation and Managing Director, Nigeria Postal Services (NIPOST); and Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB). All the agencies and the Ministry were well represented at the retreat by at least 6 officers in the directorate cadre.
Kenya’s High Court has ruled that mobile phone numbers are not disposable assets, but constitutionally protected digital identifiers, striking at the core of a long-standing industry practice of arbitrarily reassigning inactive SIM cards without the owners’ consent.
In a landmark decision that could reshape telecom regulation and digital identity frameworks across Africa, sitting at Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi, Justice Lawrence Mugambi declared that reassigning a phone number without the original owner’s consent violates the right to privacy.
The ruling effectively elevates a SIM card into the same legal category as personal data tied to an individual’s private life.
At the heart of the ruling is Article 31 of the Constitution, which safeguards citizens from unnecessary disclosure of private information and interference with communications.
The court found that in today’s digital economy, a registered mobile number functions as a critical gateway to sensitive personal data, linking users to mobile money platforms like M-PESA, banking systems, email accounts, and social media profiles.
“When mobile digital identity is lost through reallocation or recycling without interrogating the reasons behind inactivity, it creates an avenue for unauthorised disclosure of delicate information,” the judgment stated.
The case, brought by Erastus Ngura Odhiambo, petitioner and former prisoner, challenged the routine telecoms practice of deactivating SIM cards after prolonged inactivity and reassigning them to new users.
Odhiambo lost access to his mobile phone number due to inactivity while serving his lengthy sentence.
He argued that the practice exposes individuals to serious risks, including misdirected financial transactions, intercepted one-time passwords, and unintended access to private communications.
The court agreed, highlighting how recycled numbers can result in strangers receiving confidential messages, authentication codes, and even being added to private messaging groups, effectively inheriting fragments of another person’s digital life.
Justice Mugambi also criticised the rigidity of SIM deactivation policies, calling them “arbitrary” for failing to consider legitimate reasons for inactivity such as incarceration, studying in restricted environments, or living abroad.
“Incarceration does not strip an individual of their constitutional rights to privacy and identity,” he noted.
For telecom operators, including Safaricom, the ruling introduces a significant compliance burden. The court outlined three strict conditions before any number can be reassigned.
Telcos must obtain informed and verifiable consent from the original owner, issue a public notice and conduct traceability efforts over a reasonable period.
More importantly, the court further directed that telecoms firms must implement technical safeguards to prevent data exposure to the new user.
The Office of the Attorney General has been given six months to translate these directives into enforceable regulations.
Binance Earn offers cryptocurrency users an accessible way to generate rewards on idle digital assets without active trading or constant market monitoring.
Binance Earn
As the crypto market matures, more holders seek productive uses for their assets rather than leaving them dormant in wallets. Binance addresses this through Binance Earn, where users allocate supported cryptocurrencies to various reward products for automatic yield generation.
The platform emphasises simplicity with a “set-and-forget” model: users select assets, pick a product, and rewards accrue passively in the background. This appeals especially to long-term holders aiming to enhance portfolio value over time without day-to-day involvement.
Binance Earn provides flexible options for instant liquidity access alongside fixed-term products for defined commitments, catering to diverse strategies and risk appetites.
“We’re seeing growing interest across Africa in ways to make crypto holdings more productive without active trading,” said Larry Cooke, Africa Head of Legal at Binance. “Simple, ‘set-and-forget’ solutions are becoming increasingly relevant as more users take a longer-term approach to digital assets.”
The feature reflects shifting user behaviour towards holding and gradual growth amid volatile markets, where reward rates fluctuate based on conditions, liquidity, and structures.
Users must assess risks and alignment with personal goals, as crypto remains volatile. Binance Earn positions itself as a key tool in Africa’s rising digital asset adoption, enabling hands-off participation in the ecosystem.
Cybersecurity researchers at Malwarebytes Labs have exposed a sophisticated new Gmail scam where fraudsters send fake Google security alerts via phishing emails, texts, and pop-ups, tricking users into a deceptive four-step verification process that harvests login credentials, GPS locations, contacts, and other sensitive data for account takeovers.
Gmail
Disguised as routine checkups, these alerts mimic Google’s official pages to create urgency, prompting victims to install malicious “security tools” that grant hackers real-time access to Gmail and linked services—Corey Donovan, president of Alta Technologies, warns legitimate checks never come unsolicited or demand downloads, urging users to close suspicious prompts immediately and verify via official Google account pages instead.
The scam’s rise amplifies risks during travel, where public Wi-Fi hotspots—especially “evil twin” fakes like slight misspellings of “Airport_Free_WiFi”—enable interception of banking details, emails, and malware installs; Donovan advises disabling auto-connect, using VPNs for HTTPS sites only, avoiding logins altogether, and crafting strong passwords with mixed characters plus two-factor authentication.
Shoulder surfing on public transport and outdated devices compound threats, as fraudsters glimpse screens or exploit unpatched vulnerabilities—keeping phones updated with post-update privacy reviews limits app access to location or commutes, while skipping work emails in view maintains confidentiality on the go.
Nigeria’s heavy reliance on digital banking and crypto heightens vulnerability, as scammers exploit rushed travellers; Donovan stresses: “Cybercriminals target busy airports and stations knowing guards drop—stay cautious, update devices, lock privacy, and never rush links to protect against these advanced breaches.”
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