E-Business
Signal Alliance Says Local Content Essential for Indigenous Companies’ Survival
Adanma Onuegbu, chief executive officer, Signal Alliance, has identified local intellectual property (LIP) safeguard as essential in achieving the country’s economic and technological advancement.
Onuegbu who spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek at the Company’s Customer Week Workshop (CWW) held in Lagos during the week, opposed the cravings among individuals and organization that caused avalanche-influx of foreign products into the economy.
According to her, with an official rebase of the GDP last year the need to diversify, innovate and grow as a strategic template can be applied to guide decision makers and realign the economy, while local content policy implementations must not be neglected.
Founded in 1996, Signal Alliance, an end-to-end IT Company which specializes in systems integration, has grown to be a most vibrant, forward moving ICT company in Nigeria.
For four years now, the Company schedules a-week long activities to celebrate the customers and beam torchlight on matters deserving attention in the Nigerian cum global IT space.
The theme for this year is, ‘Diversify, Innovate and Grow’; this according to the CEO was chosen in order to further draw attention to the challenges and opportunities in the Nigerian economy.
On challenges faced by the private sector in the industry, she said, “One of the challenges we have is the influx of other multinationals to Nigeria. Why am I saying this? We have this mentality that, ‘if it were not done by a foreign company, it is not genuine’. We have to groom our intellectual property and see values in what our local industries are doing. People tend to think it is only when you products from China, India, etc or companies from there that you have genuine products, but it is beginning to change. For instance, agencies like the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), which tires to encourage the growth of local contents by ensuring no matter what you have, even if it is not available in Nigeria, you have to partner local companies to deliver it. Such means will boost the local partners’ growth and global relevance.
“Nevertheless, we are doing what we can in the local contents, because no matter what they do out there and they come to deliver in Nigeria, the support has to be done locally.
On specific industry solutions which Signal Alliance had pledged to help deliver, for instance, to the electricity distribution companies (DISCOS), Onuegbu said, “Signal Alliance has a range of solutions that we can deliver alongside OEMs like SAP and Cisco to the customers. The DISCOs at the moment still have a lot to do before they can ensure of stable services. They are still in the teething stage, but in no distant time, we hope they will overcome. We are looking at a situation they can use software to address the metering challenges. But we discovered that the funds are not there yet for them to move to the next level.
“The infrastructure they inherited were not in the optimal state; and they had to revert to borrowing from banks and venture capitals to sponsor their programmes.
This is the fourth edition of the customer week. We use the opportunity to celebrate our customers for the year as a way to say ‘thank you’ while assessing the business climate.
“If you look at what has been happening since last year when the oil price started dwindling, economies are going down in a lot of places and it gives us the initiatives to think inwards. Business is not as usual. What it means is that we need to think outside the box, looking at other ways to reinvent ourselves.
“It is either you grow with IT or you depreciate without it. Businesses are dying for the sheer reason of neglect of IT potentials. Technology changes every facet of life today. So, through the workshop we have looked at improving our services to ensure the customers get 100% satisfaction, so that business continuity can always be there.
She said, the theme is not just about Signal Alliance but any entrepreneur that is thinking about survival.
On Signal Alliance’s input, helping organizations to cater for their IT solution needs, and inject skill sets into the industry, she said, “What we have done over the years is that we started an Internship programme for instance, to bridge the skills gap in the industry. This programme was targeted at fresh graduates. We give them about two year intensive training afterwards they are retained or released to be engaged by other companies.
“We have seen the impact of the training on the industry too. It brings out the best in them. Other companies are looking at that model too. We shouldn’t be waiting for only those who have gotten experience to be engaged for work. You have to spend and groom the people. We believe other service providers can try the model too”.
Several activities were lined up for the week which includes, customer interactions, workshop on Nigeria economy & technology, CSR programme and Customer appreciation / award ceremony.
With solid industry experience spanning across the major sectors of the Nigerian industry, Signal Alliance offers services in the areas of Technology Support, Network Infrastructure, Enterprise Applications and Service Assurance.
The Company boasts of highly skilled and certified consultants as well as major strategic partnerships with World industry giants such as Microsoft, Cisco and CA Technologies.
The company prides itself on its ability to gain a thorough understanding of clients’ businesses and using appropriate technology as a bridge between where the client is and where it wants to go.
The University of Nigeria (UNN) is set to partner with The Roxettes Group to establish a research and innovation centre focused on artificial intelligence (AI), smart and green mobility, and digital technologies, in a move aimed at strengthening research, entrepreneurship and technology-driven industrial development.
Chairman of The Roxettes Group, Arc. Dr. Kaycee Orji-Kelechi, announced the proposed partnership while delivering his acceptance speech after receiving an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration (Honoris Causa) during the university’s convocation ceremony.
The proposed facility, to be known as the Dr. Kaycee Orji Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Smart/Green Mobility and Digital Innovation, is expected to provide a platform for research, innovation and collaboration between academia and industry, with a focus on developing commercially viable solutions to local and continental challenges.
Orji-Kelechi said the initiative was conceived as a long-term investment in human capital and technological advancement rather than simply another physical infrastructure project.
He said the vision was to position the University of Nigeria among Africa’s leading institutions in artificial intelligence, smart mobility and digital innovation through research, entrepreneurship and technology development.
According to him, the centre will house five specialised laboratories covering artificial intelligence and machine learning, smart and green mobility, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT), digital finance and financial technology, as well as cloud computing and advanced data centre technologies.
He also announced plans for the proposed Kaycee Orji Founders Innovation Challenge, an annual programme intended to identify, mentor and support innovative ideas from students, researchers and academic staff with the potential to become scalable businesses.
“Every student of this University should know that a great idea conceived in a classroom should have a pathway to becoming a patent, a startup, a global enterprise, and a solution that transforms society,” he said.
Orji-Kelechi disclosed that preliminary conceptual work on the project had commenced, with architectural and engineering designs being prepared by K.KH Contractors Ltd., a subsidiary of The Roxettes Group.
He added that discussions with the university would begin on identifying a suitable site for the project, while a comprehensive proposal containing architectural drawings, engineering designs and an implementation framework would be submitted after completion of the design phase.
Reflecting on his career, Orji-Kelechi said Africa must move beyond consuming innovation to creating it through investment in manufacturing, technology and entrepreneurship.
“We have pursued one simple vision: that Nigeria and Africa must move from consumption to production; from importing innovation to creating it; and from waiting for opportunities to building them,” he said.
He urged graduating students to see their education as a foundation for solving societal challenges through innovation, leadership and enterprise, adding that he remained committed to promoting industrial development, youth empowerment and sustainable economic growth.
The proposed collaboration forms part of broader efforts to strengthen university-industry partnerships, which are increasingly seen as critical to improving research commercialisation, innovation capacity and technology-led economic development in Nigeria.
National Population Commission (NPC) has announced commencement of full digital registration of births and deaths through the VitalReg platform, which became operational nationwide on July 1, 2026.
Chidi Ezeoke, federal commissioner representing Anambra, disclosed this in Awka during a press conference to announce commencement of full digital birth and death registration under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system and the marking of World Population Day commemorated every July 11.
He revealed that a total of 131 registration centres had been opened in the 21 local government headquarters and several communities in the state, adding that more centres would be opened later.
Ezeoke described the initiative as a major milestone in Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system, to ensure every birth and death in the country was captured through a digitally enabled registration platform.
“It builds on the launch of the E-CRVS system and the inauguration of the National Coordination Committee on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics by President Bola Tinubu on Nov. 8, 2023.
“A total of 4,011 functional registration centres has been established across the 774 LGAs of the federation and the commission iswas working to expand the number to about 8,000.
“In Anambra, 131 registration centres have been opened in the 21 local government headquarters and several communities. More centres had been proposed for the state,” he said.
According to the Commissioner, the VitalReg platform would provide faster registration services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance where applicable, reduced paperwork and waiting time, improved data validation and a more secure national CRVS database.
While noting that the platform would serve as a foundational database to support other national data systems and strengthen interoperability across Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, Ezeoke urged Nigerians and other stakeholders to support the initiative by ensuring prompt registration of all births and deaths.
Speaking on the 2026 World Population Day themed, “Realising the Hopes and Aspirations of Young People – Today and for the Future”, the Commissioner called for greater investment in education, healthcare, skills development, decent employment opportunities and youth participation in governance for sustainable national development.
Earlier, Mr Obiakonwa Okagwu, state director, NPC, said the occasion served as a reminder of great opportunities provided to harness young people’s capabilities, which he said would shape the future of the country when adequately harnessed.
He called on residents to take registration of births and deaths as national responsibility, just as he urged the media to take the message on civil registration to all parts of the State.
E-Business
Report Says Cybercriminals Deploy Malware to Hijack Crypto Wallets, Monitor Browsers Telegram
Cybersecurity researchers at Kaspersky have uncovered a sophisticated malware framework, dubbed OkoBot, that is targeting cryptocurrency users by stealing wallet recovery phrases, browser credentials and other sensitive information through a multi-stage attack campaign spanning more than 25 countries.
The researchers said the malware, active since April 2025, employs more than 20 malicious payloads and has evolved into an advanced cybercrime platform focused on compromising digital asset holders. According to Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), the campaign remains active and has already affected hundreds of users worldwide.
Kaspersky disclosed that one of the framework’s most dangerous components, known as SeedHunter, injects malicious code into legitimate cryptocurrency wallet applications, including Ledger Wallet, Ledger Live and Trezor Suite, before displaying fake recovery phrase prompts designed to trick victims into surrendering their seed phrases.
The security firm explained that once attackers obtain a victim’s recovery phrase, they gain complete control over the cryptocurrency wallet, enabling them to transfer digital assets with virtually no chance of recovery.
Commenting on the discovery, Dmitry Galov, security researcher at Kaspersky’s GReAT, said.
“This campaign has been running for more than a year and remains active. OkoBot is not just a single piece of malware but an extensible framework built primarily to compromise cryptocurrency users.”
Galov added that the malware is continuously maintained and enhanced, underscoring the attackers’ long-term focus on financial theft.
According to Kaspersky, victims are typically infected through ClickFix phishing attacks or malicious GitHub repositories masquerading as legitimate software downloads. In one instance, a fake Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio repository secretly installed a trojanized version of the Audacity audio editor embedded with malicious code.
Following the initial compromise, the attackers deploy a PowerShell downloader called TookPS,which establishes an encrypted SSH connection to attacker-controlled infrastructure.
The malware then harvests browser cookies, wallet files, stored credentials and system information before downloading additional malicious modules.
Among the additional payloads is OkoSpyware which monitors more than 100 applications, which includes cryptocurrency wallets and password managers—records user activity and captures keystrokes and video of application windows. Another module silently installs malicious browser extensions capable of stealing financial information and authentication tokens.
However, Kaspersky’s telemetry indicates that the largest concentrations of victims have been recorded in Brazil, Vietnam, Canada, Mexico and Türkiye, although the malware campaign has spread to users across more than 25 countries.
The cybersecurity firm advised cryptocurrency users never to enter wallet recovery phrases into prompts displayed by desktop applications or websites unless they have independently verified their authenticity.
Furthermore,It also urged users to download wallet software exclusively from official sources, enable multi-layered endpoint protection, and remain cautious of software offered through unofficial repositories or phishing websites.
Kaspersky noted that while hardware wallets themselves remain secure, attackers are increasingly exploiting the software that accompanies them, making user awareness a critical line of defence against evolving cryptocurrency-focused cyber threats.
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