Author: ITPulse

In a landmark move for Nigeria’s “Silicon Lagoon” ambitions, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) have joined forces to provide subsidized, world-class sovereign cloud services to indigenous startups. The partnership, executed through the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), aims to remove the high cost of digital infrastructure—one of the biggest hurdles facing Nigerian tech entrepreneurs today. A statement jointly signed by Mrs. Hadiza Umar, Director, Corporate Communications & Media Relations at NITDA and Chidi Okpala, Head of Corporate Communications at Galaxy Backbone Limited, noted that under this agreement, startups within the iHatch programme…

By Martin Ekpeke At the recent IoT West Africa Conference, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) sent a clear message: Infrastructure is the engine of Nigeria’s digital future, but policy is the fuel. Speaking on the high-stakes panel, “The Lagos-Abuja Digital Corridor,” NITDA Director-General Kashifu Inuwa, represented by Dr. Aristotle Onumo, challenged the industry to look beyond hardware. While the world hunts for the next cloud hub, NITDA is focused on the invisible architecture policies that turn potential into prosperity. Nigeria is not just building infrastructure but is also focused on strategic planning, with Dr. Onumo highlighting several key…

With over 6,000 active readers, The Talking Drum is deliberately and physically building and keeping a record of ordinary Nigerian youth life, against the current.  By Epiphanus Obia  In a media climate that rewards the viral and forgets the rest, a youth-run Nigerian publication is betting that the stories worth keeping are rarely the ones trending, and those stories are currently left out by the mainstream media.  The Talking Drum Magazine, launched in November 2024 by editor-in-chief Favour Chidinma Otubo (Dinma) and a small team of volunteer contributors, has over 6,000 active readers across its Substack platform and social media…

A VECERT threat intelligence analysis reveals a sharp escalation in cyber attacks across West Africa in 2026, with Nigeria bearing the heaviest blow. The real scandal may not be the hacks themselves, but the silence that followed.  By Epiphanus Obia  Sometime in late March 2026, a threat actor known as ByteToBreach walked into Sterling Bank’s systems through a vulnerability the bank already knew about, and had left unrepaired for three months. The attacker spent nine days inside, undisturbed, documenting everything. When ByteToBreach finally went public with the data on a criminal forum, hundreds of thousands of Sterling Bank customers had…

In a world where financial inclusion is often just a buzzword, Chika Nwosu, Managing Director of PalmPay, is pivoting the conversation toward something far more intimate: Embedded Finance. Speaking at the third edition of the Payments Forum Nigeria (PAFON 3.0) recently, Nwosu delivered a vision for Africa’s digital economy that moves money away from bank branches and directly into the palms of traders, drivers, and shopkeepers. The theme of the forum, “Embedded Finance in Africa: Powering Payments Where People Live, Work, and Trade,” served as a backdrop for Nwosu’s reality check on the continent’s progress. He reminded the audience that…

In a landmark ruling for digital inclusion, the Federal High Court of Nigeria has intervened to prevent a massive disruption of essential mobile services for millions of underserved citizens. Nairtime Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of the global AI-powered financial infrastructure group Optasia, confirmed today that the court has granted an interim injunction restraining MTN Nigeria Communications PLC and Airtel Networks Limited from suspending or interfering with Nairtime’s access to critical telecommunications platforms. The court order (Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/779/2026), issued on April 24, 2026, serves as a protective shield for the vital infrastructure that powers daily life in Nigeria. It prevents…

By Martin Ekpeke As Africa races toward a multi-trillion-dollar digital future, the ongoing 2026 IoT West Africa Conference and Data Centre Cloud Expo in Lagos has served as a sobering reminder: the continent’s digital skyscraper is being built in an increasingly dangerous neighborhood. Industry titans and government regulators who gathered at the event to discuss a volatile mix of massive economic potential and staggering risk, noted that the global cybercrime wave is now costing the world economy an estimated $10.5 trillion annually. The $10.5 trillion threat In a hard-hitting keynote address, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data…

By Martin Ekpeke In the bustling halls of the Landmark Centre in Lagos, the air at the ongoing 2026 IoT West Africa Conference and Exhibition, organized by Vertex Next was thick with a paradox: the promise of an AI-driven future versus the grounded reality of a country where 40% of states still lack a single local Internet Service Provider (ISP). In the last three days, technology titans, C-suite executives, and policymakers gathered to dissect a hard truth: Nigeria is currently building a digital skyscraper on a foundation that is still being laid. While the cognitive infrastructure of tomorrow’s digital twins,…

By Epiphanus Obia  Users of the National Library of Nigeria’s virtual library platform are reporting registration failures, missing features, and limited access to content, after the agency promoted the service as offering “unlimited” downloads of e-books and journals.  The National Library made the claim in a post on X on April 27, directing users to its Virtual Library Platform. However, multiple users responding to the post said they were unable to complete registration due to missing email verification links. In contrast, others reported inaccessible pages and difficulty locating downloadable materials and the download button.  An independent check by this reporter…

By Epiphanus Obia  A potential cyberattack targeting Ikeja Electric is drawing attention from cybersecurity researchers, after threat actors claimed to have breached the company’s internal systems.  Cyber threat intelligence platform Hackmanac flagged the incident on Tuesday, citing claims by a group known as ByteToBreach. The group alleges that it deployed ransomware across more than 50 systems, disrupted internal infrastructure, and exfiltrated sensitive data, including customer records, employee information, and business databases.  According to the claims, the attackers also accessed source code and compromised the company’s Active Directory environment, potentially exposing internal credentials.  A separate analysis by VECERT described the incident…