Author: Akin Naphtal

Nigerians may have to pay higher tariffs for telecommunications services as network operators lament over rising cases of vandalization and insecurity as well as the high cost of diesel to power their more than 20,000 bases stations nationwide. The Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has announced a Thursday media interaction in Lagos to inform the public on the state of affairs even as it also raised concerns over the shut down of telecom facilities in Kogi state – an action connected to case of double taxation. ALTON is the umbrella body for all telecom operators in Nigeria.…

Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA),  Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has called for more strengthening of Nigeria’s cybersecurity architecture in order to promote its digital ecosystem. Abdullahi made the call at the recently held ‘GISEC Global Africa Program in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The program was one of the major highlights of the annual Gulf Information Security Exhibition and Conference (GISEC), organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), an agency of the UAE’s government. While presenting a paper titled: ‘Strengthening Nigeria’s Digital Ecosystem: Implementing Effective Cybersecurity Frameworks,’ Abdullahi stressed major achievements of the Nigerian government in cybersecurity including…

MFS Africa, the largest pan-African digital payments hub, announces that it has completed its acquisition of Capricorn Digital Limited, known in the market as Baxi. The transaction was first announced in November 2021 pending approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria, which has now been granted. Baxi is one of Nigeria’s largest independent SME-focused electronic payment networks, with over 90,000 agents. It provides a cash-in/cash-out offering as well as value-added services (account opening, money transfer, bill payment and more) to the last mile. As well as providing entry into the Nigerian market for MFS Africa, the acquisition also provides exciting…

OPPO Nigeria, Wednesday, launched OPPO A96 in Nigeria. OPPO A96 is equipped with the 5000mAh long-lasting battery and 33W SUPERVOOC flash charging, complemented by the OPPO Glow Design that allows the phone to be scratch and fingerprint resistant, 6.59-inch 90Hz Colour-Rich Punch-Hole Display with 96% NTSC wide colour gamut that is managed by the OPPO’s self-developed Adaptive Refresh Rate Technology to deliver an immersive viewing experience. Some captivating features embedded in the OPPO A96 includes the All-day AI Eye Comfort which enhances the screen visibility in bright or dim environments based on the levels of ambient light. The display now…

Meng Wanzhou, the senior Huawei executive whose detainment in Canada became a flashpoint of US-China tensions, returned to the corporate stage Monday as sanctions continue to slam its business. The chief financial officer’s first appearance since her release came at an earnings presentation in Shenzhen where she took questions from reporters. The Chinese tech giant said that it made 636.8 billion yuan ($99.9 billion) in revenue in 2021, down nearly 29% from the previous year. “We managed to survive 2021,” the company’s rotating chairman, Guo Ping said. “[But] our fight to survive is not over yet.” Profits, however, soared to 113.7 billion yuan ($17.8 billion),…

Russia is believed to have hacked US satellite communications provider Viasat on the day of its invasion of Ukraine. Western intelligence agencies have been investigating the incident and while they have not yet made a public accusation, they believe Russia was behind it. It appears to be the most significant cyber-attack linked to the conflict so far, affecting military, as well as government, communications. Overall though, Western officials say Ukraine has proved more resilient to cyber-attacks than many had expected. Western intelligence agencies are investigating the hacking of Viasat, which provides communications through a network of satellites. It appears to…

TikTok has been hit with another lawsuit from former content moderators who claim the job traumatized them. Ashley Velez and Reece Young, former contract content moderators for TikTok, allege that their work involved reviewing “unfiltered, disgusting and offensive content,” including “child sexual abuse, rape, torture, bestiality, beheadings, suicide, and murder,” according to a complaint filed Thursday in a California district court against the popular short-form video platform and its parent company, ByteDance. They accuse the company of negligence, alleging that it failed to provide adequate care to protect moderators from harm and support them after reviewing such content. “By requiring content moderators to review…

Football or soccer, the latter commonly used in the US, is the most popular and watched sport globally with over five billion football fans according to its apex governing body, FIFA. While the World Cup, its pinnacle event of football and arguably the world’s most popular sporting event, shows the popularity of the sport in full colors, it’s the yearly leagues in different countries across Europe, South America, Asia and Africa that puts diehard nature of football fans on display. FIFA says Latin America, the Middle East and Africa represent the largest fan bases across the world. With fans of various…

Ghanaian cancer research and diagnostics company Yemaachi Biotech has closed a US$3 million seed round to advance its mission of diversifying precision oncology globally. Founded by Yaw Bediako, David Hutchful, Joyce Ngoi, and Yaw Attua-Afari in 2020, Yemaachi uses cutting-edge immunogenomics, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence to accelerate the development of cancer detection and cure strategies which have high efficacy regardless of ethnicity. Dedicated to accelerating precision oncology in Africa and beyond by expanding access to research and diagnostics, Yemaachi has developed a first of its kind pan-African genomic and clinical knowledge base and research platform, which combined with deep clinical…

President Joe Biden said on Monday that intelligence indicated a growing Russian cyber threat to the US. He said Russia was “exploring” cyberattack, but the US would use “every tool” to prevent and respond to such a move. Mr Biden suggested Moscow could act in retaliation for sanctions imposed on it after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s foreign ministry has said bilateral ties between Moscow and the US were on the “verge of rupture”. Mr Biden has previously warned of a possible cyberattack from Russia, saying on 24 February the US was prepared to respond. In Monday’s statement, Mr Biden said that…