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Ministry of ComTech Launches Digital Girls ICT Clubs

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Omobola Johnson, Minister of Communications Technology
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Ministry of Communication Technology has launched 12 Digital Girls ICT Clubs across the six geo political zones of the country across the six geo political zones at the Federal Government Girls College, Bwari, Abuja.

The Digital Girls Club initiative is an early intervention project of the Ministry of Communication Technology aimed at empowering and encouraging Nigerian girls in secondary schools to develop an early interest in ICT.

The initiative will also help demystify ICTs and project technology as a viable career option that can empower and impact positively on the future of the girls.

The Digital Girls Club is part of the Girls and Women initiative of the federal government geared at empowering Nigerian women and girls.

The administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in a bid to empower women and girls in Nigeria created a gender empowerment scheme titled Girls and Women in Nigeria (G-WIN) with the sole aim of positively impacting and improving the lot of women and girls in Nigeria.

To enable this empowerment process, five Ministries- Ministry of Communication Technology, Agriculture, Works, Health and Water Resources signed MOUs with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Finance to empower women and girls through specific interventions and services geared at improving the lives of women and girls in Nigeria.

The Ministry of Communication Technology, a key partner in the G-WIN project is empowering women and girls through specific technology initiatives it has identified and developed to empower and enable Nigerian women and girls actualize their potentials.
 
 The Digital Girls ICT Clubs being launched in I2 federal government girls’ schools across the 6 geopolitical zones, in the country is a pilot that will help demystify ICTs and project technology as a viable career option that can empower and impact positively on the future of the girls.

1200 girls from the 12 pilot will be impacted upon in the first instance and the Clubs will be set up across all the Federal Government colleges in all the states of the federation later A curriculum that will excite, transform and positively impact on the girls has been developed and the curriculum, the girls will be taught relevant technology skills that will transform their lives.

A portal www.digitalgirls.org.ng has been created to act as a key tool for also stimulating and empowering the girls to embrace and adopt ICTs.
 
The aim of these Clubs is to remove the barriers that discourage girls from embracing ICTs. To ensure sustainability and build capacity, the Girls Club will collaborate with ICT teachers of the various schools to teach exciting programmes that will interest the girls. E.g. quizzes, ICT games, application development, animation, website development, blogging, graphics design, games, computer programming etc.

The Clubs will be manned by professionals who will play a key role in stimulating the interest of the girls. Periodically mentors will be invited to give inspiring talks and participate in various ICT related activities that will interest the girls.

The aim of these Clubs is to help to encourage young girls to embrace ICTs in order to bridge the existing digital divide between males and females. Current statistics in Nigeria reveals that Nigerian women make up 50% of the population but hold less than 20% of ICT jobs in the country.

Also only about 33% of women are online in Nigeria. The Broadband Commission Working Group on Broadband and Gender in a new report entitled “’Doubling Digital Opportunities: Enhancing the inclusion of women and girls in the information society’’ lamented the pervasive gap in access of women to ICTs globally.

According to the report, there are currently 200 million fewer women online than men and this yawning gap could grow to 350 million in three years.

The report also reveals that globally women are coming online later and more slowly than men.

 The report added that, of the world’s 2.8 billion Internet users, only 1.3 billion are women. The report states that women account for fewer than 20% of ICT specialists in developing economies.  

The report also estimated that, by 2015, 90% of formal employment across all sectors will require ICT skills.

The Digital Girls clubs will be deployed to remove the barriers that discourage girls from embracing ICTs.

The goal is to ensure that more girls embrace and adopt ICTs. The Clubs will be manned by the ICT teachers of the twelve schools who will play a key role in stimulating the interest of the girls.

 Periodically mentors will be invited to give inspiring talks and participate in various ICT related activities that will interest the girls. 

The Clubs will teach a number of ICT skills including building websites and games, computer programming, graphics design, assembling and dissembling computers and creating short films.

The Clubs will provide learning in a fun and engaging way and direct technical assistance for the girls. It will also provide a forum where the girls can easily interact with mentors.

The activities in the club which will be done on a weekly basis will deepen the girls’ technical skills as they are introduced to additional concepts and skills. 

The girls will also participate in a mixture of classes and workshops, presentations and excursions.
 
In her comments Mrs. Omobola Johnson, minister of Communication Technology said ‘’We need to increase the participation of women and girls in ICTs. Getting more girls into ICTs is a task we are committed to at the Ministry of Communication Technology. We want to ensure that Nigerian girls encouraged and empowered to embrace ICTs.

It is critical to get girls to adopt ICTs so that they are not left behind in the digital revolution changing communities and nations across the globe. Our desire is that the Digital Girls ICT Clubs will empower Nigerian girls and lead to the development of an army of ICT compliant girls that will contribute to the economic growth and empowerment of Nigeria in the future’’.


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IHS Nigeria, UNICEF Donate Oxygen Plant to Bridge Health Gap in River State

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IHS Nigeria and its implementing partner, the United Nations Child Education Fund (UNICEF) has expressed satisfaction that the Oxygen Plant recently donated to Rivers State is helping to bridge the health Gap in the state and its environs.

This observation was made recently when officials from IHS Nigeria and UNICEF, carried out a project inspection visit to the plant located at the General Hospital in Eleme, Rivers State.

During the handing over of the oxygen plant to the Rivers State Government in 2024, the facility was reported to have a production capacity of 123 oxygen cylinders and 720,000 litres of oxygen every 24 hours.

The plant was built under a Public-Private Partnership involving UNICEF, the Canadian Government, IHS Nigeria, in partnership with the Rivers State Ministry of Health through the State Hospital Management Board.

Speaking during the visit to the facility yesterday, the Director of Sustainability at IHS Nigeria, Titilope Oguntuga, noted that the oxygen plant has saved lives and is helping to bridge health gaps in the eight other states where similar plants are located.

She further explained that the visit reflects the organisation’s commitment “not only to create opportunities for impact but to also continue supporting the healthcare industry by carrying out such interventions that directly impact individuals and saves lives. This plant is one of the nine oxygen plants we have built across the federation,” she said.

“We are particularly excited that it is helping to bridge health gaps—not just in Rivers State and its environs, but in all the states where the plants are currently located.”

Oguntuga informed that in terms of sustainability “we focus our intervention sustainability on four pillars; ethics and governance, education and economic growth, environment and climate change and finally, people and communities”.

She added that “the visit to the Rivers State oxygen plant is to have an assessment of how well the plant is functioning, the impact it is currently making and to generally understand how the operation is going”.

On his part, Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Port Harcourt, Dr Anslem Audu, stated that the plant has been very functional and useful to the people of Rivers State. According to him, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of patients needed oxygen and oxygen was not available. So many children will come down with pneumonia and it will become an emergency, they will need oxygen, but oxygen is not available in the hospital. But with this plant now available no child will die because of lack of oxygen in the hospital. The era of lack of oxygen is no longer there.

Audu added that “You can practically visit any of the hospitals in Port Harcourt and find out that they have oxygen and the product is from this plant all thanks to IHS Nigeria, the Canadian Government and UNICEF”.

The UNICEF field officer, who confirmed that the plant is functioning optimally, said it is producing enough oxygen for the state’s needs.

In his words, “The partnership between these three organizations and the Ministry of Health in Rivers State has really worked, and we are reaping the benefits of the partnership.

He urged the implementing partners, especially the government, to also invest in the sustainability of the facility by providing a source of electricity for the plant to be more functional.

Earlier, the Medical Director Eleme General Hospital, Dr Leechi-Okere Clarabelle, noted that since the day of the unveiling, the plant has been functioning very well. Commenting on impact he noted that “We’ve had success stories whereby oxygen is distributed to public hospitals in the state, including the two teaching hospitals in the state and then we have also extended distribution to some private hospitals within the state.

“We have two hubs that serve as storage and distribution points because of the location of the plant. We produce here and store somewhere in Port Harcourt so that people who come from a far distance can get oxygen from these hubs.

 


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JAMB Accuses Student of Securing Admission through Identity Fraud

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Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has accused a 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate of manipulating his identity and engaging in online blackmail.

JAMB Accuses Student of Securing Admission through Identity Fraud

Fabian Benjamin, head of public affairs, JAMB, issued a statement on the matter on Thursday.

He said one Chinedu Okeke, currently a 400-level Medicine and Surgery student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), gained admission in 2021 while claiming to be from Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos state.

JAMB said Okeke’s national identification number (NIN) records from 2021 confirm his Lagos origin.

The board stated it does not alter candidate information provided through NIN.

The board, however, said the 400-level student, who is facing potential challenges for incorrect credentials, is now claiming that it retrieved the wrong details for him from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in 2021.

“[This] is unequivocally false, aimed at fabricating a defence for his case,” Benjamin said.

“The evidence suggests that Chinedu altered his records as filled in 2021 before registering for the 2025 UTME, a fact confirmed by even his advocates.”

The board questioned why a 400-level medical student would seek to study mechanical engineering in 2025, especially with “inconsistencies in his claims.”

JAMB alleged that Okeke “took advantage” of Lagos state’s quota in 2021, thereby obstructing the admission opportunities for other deserving candidates from the state.

It added that he then “attempted to manipulate his details with the NIMC” to unjustly claim representation from Anambra state in 2025.

The board criticised “online advocates” for “actively reaching out to Chinedu’s parents to extract emotional narratives rather than factual clarifications, neglecting to seek information directly from the university.”

JAMB affirmed its commitment to maintaining accurate records and preventing candidates from exploiting loopholes.

It warned that if UNN confirms any inconsistencies, it would notify the Medical and Dental Council to consider delisting Okeke.

“When a nation trivialises illegalities, it breeds a future fraught with potential criminality,” Benjamin’s statement concluded.


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Check Point Report Finds Africa as Top Target for Cyber-attacks

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Africa has become the most targeted region globally for cyber-attacks in the first quarter of 2025, according to new research from Check Point Software Technologies. The company’s Q1 2025 Global Cyber Attack Report reveals a steep rise in malicious activity as the continent continues to accelerate its Digital transformation.

Ethiopia emerged as the most targeted country in Africa during the reporting period. FakeUpdates ranked as the most common malware, while 80% of malicious files across the continent were delivered via e-mail. In contrast, 62% of threats in SA were distributed via the web.

On average, organisations in Africa faced 3 325 cyber-attacks per week – a staggering 72% above the global average of 1 938 attacks per organisation.

Check Point Software unpacked the findings at a media roundtable in Johannesburg. Eli Smadja, global research group manager at Check Point, provided a detailed overview of Africa’s evolving cyber threat landscape, which he said is increasingly defined by AI-powered threats, ransomware, infostealers, edge device vulnerabilities and cloud-based risks.

Among the most concerning developments was the discovery of a previously undocumented multi-stage backdoor, dubbed Stealth Soldier, currently being deployed in cyber operations targeting North African government entities. The malware forms part of a broader command-and-control infrastructure used in spear-phishing campaigns.

Smadja noted a growing trend in malware designed to bypass AI detection systems.

“These aren’t aimed at advanced large language models (LLMs), but rather at lower-level ones,” he said. “It’s about LLM evasion – fooling the AI and manipulating prompts.”

Despite the increasing use of AI in cyber security, Smadja cautioned against over-reliance on AI-driven defence systems. “AI still requires human prompting.”

Check Point is advocating for a zero trust model and a holistic, automated and consolidated approach to cyber security. This includes centralised threat visibility and simplified controls to protect against ransomware, phishing, data theft and vulnerabilities at the edge.

“Just having something at the perimeter isn’t enough,” Smadja said. “Cyber-attacks are not just targeting PCs or servers anymore. For instance, we’ve seen state-sponsored attacks aimed at fuel pumps to disrupt national supply chains.”

He highlighted the importance of understanding external risk – threats originating outside the organisation – especially as AI-driven ransomware and attacks on third-party service providers continue to rise.

“Printers, for example, are a major attack vector,” he added. “They’re often network-connected, and threat actors can exploit them to gain broader access.”

Credentials, Smadja noted, are also a lucrative commodity on the dark web, often selling for around $500.

 


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