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Etisalat Trains NGOs on CSR Awareness, Practice
Etisalat Nigeria, the fastest growing and most innovative telecommunications operator in the country, recently organized a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) training workshop for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) with a view to partnering them in its avowed commitment to drive the nation’s economic development.
The two-day workshop held at the Etisalat CSR Centre situated at the Lagos Business School, focused on awareness and professional CSR practice to enable participating NGOs tap into available opportunities in Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.
The workshop which follows a similar one held last year also had as its objective, preparing and equipping participating NGOs with necessary tools and CSR models that would help them access more partnership opportunities with stakeholders and the society especially in the area of private sector partnership, whilst contributing to their own bottom line.
Enitan Denloye, Etisalat’s director, Brands and Communications, while speaking at the workshop, said the company’s CSR centre was established in 2010 to assist organizations create lasting value through responsible business strategies and productive stakeholders’ relationship via research, trainings and advocacy in CSR.
He said that Etisalat as a responsible corporate social citizen has contributed immensely to shaping CSR practice in the country, hence the establishment of the CSR centre in collaboration with the Lagos Business School (LBS) to further CSR conception and practice in Nigeria in an intellectual and practical way.
“The Centre’s activities would contribute in shaping the perspectives of key policy and decision makers in the public and private sectors thereby positively impacting the various levels of the socio economic strata,” Denloye said.
He further charged participants to take advantage of the workshop to improve on their engagements with corporate organizations especially in the area of pitching proposals, while he emphasized the need for NGOs to align with the core values of the organizations they are pitching to.
Similarly, Sir Chris Ogbechie the director, Etisalat CSR Center, reiterated the challenges of running NGOs in Nigeria although with opportunities inherent in the service.
He pointed out that the main challenge affecting NGOs was the poor perception of such organisations in Nigeria; however he encouraged the participants not to give up as several multinationals still exercise global best practice in Nigeria and are ready to partner with them as long as their initiatives tie into their objectives.
He further highlighted other factors affecting NGOs to include; poor accessibility to funds, lack of technical expertise and training facilities, lack of transparency and accountability and lack of social reporting processes.
One of the participants at the workshop commended Etisalat Nigeria for sponsoring such an initiative. “I don’t know of any other corporate body that is so passionate about NGOs currently,” he said. He further urged participants to take advantage of the initiative to achieve their goals as companies and NGOs are finding ways to work together.
In a major leadership transition, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR) has announced the retirement of Aliko Dangote, its founder and chairman, from the Board, effective June 16, 2025.
Aliko Dangote
The announcement was made in a regulatory filing with the Nigerian Exchange Ltd on June 11, highlighting the company’s commitment to sound corporate governance and structured succession planning.
In a statement signed by Mrs. Temitope Hassan (FCIS), company secretary and legal adviser, the Board praised Dangote’s extraordinary leadership and lasting contributions to the company.
“Alhaji Aliko Dangote is one of the founding Directors of the Company and has served with exceptional leadership, integrity, and vision since 2005,” the statement read.
“Under his stewardship, Dangote Sugar Refinery transformed significantly, navigated industry changes, consistently delivered value to shareholders, and upheld strong governance principles.”
Widely regarded as Africa’s most influential industrialist, Dangote led DSR’s evolution into a dominant player in Nigeria’s sugar value chain.
His strategic initiatives, particularly the Backward Integration Projects (BIPs) across Adamawa, Taraba, and Nasarawa States, advanced the company’s self-sufficiency goals and aligned with the federal government’s national sugar master plan.
While stepping down from DSR, Dangote will continue as President of Dangote Industries Limited.
His legacy at DSR is marked by industrial innovation, strategic foresight, and sustained operational excellence.
To ensure a seamless transition, the Board has appointed Mr. Arnold Ekpe, a seasoned independent non-executive director, as the new chairman, effective June 16.
Ekpe is renowned for his tenure as Group CEO of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, where he championed pan-African financial inclusion and institutional growth.
His extensive experience in banking and corporate governance is expected to strengthen DSR’s next phase of development.
The leadership change signals continuity of vision, with DSR reaffirming its focus on operational efficiency and long-term value creation in a dynamic market.
For shareholders and industry observers, Dangote’s exit from the Board marks the end of a transformational era—one defined by bold ambition and strategic execution—while opening a new chapter under Ekpe’s leadership.
Kaspersky Global Research & Analysis Team researchers have discovered a new malicious campaign which is distributing a Trojan through a fake DeepSeek-R1 Large Language Model (LLM) app for PCs.
The previously unknown malware is delivered via a phishing site pretending to be the official DeepSeek homepage that is promoted via Google Ads.
The goal of the attacks is to install BrowserVenom, a malware that configures web browsers on the victim’s device to channel web traffic through the attackers servers, thus allowing to collect user data – credentials and other sensitive information. Multiple infections have been detected in Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, India, Nepal, South Africa and Egypt.
DeepSeek-R1 is one of the most popular LLMs right now, and Kaspersky has previously reported attacks with malware mimicking it to attract victims. DeepSeek can also be run offline on PCs using tools like Ollama or LM Studio, and attackers used this in their campaign.
Users were directed to a phishing site mimicking the address of the original DeepSeek platform via Google Ads, with the link showing up in the ad when a user searched for “deepseek r1”.
Once the user reached the fake DeepSeek site, a check was performed to identify the victim’s operating system. If it was Windows, the user was presented with a button to download the tools for working with the LLM offline. Other operating systems were not targeted at the time of research.
After clicking on the button and passing the CAPTCHA test, a malicious installer file was downloaded and the user was presented with options to download and install Ollama or LM Studio.
If either option was chosen, along with legitimate Ollama or LM Studio installers, malware got installed in the system bypassing Windows Defender’s protection with a special algorithm.
This procedure also required administrator privileges for the user profile on Windows; if the user profile on Windows did not have these privileges, the infection would not take place.
After the malware was installed, it configured all web browsers in the system to forcefully use a proxy controlled by the attackers, enabling them to spy on sensitive browsing data and monitor the victim’s browsing activity.
Because of its enforcing nature and malicious intent, Kaspersky researchers have dubbed this malware BrowserVenom.
“While running large language models offline offers privacy benefits and reduces reliance on cloud services, it can also come with substantial risks if proper precautions aren’t taken.
Cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting the popularity of open-source AI tools by distributing malicious packages and fake installers that can covertly install keyloggers, cryptominers, or infostealers.
These fake tools compromise a user’s sensitive data and pose a threat, particularly when users have downloaded them from unverified sources,” comments Lisandro Ubiedo, Security Researcher with Kaspersky’s Global Research & Analysis Team.
National Industrial Court in Lagos has ruled that a deposit money bank must pay over N162 million in outstanding retirement benefits to a group of its former employees.
The judgment, delivered by Justice R.H. Gwandu, criticized the bank’s attempt to withhold entitlements from staff employed through third-party arrangements.
The claimants, represented by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, argued that the bank violated labor laws by refusing to honor their retirement benefits. They sought declarations that the bank’s actions were unlawful and requested immediate payment of their dues.
Justice Gwandu ruled in favor of the employees, stating that the use of third-party employment to evade obligations was unacceptable.
The court acknowledged their long service and dismissed the bank’s argument that they did not meet the required 15 years of uninterrupted service.
Notably, the court upheld the rights of the 10th claimant, who continued working with the bank after its merger with Manny Bank and another commercial institution.
This landmark ruling reinforces workers’ rights and establishes that organizations cannot use outsourcing arrangements to deny employees their legitimate benefits.
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