General News
NCC Reaffirms Commitment to Tackling Telecom Infrastructure Deficit
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reiterated its commitment towards the implementation of various regulatory initiatives and programmes, in collaboration with all stakeholders in the telecom ecosystem, towards bridging identified gaps and shortages in critical telecom infrastructure in the country.
The overarching objective is to fulfil Commission’s mandate and support extant and emergent policies and strategies of the Federal Government focused on providing ubiquitous, accessible and affordable broadband services in Nigeria.
Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NCC, stated this during an in-house interview which took place at the Commission’s Head Office in Abuja recently.
The EVC emphasized the centrality of infrastructure to telecom service provisioning by asserting that availability of broadband in sufficiency was non-negotiable and irreducible in the nation’s strategy towards delivering pervasive telecom services.
Danbatta also put the efforts of Government in context towards addressing infrastructure gaps, and commended both state and non-state actors for the vision, diligence and continued dedication to the implementation of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, an initiative of the Federal Government, being driven by NCC and conceived to address infrastructure gaps in the telecom and ICT sector.
The EVC said he was gratified that the new plan particularly took into consideration, the identified gaps and challenges in its precursor, the National Broadband Plan 2013-2018, which implementation the NCC was equally central to.
According to Danbatta, one of the identified gaps to robust connectivity was the fact that inadequate infrastructure remained a bane to achieving desired broadband penetration to boost access to services that will enhance economic growth and development.
He emphasised that the Commission recognises the importance of infrastructure expansion and this explains its unequivocal commitment and desire to see the licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) work speedily and with precision to cascade fibre to the hinterland, in order to enhance robust telecom service provision.
He said the InfraCo licensees, expectedly, also prioritize stipulated licensing conditions to ensure expected milestones set by the Commission are achieved.
The EVC stated that Commission’s target for licensing the infraCos was to ensure the deployment of fibre infrastructure needed for pervasive broadband penetration across the 774 local government areas (LGAs).
This, he said, will ensure access to telecoms services in the hinterlands of the country, and by so doing address the challenges of access confronting the unserved and underserved areas of the country.
Danbatta also placed on record Commission’s desire for inclusiveness as seminal to erecting sustainable telecom architecture. This, according to him is critical in ensuring the achievement of Federal Government’s target on digital access and financial inclusion.
One visible area of beneficial financial service riding on telecom infrastructure is the provision of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for financial transactions across various financial institutions’ platforms.
This feat, Danbatta asserted, has brought ease to financial transactions, even as he recalled that NCC is providing support for e-payment initiatives and policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), including the e-Naira project, which is the digital currency issued and regulated by the apex bank.
“So, the Commission is committed to ensuring inclusiveness by ensuring the provision of affordable and pervasive accessibility to the Internet as emphasised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations (UN).
“We are aware that until commensurate infrastructure is deployed in the country, the country may not hit the required target necessary for the desired economic development,” the EVC added.
Additionally, Danbatta stated that the Commission has recorded remarkable progression with respect to contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is besides facilitating investment, enhancing Quality of Service (QoS) to enhance consumer quality of experience and stakeholder satisfaction in line with the expectations of the Strategic Management Plan 2020-2024.
He assured that Commission will heightened efforts in all areas of the Plan as streamlined in new Strategic Vision Implementation Plan (SVIP) 2021-2025, including facilitating strategic collaboration and partnering through which it has forged quantifiable strategic alliances with its ever-expanding array of stakeholders.
Concerning NCC’s pioneering strides in the deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) network in Sub-Saharan Africa, Danbatta explained that the rollout of 5G network in Nigeria will require more infrastructure for the service to reach all parts of the country.
He called for concerted efforts and unwavering commitment of all stakeholders for the nation to achieve steady, timely and accurate deployment of 5G services because of its benefits to individuals, businesses and the growth of the country.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has busted a Ponzi Scheme Academy and arrested 133 suspects in Abuja.
They were arrested at the Compensation Layout in Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, following actionable intelligence on the existence of the Academy.
The Academy, named Q University (a.k.a Q-Net) is in the business of recruiting gullible young Nigerians who are trained to recruit more gullible citizens into the scheme with the promise of getting unrealistic profit returns.
The suspects are enrolled into a training codenamed: “Special Training for New Generation Billionaire” and brainwashed to believe that they would graduate into the league of billionaires.
They got into the training by obtaining a form the promoters called “Independent Representative Application Form” with promotional slogans such as: “I’m a Champion” “I’m Unstoppable”, “I’m Infinity”, among others.
The EFCC carried out the operation in collaboration with officers and men of 176 Guards Battalion, Nigerian Army.
Items recovered from the suspects include phones, computers and other electronic gadgets.
They will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
Big companies are leaving Nigeria are leaving Nigeria because of what Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources described as “middlemanism”.
So called “middlemanism” is slack form of middleman, which is an intermediary who facilitates transactions between a buyer and a seller, often taking on roles like wholesaling, distribution, or brokering, and earning a commission or fee for their services.
The minister made this known during the opening of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria’s Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Conference.
Heineken Lokpobiri disclosed that a lot of intermediaries who entered the oil industry caused its damage.
According to the minister, due to middlemen and intermediaries, some big and multinational oil service giant such as Schlumberger, Halliburton, McDermott, and others left Nigeria.
“We have made mistakes. And I’m saying this specifically so that all African countries here today will not make the mistake that Nigeria made. When I became minister, one of the issues I was confronted with had to do with the multinational service companies all exiting Nigeria. They’ve all gone, except, maybe this Italian company, Saipem. That was the only one that was around. So we had a situation where there was a monopoly.
“The other big boys—the Schlumberger, Halliburton, the McDermotts—all of them have gone. All of you here in PETAN have your good days in these companies. That was where you started from. That was where you actually developed your capacity,” Lokpobiri said.
Authorities in seven African countries have arrested 306 suspects and seized 1842 devices in a sweeping international operation targeting cyber-enabled fraud and scams.
Dubbed Operation Red Card, the effort ran from November 2024 to February 2025, focusing on dismantling cybercrime networks that defrauded over 5000 victims through mobile banking fraud, investment scams and malicious messaging app schemes., according to infosecurity-magazine.com
In Nigeria, police arrested 130 suspects, including 113 foreign nationals, for running fraudulent investment schemes and online casinos.
Authorities found that criminals funneled illicit proceeds into digital assets to obscure their financial trails.
Investigations also uncovered signs of human trafficking, with some individuals coerced into participating in the scams.
Law enforcement seized: 26 vehicles; 16 houses; 39 plots of land; and 685 electronic devices
In Rwanda, 45 individuals were arrested for orchestrating a social engineering scam that defrauded victims of more than $305,000 in 2024.
Scammers posed as telecommunications employees and falsely claimed victims had won lotteries to extract sensitive information.
Others impersonated injured family members to request emergency financial assistance.
Authorities recovered $103,043 and seized 292 devices.
South African authorities arrested 40 individuals and confiscated over 1000 SIM cards, along with 53 desktop computers and towers linked to a sophisticated SIM box fraud scheme.
This setup allowed cybercriminals to disguise international calls as local ones, facilitating large-scale SMS phishing attacks.
In Zambia, law enforcement apprehended 14 members of a cyber syndicate specializing in malware attacks.
The criminals sent phishing messages containing malicious links, infecting victims’ devices and taking control of messaging and banking apps. This enabled them to access financial accounts and further spread fraudulent links.
The operation was carried out through INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC) initiative, which supports law enforcement efforts in combating cyber-threats.
The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office funded Operation Red Card under the AFJOC initiative, allocating £2.6m to enhance Africa’s law enforcement capabilities in detecting and preventing cybercrime.
The seven participating countries – Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, To and Zambia – continue to collaborate on intelligence-led cybercrime investigations.
“The success of Operation Red Card demonstrates the power of international cooperation in combating cybercrime, which knows no borders and can have devastating effects on individuals and communities,” commented Neal Jetton, Interpol’s director of the cybercrime directorate.
“The recovery of significant assets and devices, as well as the arrest of key suspects, sends a strong message to cyber-criminals that their activities will not go unpunished.”
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