General News
NCC’s Take on the Vexed QoS
President Goodluck Jonathan’s ‘Democracy Day’ speech last week left little to ponder concerning his roadmap on the ICT industry as his one paragraph take on the sector simply identified his establishment of the Ministry of Communications Technology (MCT) and its mission. It was a long thesis on his one-year scorecard.
But while industry stakeholders worry about the President’s little exposition on ICT, the bigger headache remains the ongoing imbroglio between the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and mobile operators, which seem headed for a head-on-collision.
With connected active mobile subscription now in excess of 99 million (total existing customer base stood at 119,460,789 million) by end of March 2012, Nigeria continues to be the leading market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.
Despite this phenomena growth in over a decade of market liberalization, the telecom landscape is underpin by under development occasioned by lack of governments’ investment in infrastructure.
There is also the notoriously epileptic public power supply which has defied several governments’ attempts at revamping it.
Investors are forced to have power generation as part of business plan in other to survive in this striving market. But the cost of operating private power to generate electricity for industries builds into operational cost resulting in high prices of commodities and services.
The mobile industry has had a long running battle with customers who accuse operators of shortchanging them in price fixing compared to other African markets.
But the operators are also quick to point at the fact that operational cost is sometimes 10 times higher in Nigeria than other African markets due to infrastructure and logistic deficiencies.
Emeka Oparah, vice president corporate communications at Airtel Nigeria, believes it is more profitable doing business in Malawi than Nigeria because of infrastructural challenges.
“Why should Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, have a more stable power supply than the clay-footed giant of Africa? And so a business in Malawi is more profitable than its peer in Nigeria,” said Oparah in a facebook post.
Industry watchers also acknowledge that MTN Nigeria is Nigeria’s biggest diesel distributor due to its vast network of infrastructure built across Nigeria’s 923,768 sq metres landmass. Despite huge investments pumped into infrastructure by the four major telecom operators – MTN, Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat – the challenge of service delivery persist.
In May the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator imposed a hefty combine N1.17 Billion fine on these four majors for poor service delivery. They were expected to pay up on or before May 25, but none has paid up even to this moment.
Last week there was a meeting between the majors and the NCC on the fines, but it ended in deadlock leading to further imposition of N2.5 million daily fines on the operators until they pay up.
Tony Ojobo, director of public affairs at NCC said the operators didn’t show remorse and offered to word on their payment schedule.
“The point is that there are specifications in the guidelines that after the deadline for the sanctions there is going to be N2.5 million for each day of default and we are already in default period and it is expected that the sanction as well as the default penalty will have to be paid,” said Ojobo.
Ojobo said the commission was not on witch-hunting expenditure, but rather accuse the telcos of failing in their KPI (key performance indicators) measurements.
But more worrisome is NCC threat of further sanctions that appear more severe than monetary fines. Ojobo mentioned withdrawal of “regulatory services such as the issuing of new numbers or entertaining any request whatsoever from the service provider. The regulator has a number of regulatory tools to get the service provider to conform or obey the regulatory rules.”
Perhaps its time Mrs. Omobola Johnson, minister of communications technology steps into the matter. It is pertinent for government to look into operators’ grievances and not wave them aside. The government cannot be transversing the globe seeking investors while not seem to be treating those already here with flippancy.
The continued beating of war drums by both parties could only send wrong signals to investors who already have enough to worry about with the al-Qaeda linked Boko Haram insurgence in the North. It is in the nation’s interest to have a conducive operating environment for all investors.
General News
African Parliamentarians Seek Answers from Telcos on Quality of Service

African legislators across the continent are increasingly demanding answers from mobile network operators for chronic poor service. Parliamentarians in Cameroon, South Africa and Zambia are demanding answers on data pricing, network connectivity needs in rural regions, contributions to job creation, data security and privacy, and adherence to universal service obligations.
Zambia is the latest country to question telcos over quality of service, and National Assembly speaker Nelly Mutti has ordered minister of technology and science Felix Mutati to deliver a ministerial statement on the Airtel network’s repeat outages and the steps being taken to resolve them.
Lawmakers have expressed concerns about the impact of inconsistent connectivity, particularly in rural areas where mobile communication is important for emergencies and essential services.
This come after telecoms regulator, Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) read the riot act to Airtel, after its most recent outage last week.
This was not the first time the telco had experienced service interruption, which prompted ZICTA to threaten the telco with a fine.
Meanwhile, the speaker of parliament declared that the nation has to be informed about the causes for the network provider’s bad service and the steps being taken to address the issue.
Mutti said: “This matter is affecting everyone. We need to know why the services are poor and what is being done to ensure service providers comply with stipulated guidelines.”
The move by the Zambian parliament comes a few days after South African parliament also summoned mobile network operators to respond to a range of concerns that lawmakers felt impacted consumers.
The following issues were considered by parliamentarians: network connectivity standards in rural areas, contributions to job creation, transformation, and economic inclusion and empowerment for blacks in general, women, youth, and people with disabilities, data security and privacy, adherence to universal service obligations, and spectrum conditions for universal connectivity.
General News
TD Africa, HP Strengthen Partnership to Advance Africa’s Tech Ecosystem

TD Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa’s foremost technology distributor, took a bold step toward strengthening almost three decades of collaboration by hosting a high-level strategic meeting with HP Inc. at an exclusive gathering in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The meeting brought together top executives from both organisations to reaffirm their commitment to advancing digital transformation and deepening technology penetration across Nigeria and Africa.
Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of Zinox Group (parent company of TD Africa), traced the long-standing partnership between HP and TD Africa and emphasised the need for a more intentional synergy going forward.
“The relationship between TD Africa and HP goes beyond business; it’s a shared vision to use technology as the catalyst for a smarter, more prosperous Nigeria. Technology is the new oil, and together, we must build the infrastructure to power a 21st-century Africa,” said Dr. Ekeh.
Also, Mrs. Chioma Chimere, Coordinating Managing Director of TD Africa, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to digital inclusion and local empowerment. “At TD Africa, we are passionate about pushing technology to every part of the country and the continent. Our vision is to see an Africa where every individual, business, and institution is IT-ready and globally competitive,” she stated.
On behalf of HP, Kingsley Osuala, Distribution Business Manager, Central Africa, expressed appreciation for the enduring relationship with TD Africa and stressed the importance of local tech adoption.
“We are grateful to TD Africa for staying true to their mission of empowering Africa through technology. As the digital age accelerates, Nigerians must stay ahead by embracing innovation and high-performance tech solutions. That is how we stay globally relevant,” Osuala remarked.
The meeting concluded with renewed resolve from both parties to explore deeper collaboration and build on their shared legacy, one that prioritizes access, innovation, and the digital empowerment of Africa.
General News
Court Orders Lawyer to Produce “Bail-Jumping” Client in MTN Cyber Fraud Case

Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered Mr Nnamdi Kalu, a legal practitioner, to appear before the court on July 9, 2025, to provide explanations regarding the whereabouts of Richard Ironbar Edemadem, his client, who is accused of cyber-related fraud and has allegedly jumped bail.
The judge issued the directive during the ongoing trial of Edemadem and four others, namely: Samuel Okpapi, Nelson Ojovbo, Bamigbade Olushola, and ISD Technology Limited, who are standing trial on charges of tampering with the critical mobile telecommunications infrastructure of MTN Nigeria and illegally profiting from unsolicited messages sent to subscribers.
The prosecution, led by Mr Nnemeka Omewa of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), informed the court that Edemadem, the first defendant, had jumped bail and ceased communication with both his counsel and the court.
He further revealed that Mr Kalu, who represented the defendant at the early stage of the trial, had stopped appearing in court and was unreachable.
During the trial proceedings, Justice Alagoa queried the continued absence of the first defendant, especially as his name had come up repeatedly during the testimony of the EFCC’s witness.
Upon receiving the explanation from the prosecutor, the judge expressed concern that no attempt had been made to bring the sureties to account, as required when a defendant absconds.
Responding to the judge’s query, Omewa said the prosecution had made efforts to trace the sureties and review the bail bond documents.
However, they discovered that no valid documentation about the sureties or their contact addresses could be found in the court file.
Disturbed by the absence of such critical records, Justice Alagoa directed the absentee defendant’s counsel, Mr Kalu, to appear before the court on the next adjourned date to provide clarity on his client’s disappearance and explain his failure to participate further in the trial.
In the meantime, the trial resumed with the testimony of Mr Olamide Sadiq, the fourth prosecution witness and an investigating officer with the EFCC.
Sadiq detailed how the defendants fraudulently manipulated MTN’s telecom systems to send unsolicited messages to thousands of unsuspecting subscribers.
According to his testimony, the defendants, who were employed as IT professionals for various telecom value-added service providers, compromised MTN’s Critical Mobile Telecommunications Network System between 2017 and 2018, adding that by exploiting the system’s vulnerabilities, they deployed mass unsolicited messages that led to unauthorised deductions from subscribers’ airtime balances.
Sadiq explained that these illegal deductions were routed into multiple accounts linked to the defendants and their affiliated entities, notably ISD Technology Limited.
The stolen proceeds, totalling N36,837,438.20, were subsequently distributed among the conspirators, he said.
Following the witness’s testimony, the court adjourned the matter to July 9, 2025, for the continuation of the trial and to enable Mr Kalu to appear and address the court on the issue of his absconding client.
The EFCC had filed a three-count charge against the defendants, detailing their alleged roles in the multimillion-naira fraud.
On count one of the charges, the defendants, Richard Ironbar Edemadem, Samuel Okpapi, Nelson Ojovbo, Bamigbade Olushola, ISD Technology Limited, and a fugitive known only as “Sola”, were accused of conspiring to tamper with a critical mobile telecommunications network system.
This, the EFCC said, is contrary to Sections 27(6)(b) and 10 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, and punishable under the same law.
The second charge stated that the defendants were charged with unauthorised tampering with MTN’s network infrastructure, an offence also contrary to Section 10 of the Cybercrimes Act, punishable under the same provision.
Counts three of the charges posited that the defendants allegedly took possession of N36,837,438.20, which they reasonably ought to have known were proceeds of an unlawful act, namely, stealing, contrary to Sections 15(2)(d) and (6) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), and punishable under the same.
Source: Tribune
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