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Nielsen Commissions Projects, Marks Global Impact Day Worldwide
As part of efforts aimed at touching lives of people and making positive contribution to the society where it operates, Nielsen Nigeria, a member of the global brand which offers marketing research and consumer insights for businesses, has extended its philanthropic gestures to pupils of Local Government Primary School, Ikeja, Lagos.
The company recently donated a library, borehole and other items to pupils of the school.
Nielsen Nigeria noted that the donations were part of its CSR activities tagged Nielsen Global Impact Day (NGID) an event organised yearly to impact the lives of people and the society. Nielsen identifies Health, Nutrition and Education as key pillars that help humanity to thrive.
Local Government Primary School, located in Ikeja currently has 280 pupils and 30 teachers.
Pupils in the school hitherto suffered lack of water and good library, but Nielsen Nigeria under its 2015 NGID shouldered the responsibility to renovate the borehole and refurbish the library. The company also donated goody bags which contained useful hygiene items to the pupils.
The school now boasts of clean drinking water and a well-equipped library that is conducive for reading.
Speaking during the handing over of the amenities to the school, Mr. Lampe Omoyele, managing director, Nielsen West Africa, noted that the company deeply cares about contributing to its society through initiatives such as this.
He also said the NGID initiative is observed in over 100 other countries around the world by Nielsen.
“At Nielsen, we are keen about impacting the lives of people, community in our environment. We recognise that the government cannot do it all alone so we are proud to lend support that goes a long way to touch the lives of people. We realise that water is a necessity that is why we renovated the borehole to provide water. Also important to these kids is reading. When they have access to good books and library they learn properly so we donated books and renovated the library,” Omoyele said.
In her response, Mrs. Elizabeth Akapo, assistant head teacher of the school, expressed gratitude to the Nielsen for providing the facilities.
Her words: “Pupils hitherto would go outside the school premises far away to get their drinkable water every day because the borehole was out of order. Water is an essential necessity so the pupils and teachers need it.
They need water after meals and even for other uses while in the school, but the borehole had stopped working for months. With the boreholes restored by Nielsen, it is such a relief and delight for teachers and pupils.
“On the other hand, our school library was not pleasant to pupils to come in and read as it had old text books that were not in the curriculum. So the company out of concern renovated the library to make it appealing to pupils and equipped it with textbooks needed by pupils in line with the curriculum. Now pupils would be motivated to use the facility because it is attractive and well furnished. We deeply thank Nielsen for the love, care and support they have given to us,” she explained.
Mrs Bolanle Shittu, education secretary, Ikeja Local Government, also praised Nielsen Nigeria for touching the lives of pupils in the primary school. She noted that she is a product of the school which was founded in 1952.
She said: “The school has been receiving support from many people and organisations, but Nielsen’s impact was outstanding because it made so much impact in the lives of pupils and teachers.”
Some of the kids expressed appreciation to Nielsen Nigeria for alleviating their plight and giving them hope.
A primary six pupil, Favour Onoja, described the donations as timely and important, while Sunday Babatunde of Primary 5 noted that he felt so special and loved to be cared for by Nielsen Nigeria.
The pupils also entertained the Nielsen Team and other guests present with traditional dance, a playlet on gender discrimination and a debate on the topic ‘Females are better than males.’ Nielsen team also spent time with the pupils by reading books, mentoring and listening to the pupils in all the classes. The pupils were also served with free meals.
Other members of the Nielsen Nigeria team led by Mr. Omoyele include Omolola Oyebola, Associate Director, Human Resource West Africa; Ada-Obi Okafor, Quality Control& Training Manager among others. Guests present at the occasion were Mr. Muritala Mogaji, Chairman, School-Based Management Committee (SBMC); Mr. Ade Abatan, Director, Social Mobilisation Department, Ikeja Local Government; Mr. Patrick Souza and Mrs. Lanre Aina both from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), Lagos SUBEB.
Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, director general, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), has expressed displeasure over the level of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) losses by Nigerian researchers due to insufficient knowledge of the benefits of IPR protection.
Speaking at a one-day Coordinator’s Forum organized by the Office in Uyo for the South-South geopolitical zone of the country, the Director General, represented by Mrs. Caroline Anie-Osuagwu, director of Technology Acquisition and Research Coordination (TARC) department, said that prior to the establishment of the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in Nigerian knowledge establishments, Nigerian researchers had no deep knowledge of the importance of IP protection, hence losing their IP rights.
In a statement signed by Raymond Onyenezi Ogbu for the head, Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NOTAP, the DG advised researchers to always file for a patent each time they anticipate a breakthrough and avoid publishing before patenting, as any research work published in a paper is already in the public domain and can no longer be patented.
“IP rights are rights granted to a researcher or inventor by the government to have a monopoly over the financial exploitation of their inventions for a period of time to recoup the expenditure on their research undertaking”. the DG said.
She challenged patent owners to license or commercialize their inventions, adding that patents that cannot metamorphose into tangible products and services are not worth keeping, as they are liabilities to the owners.
The DG said that researchers with patented inventions can license their invention for royalty purposes or sell them outrightly to venture capitalists if they cannot commercialize.
“Over the years, the nation has depended on the consumption of products from foreign research, while Nigeria is blessed with skilled human resources but only needs to be strategic in their research understanding”.
“The aim of organizing the IPTTO coordinator’s forum was to interact with the coordinators, know their challenges and achievements, and encourage the centers that are not very progressive to strengthen their centers.” She added.
The DG stressed that while a number of centers are performing well, some are struggling to find their fit, occasioned by bureaucratic bottlenecks.
She expressed confidence in the ability of the research communities engaging in demand-driven and market-driven research to fast-track development adding that technology development is a product of research work, and knowledge institutions are duty-bound to engage in critical research to advance the IPR ecosystem in Nigeria.
Participants from the South-South Zone took turns to commend NOTAP for the impactful program and requested the Office to assist them with links to venture capitalists for the commercialization of their research results.
All the IPTTO coordinators presented their scorecards and were advised to get ready for the 2026 IPTTO ranking that would be organized by the Office.
A Nigerian tech enthusiast known online as the “tech queen,” Sapphire Egemasi, has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with a massive fraud scheme targeting U.S. government agencies.
Egemasi, a programmer with an active Devpost profile, was apprehended around April 10, 2025, in the Bronx, New York, reports The Nation.
She was arrested alongside several alleged co-conspirators, including Ghanaian national Samuel Kwadwo Osei, believed to be the ringleader of the syndicate.
The arrests follow a federal grand jury indictment filed in 2024, which charged the group with multiple counts of internet fraud and money laundering. The crimes allegedly took place between September 2021 and February 2023.
According to prosecutors, the syndicate defrauded the city of Kentucky of millions of dollars by creating spoof websites that mimicked official U.S. government portals. These fraudulent platforms were used to harvest login credentials and redirect funds into accounts under the group’s control.
Investigators say Egemasi served as the technical lead of the operation. She allegedly designed the fake websites and managed the coordination of wire transfers.
Records show that in August 2022 alone, the group rerouted $965,000 into a PNC Bank account and funneled another $330,000 into a Bank of America account.
Before her arrest, Egemasi was reportedly based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, though authorities believe she previously lived in Ghana, where she may have forged ties with other members of the syndicate.
To mask the origin of her wealth, Egemasi claimed on social media and professional platforms to have held internships with multinational corporations such as British Petroleum, H&M, and Zara.
Her LinkedIn profile portrayed a polished image of a successful tech professional, while her social media accounts featured images of lavish vacations to destinations like Greece and Portugal —trips prosecutors allege were funded by illicit gains.
Egemasi and her co-defendants are currently in federal custody, awaiting trial in Lexington, Kentucky. If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in prison, hefty financial penalties, and likely deportation upon completing their sentences.
A former Executive Director at Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Abbas Muhammed Jega, has shed light on the financial dealings between Arik Air and Union Bank, revealing that the airline’s debt to AMCON was over N100 billion as of 2015 and remained unpaid.
Testifying as the third prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Ahmed Kuru, former AMCON MD/CEO, and four others, Jega disclosed that AMCON acquired Arik’s loans from Union Bank and Keystone Bank, but not Zenith Bank, which was purchased after his exit.
According to Jega, AMCON discovered in a London meeting that Union Bank had sold them a guarantee rather than a loan, which was meant to cover foreign lenders in case Arik defaulted.
“We invited Arik to resolve the issue with Union Bank, but the arrangement disclosed by me never existed,” Jega said.
Jega attributed Arik’s inability to repay to over-trading, which led to their inability to service existing debts. He revealed that AMCON attempted to restructure Arik’s debt and even offered additional loan facilities to help the airline with working capital problems.
However, Arik failed to meet repayment obligations, prompting AMCON to propose two solutions: a debt equity swap and management control. Both options were rejected or delayed by Arik.
Under cross-examination, Jega confirmed that Kamilu Omokide and Captain Roy Ilegbodu played no role in the loan purchase or London meeting.
The matter has been adjourned to June 30, July 1, and July 2, 2025, for further cross-examination.
The case involves alleged financial misappropriation amounting to N76 billion and $31.5 million, with Ahmed Kuru, Kamilu Omokide, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank Ltd, and Super Bravo Ltd as defendants, presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada.
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