E-Business
U.S Embassy to Collaborate with NCC on Copyright Administration
Mr. Afam Ezekude, Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), has called for greater collaboration in areas of capacity building for the enforcement and prosecution of Intellectual Property (IP) crimes in the country.
The DG, NCC, stated this during an interactive meeting with the Economic Counselor of the United States Embassy in Nigeria, Susan Garro and other officials of the Embassy at the Commission’s headquarter in Abuja.
The meeting which was held at the instance of the Economic Counseling Unit of the US Embassy seeks to understudy the workings of IP in Nigeria with respect to Copyright, strengthen existing partnerships to maintain best practices and identify areas of collaboration in the administration, enforcement and prosecution of Copyright infringements in Nigeria.
Mr. Ezekude in his welcome address, highlighted on the achievements of the commission in the past 7 years to include pro-active enforcement and prosecution of Copyright offences; the on-going reform of the Nigerian Copyright Administration; the e-Registration programme, the ratification and depositing of four Instruments of Treaty at WIPO, and the recent approval of the proposed Copyright Bill for deliberation at the National Assembly.
He commended the US government for their useful comments which served as a guide in the Proposed Copyright Bill.
The DG stated that Enforcement and Prosecution of infringement cases no doubt pose a lot of challenges and called for support in the area of capacity building.
He said that the Commission in the past enjoyed good partnership in this area from the Embassy but this has not been forthcoming in recent times.
He expressed optimism that with the recent ratification of 4 treaties and the renewed collaboration this will be given a top priority.
Mr. Obi Ezeilo, Director and Head of Lagos Zonal Office, said Nigeria generates and consumes a lot of IP contents which calls for stricter measures and hence the need for capacity building for enforcement officers and prosecutors.
Mr. Ezeilo called for closer collaborations in the identification of foreign works in Nigeria and adequate protection of Nigerian works in the U.S as challenges are being encountered due to non-availability of direct agents on ground for witness or evidence during prosecutions.
He also stressed the need for training of officers in on-line Content Investigation, on-line Piracy and Cybercrimes in general.
He stated the need to broaden the scope of collaboration in this area with the U.S Embassy.
Commenting on the areas of collaborations, the Economic Counselor advised on the need to identify sources of funding and to collaborate with donor agencies of which the DG, NCC noted.
Responding to the call for collaboration in the area of capacity building, the Regional Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator of the Embassy (IPLEAC), Tanya Hill informed the meeting of the upcoming Capacity Building Trainings on Cyber crimes in Nigeria and Ghana but felt that it may be too late to incorporate officers of the Commission into the training programme.
The DG, NCC, appreciated the willingness of the Embassy to train our officers and asked that the trainings be tailored to the prevailing needs of Enforcement and Prosecutions in the Commission.
Kate Kaetzer Hodson, an Economic Officer with the Embassy, while commending the Commission for the ratification of the treaty said it was a monumental undertaking.
Ms Hodson as part of the collaboration indicated their willingness to support the April 26 WIPO day celebrations by the commission.
In the same vein the Embassy is interested in collaborating with the Commission in the area of Outreach Programme to enhance Copyright knowledge and consequently an agreement was reached to send a Concept Note to the Embassy to this effect.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched an investigation into allegations that the confidentiality and integrity of candidates’ personal data may have been compromised by hackers.
The Commission initiated the inquiry following concerns over possible data breaches during examinations.
Preliminary findings indicate that several examination centres may not have implemented adequate technical and organizational measures to safeguard candidates’ personal information, as required under data protection regulations.
Although the incident reportedly affected 379, 997 candidates, the NDPC’s investigation is poised to cover a systemic audit of data processing and third parties.
It will be recalled that JAMB recently admitted that a technical error on its platform affected a total of 379,997 candidates in 157 examination centres across Lagos and the South-East.
Further investigation led to the arrest of at least 20 suspects who are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force.
Cyber security firm, Kaspersky, has once again warned that sophisticated cybercriminals increasingly target Africa as ransomware and advanced persistent threats (APTs) escalate across the region.
Speaking at the company’s annual Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region, the cybersecurity firm’s Global Research and Analysis Team highlighted growing digital threats affecting African nations.
Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa emerged as hotspots, with Kenya recording one of the highest web threat incident rates at 20.1% in first quarter 2025.
“While ransomware is less prevalent in Africa due to lower levels of digitisation and economic constraints, countries like South Africa and Nigeria are seeing a sharp rise in attacks,” said Sergey Lozhkin, head of META and APAC regions at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky noted a 0.01 percentage point increase in African ransomware cases year-on-year, reaching 0.41%, still below global and Middle Eastern averages, but a troubling sign for the continent’s emerging digital infrastructure.
Experts warned that attackers are refining their tactics, shifting focus to unconventional entry points like IoT devices, smart appliances, and misconfigured hardware.
“As these economies expand digitally, sectors such as manufacturing, finance and government are becoming key targets,” said Lozhkin
The cyber-crime landscape is evolving quickly, fuelled by AI tools and dark web access to large language models, which enable less skilled actors to launch convincing phishing and malware campaigns.
Groups like FunkSec, which uses AI-generated code and a low-cost ransom model, are redefining ransomware operations.
“African organisations face the dual challenge of expanding digital footprints and limited cybersecurity awareness. This makes layered defense strategies, including network segmentation, real-time monitoring and regular staff training, essential,” stated Lozhkin
Kaspersky continues to monitor 25 active APT groups in the META region, including SideWinder and MuddyWater, some of which are known to target African institutions.
To bolster defenses, the firm recommends using tools such as its free Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business and the Kaspersky Next suite for threat visibility and response.
Nigeria recently launched a new joint case team to step up its response to cybercrimes that affect people and businesses at home and abroad.
The ‘Joint Case Team on Cybercrime’ brings together Nigeria’s key justice and security agencies to work as one, making it easier to detect, investigate, and prosecute digital offences.
It is supported by the UK National Crime Agency, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, as part of a wider effort to promote international cooperation on cybercrime.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation described the initiative as “a bold and transformative stride in Nigeria’s justice system.”
He said that although Nigeria has a national legal framework to address cyber offences, laws alone are not enough.
Nigeria is among the countries most affected by cybercrime around the world, with increasing financial losses.
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