Technology
Yuguda Seeks Robust Strategy on Cyber Risks to Boost Market Confidence
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The need for the development of a robust strategy on cyber risks to protect the funds of investors and boost market confidence has again been emphasised by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Lamido Yuguda.
While presenting a paper recently at the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc Cyber Securities conference, Mr Yuguda said stakeholders must urgently work on this policy because cyber risks pose a significant threat to market confidence, integrity and efficiency because people’s hard-earned income and other financial instruments are saved and invested in it.
“In the Nigerian capital market, we clearly take issues on cybersecurity very seriously due to the increasing volume of data and information that are stored electronically, coupled with the increased adoption of digitization and digitalization options in processing market transactions on a daily basis.
“Today, more of our market activities are conducted through the use of technology than ever before. While this has significantly raised efficiency levels, it has introduced our market’s exposure to a new set of risks, including cybersecurity risk, which we must recognize and manage,” he said.
The DG said that the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated the activation of business continuity plans through remote operations has further increased the rate at which stakeholders embrace technology and underscores the critical need to protect our systems from existing and potential threats that are present in cyberspace.
Mr Yuguda stated that cyber-attacks on financial institutions are often with the aim of gaining access to sensitive and confidential information for illicit financial gains. With the increased interconnectivity among financial institutions, a cyber-attack from one location or entity may have an impact on the entire system, thereby compromising the functions and safety of several sectors of the economy.
It is in this regard he stated that SEC appreciates the efforts of the federal government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser, in developing the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy 2021.
“The policy is focused on achieving its objectives through strengthening cybersecurity governance and coordination, protection of critical national information infrastructure, enhancing cybersecurity incident management, strengthening legal and regulatory framework, enhancing cyber defence capability, promoting a thriving digital economy, and enhancing international cooperation, among others.
“In November 2021, the capital market community received updates from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) at a workshop it sponsored for the Capital Market, and a detailed presentation on the national cybersecurity policy was also made at the Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting in the fourth quarter of 2021.
“The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to which Nigeria is a full member, has also done considerable work in making its members aware of the increasing risks around Cybersecurity. The IOSCO Board has provided guidance through its ‘Guidance on Cyber Resilience for Financial Market Infrastructures’ report, indicating the various plans or measures that industry stakeholders could adopt to ensure cybersecurity.
“It encourages regulated entities to adopt practices that are appropriate to their unique functions. Nevertheless, it notes that these should cover the identification of critical assets, protection measures and controls to enhance security, detection of abnormal activity or patterns, response plans in the event of an attack, and recovery plans to resume operations.”
He disclosed that the SEC Nigeria is developing policy and regulatory responses to emerging cyber risks in its Rules and Regulations on capital market activities and products that leverage technology, as well as in the Minimum Operating Standards for capital market operators, for which clear provisions for cybersecurity have been made.
He stated that, “Due to the importance of data protection, the Federal Government created the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) in February 2022. The NDPB has issued a Compliance Notice introducing the National Data Protection Adequacy Programme (NaDPAP), which guarantees every citizen of Nigeria a Right to Privacy. This is one of the concerted efforts by the NDPB to create more awareness of the obligations of Data Controllers/Processors under the NDPR 2019.
“Therefore, awareness and action at the national level should spur the various sectors of the economy to protect themselves from cyber threat by ensuring that they adhere to either industry standards or national policy carefully.”
In further recognition of the role technology will continue to play in the markets, the DG disclosed that the commission was set to release its Guidelines on Minimum Operating Standards for Information Technology for Capital Market Operators (CMOs). The guidelines will cover, among other important areas, the Computing Environment, Information Technology/Information Systems Management and Governance, IT Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery.
He assured that the commission, through these guidelines, will encourage the establishment of an Information Security and Cybersecurity Policy to be in place to form part of the Enterprise IT Policy of capital market intermediaries, platforms and other financial market infrastructures.
“Within the guidelines, we expect stakeholders to conduct regular penetration tests at least annually to detect vulnerabilities and check the resilience of their networks and systems to threats and malicious activities.
“Cybersecurity is a critical issue for the financial sector, and the capital market is up to the task of ensuring that it provides the necessary safety nets for investors and stakeholders,” he added.
Mr Yuguda, therefore, stated that the CSCS had come a long way and today stands as a pillar in our market, given the fact that it is a critical and technology-driven market infrastructure, it is not only appropriate but well placed for it to organize discussions around cybersecurity.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The reach of the Meta Business Agent is being expanded to Instagram and other platforms of the social media giant.
Meta Business Agent is an artificial intelligence (AI) that allows business owners to attend to customers’ needs with ease.
Customers expect instant responses, but no team can be everywhere at once. This innovation handles such without hassles.
It helps businesses to answer questions specific to the business, makes product recommendations from the catalogue, books appointments, qualifies incoming leads, and closes sales.
More than one million businesses are already using a Meta Business Agent on WhatsApp and Messenger to respond to customers around the clock.
“We’re now expanding our Business Agent to businesses big and small globally, so within minutes you can have yours up and running, responding in your customer’s local language using your tone,” Meta said in a statement.
“We’re also expanding these agents to Instagram since businesses connect with their customers there, too. Businesses can activate their Business Agent here. Getting started with the Business Agent is free. In the coming months, businesses will access the agent through our paid subscription offerings, with options for businesses of every size,” it added.
Meta also stated that it is making it simpler for people to discover businesses powered by a Meta Business Agent directly on WhatsApp. It noted that starting soon, people will be able to find businesses by typing their name in the Search bar, or by sharing their phone number or contact card in chats with friends and family. This way, when more customers reach out, they get a quick, helpful response.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos State government plans to expand the city’s data centre capacity to over 250 megawatts (MW) by 2030 as part of efforts to strengthen its digital infrastructure ecosystem.
This was disclosed by the state’s Commissioner for Innovation, Science, and Technology, Mr Olatubosun Alake, at the launch of the Kasi Cloud LOS1 data centre facility in Lekki. Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) invested in Kasi Cloud through an $8 million convertible loan note in 2021.
Mr Alake said Lagos already hosts nearly three-quarters of Nigeria’s commercial data centre capacity, adding that the government intends to expand its infrastructure footprint significantly over the next five years.
“There are about 146 additional megawatt data centres planned in the pipeline,” he said. “We envisage that by 2030, we would have over 250 megawatts of data centre capacity in Lagos, three times the current capacity growth.”
The expansion comes as demand for cloud services, AI computing power, and local data storage continues to grow across Nigeria’s digital economy, with Lagos at the forefront, housing thousands of businesses and startups.
Mr Alake said the Kasi Cloud facility represents Lagos’ entry into “large-scale hyperscale AI infrastructure,” signalling the state’s ambition to evolve beyond being known primarily as a startup hub into a major centre for digital infrastructure and AI computing.
“Lagos is no longer simply a startup city,” he said. “It is an infrastructure city.”
The Kasi LOS1 facility is designed as a 40MW hyperscale data centre campus, beginning operations with an initial 7.2MW IT load.
According to Mr Alake, the facility includes advanced GPU computing infrastructure powered by Nvidia H100 and H200 chips, alongside liquid cooling systems and cloud infrastructure services designed to support AI workloads.
The Lagos State government believes such infrastructure will become critical as AI adoption accelerates globally.
Mr Alake said the state is investing in fibre optic networks, smart city technologies, university innovation programmes, and digital government systems to prepare for the transition.
“The AI economy is going to require hundreds of megawatts,” he said. “The market has already made its decision about where digital infrastructure belongs.”
On his part, Mr Johnson Agbogun, co-founder and chief executive officer of Kasi Cloud, said the project was built to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on foreign cloud infrastructure and give African businesses more control over how their data and AI systems are developed.
“Nigerian enterprises are currently spending $850 million every year on foreign cloud infrastructure,” he said. “Every naira spent abroad on cloud and AI infrastructure helps build capabilities somewhere else.”
He added that the facility runs GPU-powered AI workloads from local enterprises and described the Lekki campus as “the beginning of Nigeria’s AI factory.”
“As artificial intelligence reshapes economies globally, the nations that control their own compute infrastructure and data will be the ones positioned to lead,” added Mr Kolawole Owodunni, NSIA’s Executive Director and Chief Information Officer.
The goal of Google Search has always been simple: to help you ask anything on your mind. Whether it is a quick fact to help with your daily hustle or a complex question about starting a new business, Nigerians rely on Search every single day.
Over the last year, Google has rapidly reimagined what Search can do with AI. The momentum has been incredible—just one year after its debut, AI Mode has surpassed one billion monthly users globally. As people have realised just how much more Search can do for them, they are searching more than ever before, reaching an all-time high in search queries last quarter. Today at Google I/O, Google shared the next step in its journey to bring together the best of a search engine with the best of AI.
To power this next chapter, Google is officially upgrading Search with Gemini 3.5 Flash as the new default model in AI Mode for everyone worldwide. Delivering sustained frontier performance for agents and coding, Gemini 3.5 Flash is the engine driving the new era of AI-powered Search. Because curiosity doesn’t always fit into standard keywords, this powerful AI model is transforming Search from a tool that simply finds information into an intelligent platform capable of reasoning, monitoring the web, and executing complex tasks on your behalf.
Here is a look at the four biggest AI-powered announcements coming to Google Search:
1. A Completely Reimagined Search Box
Google is introducing the biggest upgrade to its Search box in over 25 years. Now completely reimagined with AI, the new intelligent Search box dynamically expands to give you the space to describe exactly what you need. It goes beyond simple autocomplete by anticipating your intent and helping you phrase your questions. You are no longer limited to typing; you can now search using text, images, files, videos, or even Chrome tabs as inputs. Additionally, Google is making it easier to ask follow-up questions directly from an AI Overview, flowing naturally into a conversational back-and-forth where your context stays with you as you explore.
2. New Search Agents That Work in the Background
We are entering the era of Search agents, where you can create and manage multiple AI agents directly in Search. Google is launching “Information agents” that operate in the background 24/7. These agents intelligently scan the web—alongside fresh data on finance, shopping, and sports—to monitor for changes related to your specific questions. For example, if you are house hunting, your agent will continuously scan the market and notify you the moment a listing matches your exact criteria. Furthermore, Search is expanding its agentic booking capabilities; you can soon share specific criteria (like a late-night private karaoke room) and Search will pull the latest pricing and links to finish booking. For certain categories, Google can even call businesses on your behalf.
3. Custom Mini-Apps and Visuals Built Just for You
Search is no longer just returning links; it is now building the ideal response in the perfect format for your query entirely on the fly. By bringing the power of Google Antigravity and the agentic coding capabilities of Gemini 3.5 Flash into Search, users will get a custom “Generative UI.” This means Search can design custom layouts, interactive visuals, tables, graphs, or simulations in real-time. But it goes a step further: if you have an ongoing task, like establishing a new health routine, Search can actually code a custom fitness tracker or mini-app for you. These custom dashboards tap into real-time sources like live maps and weather, giving you a personalised tracker you can return to again and again.
4. Expanded Personal Intelligence Without a Subscription
For AI to be truly helpful, it shouldn’t just know the world’s information—it should understand your personal context, too. To achieve this, Google is expanding Personal Intelligence in AI Mode to more people in nearly 200 countries and territories across 98 languages. Crucially, this is being rolled out with no subscription required. Users can securely connect apps like Gmail, Google Photos, and soon Google Calendar directly to Search. Designed with transparency and choice at its heart, this allows you to safely ask Search to find information buried in your own personal files, always keeping you in complete control of your connected data.
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