Recall that in the year 2020, former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration ordered SIMs to be linked to the NIN of every citizen. Citizens who failed to link their SIM to NIN had their lines disconnected.

Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad), the media aide to Mr Buhari, in a tweet on Sunday, raised the alarm on sustained kidnappings for ransom, calling for “new legislation or the revision of current laws to mandate the death penalty as punishment for banditry and kidnapping.”

I am reaching out to Sen. Kawu Sumaila, a senator representing me at the Senate, and Hon. Ghali Tijjani Mustapha, a member representing me at the House of Representatives, to urge them to introduce a new legislation or the revision of current laws to mandate the death penalty as…

— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) January 14, 2024

The erstwhile Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Pantami, has blamed Nigerian police and other security agencies for failing to utilise data generated from National Identity Number (NIN) linked to the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) in tracking kidnappers and curbing other crimes involving the use of a phone.

Responding to Mr Ahmad’s tweet, @RolandMentus, however, said, “How about first reaching out to your kinsman @ProfIsaPantami to know why Nigerians queued up for months to secure NIN.”

Reacting to Mr Mentus’s tweet, Pantami blamed security agencies for not utilising the NIN-SIM data to tackle rising kidnapping for ransom and banditry.

“NIN-SIM policy has been working,” said Pantami. “However, the relevant institutions fighting criminality are to be requested to ensure they utilise it effectively when a crime is committed.

“Lack of utilising it is the main problem, not the policy,” Pantami said.

The former minister, who decried the non-utilisation of the policy, claimed criminals threatened his life for reintroducing it.

He said, “On the lack of utilisation, I am more worried than anyone, as my life was threatened by criminals for reintroducing it, including on BBC Hausa & and national dailies; I resisted and ensured its implementation.”

“If it is not being utilised by the relevant institutions in charge of securing lives and property, then I am more frustrated than any person, as I sacrificed my life and ignored all the threats to life. This is just a point out of 100 on the policy,” the former minister added.

The former Minister under Buhari’s administration, championed the NIN registration policy that saw citizens link their NIN to their SIMs, vowing it would be instrumental to curbing banditry, kidnapping and other forms of crimes involving the use of the telephone.

However, kidnappers still demand and coordinate ransom-taking with the use of phones without being apprehended despite SIM-NIN data.

In a recent press statement, Isa Ali Pantami, the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, shamelessly proclaimed that he single-handedly raised th​​e ministry’s quarterly revenue from a meager N51.3 million to a staggering N408.7 billion.

This audacious claim, however, has been debunked by fact-checkers, exposing Pantami’s desperate attempt to rewrite history and secure a comeback as a minister under the new administration of Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The fact-check by the Cable Online Newspaper, however, provides an insight into Pantami’s pattern of deception, his habitual use of unverified statistics and dubious accomplishments throughout his career.

Pantami’s ascent to the position of Minister of Communications and Digital Economy was not surprising considering his track record of manipulating unverified statistics during his tenure as the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

Pantami would proudly claim to have saved the government billions of Naira without ever providing credible evidence or allowing independent verification of his alleged accomplishments.

It is a disheartening reality that such misleading claims went unchallenged, allowing him to perpetuate his deceptive tactics.

During his time at NITDA, Pantami presented himself as a champion of cost-saving measures and technological advancements. However, the lack of transparency and verifiable evidence behind his claims raises serious doubts about the actual impact of his initiatives.

The Nigerian public deserves factual information and honest assessments, not mere rhetoric and baseless assertions.

Pantami’s recent assertion of raising the ministry’s quarterly revenue from a paltry N51.3 million to an astonishing N408.7 billion exemplifies his desperation to regain power.

The sheer audacity of this claim cannot be ignored, especially when fact-checkers, such as The Cable newspaper, swiftly revealed its falsehood. Pantami’s brazen attempt to deceive the public and bolster his image for personal gain is indicative of a man driven by self-interest, rather than genuine concern for the welfare of the nation.

It is important to emphasize that false claims about revenue generation not only mislead the public but also cast doubt on the overall credibility of the government and its ability to effectively manage public funds. Nigerians deserve leaders who can demonstrate transparency and accountability in financial matters, rather than resorting to grandiose yet unverified statements to further their own agendas.

Yet, the motivation behind Pantami’s blatant lies becomes evident when considering his desperate bid for a ministerial position in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

As a minister, Pantami would have the opportunity to exercise his influence and continue his deceptive practices and the regulatory capture of agencies under his supervision. His calculated attempt to inflate his achievements demonstrates a willingness to manipulate the truth, all in the pursuit of political favor and personal gain.

Pantami’s track record of using unverified statistics to bolster his image raises concerns about his integrity and suitability for public office. But we all know how his desperation to become use the title of “Professor” led to a serious standoff with ASUU which flatly rejected the appointment as fraudulent. Pantami has continued to shamelessly use the unmerited title to massage his inflated ego. 

The Nigerian government therefore should prioritize the appointment of individuals who have a proven track record of transparency, honesty, and genuine dedication to the public interest.

The appointment of individuals based on their propensity for manipulation and deception only serves to undermine public trust in the government and hampers the nation’s progress.

Pantami’s use of unverified statistics and deceptive tactics carries significant consequences. Such behavior erodes public trust and undermines the integrity of public office.

When individuals entrusted with positions of power distort facts to suit their agendas, the entire nation suffers. The reliance on false claims to advance one’s his social climbing career only perpetuates a culture of dishonesty and hinders the progress and development of the country.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, disclosed this achievement, highlighting the substantial growth in NIN enrolment from 61 million to over 100 million within prior years. Before October 2020, only 39 million Nigerians had enrolled in the NIN since its inception in 2007.

However, under Pantami’s supervision from October 2020 to May 2023, more than 61 million citizens were successfully registered, leading to the current database of over 100 million individuals.

The Ministry of Communications expressed its appreciation to the NIMC Governing Board and Management, as well as President Buhari, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Pantami himself, all stakeholders, and the Nigerian population for their contribution to reaching the milestone of 100 million NIN enrolments.

This achievement brings Nigeria closer to the World Bank’s target outlined in the Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project, which aims to issue 148 million NIN by June 2024. Although the monthly enrolments have been steadily increasing, it is uncertain whether the country will meet this ambitious goal within the given timeframe.

With only 13 months remaining until the deadline, Nigeria would need to enroll and issue NIN to an additional 49.3 million individuals to meet the target. However, considering the average monthly enrolment of 1 million over the past year, reaching 148 million by June 2024 may prove challenging.

In addition to issuing NIN to 148 million Nigerians by 2024, the banking sector has set other targets, including the issuance of NIN to at least 65 million female Nigerians by June 1, 2024, and 50 million NIN to children under the age of 16. Although the NIMC data did not specify the number of children captured, it revealed that 42.7 million females had been issued NIN as of April 28, 2023.

The project also entails the development of functional public and private services that utilize the foundational ID system for authentication and service delivery, particularly targeting marginalized communities.

Furthermore, the training of government personnel in best practices for legal and regulatory frameworks to protect individual data, privacy, and foundational ID is essential. These targets must be achieved by June 2024.

The project’s requirements also emphasize the need for a robust legal and regulatory framework that effectively safeguards individuals’ data and privacy.

This took place at the Communications and Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja and virtually at the remote locations of the commissioned projects.

The commissioning ceremony was graced by several dignitaries.  These included the immediate-past Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Finacial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Mr. Modibbo R. Hamman Tukur and the Chairman of the Board of the Nigeria Postal Services (NIPOST), Barrister Maimuna Yaya Abubakar, among others. 

The Chief Executive Officers of the parastatals under the Ministry were also in attendance.

The dignitaries poured encomiums on Professor Pantami for his visionary and inspirational leadership. 

They extoled his passion for the digital economy sector and for the development of Nigeria.  They congratulated him for how he has shown that the Nigerian youth can excel at the top levels of leadership in the country, having himself performed extremely well as Minister.

The commissioned projects were spread across all the States of the Federation and were executed by the Ministry and all the parastatals under the Ministry. Some of the projects commissioned included the Community IT Training Centre, Ogbomosho, Oyo State; the Digital Nigeria Centre, Udi Abia Secondary School, Enugu State; IT Hub, Gashua, Yobe State; Mini-ICT Square Project, Minna, Niger State; Digital Awareness Programme Cardoso High School, Apapa, Lagos State; Digital Nigeria Centre, Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina Unity College, Bauchi State, among several others.

The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) also unveiled ten 3-ton trucks to enhance their postal services.  The trucks were purchased from internally generated revenue and were commissioned by the Honourable Minister at the Communications and Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja.

According to a statement by Uwa Suleiman, Senior Special Assistant/Spokesperson to the Minister, a 443-page Compendium of Achievements was also unveiled to provide a concise summary of the unprecedented achievements that were recorded under the leadership of Prof. Pantami since he became a Minister on the 21^st of August 2019. 

The participants applauded the Honourable Minister for starting strong and also ending strong. 

They also noted that the digital economy sector had become integral to all aspects of the Nigerian economy because of the landmark achievements and efforts of Prof. Pantami.

The event seen as the biggest gathering of ICT stakeholders will be chaired by Engr. Ike Nnamani, group managing director, Medallion Data centre while Prof. Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Mr. Kashifu Inuwa, director general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will deliver industry regulatory keynote at the event.

The theme of this year’s lecture is “Digital Transformation and Cloud Services as New Order.”

Cloud services play a critical role in accelerating digital transformation and delivering essential public services.

To achieve the next stage of digital transformation and enable countries to reap the benefits of the global digital economy, governments must prioritize adoption of cloud services where feasible. Cloud technologies offer cost savings, the ability to scale rapidly, access to advanced cybersecurity features and big data processing using AI.

According to Ken Nwogbo, CEO, Communication Week Media Ltd, organisers of the ABoICT Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series, “Prof. Isa Pantami since appointed minister of Communications and Digital Economy has brought about positive changes in the sector among them are linking of NIN with SIM which has reduced the use of mobile phones for nefarious activities, digital transformation in public sector as well as laying foundation for a digital economy.”

Under the supervision of Prof. Isa Pantami ICT sector recorded unprecedented 17.92% highest ever contribution to the country’s GDP in the 2nd Quarter of 2021.

Having also accomplished increased in the growth rate of the ICT sector to 14.70% in the 4th Quarter of 2020 making it the best performing sector of the economy that contributed to Nigeria’s exit from recession.

Another accomplishment is the formulation of the Nigerian startup bill which was finally passed into law by the Senate on 20th of July, 2022.

The Nigerian Startup Bill (NSB) would help address more than 90% of the challenges confronting technology innovators in the country.

Past speakers include Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice-chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; and Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited, among others.

The events drew top politicians and government functionaries as well captains in the ICT industry as well financial institutions.

Prof. Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, made this announcement following the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that records transactions securely and transparently.

The purpose of the new policy, according to Pantami, is to institutionalize blockchain technology in Nigeria’s economy and security sectors. It was developed after conversations with 56 institutions and individuals.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria today approves the national blockchain policy for Nigeria.

“This policy was gotten through consultation with our stakeholders where 56 institutions and personalities were involved in the process of conceptualizing, developing, and reviewing the policy.

“With the approval of the national blockchain policy for Nigeria today, we can safely say that blockchain technology with all its components and types has been institutionalized in the country,” said the Minister.

He mentioned that the National Information Technology Development Agency and regulatory organizations are coordinating to develop regulatory instruments across all sectors as per the Security Council’s directive.

The clearance highlights the potential benefits of blockchain technology even though studies estimate that by 2030, blockchain will have increased global GDP by $1.76 trillion.

The decision also includes the creation of a national steering council that will be managed by NITDA.

Pantami claimed that the blockage was made possible by cyberspace infrastructures put in place by the government to monitor activities in the nation’s cyberspace before, during, and after the elections.

He stated that the Federal Government formed a standing committee with the mandate to secure the nation’s cyberspace, which consolidated its efforts, as recorded during the Presidential elections, to ensure that Nigeria’s cyberspace remained safe and secure.

The Minister also praised President Muhammadu Buhari for his support and approval of initiatives to promote the digital economy and cyber security in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Technical Matters, Dr. Femi Adeluyi.

Pantami, who detailed the attacks from Friday, March 17 to Monday, March 20, said they came from both within and outside Nigeria.

He said:” During this period and as previously reported, a series of hacking attempts were recorded, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and Internet Protocol Spoofing (IPS) attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing.

Prof. Pantami had on Tuesday in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Uwa Sulaiman, disclosed that 12.99 million cyberattacks were recorded during election week.

According to the statement, there were 6.99 million attacks on February 25th, which was the election day with those attacks including a series of hacking attempts such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and IPS attacks, SSH login attempts, brute force injection attempts, path traversal, detection evasion, and forceful browsing.

“Generally, threats to public websites and portals averaged around 1,550,000 daily. However, this skyrocketed to 6,997,277 on Presidential Election Day. Within 24th February 2023 and ended on 28th February 2023, a total of 12,988,978 attacks were recorded, originating from both within and outside Nigeria,” the statement disclosed.

But in a reaction to the statement, Mr. Remi Afon, United Kingdom based cybersecurity expert challenged the Minister to break down how his ministerial standing committee on an advisory role for the protection of cyberspace and ICT came about the figure which is unprecedented in the history of cyberattacks globally.

“It will do Nigeria a lot of good for the Minister to break down how his ministerial standing committee on an advisory role for the protection of cyberspace and ICT came about the figure which is unprecedented in the history of cyberattacks globally,” Remi Afon, who is the immediate past President of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN) queried.

He noted that if the figures released by the Minister are true, which he doubts, then a “state of national cybersecurity emergency” should be declared.

“Ukraine suffered 2,194 cyberattacks in 2022, with 1,655 coming after Russia’s February 24 invasion, according to the Ukraine government. On the other hand, Nigeria purportedly suffered close to 13 million cyberattacks just in four days because of an election,” he queried further.

Meanwhile, Remi Afon, who should know argued that it is possible to have several events during the period specified, which does not necessarily translate into an incident or cyberattack. Also, for example, a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack should be classified as one cyberattack and not, for argument’s sake, 100,000 attacks because they are launched from multiple devices that were distributed across the Internet.

According to him, it is within the remit of the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team ngCERT under the Office of the National Security Adviser to provide authentic information about cyberattacks and not a ministerial committee.

According to Security Magazine, there are over 2,200 attacks daily, breaking down to nearly one cyberattacks every 39 seconds. With around 2,220 cyberattacks daily, that equates to over 800,000 attacks yearly.

Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, said that the number skyrocketed to 6,997,277 on Presidential Election Day.

Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had insinuated that fear of network failures and hackers, affected the electronic transmission of elections results to its server.

In an assessment report titled: ‘Monitoring Nigeria’s Cyberspace Before, During and After the 2023 Presidential Elections’, the Minister was quoted by his spokesperson, Uwa Sulaiman, saying that in the run-up to the 2023 General Elections, threat intelligence revealed an astronomical increase in cyber threats to Nigerian cyberspace.

“As part of its mandate, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is expected to ensure adequate protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace to a level that citizens will have confidence in digital services. This mandate aligns with the goals and objectives of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (NDEPS).

“In line with this mandate and in our efforts at supporting the initiatives of securing the Nigerian cyberspace, the parastatals under the supervision of the Ministry have established Cybersecurity Centres, namely, the National Information Technology (NITDA)’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), and Galaxy Backbone (GBB)’s Security Operations Centre (SOC). These Centres were established between 2020 and 2022 in line with the Honourable Minister’s policy directives and have been monitoring Nigerian cyberspace for potential threats and taking appropriate actions to mitigate them, both individually and collectively as well as in collaboration with other stakeholders.

“It is worth noting that in the run-up to the 2023 General Elections, threat intelligence revealed an astronomical increase in cyber threats to Nigerian cyberspace.

“Generally, threats to public websites and portals averaged around 1,550,000 daily. However, this skyrocketed to 6,997,277 on Presidential Election Day.

“The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, as a Professor of Cybersecurity and one that is very passionate about ensuring a safe and secure cyberspace, directed all the parastatals to enhance their 24/7 monitoring of the networks and traffic for potential attacks from 24th February 2023 to 27th February 2023. Furthermore, on 24th February 2023, the Honourable Minister inaugurated the Ministerial Standing Committee on Advisory Role for the Protection of Nigerian Cyberspace and ICT Infrastructure. The Committee, chaired by the Board Chairman of NCC and with the CEOs of NCC, NITDA and GBB as members, was charged with the following responsibilities, among others:

1. Monitoring of Telecommunication Infrastructure for the successful conduct of credible, free, fair, and transparent elections;
2. Developing and implementing plans to enhance the resilience of critical digital infrastructure against cyber threats;
3. Designing procedures and using technologies to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber-attacks, as well as developing the ability to recover from any damage that is done quickly;
4. Developing a comprehensive risk assessment, analysing the nation’s current cybersecurity capabilities, and identifying gaps that need to be addressed; and
5. Providing professional advice to the Government on the effective utilization of digital technologies in the conduct of the 2023 General Elections.

“The Committee’s activity started on 24th February 2023 and ended on 28th February 2023. During this period, a series of hacking attempts were recorded, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and IPS attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing. A total of 12,988,978 attacks were recorded, originating from both within and outside Nigeria. It is worth noting that the Centres successfully blocked these attacks and/or escalated them to the relevant institutions for appropriate action.

“The parastatals, under the supervision of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, have played a crucial role in providing the enabling environment for the successful conduct of a credible, free, fair, and transparent election. The Honourable Minister commends all stakeholders in the digital economy ecosystem for their support that resulted into this this unprecedented success.

“More importantly, the Honourable Minister notes that these attainments are as a result of the commitment of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR towards ensuring Nigeria’s successful transition into the digital economy. The digital economy sector has enjoyed continued support of the President and it is highly appreciated.

“He also hopes that lessons learned during the process will be put to effective use in subsequent elections”, Sulaiman said.

Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, inaugurated the committee on behalf of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari in a hybrid event at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja.

Giving a historical overview of the journey so far from the conceptualisation of the bill to its enactment into law by the President on 19th October 2022, the Minister stated that the Nigeria Startup Bill was first drafted and formulated in 2021 with inputs from relevant and critical stakeholders.

He stated that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government, private sectors, industry players, young innovators and stakeholders from the academia were engaged in town hall meetings organised in the six geopolitical zones of the country with the purpose of collecting their inputs, constructive criticisms and recommendations to create a robust and credible document.

Describing the inauguration of the NSA implementation committee as a milestone achievement towards the attainment of a digital Nigeria, Pantami urged the committee members to coordinate operational plans and establish the baseline for the ecosystem in terms of digital innovation and entrepreneurship.

“In this implementation committee, we have brought together relevant stakeholders, some from government, some from the private sector, some from the ecosystem, some from the academia, some from legal institutions and many more to come together and provide the leadership that is required for the technical implementation of this very important law”, he stated.

While noting that economies globally are driven by technology, knowledge, digital innovation and entrepreneurship, Pantami stated that priority and preference should be given to a knowledge-based economy rather than a resource-based economy in the country.

He further stated that countries like the United States of America, China, Japan, Germany, India and the United Kingdom which are the major contributors to the global Gross Domestic Product of 101.6 trillion US dollars are leading economically because they give preference to a knowledge-based economy.

“According to statistics as of December 2022, digital enterprises are directly and indirectly contributing a minimum of 53 trillion US dollars to the global GDP. By implication, you can safely say that more than half of the global GDP depends on technology, digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship”, he said.

Today, digital entrepreneurship, digital innovation and knowledge-based activities are building the global economy and we need to invest in our youths that have innovative ideas”, he added.

He further stated that Nigeria is blessed with so many talents and innovators, and that young Nigerians have been making the country proud by winning prizes at global ICT events in UAE, Barcelona, USA and Saudi Arabia.

While emphatically stating that the NSA would consolidate the achievements of startups in the country by providing legal frameworks as well as technical and financial backing to further encourage them, the Minister said that “Today in the Act, there is a provision of supporting them financially. The government will set aside a minimum of 10 billion naira annually in addition to other sources of funding that have been captured in the law”.

Prof. Pantami also noted without a doubt that it will consolidate the achievements made thus far by the Ministry in terms of broadband penetration, 4G penetration, development of policies for digitalization, digital ID in Nigeria, government revenue generation amongst others.

Announcing the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE as the secretary of the committee, the Minister urged all the members to expend their time, energy, knowledge and experience to support the ecosystem so as to reduce importation in the country and prioritise production.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Kashifu Inuwa appreciated all members of the committee for agreeing to contribute their expertise to the national assignment of implementing the Nigeria Startup Act.

He stated that the committee is responsible for creating an enabling and sustainable environment for young and talented people to develop more profitable and innovative-driven enterprises for national development.

While noting that startups are critical drivers for economic growth, Inuwa asserted that implementing the Nigeria Startup Act will be a game changer that will help create a legal and institutional framework to develop the Nigerian startup ecosystem.

“I wish to sincerely appreciate your acceptance to serve on this committee and I have no doubt that our collective expertise and experience will help us implement the NSA successfully”, he concluded.