Author: Joseph Michael

Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has unveiled artificial intelligence-powered robotic tutors and other digital learning technologies at Bayelsa Medical University (BMU) in Yenagoa as the state works to strengthen medical education, research, and technology-driven learning. The university introduced the innovations on Monday, October 26, alongside its 2025–2029 Strategic Plan and the commissioning of two new lecture auditoriums. The initiative aims to expand digital learning resources and support the institution’s ambitions in medical training and research. According to the university, the six digital assets include Funowei, also known as Medra, an AI robotic tutor for medical instruction; Dr Tari, an AI…

A team of students from Sunflower School in Kano State won Junior Achievement Nigeria’s 2026 National Company of the Year competition with an AI-powered platform designed to help farmers access agricultural information and make better decisions. The student-led company, Agrolens Technologies, developed AgroLens AI, a free mobile platform that brings crop disease and pest detection, treatment recommendations, market price information, connections to buyers and agricultural financing resources together in one place. The team secured a US$250 cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to Cape Town, South Africa, where it will represent Nigeria at the African Company of the Year competition.…

Honeywell Technologies has announced a new industrial artificial intelligence (AI) platform at Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery, aiming to improve operational efficiency and generate more than $60 million in annual gross operational benefits once the facility reaches full capacity. The platform, called Forge Plant Cognition, combines industrial process expertise, operational data and AI capabilities to help refinery operators identify production bottlenecks, anticipate equipment problems and make more informed decisions. The deployment marks a new development in AI use across the energy industry, where companies increasingly explore digital technologies to improve productivity and better use existing infrastructure. Honeywell said Forge Plant Cognition…

Nigeria’s growing use of artificial intelligence in advertising and customer engagement is entering a new regulatory phase after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) proposed specific requirements for AI-driven marketing and sales promotions. The draft Sales Promotion (Amended) Regulations, 2026, published on September 30, proposes requirements covering the registration of AI and automated marketing systems, disclosure of AI-generated promotional content, consumer opt-out mechanisms and business accountability for automated marketing claims. It also proposes corporate penalties of up to ₦100 million or 1 per cent of the company’s previous year’s turnover, whichever is greater. The FCCPC released the draft regulations…

Nigerian technology company Wahala App Ltd has partnered with the General Leo Irabor Early Warning Systems Centre (GLIC) of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) to apply artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time data analytics to security intelligence and business risk management. The partnership aims to strengthen early warning capabilities by combining citizen-generated incident reports with AI-powered analysis to identify emerging threats, monitor security patterns, and provide information to support decision-making by businesses, government institutions, and other organisations. According to reports by BusinessDay and THISDAY, the collaboration will give GLIC access to the Wahala Network, a digital platform that collects…

Former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has proposed a 10-year development blueprint to transform Ikenne, Ogun State, into a centre for artificial intelligence, robotics, and technological innovation in Africa. The proposal, tagged the Ikenne 2036 Plan, seeks to build on the town’s educational heritage, particularly the legacy of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, by prioritising technology-driven education, skills development and innovation. Osinbajo made the proposal on Friday while delivering a lecture titled “Ikenne, a Small Town, a Great Inheritance and an Even Greater Future” at the 50th Ereke Day anniversary organised by the Ikenne Development Association. According to the former vice-president, residents were…

Nigerian businesses that rely on websites, online payments, and digital services should urgently review their cybersecurity measures after the discovery of two critical vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language used by millions of websites worldwide. The incident highlights how a weakness in widely used software can create risks for organisations far beyond the country where it is first identified. The vulnerabilities, disclosed in October 2026, could allow attackers to execute malicious code remotely on affected servers without authentication. This means an attacker could potentially compromise a vulnerable system without first obtaining a legitimate username and password. The PHP development team…

The University of Lagos (UNILAG), through its branch of the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), has empowered female secondary school students to develop artificial intelligence (AI) applications to address challenges facing Nigeria. The students showcased their innovations on Tuesday, October 20, at the university’s Science Board Room during the grand finale of activities marking the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child. The event followed a two-day entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence training programme held on September 24 and 25 at the Robotic Hub of the D.K. Olukoya Central Research and Reference Laboratory, UNILAG. The university…

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role in cybersecurity after researchers, supported by advanced AI tools, helped uncover critical security vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language widely used to power websites and web applications. OpenAI announced on 21 October that its Patch the Planet initiative had helped coordinate a response involving software maintainers, security researchers and technology companies. The effort enabled teams to prepare fixes and protective measures before the vulnerabilities were publicly disclosed. The discovery highlights how AI can help security experts identify weaknesses in widely used software. However, it also raises concerns that similar capabilities could help…

Artificial intelligence is changing how people learn, work, create content and run businesses. Across Nigeria, students are looking for smarter ways to study, entrepreneurs want to reach more customers, and professionals are searching for tools that can help them work more efficiently. One of the latest developments in this space is Gemini 4 Argon, Google’s advanced AI model designed to handle complex tasks that require deeper reasoning, research, and problem-solving. Unlike a basic chatbot that mainly answers questions, Gemini 4 Argon is built to help users work through demanding tasks, analyse information, write and improve code, and turn ideas into…