Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) will be back online by the end of January 2025, just three weeks after a cyberattack, restoring access to crucial economic data for analysts ahead of the release of December 2024 inflation figures.
The bureau confirmed the timeline during a Thursday workshop hosted by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
“December CPI would be released on January 15th,” an NBS official said during a question and answer segment monitored on zoom. Officials also said they will release both the old and new Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures, reflecting the conclusion of a GDP rebasing exercise that began last year.
The hack in 2024 disrupted data access for nearly a month, impacting journalists, analysts, and other stakeholders reliant on the NBS website. This marked the third major data breach involving government information in Nigeria, highlighting the vulnerability of the country’s digital infrastructure.
“The recent hack of the NBS website is alarming, given its critical role in data collection and dissemination,” said Kehinde Adegboyega, founder of the Human Rights Journalists Network in December 2024. “As a data protection advocate and digital rights expert, I emphasise the need for proactive measures to safeguard sensitive information and maintain public trust.”
*This is a developing story
