Distinguished members, partners, and stakeholders.
One of the most critical conversations shaping the future of the Internet today is the growing challenge of DNS abuse and the collective responsibility required to address it.
At recent global engagements, including ICANN 85, there has been a renewed focus on strengthening mechanisms for DNS abuse mitigation. Encouragingly, we are beginning to see tangible progress.
One of the most significant developments is the implementation of DNS abuse-related contractual amendments, which now empower ICANN compliance with enhanced auditing capabilities. Early indicators suggest improved responsiveness across the ecosystem, with registrars demonstrating greater engagement in handling abuse reports.
Registrars operate at a critical control point within the DNS, yet their enforcement capability is inherently constrained. When acting on verified abuse, the primary tool available to a registrar is the suspension of the domain name. This is not a granular intervention; it affects all services tied to that domain, including websites, email systems, and associated applications. This limitation underscores an important point: while registrars are often positioned at the forefront of abuse mitigation, they cannot, in isolation, resolve the broader challenge.
This is where the role of the registry becomes critical. As the operator of the .ng namespace, the registry provides the governance framework, technical infrastructure, and policy environment within which registrars operate. It is the registry’s responsibility to ensure that accredited registrars adhere to defined standards, respond appropriately to abuse reports, and operate in line with both local policies and global best practices.
Through accreditation processes, compliance monitoring, and continuous engagement, the registry plays a central role in facilitating responsible behaviour across the ecosystem. It ensures that registrars are not only enabled but also held accountable in fulfilling their obligations in mitigating DNS abuse.
At the same time, policy development remains essential. For us in Nigeria, these global developments carry important implications.
As we continue to grow our digital economy and strengthen the adoption of the .ng domain, trust must remain at the centre of our Internet ecosystem. This requires not only aligning with global best practices but also ensuring that our local implementation of DNS infrastructure, registry oversight, registrar operations, and security standards is robust, responsive, and forward-looking.
DNS abuse mitigation is not the responsibility of any single actor. It requires coordinated action across registries, registrars, policymakers, and the broader Internet community.
Beyond global policy conversations, it is equally important that we continue to invest in capacity building within our own ecosystem, particularly across Africa.
In this regard, our participation in the recent ccTLD capacity building program in Kenya provided a valuable opportunity to engage, learn, and collaborate with fellow African registry operators. The program focused on critical areas including registry operations and DNS management, policy development, cybersecurity and DNS abuse mitigation, stakeholder engagement, and multistakeholder governance, as well as strategic registry growth and sustainability.
What made this engagement particularly impactful was its African context. It allowed us to learn not just from global frameworks, but from the practical experiences of peer registries operating within similar environments and challenges. There is immense value in this kind of regional collaboration—where solutions are not only technically sound but also contextually relevant.
I am pleased to note that the .ng team has returned with significant knowledge and insights, which will be applied to further strengthen our registry operations, enhance our policy frameworks, and improve our overall approach to DNS management and security.
However, as we strengthen our technical and operational capacity, we must also continue to grow what is equally important—our community.
The growth of the .ng domain is not only about infrastructure; it is about people, partnerships, and participation. In the first quarter of this year alone, we successfully onboarded eight new registrars into the .ng ecosystem. This is a strong signal of growing confidence in the domain and an important step toward expanding access and distribution.
In furtherance of these efforts, we will be convening Tech Convergence 3.0 in Abuja on the 2nd of June. This year’s engagement will build on our ongoing collaboration with government and industry stakeholders to position the .ng domain as a critical national resource, one that supports Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and ensures that individuals and businesses alike can own and control their digital identity within our national Internet ecosystem.
These efforts—capacity building, ecosystem expansion, and community development—are all interconnected. Together, they form the foundation of a resilient, inclusive, and globally competitive Nigerian Internet ecosystem.
As we move forward, our focus remains clear: to strengthen the .ng namespace, deepen trust in our digital infrastructure, and ensure that Nigeria continues to play a leading role in shaping the future of the Internet, both within Africa and on the global stage.