" ITREALMS: NiRA targets 1m .ng domain names

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Wednesday, September 26, 2007

NiRA targets 1m .ng domain names

The Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NiRA) is targeting to increase registration of domain names under the dot ng to 1000,000 by 2009.

This is coming as NiRA currently have achieved over 3000 domain name registration since coming on board few months back.

Chairman of NiRA and chief executive, Amsco Telecom Limited, Mr. Ndukwe Kalu gave this indication during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of Champion Newspapers Limited at the weekend.

Speaking to senior editors at the visit, Mr. Kalu accompanied by the secretary of NiRA and General Manager, Infoweb Limited, Mr. Vincent Akhimien and administrative secretary of NiRA, Ms Glory Ogbonna, said registration exercise, which is on-going is expected to attract 1 million in the next 24 months.

“Our hope is to move this figure to 1 million within the next 24 months,” he asserted adding that before the birth of the current NiRA management team in May this year, the number of registered domain names in the country was less than a 1000.

He also said that NiRA was aware that several Nigerian domains exist but were hitherto registered mostly with the international domain names.

NiRA, he said, is a child of circumstance given birth to by the immediate past administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

NiRA, he pointed out also faces some challenges mostly in curtailing advances by some disgruntled Nigerians who tried to register phoney company domain names.

“But NiRA has put some measures in place to safeguard against such attempts. We have to verify every application before registering any name,” Mr. Kalu informed.

He further said that the main function of NiRA is to administer the nation’s Top Level Domain (TLD) .ng, as seen in other countries, emphasized that a domain is like an address that facilitates a location of a given name on the Internet.

Hence, it is an address to locate an organisation or individual online, just as he equally disclosed that NiRA is collaborating with the directorate of Cyber crime and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in order to teem down the rise of Internet fraud emanating from the Nigerian-based Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

NiRA, he said, is in communication with the newly created directorate of cybercrime, and EFCC to ensure reduction and involvement of Nigerians on Internet fraud.

“The collaboration, he said, has resulted in the introduction of due diligence initiative among the service providers,” Mr. Kalu said.

According to him, NiRA supports 100 per cent trial of any fraudulent process, maintaining that technically, there are room to trace fraudulent electronic mail scams and his association is not relenting.

“We intend to do that to give people comfort through cyber forensic,” he said.

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