The Federal Ministry of Education has denied the news of a data breach on the Nigeria Education Management Information System (NEMIS) platform.
Director, Press and Public Relations of the Ministry, Boriowo Folasade announced this in a statement on Tuesday.
TheFact Daily gathered that the disclaimer was a response to a publication by The Guardian Newspaper titled “Suspected Cyberattack Hits FG’s Education Data Platform”, which suggested that NEMIS may have been compromised.
“The Ministry wishes to categorically state that the report is inaccurate and misleading. At no time was the NEMIS platform hacked, breached, or subjected to any cyberattack. The integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data on the platform remain fully intact.
“The Ministry clarifies that the temporary warning message observed by some users resulted from an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate configuration issue at the hosting level, which affected the platform’s secure access certification. The incident was purely technical in nature and did not involve any unauthorized access to the system, data loss, data alteration, or exposure of sensitive information.
“Upon identification of the issue, the Ministry’s technical team, working in collaboration with the hosting service provider, promptly resolved the matter and restored normal service operations. The platform remains fully functional, secure, and accessible to all authorized users”, the statement said.
Boriowo added that it was important to note that browser security warnings or SSL certificate-related alerts do not, in themselves, constitute evidence of a cyberattack or data breach. Indeed, expert opinion referenced within the publication acknowledged that such alerts may arise from routine technical or configuration issues and should not be misconstrued as proof of malicious activity.
She further said NEMIS remained an important digital platform supporting the collection, management, and utilization of education data within the sector.
“The Federal Ministry of Education continues to implement robust security measures, regular system monitoring, infrastructure safeguards, and periodic security assessments to ensure the reliability, availability, and protection of the platform.
“The Ministry further notes that the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) serves as the Federal Government’s flagship framework for strengthening education data governance, integration, accessibility, and evidence-based planning across the education sector. The continued integrity and security of platforms supporting this initiative remain a priority of the Ministry”, she said.
The Ministry therefore urged media organizations and members of the public to refrain from disseminating unverified information capable of creating unnecessary concern and undermining public confidence in government digital platforms. Stakeholders were also encouraged to seek clarification through official Ministry channels before publishing or circulating claims relating to government digital systems.
“The Federal Ministry of Education remains committed to the highest standards of information security, digital governance, transparency, and accountability in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
“Members of the public, education stakeholders, and development partners are advised to disregard reports suggesting that the NEMIS platform was compromised, as such claims are unfounded”, the statement concluded.
