The Federal Government has dismissed reports alleging that the Nigeria Education Management Information System (NEMIS) suffered a cyberattack, insisting that the platform remains secure and that no data was compromised.
The clarification follows a report published by The Guardian titled “Suspected Cyberattack Hits FG’s Education Data Platform,” which suggested that the government’s education data system may have been breached.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Federal Ministry of Education described the report as “inaccurate and misleading,” stressing that NEMIS was neither hacked nor subjected to any form of cyber intrusion.
“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 said.
According to the ministry, the temporary warning message encountered by some users was caused by an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate configuration issue at the hosting level and not by unauthorized access to the platform.
“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,” the statement added.
The ministry disclosed that its technical team worked with the hosting service provider to quickly resolve the issue and restore normal operations.
“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,” it stated.
The ministry further explained that browser security warnings linked to SSL certificates should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of cyberattacks or data breaches.
“It is important to note that browser security warnings or SSL certificate-related alerts do not, in themselves, constitute evidence of a cyberattack or data breach,” the statement said.
Reaffirming confidence in the platform, the ministry noted that NEMIS remains a critical digital tool for the collection, management and utilization of education data nationwide.
The ministry also highlighted the role of the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI), describing it as the Federal Government’s flagship framework for strengthening education data governance, integration and evidence-based planning across the sector.
“The continued integrity and security of platforms supporting this initiative remain a priority of the Ministry,” it said.
The Federal Ministry of Education urged media organisations and members of the public to verify information through official channels before publishing reports capable of undermining confidence in government digital systems.
The ministry advised stakeholders, development partners and the general public to disregard claims that the NEMIS platform had been compromised, maintaining that such reports were unfounded.
“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,” the statement added.