Incident log · Africa, 2023–2025
What software failures have already cost us
These are public, reported incidents. We list them to show the kinds of failure that careful testing is designed to catch, not to blame anyone. Every organisation that ships software faces the same risks.
Nigeria · Education · May 2025Critical
379,997UTME candidates had to resit
JAMB traced the fault to failed server updates in its Lagos and Owerri zones, which stopped some candidates' answers from uploading properly during the first days of the 2025 UTME. The Registrar publicly apologised and a resit was scheduled.1
Testing that targets thisRegression testing of every server patch across all zones, plus a results sanity check before release.
Nigeria · Fintech · Oct 2023Critical
₦19bnmoved to about 6,000 accounts in 35 banks
Unauthorised transactions through Flutterwave POS terminals during a system glitch on 12–13 October 2023. NIBSS data cited in court showed 9,633 erroneous transactions by 814 agents.2,3
Testing that targets thisNegative and abuse-case testing of transaction limits, authorisation rules and failure states.
Nigeria · Banking · Sep–Oct 2024High
2 weeksSterling Bank app customers reported no access
Several banks upgraded core banking systems in late 2024. Zenith Bank's platforms stayed down past the planned window over Independence Day, and customers across banks were left stranded at petrol stations and shops.4,5
Testing that targets thisMigration and cut-over rehearsal, data reconciliation and rollback testing before go-live.
Nigeria · Banking · Oct 2024High
₦1.9bncredited to customers by mistake
GTBank was reported to have mistakenly credited customers with about ₦1.9 billion. Other lenders have also faced failures linked to erroneous or unauthorised transfers.6
Testing that targets thisEnd-to-end ledger testing with boundary values and duplicate-posting checks.
Kenya · Government · Jul 2023Critical
5,000+government services offline for days
A flood-of-traffic attack took down Kenya's eCitizen portal from 23 to 27 July 2023. Passports, licences and e-visas were affected, and Kenya issued visas on arrival while the system was down.7,8
Testing that targets thisLoad, stress and resilience testing so the system degrades gracefully under extreme traffic.
Global · Jul 2024Global lesson
8.5mWindows computers crashed worldwide
A faulty CrowdStrike security update grounded flights and disrupted banks and hospitals around the world, including in Africa. One bad update, shipped everywhere at once.9
Testing that targets thisPre-release validation on real configurations and staged roll-outs to a small group first.