Foreign
U.S.-Based Tech-Developer, Tony Okeke & Team, unveil Xploit To Secure Global AI Workflows
A United States-based 23 year old tech-developer, Tony Kabilan Okeke, led a five-man team of Drexel University, Philadelphia, Penn., U.S. alumni and students to develop Xploit, an automated cybersecurity testing tool for AI agents, an ambitious concept that addresses a growing problem in AI landscape.
Beside Tony Okeke who is the Team Lead, other members of the team are Kamdi Okeke, Kiitan Fawole, Dalu Okonkwo and Michael Moemeke.
Speaking to our reporter on the development, Tony said, “As more businesses deploy AI agents that can take actions and use tools on behalf of customers, these systems become potential security risks. Unlike simple AI assistants, agents have access to tools and can perform real actions – meaning a security vulnerability isn’t just a PR problem, it could have serious real-world consequences.”
3rd from right, Team lead, Tony, Kamdi, Dalu, flanked by UEV partners
The team envisioned a tool that could automatically test an AI agent for vulnerabilities – essentially playing the role of a digital attacker to identify weaknesses before real threats could exploit them. This was the outcome of their brainstorming on November 21, 2025, when Tony led the group to build and pitch Xploit in the “Start-Up In a Weekend” Hackathon hosted on November 21 – 23, 2025 in Philadelphia, by The Foundry & Velric, a Philadelphia-based founder-first community that act as a startup ecosystem catalyst.
Tony designed the system’s architecture and created the initial prototype of the user interface (UI). The UI concept was crucial: it needed to visually show how their automated attacker was thinking, strategizing, and attempting different approaches in real-time, all displayed through interactive graph showing the attack process as it unfolded.
Responsibilities were strategically divided amongst the team. Some members created sample AI agents to serve as “victims” for testing. Tony developed the core attacking system. One person refined the user interface, and others handled the technical infrastructure connecting all the pieces together.
The attacking system itself works like a strategic game player. It would first choose an attack strategy, then create a detailed plan, execute that plan step-by-step by sending messages to the target AI agent, and analyze the responses to determine whether to continue or try a different approach. Throughout this process, the web interface displayed everything happening in real-time, allowing users to watch the automated tester work.
The team then integrated everything — making the attacker communicate with the victim AI agent systems, ensuring the automated testing loop ran smoothly, and polishing the final product. They recorded their demo video and submitted their project before the 9 am deadline on November 23, 2025.
During the afternoon judging session, the team delivered their pitch, framing their project around a massive, unaddressed market shift, highlighting a critical market gap: while the explosion of AI agents in 2025 has seen enterprises deploy them to manage everything from infrastructure to sensitive tasks like financial analysis and customer support, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are left vulnerable because they cannot afford to test them for security flaws. Unlike tech giants, SMBs lack the resources for dedicated AI security teams. Xploit, automated cybersecurity tool, directly addresses this need, positioning itself within a booming continuous automated red-teaming market projected to skyrocket from $495 million in 2024 to $4.9 billion by 2032. Xploit democratizes AI safety, levels the playing field, allowing any business to automatically test and secure their AI agents before deployment.
The judges were impressed enough that they took an unusual step — they asked to see the team’s code and development history to verify the project had actually been built during the hackathon weekend. This verification was necessary because the judges found it hard to believe such a polished product could be created in just one weekend.
The team won the “new project track” award and $1,500 in prize money.
“What made the achievement particularly remarkable” according to Kamdi Okeke, “wasn’t just that we built it over a weekend — it was that, competing amongst a diverse group of 100+ of Philadelphia’s most driven creators, we built Xploit in less than a day of actual development time, transforming an abstract idea into a working, polished prototype through focused collaboration and strategic planning.”
Speaking further, Tony said, “The experience at yet another hackathon, UEV’s Venture Building Weekend hosted in Philadelphia, March 12 – 14, 2026, was a turning point for us. The mentorship and feedback we received from industry operators helped sharpen how we think about the problem and where our approach fits in the market.”
United Effects Ventures (UEV) is a Philadelphia-based pre-seed venture studio. Through its Venture Building Weekend, a competitive hackathon, focused on problem validation and go-to-market strategy, teams refined their ideas with guidance from experienced operators and investors. After a grueling 48-hour sprint, Xploit came tops, outperformed 15 other competing teams, earning a cash award and two advisory sessions with partners at UEV; and most importantly, industry experts validated Xploit’s focus on continuous red-teaming as a strong approach to discovering vulnerabilities in AI-powered products.
Mentors at the hackathon validated both the team’s identification of the problem – the growing security risks posed by AI agents operating autonomously in enterprise environment – and their approach of framing the product as continuous red-teaming platform, which could support an ongoing service model.
The accusation comes after US Central Command said its forces had on Monday attacked missile sites and boats in southern Iran that were trying to lay mines in the Gulf, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it fired at US aircraft trying to enter its airspace.
“The US terrorist army, continuing its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire… has, in the past 48 hours, committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region,” the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.
It added that Tehran “will not leave any evil unanswered and will not hesitate to defend the Iranian nation,” without elaborating.
Tuesday’s statement came as a top Iranian delegation was in Qatar for talks as part of a “diplomatic process” aimed at ending the war with the United States, which broke out on February 28.
AFP
Iranian authorities held mass public weddings in Tehran for couples who signed up to a state-sponsored scheme declaring their readiness to sacrifice their lives in the war against the US and Israel.
The ceremonies conducted late on Monday involved hundreds of couples in several major squares in the capital, including more than 100 in the vast Imam Hossein square in central Tehran, according to reports in Iranian media.
They were broadcast on state TV in a bid to boost wartime morale, with US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening new military action against Iran amid a shaky ceasefire which halted the fighting that began on February 28.
Those involved had signed up, according to Iranian media, for the so-called “self-sacrifice” scheme (janfada in Persian) where people pledged to put their lives on the line in the war by, for example, forming human chains outside power stations.
Iranian authorities say millions of people, including top figures such as the speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, have put their names forward.
Couples arrived at the Imam Hossein square in military jeeps with mounted machine guns and were married on a stage in a ceremony presided over by a cleric, AFP images showed.
The stage was festooned with balloons and with a giant image of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public since being elevated to the position after the killing of his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war.
“Certainly, the country is at war, but young people also have the right to marry,” one young woman in a white Islamic bridal dress, who was not named, said beside her groom in footage published by the Mehr news agency.
A man in a dark suit, beside his bride-to-be, said they were happy the occasion marked the anniversary of the marriage of the Prophet Ali, revered by Shia Muslims, to Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed.
“We received their blessings. Furthermore, we came to offer our best wishes to the people in the streets,” he said.
Mehr said 110 couples had taken part in the Imam Hossein Square ceremony alone. The AFP images showed crowds of well-wishers clasping roses and watching on.
Since the start of the war, Iranian authorities have held, on a near-daily basis, major pro-government gatherings in a bid to highlight popular mobilisation amid the conflict.
AFP
The Nigerian community in the United States has been thrown into mourning following the sudden death of Eric Ezeokoli, a student of California State University, Long Beach.
Ezeokoli, who was born on October 6, 1960, reportedly died on Friday, April 11, 2026, at Saint Mary’s Hospital after a brief illness.
Until his death, he was studying Engineering at the university, also known as Long Beach State University. Sources disclosed that he had previously lived in San Jose before relocating to the Los Angeles area.
Tragically, at the time of his passing, Ezeokoli was said to be homeless and living in his car, with no fixed address.
The deceased was originally from Anambra State, although details about his exact hometown remain unclear. There are indications he may have hailed from Aguata, but this has not been officially confirmed.
Efforts are currently underway to locate his family members and relatives in Nigeria. Members of the Nigerian community and concerned individuals are appealing to anyone with useful information about Ezeokoli’s background or family to come forward.
A contact person, Paul Kizito Eze, has been designated to receive information that could help trace the deceased’s relatives.
The appeal has also been extended to people from Anambra State, particularly those familiar with communities in Aguata, to assist in identifying and notifying the family.
The situation has sparked renewed concern over the welfare of some Nigerians living abroad, especially those facing hardship and isolation.
Anyone with relevant information is urged to reach out urgently to assist in reconnecting the late Ezeokoli with his family for proper burial arrangements.
President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on his threat to wreck Iran’s civilian infrastructure, warning US forces could destroy every bridge and power plant in the country within four hours and that a truce proposal from international mediators was not yet enough.
Five weeks into the Middle East war triggered by a joint US-Israeli air assault on Tehran, the US leader has demanded that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping by midnight GMT on Tuesday, or face a newly devastating round of bombing.
Both Trump and Iran have said that a proposal touted by international mediators for a 45-day ceasefire is not yet ready, and in a Washington press conference, the US president dialled up his warlike rhetoric once again.
“We have a plan — because of the power of our military — where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again,” Trump said.
Trump had earlier accepted the ceasefire plan was a “significant proposal”, but went on to say it was not good enough. Iranian state media quotes officials stating that Tehran too “has rejected a ceasefire and insists on the need for a definitive end to the conflict”.
Trump said intermediaries “are negotiating now” on improving the ceasefire proposal, which US media reported was being mediated by Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey.
Iran’s military said it would “continue the war as long as the political authorities see fit”.
Trump’s latest threats, including a profanity-laced social media post on Sunday, have sent shockwaves through the international community.
International Committee of the Red Cross chief Mirjana Spoljaric warned that “deliberate threats… against essential civilian infrastructure” are illegal.
But talk of a ceasefire came as the US and Israel were striking targets across Iran, including major petrochemical facilities, and as Iran continued missile and drone attacks around the region.
Iran’s virtual blockade of Hormuz has sent oil and gas prices soaring and pushed countries around the world to enact measures to contain the fallout.
Earlier Monday, Israeli strikes had hit major Iranian petrochemical facilities, including in Asaluyeh on the Gulf coast, the country’s biggest, and another outside Shiraz in central Iran.
Israel’s military said it had also struck Iranian air force targets, including planes and helicopters at airports in Tehran and elsewhere.
Iran’s Guards posted on Telegram on Monday that their intelligence chief Majid Khademi, had been killed at dawn in US-Israeli strikes.
Israel’s military also said it had killed Asghar Bagheri, commander of the Guards’ Quds Force special operations unit, on Sunday.
“We will reach anyone who seeks to harm us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The Guards’ Intelligence Organisation vowed a “major retaliatory strike” against those responsible for killing their commanders, their official Sepah News website reported.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they launched an attack targeting Israel, supporting their backer Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
The war, which erupted on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has engulfed the Middle East and roiled the global economy.
The worldwide oil squeeze has hit aviation, with Indonesia on Monday saying it would increase a jet fuel surcharge and low-cost carrier Air Asia X announcing ticket price hikes of up to 40 per cent.
South Korea will send ships to fetch oil from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, avoiding Hormuz altogether, a ruling party MP said, while Taiwan’s government said it too would take the Red Sea route.
Gulf nations allied with the US have also been sucked into the war, with Kuwait and the UAE reporting strikes and injuries from Sunday to Monday.
Iran has continued to launch attacks at Israel, where the military and medics said four bodies were recovered from a residential building in the northern city of Haifa that was struck by a missile.
Iranian media reported several attacks on residential areas of Tehran, while the state broadcaster said gas outages hit parts of the capital after a strike on a university.
AFP
Some Nigerians in India have raised the alarm over what they described as increased racial profiling and brutalisation by the Indian police.
They lamented visa regularisation challenges and high renewal fees, which they said had made life unbearable in the Asian country.
Some of the residents alleged that some Nigerian students were physically assaulted, adding that reporting to the authorities had changed nothing.
NANS issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government for urgent diplomatic engagement, warning that it would escalate advocacy actions nationwide if the issues were not addressed.
Speaking with journalists during the demonstration, the NANS Vice President (Special Duties), Abubakar Mallawa, decried the alleged ill-treatment of Nigerians, adding that the association had received multiple distress reports from students in Indian cities, particularly Mumbai, over visa challenges, discriminatory practices and systematic profiling.
He noted that the affected students and other Nigerians engaged in legitimate businesses had faced difficulties in renewing visas, mass arrests linked to immigration status, denial of rental accommodation based solely on nationality, closure of Nigerian-owned shops, confiscation of goods, and, in some cases, forceful entry into residences and detention under degrading conditions.
The group also raised concerns over the visa application process, alleging that Nigerian applicants were often required to pay interview and processing fees but denied visas without clear explanations.
In a recent interview on Arise TV, the National Secretary of NANS, Anzaku Shedrack, said the group had been receiving disturbing videos showing the brutalisation of Nigerians in several parts of India, and called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene.
A video clip played by the tv station showed some suspected Indians attacking and stoning an individual, said to be a Nigerian, on the floor.
In an interview with Saturday PUNCH, the Education Coordinator of the Association of African Students in India, Rajasthan chapter, Abisola Williams, said Nigerians were going through tough times in India.
Williams also admitted that Nigerian students were seriously affected by regularisation challenges.
The third-year physiotherapy student explained that India does not grant permanent residency to international students.
“It’s either you’re a student or a professional with a work visa. As for Nigerians, we have to renew our visas every year, as students or professionals,” she said.
Williams noted that Indian authorities reserved the right to deny visa extensions to students who failed to meet academic or financial obligations.
Another Nigerian student in Delhi, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that Nigerians were required to pay 10,000 rupees (about N146,000) every three months to renew their visas, a fee she claimed is lower for students from other African countries.
“Other students from other African countries do not pay for it. We were told it was an agreement between the Indian and Nigerian governments for students to pay every three months. I know Zimbabweans who are not paying to renew visas, while Ghanaians pay a maximum of 500 rupees, which is about N8,000. This is just unfair. That’s the cross Nigerians bear to regularise their stay in India. They don’t give us enough time to raise the money. But for other nationals like Zimbabweans, they get about eight months before their next visa expires,” the student said.
She added that the fee was not disclosed during visa processing in Nigeria and that many students only became aware of it after arriving in India.
The student further alleged that Indian police actively track Nigerians, whose visas had expired, leading to arrests, intimidation and deportation.
“When my visa was about to expire, I went to renew it, but was surprised to learn it was 10,000 rupees. After that, the police came looking for me because I had not renewed my visa.
“I have seen male students who were bullied and harassed because of this. They don’t believe we live by the rules. Anything that goes wrong is attributed to Nigerians, and it’s unfair.
“There are people who have faced serious injustice in the hands of these officers. Some were taken to deportation camps. I knew someone who was deported to Nigeria for this,” she said.
Drug crimes in India
No fewer than 50,000 Nigerians are believed to be resident in India.
Analysts believe that the Nigerian community is being targeted due to increased arrests of some people from the country for alleged drug trafficking.
In 2024, Indian agencies arrested 660 foreign nationals for drug-related crimes.
No fewer than 106 of the suspects were reported to be Nigerians, the second highest. Nepal was first on the list with 203 nationals.
Also, 2,356 Nigerians were deported by India between 2019 and 2024, with removals quadrupling from 339 in 2021 to 1,470 in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
Nigerians are police informants – Diplomat
But a diplomat in India said some Nigerians were being used as informants by the Indian police.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that such people were usually induced with money.
“Fellow Nigerians report one another to the police when they have disputes. They become informants because the authorities give them a share. When Nigerians are arrested, the police extort money from them, and the informants take a cut. These practices put the country in a bad light,” the source said.
The source also urged Nigerians to comply with local laws.
The official added, “People should ask why Nigerians are being maltreated. What offence did they commit? You are in another country and must obey their laws. Some individuals have overstayed for years without valid visas. Once caught, there may be consequences.”
On the quarterly visa renewal, the official said the issue also affects Nigerian diplomats and called for reciprocal measures.
“As diplomats, our families renew visas yearly. It is an issue we have raised at the highest level, but nothing has been done. The best approach is reciprocity. We should ensure their families get similar terms, while we consider shorter durations for their students.”
PUNCH
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