Cybercrime cost Nigeria over $3bn in six years- NITDA

Cybercrime cost Nigeria more than $3 billion between 2019 and 2025, highlighting the growing economic impact of digital threats as the country accelerates the expansion of its digital economy, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said.

Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of NITDA, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at a two-day cybersecurity workshop for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), citing findings from the Deloitte Nigeria Cybersecurity Outlook 2026.

He warned that the rapid digitisation of government services had increased the exposure of public institutions to increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.

Represented by Ayodele Bakare, Assistant Director in NITDA’s Cybersecurity Department, Inuwa also referenced the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Cybercrime Assessment, which ranked Nigeria among the three most targeted countries for cybercrime in Africa.

He attributed the trend to the country’s expanding digital economy and growing reliance on online platforms.

According to him, cyber threats have evolved beyond isolated attacks by opportunistic hackers into organised operations driven by financial and political motives.

“The threat we face is no longer the work of the lone opportunist. We are contending with organised, financially motivated, and at times politically driven actors,” he said.

Inuwa said these actors increasingly exploit the same digital technologies being adopted by governments to deliver public services, making coordinated cybersecurity measures across public institutions essential.

He warned that vulnerabilities in one government agency could provide entry points into other institutions, stressing that cybersecurity across MDAs must be approached collectively rather than in isolation.

“These actors do not respect boundaries between our agencies. A weakness in one MDA becomes a doorway into another, and this is why defence cannot be fragmented,” he said.

“Our defence must be converged and done in a concerted manner because cybersecurity in government shall not and never be fragmented.”

He said NITDA, through its Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT), would continue to support MDAs with preventive measures and incident response capabilities, while emphasising that prevention remained the most effective cybersecurity strategy.

The NITDA director-general identified regular cyber risk assessments, stronger security policies, staff awareness, capacity building, incident response planning and continuous system improvements as key components of an effective cybersecurity framework.

“No firewall or technical control can replace the need for personnel to understand and discharge their cybersecurity responsibilities,” he said.

He urged participants at the workshop to use the platform to share intelligence, analyse recent cyber incidents and strengthen Nigeria’s cyber resilience, rather than treat it as a routine training programme.

Inuwa also disclosed that participants would review NITDA’s draft Regulatory Guidelines for Government Information Security Management ahead of broader stakeholder consultations.

“Nigeria’s digital future is not a threat to be feared but an opportunity to be secured,” he said.

Hamza Lateef, a Cybersecurity Expert and Workshop Facilitator, said the programme examined Nigeria’s evolving cyber threat landscape, including ransomware attacks, Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups and other malicious actors targeting public infrastructure.

According to Lateef, recent attacks have included activities by digital activists protesting government policies, as well as attempts by foreign actors to disrupt government portals and other critical online services.

He added that MDAs must strengthen cybersecurity governance by deploying secure systems and clearly defining cybersecurity responsibilities for contractors managing government information and communication technology infrastructure.

Participants at the workshop were drawn from several public institutions, including the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).