Nigeria’s expanding digital ecosystem is facing rising exposure to cyberattacks, infrastructure vulnerabilities, financial fraud, and other emerging security risks, with experts warning that weak institutional coordination is worsening the situation across critical sectors.
The concerns were raised at the inaugural Enterprise Security Risk Management Conference organised by the Association of Enterprise Risk Management Professionals (AERMP), where stakeholders said the rapid digitisation of banking, telecommunications, healthcare, governance, and enterprise systems has significantly increased national risk exposure.
Speaking at the event themed “Repositioning Enterprise Security Risk Management in an Evolving Global Threat Landscape: A Multi-Stakeholder Imperative,” industry leaders noted that modern threats are no longer isolated but interconnected, affecting both digital and physical infrastructure simultaneously.
Chairman of the occasion and Chief Executive Officer of Advantec Marine Services, Bolanle Ati-John, said Nigeria’s threat environment now extends beyond traditional security challenges to include cybercrime, infrastructure sabotage, supply chain disruption, disinformation, and economic shocks.
He warned that attacks on critical systems could rapidly escalate across multiple sectors, creating broader national and economic consequences.
“A cyberattack on a bank is not merely an IT problem. It can become a financial stability problem,” he said, stressing the need for anticipatory and intelligence-driven security systems.
In a presentation delivered on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerian Communications Commission, the commission raised concerns over increasing digital vulnerabilities across the country.
The NCC disclosed that more than 27,000 fibre cuts and over 4,000 cyberattacks were recorded in 2025 across banking, telecommunications, healthcare, and government systems.
It warned that AI-powered attacks, ransomware-as-a-service, and data breaches are becoming more sophisticated, increasing pressure on national cybersecurity infrastructure.
The commission also noted that nearly 90 per cent of Nigeria’s data is hosted outside Africa, raising concerns about data sovereignty and national security risks.
According to the NCC, the rollout of 5G networks, artificial intelligence, and smart technologies will further expand Nigeria’s attack surface unless stronger cybersecurity governance frameworks are implemented.
To address these challenges, the commission said it has introduced a Cyber Resilience Framework for the communications sector, aimed at improving threat detection, incident response, and risk management across licensed operators, with full enforcement expected from February 2027.
Chief Information Security Officer of Quest Merchant Bank, Maji Alamogu, also warned that cyber risks have evolved beyond technical issues into enterprise-wide threats capable of disrupting operations and compromising customer data.
She stressed that cybersecurity is now a boardroom issue, requiring integration into corporate governance, risk management, and compliance systems.
Director of Halogen Security Risk Advisory and Consulting, Adewale Adeagbo, added that the increasing complexity of threats demands more proactive and coordinated risk management approaches.
He noted that modern security risks are dynamic and interconnected, requiring organisations to shift from reactive responses to preventive strategies.
Other speakers at the conference emphasised that weak coordination among institutions remains a major challenge, with some warning that risk often spreads faster than responsibility in today’s interconnected environment.
They called for stronger collaboration between government agencies, private sector operators, and security institutions to improve intelligence sharing and enhance national resilience.
The conference concluded with a consensus that Nigeria must adopt enterprise-wide, anticipatory security frameworks to effectively manage emerging cyber and infrastructure threats in an increasingly digital economy.
