… Among top 10 targets for business email compromise, online fraud, sextortion
ABUJA – Nigeria has been ranked fifth globally in cybercrime, recording an alarming 47 percent increase in cyber attacks and losing an estimated 500 million dollars annually, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has disclosed.
Speaking at the Annual Cybercrimes Awareness Campaign and the Second National Consultation on the Cybercrimes Legal Framework in Nigeria, held Tuesday in Abuja, Fagbemi said Nigerian organisations experienced an average of 4,388 cyber attacks per week in the first quarter of 2025.
The minister warned that “the same networks that empower our lives now serve as battlefields, with criminals using artificial intelligence and sophisticated tactics to deceive and disrupt,” describing cybercrime as “the new frontier of justice in our time.”
Citing the INTERPOL 2023 Africa Cybercrime Assessment, Fagbemi said Nigeria ranks among the top ten countries targeted by business email compromise, online fraud, and sextortion, crimes that he noted erode public confidence, deter investment, and threaten the nation’s digital future.
“For a nation positioning itself as Africa’s digital hub, this is not merely a criminal justice issue; it is an existential development challenge,” he stated.
Fagbemi disclosed that the Federal Government is developing two new bills, one on cybercrime as a criminal justice instrument and another on cybersecurity governance and critical infrastructure protection to establish a modern legal framework aligned with international conventions, including the Budapest Convention and the UN Convention on Cybercrime (2024).
He called for institutional coordination and stronger partnerships, stressing that tackling cybercrime “is not a challenge that can be outsourced or postponed.”
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, urged stakeholders across sectors to unite against cyber threats, noting that increasing digital connectivity in Nigeria has also made cybercriminals more sophisticated.
“It is our shared duty as leaders and stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria’s cyberspace remains a space of opportunity, trust, and growth, not one of fear or exploitation,” she said.
The event was attended by representatives of the National Assembly, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, regulators, UNODC, private tech actors, academia, the EU, and the diplomatic corps.
