E-Business
Nigeria Loses N127Bn to Cyber Crime – Saraki
Dr Bukola Saraki, President of the Senate, has said that Nigeria has lost about N127 billion to cybercrime.
He disclosed this at Nigeria’s first Legislative Stakeholders Conference on ICT and Cyber security on Monday in Abuja.
Saraki, who was represented by Sen. Philip Aduda Saraki, Senate Minority Whip did not, however, specify the period within which the nation lost such an amount to cyber crime.
He said the loss was indicative of the hole created in the economy by cyber crime amounting to 0.08 per cent of the Gross Domestic product (GDP.
“It is indeed ironic that while internet penetration in Nigeria is tentative at best, hovering at just over the 90 million people mark, a percentage of 47.7 per cent, internet-facilitated crime seems to be growing.
“Our cyber borders are very porous, indeed,” Saraki said.
He said efforts to revive the economy must necessarily include counter-measures to minimise the losses and shore up the country’s cyber security architecture to better repel attacks.
Saraki further said that cyber attacks had in 2016 reached unprecedented level, globally with no sign of a downward trend.
“In recent times, we have seen the virulent use to which criminals and other shadowy agents have put the cyber space.
“The cyber ecosystem has been weaponised and manipulated to devastating effect to undermine democratic processes, influence voting in elections and whip up tension and divisions between societal groups.
“Over 200,000 cyber attacks were recorded in one single day earlier this year all over the world.
‘’Major international financial institutions have had their systems crippled for up to 48 hours after being targeted by criminals using Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), among other methods.”
He said such attacks threatened economic activities, adding that personal data of millions of people were compromised by cyber criminals, who demanded the payment of ransom before hijacked data could be released.
“Kidnapping, already a scourge in the Nigerian physical space, is also becoming a problem in the virtual realm as ‘cyber-kidnapping’ of encrypted data poses a clear and present danger to our economic viability.
The Senate President described cybercrime as an ever-mutating monster, constantly growing new tentacles and taking on new formations.
“Not so long ago, one web-based Ponzi scheme succeeded in entrapping thousands of Nigerians with promises of quick gains.
“Investors were left counting the costs when the bubble burst, while those responsible moved on to new pastures. There was no accountability anywhere.”
He said that it was in light of all these challenges that the Senate sounded the alarm with a motion in May and resolved to, amongst other things, convene a national conference.
“It is essential that we come up with effective cyber-security management strategies based on existing legislative frameworks, while building on the work already being done by bodies like the Cybercrime Advisory Council.
He noted that “The ‘Stop. Think. Connect’ campaign initiative of the United States Mission was aimed at reducing cybercrime in Nigeria.
According to him, the effort also points to the need to share ideas and collaborate with international partners to reduce the impact of the borderless crimes of cyber-space.
Sen. AbdulFatai Buhari, Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cybercrime, said the advancement in Information and Communication Technology had accelerated the growth and penetration of mobile telephony and its associated multimedia services.
“It has led to increasing access to the internet and broadband services providing opportunities for finding detailed answers to millions of questions every day.
Buhari said it was estimated that cybercrime would cost businesses in the world over $2 trillion by 2019.
In his address, Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communication, said globally, ICT had become a veritable tool for advancing growth and economic diversification.
He said that a World Bank study carried out in 2014 showed that every 10 per cent in ICT investment generated a corresponding 1.38 per cent increase in GDP.”
Represented by Abdulaziz Abdullahi, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, the minister said government had put in place new ICT strategic road map to improve the communication sector.
At the close of 2025, Temidayo Ojo, the CEO of Jumia Nigeria, reflected on a year-end shopping season that points to the growing maturity of the country’s e-commerce market. “Black Friday is no longer a single, short-lived spike in activity,” he said.
“It has become a familiar, anticipated moment in the retail calendar, where consumers shop deliberately and with confidence.”
Preliminary KPIs for the two months ended November 30, 2025, show strong year-on-year growth in both orders and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with GMV growth outpacing order growth. This indicates that customers are placing fuller, more considered baskets rather than shopping in fragmented transactions. Nigeria ranked among Jumia Group’s better-performing markets, with engagement remaining steady throughout the Black Friday period rather than spiking briefly and tapering off.
A key factor behind this performance is the growing familiarity of consumers with online shopping. Customers are increasingly leveraging platform features such as saved carts, brand stores, and price comparison tools to plan purchases in advance. This trend suggests that digital commerce is becoming embedded in everyday habits rather than being viewed as a one-off event.
Ojo also highlighted the role of Jumia’s JForce network in connecting digital commerce to local communities. “Our agents are critical to ensuring that customers across Nigeria, including secondary cities and smaller communities, have access to variety, consistent pricing, and reliable delivery,” he said. “During peak periods like Black Friday, JForce agents can respond faster, serve more customers efficiently, and build stronger local relationships. This isn’t just a distribution channel—it’s a pathway to sustainable income and inclusion.”
Reflecting on the overall performance, the CEO concluded: “What we’re seeing this year-end is steady engagement across categories, stronger consumer confidence, and partners like our JForce agents benefiting from increased activity.
“It confirms that Nigeria’s e-commerce ecosystem is maturing, growing in a more structured and resilient way. As the December Holiday Sale continues, we expect these patterns of familiarity, trust, and participation to sustain momentum and drive both commerce and community impact across the country.”
Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.
This is a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s digital economy.
The ranking, conducted by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), is the definitive benchmark for digital excellence and transparency across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, managing director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, received the award during a ceremony in Abuja.
He described the feat as a validation of the agency’s“Nigeria First”data sovereignty strategy and its relentless pursuit of service excellence.
This recognition comes as the Federal Government intensifies its push to achieve a fully paperless civil service by December 31, 2025.
GBB has been the primary architect of this transition through its 1Gov Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform, which now hosts the operations of almost all federal MDAs.
The award adds to a growing list of accolades for Galaxy Backbone in 2025, following its recent win of the “International Standard Excellence Award for Best IT Service Provider.”
As the central hub for government shared services, GBB’s performance serves as a blueprint for other agencies currently undergoing digital transformation.
With its expanded fiber-optic backbone now covering over 13 states and its secure cloud solutions, Galaxy Backbone remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s vision to become a leading digital nation by the end of the decade.
Okitipi Samuel, a Nigerian man, has been taken into custody by the Nigeria Police Force for his alleged role in a global cyberattack on Microsoft 365 users.
Benjamin Hundeyin, Force public relations officer, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the outcome of investigations carried out by the National Cybercrime Centre of the Nigeria Police Force.
Hundeyin said the centre, under the leadership of Ifeanyi Uche, its director and Commissioner of Police, commenced investigations in collaboration with Microsoft, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency.
According to him, investigations revealed that a phishing toolkit known as “Raccoon 0365” was used to create fake Microsoft login portals to harvest user credentials and unlawfully access email accounts belonging to corporate organisations, financial institutions, and educational institutions in several countries.
“This investigation commenced following credible intelligence received from Microsoft USA through the FBI, indicating that a malicious phishing toolkit known as Raccoon0365 was being used to create fake Microsoft login portals, harvest user credentials, and unlawfully access the email accounts of corporate organisations, financial institutions, and educational establishments,” Hundeyin said.
He added that between January and September 2025, several reports of unauthorised access to Microsoft 365 accounts were traced to phishing emails designed to mimic legitimate Microsoft login pages, enabling business email compromise, internal phishing, data breaches, and other cyber-enabled fraud.
Hundeyin said digital forensic analysis and cryptocurrency tracing identified wallets connected to the illegal operation.
He noted that operatives were deployed to Lagos and Edo states, leading to the arrest of three suspects identified as Joshua, James, and Okitipi Samuel between September 20 and October 4, 2025.
“Following extensive digital forensic and technical intelligence analysis, the centre conducted cryptocurrency tracing that identified suspicious wallets connected to cash-out schemes.
“Acting on actionable intelligence, operational teams were deployed to Lagos and Edo states, resulting in the arrest of Joshua, James, and Okitipi Samuel. Searches at their residences led to the recovery of mobile devices, laptops, and other digital exhibits linked to the fraudulent scheme,” he said.
Hundeyin identified Okitipi Samuel, also known as “0365” and Moses Felix as the principal suspect and developer of the phishing infrastructure.
He added that investigations confirmed Samuel unlawfully used the email details of one of the arrested individuals without consent to register some of the accounts used in the operation.
The police spokesperson said further investigations revealed that the identities of Joshua and James were used without their consent.
“There was no evidence linking them to the creation or operation of the phishing scheme. They were victims of identity theft,” Hundeyin said.
He said a prima facie case had been established against Samuel for identity theft, unlawful access to computer systems, creation and distribution of malicious software, unauthorised interference with network data, and aiding and abetting fraud.
Hundeyin added that the suspect would be charged under relevant provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024.
He said the suspect would be prosecuted in Nigeria, noting that the country has the capacity to enforce its cybercrime laws, although extradition could be considered if formally requested through due process.
Hundeyin assured Nigerians that the police, under the leadership of Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of Police, would continue to protect the country’s digital ecosystem and urged citizens to practise good cyber hygiene by being cautious when clicking links and sharing personal information online.
Speaking separately, Ifeanyi Uche, director of the National Cybercrime Centre, urged Nigerians to exercise caution online.
Uche advised members of the public to avoid clicking on links from unknown or unexpected sources, noting that such links often contain malware or phishing tools designed to compromise devices and personal data.
He warned that indiscriminate clicking of links or responding to unsolicited emails could lead to unauthorised access to personal and corporate accounts, urging citizens to “wash their cyber hands” by verifying sources before taking action online.
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