E-Business
Nigerian Cyber crime Net Widens
Africa, as a continent, is vulnerable to a plethora of Internet threats, from financial fraud and malware distribution to terrorism, drugs and human trafficking.
With 67 million Internet users as of May, Nigeria is often in the spotlight when it comes to cyber crime.
This surge in Internet usage has brought with it multiple threats. Criminals are creative, have persuasive skills and are adaptive adversaries. They have easy access to the Web to cast their criminal nets wider than ever, said Abdulkarim Chukkol, head of the Advance Fee Fraud and Cybercrime Section Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria. He spoke at ITWeb Security Summit 2015, in Midrand.
The EFCC is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes, such as online fraud.
Who are the perpetrators in Nigeria? He asked. “They are all global citizens. They work individually or in small cells, they are highly mobile and loosely organised, and our field experience show they are repeat, unrepentant offenders.”
According to Chukkol, some of the biggest threats Nigeria faces include phishing – targeting mostly financial institutions – with infections usually occurring via a man-in-the-middle e-mail attack. He said his organisation has also seen an increase in data breaches and insider abuse by employees and contract staff, largely due to a lack of segregation of duties.
“I believe the volume of cyber crimes will continue to grow and the chances of catching the criminals will be much less.”
Chukkol said most attacks seen by the EFCC are not highly technical. “Businesses spend a fortune on hardening their systems, but all it takes is one piece of malware to get through their defences.”
In terms of the victims, he said most are Nigerians. “This includes individuals, both locals and foreigners, financial institutions that are 100% reliant on critical infrastructure, and small businesses, which don’t care as much about IT security. They take risks to become bigger players, and have a ‘this won’t happen to me’ mentality.”
According to Chukkol, the methods Nigerian cyber criminals use to launder the ill-gotten gains of cyber crime are advanced too, and the increased use of electronic banking systems and e-commerce have seen a rise in efforts to defraud both individuals and corporate organisations.
In Nigeria, each sector of the economy formulates its own policy to safeguard itself, and there are also policies and guidelines formulated for the industry by the appropriate regulatory agencies, he noted. These are aimed at improving knowledge, capabilities, decision-making and addressing priority areas.
“Even though government is taking steps to boost its cyber security and catch and prosecute cyber crooks, much more needs to be done,” said Chukkol. “There have been several mechanisms put in place to share information and facilitate co-operation between national authorities and the private industry, and Nigeria has successfully arrested and prosecuted several cyber criminals.”
Nigeria recently launched a new joint case team to step up its response to cybercrimes that affect people and businesses at home and abroad.
The ‘Joint Case Team on Cybercrime’ brings together Nigeria’s key justice and security agencies to work as one, making it easier to detect, investigate, and prosecute digital offences.
It is supported by the UK National Crime Agency, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, as part of a wider effort to promote international cooperation on cybercrime.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation described the initiative as “a bold and transformative stride in Nigeria’s justice system.”
He said that although Nigeria has a national legal framework to address cyber offences, laws alone are not enough.
Nigeria is among the countries most affected by cybercrime around the world, with increasing financial losses.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division within its ICT Department.
This marks a significant stride toward enhancing electoral integrity, efficiency, and innovation in Nigeria’s democratic process.
This decision was reached at the Commission’s regular weekly meeting held in Abuja, following a series of consultations and engagements on the global and continental impact of AI on elections.
In a statement issued by Sam Olumekun, national commissioner and chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC underscored that the growing relevance of AI in electoral matters necessitated a proactive institutional framework to manage both the risks and opportunities it presents.
“Our interactions with electoral bodies across Africa highlighted both the risks of AI—such as fake news and content manipulation—and the vast potential it holds for data-driven decision-making, risk mitigation, automated voter services, and geo-spatial intelligence for logistics,” Olumekun noted.
According to him, the newly created division will centralise the Commission’s AI efforts, ensuring a harmonized approach to deploying intelligent systems that enhance decision-making, improve voter engagement, and boost the credibility of the electoral process.
“The creation of this division puts the Commission at the forefront of institutionalizing AI capabilities in electoral management.
It is also part of our ongoing reforms in areas where administrative action is sufficient to drive change,” he said.
He added that the AI Division will help INEC better coordinate its existing technological investments while providing safeguards against the misuse of AI technologies.
“We are positioning ourselves to maximise the positive impact of AI while mitigating its negative implications. This step strengthens the credibility and transparency of elections in Nigeria,” Olumekun concluded.
The initiative, INEC emphasised, reflects its commitment to embracing innovation in safeguarding democracy and improving electoral services nationwide.
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has unveiled a new Application Programming Interface (API) integration system to allow private firms access company data from the Commission’s database.
Hussaini Ishaq Magaji (SAN), registrar general of CAC, who spoke in Abuja at the unveiling said the system would give selected private organizations access to CAC services through technology-based companies, called “super agents.”
“This is a practical step to show that the Commission is committed to meeting the expectations of our customers,” he said.
Magaji explained that the integration allows the agents to retrieve data from the CAC database for use in specific client requests, outside the standard services provided by the Commission.
“Before now, only a few government agencies had this integration, especially those involved in investigations, anti-money laundering, and terrorism financing. Now, private companies that meet the criteria can also access it,” he said.
He said the system complies with the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023, and information such as residential addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth may be restricted.
“This is a call to law firms and companies with the right technology. We’ve started with NIPS because of their credibility. Embassies and banks can now authenticate company records directly through them.”
“There are prescribed fees. We already collect them on our portal, and now customers can also pay through these agents,” he explained.
He named NIPS, MoneyPoint, and OPE as some of the companies involved.
“OPE and MoneyPoint handle only registrations. But NIPS has moved further into validation and verification,” he said.
Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo, executive director at NIBSS, who represented Premier Oiwoh, managing director, said the service allows secure and efficient data verification.
“This is the result of years of effort to connect our systems with CAC. It will help users verify data within the limits of data protection laws,” she said.
She said the move is a way to lower costs and promote interoperability across the financial sector.
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