E-Business
NITDA Identifies Key Barriers to Cybersecurity in Nigeria
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has identified outdated frameworks, inadequate expertise, and low awareness as major barriers to effective cybersecurity interventions in Nigeria.
Dr Ayodele Bakare, deputy director, Cybersecurity Department, NITDA, made this known on Friday during a meeting with a delegation from the United Kingdom (UK) in Abuja.
The discussion focused on building a national cybersecurity infrastructure.
Bakare highlighted that cybersecurity is a borderless issue, requiring both local and international collaboration as well as strategic interventions to address emerging threats.
He noted that while Nigeria has existing cybersecurity frameworks and policies, their effectiveness in tackling evolving threats—particularly those driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI)—remains questionable.
Some of the key frameworks he mentioned include the Cybercrime Act 2015, which was recently amended in 2024, and the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023, both of which play a crucial role in shaping the country’s cybersecurity landscape.
“NITDA, seven years ago, released the National Public Key Infrastructure as a regulation. We also have other sectoral frameworks, such as the Risk-Based Cybersecurity Framework for financial institutions released by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Given the fact that we have all these frameworks, their effectiveness is still a question, and I think the first thing is for a rebase line on the basis that informs the existing frameworks.
“The majority of the frameworks were issued far before now, and there are emerging risks like AI-driven threats, and some of the frameworks that we have are not really addressing them,” he said.
Bakare also pointed out that despite ongoing public awareness efforts, cyber threats such as device code phishing remain widespread.
He shared a personal experience of nearly falling victim to such an attack, emphasising that many Nigerians are still unaware of modern cyber threats.
He called for enhanced, interactive awareness campaigns to better educate the public on cyber risks.
In addition, Bakare highlighted Nigeria’s shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals, stating that the country has only about 8,300 cybersecurity experts for a population of 220 million. He stressed the urgent need to develop skills in the sector.
“We are looking for platforms that can provide an efficient way of training people, and we are also looking at collaborations that can help bring down the cost of cybersecurity certification courses.
“Averagely, you see Nigerians spending between 2,000 dollars to 5,000 dollars for this certification, which is very expensive, and reducing the cost will increase the number of experts,” he said.
Bakare also raised concerns about governance, risk management, and compliance among government institutions, revealing that NITDA is working on an audit regime to ensure adherence to cybersecurity frameworks.
He further noted the need for more efficient threat intelligence platforms that can gather, analyse, and share information on cybersecurity threats.
According to him, adopting cloud-based solutions could help institutions identify and mitigate external threats more effectively.
“The government is making efforts to ensure the management and effective utilisation of the National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to secure online transactions and communications in collaboration with stakeholders.
“For government institutions, we are working on a framework for Zero Trust, which should create an efficient platform.
“The platform will ensure that before you access any information-based system, either cloud-based or on-premise, you have to go through a Zero Trust platform.
“This is to ensure that digital trust is effectively maintained and that the incidences of data leakages are reduced,” Bakare said.
He added that NITDA is developing a National Cybersecurity Architecture that will consolidate various cybersecurity initiatives and frameworks into a single, unified strategy.
“We are working towards an architecture that will serve as the single source of truth for Nigeria’s National Cybersecurity Strategy and help streamline efforts for effective management of cyberspace,” he said.
Visa, global payment services giant, has announced plans to establish a data centre infrastructure in Nigeria.
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
According to a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (office of the vice-president) on Friday, Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, spoke during a courtesy visit to Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the presidential villa in Abuja.
“This is in addition to its investments of over $1 billion in the country, including a substantial technological partnership with @moniepoint to foster digital payment solutions, a $200 million investment in Interswitch, and a partnership with @thriveagric to empower smallholder farmers and enhance food security in Nigeria,” the statement reads.
During the meeting, Torre said the plan to establish the data centre infrastructure aims to bring new technologies into the Nigerian market that would bolster the nation’s growing digital economy.
“Visa has been making investments and will continue to make these investments in Nigeria,” he said.
Responding, Shettima welcomed Visa’s expansion efforts, assuring the delegation that the partnership between Visa and the Nigerian government would continue to flourish.
The vice-president commended the company for investing in ThriveAgric, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is deeply committed to repositioning the agriculture sector, which remains a top priority in its 8-point agenda.
“Nigeria is where the action is. Of the 10 fintechs in Africa, about eight are in Nigeria, with moniepoint as the newest addition,” Shettima said.
“Agriculture is key to the 8-point agenda of the present administration. President @officialABAT is really keen on repositioning the agriculture industry here, and we have to invest in technology, we have to invest in modernisation.”
On January 23, Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech company, announced it secured investment from Visa to support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has approved N242.8m for the procurement of a Microsoft 365 licence for its Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) as part of efforts to digitise the service’s operations.
Mr Michael Ango, acting executive chairman of FCT-IRS, disclosed this after the FCT Executive Committee meeting chaired by Mr Nyesom Wike, the minister of FCTA, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ango said that the FCTA was making significant investments in technology to enhance revenue generation and collection.
“So, this is also one of those investments in technology that the FCT is undertaking.
“The licence, if procured, will enhance our ability to move most of our manual processes into automated processes.
“It will enhance our ability to communicate within our offices,” he said.
The executive chairman added that the move would also reduce the use of paper and ensure better record-keeping through the storage of information and documents in the cloud.
According to him, “The licence will essentially enhance our operations and assist us in generating revenue for the development of the FCT under Wike’s leadership.”
Rack Centre, West Africa’s Tier III Carrier and Cloud neutral data centre, has welcomed Olla Cloud Service, a new private cloud service by Olla Systems Limited, a leading provider of innovative technology solutions, to its facility.
Hosting at Rack Centre, Olla Cloud Service runs on a state-of-the-art, cloud-enabled infrastructure for enterprise applications across diverse platforms, including mission critical application, web applications as well as containerised applications using Kubernetes.
Lars Johannisson, CEO, Rack Centre, welcoming Olla Systems, noted that the partnership with Olla Systems Limited would reflect the company’s commitment to providing African businesses with high- quality cloud computing services.
He noted that Olla Systems would enjoy Rack Centre’s 13.5MW data centre campus facility, designed to meet the highest international standards and offering scalable solutions to Hyperscalers, Enterprises, and Cloud service providers.
As part of its commitment to sustainability, the facility is equipped with energy-efficient systems, advanced cooling technologies to mitigate environmental impact and an optimally-designed feature to handle high-density workloads with precision.
According to Johannisson, “With Olla Cloud Service hosting at Rack Centre, clients will experience fast performance and low latency, enabling businesses in Africa to access world-class cloud computing services within a secure and compliant local infrastructure.”
Also speaking, Olusola Adenuga, chief executive officer, Olla Systems Limited, expressed enthusiasm about hosting at Rack Centre, noting that Olla Cloud remains a groundbreaking private cloud solution for businesses.
While highlighting the benefits of the partnership between Rack Centre and Olla Systems, Adenuga disclosed that “subscribing to Olla Cloud Service is cost-effective to customers because of its local currency payment advantage.”
She also noted that the partnership between the duo, provides businesses the opportunity to meet regulatory requirements of data residency, while enjoying world-class infrastructure as a service (IaaS) locally.
“Other benefits of hosting with Olla Cloud include: 24/7 support, unparalleled performance, scalability and agility.” she added.
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