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Robert Lemos , Contributing Writer July 15, 2026 5 Min Read Source: esfera via Shutterstock In the past four years, the number of fraud incidents reported in Nigeria fell nearly 46% from 124,000 in 2021 to just 68,000 in 2025. Yet at the same time, losses from that fraud have risen as cybercriminals have created more lucrative schemes. The country's rapid digital transformation of its economy has attracted cybercriminals and financial fraudsters . In June 2026, for example, the average Nigerian organization saw 4,361 attempted attacks per week, placing it behind just Angola as the most attacked country in Africa, according to cybersecurity vendor Check Point Software, which tracks at least 50 threat actors as currently active in the country. While Nigeria's weekly number of detected threats have waxed and waned over the year, they have — overall — stayed at an elevated level, says Hendrik de Bruin, head of security consulting in Africa for Check Point Software. "We need to think of Nigeria's attack volumes less like a trend and perhaps more like a thermometer that's been stuck in the red," he says. "The numbers oscillate — up then down, and then, up again — but they've never really dipped below roughly double the global average of 2,270. That is the trend: persistently elevated." Related: Mexico's New Cyber Plan Faces Its First Real Test Nigeria aims to create a more resilience digital economy and is creating a cybersecurity framework — due out later this year — that will include mandated reporting of incidents, minimum investments in cybersecurity, and arrangements for deeper public-private collaboration. In June, for example, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) said that work continues on the details of its cybersecurity and cloud-sovereignty policies. The policies are two important foundations of the country's digitalization framework, Kashifu Inuwa, director general of the agency, said during a meeting with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE) aimed at hastening the country's digital transformation. "We are awaiting the Ministry’s guidance on how to move forward, particularly on the national cloud and cybersecurity policies," he said in a statement . Nigeria: A Land of (Cyber) Opportunity With an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) of US $377 billion , Nigeria is largest economy in Western Africa and the continent's third largest economy overall. The country is emerging from four years of financial disruption following painful efforts to liberalize its markets, including halting fuel subsidies and allowing its currency — the naira — to float, rather than pegging it to the US dollar. The currency dropped to a third of its former value, but the effort is paying some dividends , although the country's debt continues to sap its budget. Related: UK Social Media Ban for Minors Has Privacy Experts Worried In addition to its other woes, Nigeria has a significant cybercrime problem. In 2025, digital-payment fraud hit ₦25.85 billion (US$18.7 million), up from ₦17.67 billion (US$12.8 million) in 2023, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS). Overall, the government has seen a decreasing number of incidents, but increasing losses , as each successive year's fraud incidents result in greater amounts of stolen funds. (In 2024, a single incident caused ₦31.1 billion in damages, resulting in a single-year — and totally anomalous — loss of ₦52.3 billion.) Inadvertent and malicious insiders are partly to blame for the increase in losses per incident, Premier Oiwoh, managing director and chief executive of the NIBSS, said in a statement earlier this year . "Insider involvement is high, and recent investigations have confirmed this," he said. "Services such as SIM swap fraud , account compromise, and phishing continue to evolve. Awareness remains critical, as many victims are still easily deceived." To fight the trend, especially as the country invests more into the digital transformation of its economy , the Nigerian government is increasingly emphasizing cybersecurity. Efforts are slow, however, as reporting continues to be a problem. In the last quarter of 2025, the number of incidents reported by Nigerian organizations dropped by a third (34%), according to the NIBSS. Related: As Global Powers Explore Humanoid Robots, Cyber-Risk Looms "While some institutions reported zero incidents, non-reporting is unacceptable," Oiwoh of the NIBSS said in a statement. Many Nigerian Organizations Lack Training & Resources Nigeria's Data Protection Act has required that organizations notify a regulatory agency, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), within 72 hours of a breach and to notify affected customers directly if the risk is high, says Anna Collard, CISO Advisor for Africa for KnowBe4, a human risk management firm. Because the government is developing its enforcement practice, many incidents have not been reported by the institution but by researchers or the media. "Nigeria's 2023 Data Protection Act already mandates 72-hour breach notification to the regulator, and a follow-on amendment bill in parliament would strengthen enforcement further," she says. "What's lagging isn't the law itself but the regulator's capacity to enforce it consistently and the compliance culture among businesses." Training people to become a resilient defense against fraud and cyberattacks is critical, says KnowBe4's Collard. "Smaller businesses — which make up the vast majority of African companies — get hit at more than double the rate of larger ones, largely due to under-resourced security and limited staff training," she says. "Building a strong human layer of defense and investing in security culture is critical." In addition, organizations need to beware of credential compromises , because collecting those secrets is how cyberattackers get back in and do more damage, says Check Point's de Bruin. "This means attackers aren't smashing windows; they're quietly collecting keys to unlock the front door with," he says. "Those keys unlock customer accounts, payment systems, and eventually wire transfers. The downstream effects include customer losses that institutions often absorb quietly to protect reputation, regulatory fines for inadequate controls, and perhaps most damaging long-term, the erosion of trust in digital banking." In 2024, Nigeria ranked at the third of five levels of cybersecurity maturity as measured by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Global Cybersecurity Index . Yet, until the company can close the gap between regulations and enforcement, cyberattackers will continue to profit from their digital economy, de Bruin says. "NITDA's planned cybersecurity framework establishing minimum spending thresholds, mandatory breach-reporting timelines, and public-private threat intelligence sharing is the right direction," he says. "The priority now is moving from announced intent to operational enforcement." Read more about: DR Global Middle East & Africa About the Author Robert Lemos Contributing Writer Rob is an award-winning, veteran technology journalist of more than 30 years, reporting on global cybersecurity issues, the latest offensive and defensive technologies, malware incidents, cyber conflict, and AI's impact on software and cybersecurity. A former research engineer, Rob has written for more than two dozen publications, including CNET News.com, Dark Reading, MIT's Technology Review, Popular Science, and Wired News. He has received five awards for journalism, including Best Deadline Journalism (Online) in 2003 for his coverage of the Blaster worm. Rob also analyzes data on various trends using Python and R for both his reporting and his clients. Recent reports include analyses of the shortage in cybersecurity workers, annual vulnerability