The Deputy Director and Head of the Cybercrime Unit at the Federal Ministry of Justice Jamila Ade has called for stronger collaboration among government agencies technology companies financial institutions and citizens to combat cybercrime and protect Nigeria’s digital space.
Ade said cybercrime often cuts across institutional and national boundaries making a coordinated response involving government and society essential to addressing the growing threat.
She spoke ahead of activities marking the 2026 Cybercrime Awareness Campaign themed ‘Securing Nigeria’s Digital Future: A Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society Response to Cybercrime’.
According to her a single fraud case could involve victims banks telecommunications operators social media platforms law enforcement agencies and regulators underscoring the need for stakeholder cooperation.
‘The theme reflects what we see in practice: the response must involve the whole of government and the whole of society’ she said.
Ade explained that the awareness walk and fiesta scheduled for Eagle Square were designed to take the campaign beyond conference halls and educate Nigerians on how to identify scams protect themselves and report cybercrime incidents.
She added that national consultations would bring together government officials industry representatives civil society organisations and academics to assess Nigeria’s legal and institutional framework for combating cybercrime and develop practical recommendations for improvement.
Assessing the country’s progress Ade said Nigeria had recorded gains through international partnerships negotiations on global legal frameworks including the new United Nations Convention against Cybercrime and collaboration among government agencies.
However she identified uneven public awareness low victim reporting rates delays in obtaining electronic evidence from foreign service providers and a shortage of specialised skills as key challenges requiring urgent attention.
She stressed that addressing these gaps would require sustained cooperation among public institutions the private sector and citizens to strengthen cybersecurity and build a safer digital environment.
‘Closing these gaps requires sustained investment and stronger collaboration across sectors’ she said.
On the capacity of Nigerian institutions to tackle emerging cyber threats Ade said investigators and prosecutors were increasingly receiving training in digital forensics electronic evidence and cryptocurrency tracing.
She also noted that Nigeria had strengthened international networks for preserving digital evidence and requesting assistance.
However she warned that emerging threats including artificial intelligence-enabled impersonation deepfakes social engineering and fraud involving digital payment platforms continue to evolve.
‘I would not say we are fully prepared and no country can honestly say that’ she said.
Ade added that Nigeria was laying the foundations to respond to these threats through ongoing capacity building stronger partnerships with industry and a legal framework that could be reviewed and improved to keep pace with technological developments.
On the national consultations she said stakeholders would examine whether existing laws adequately covered emerging offences and technologies including AI-enabled crimes.
Other areas expected to receive attention include electronic evidence cross-border cooperation service providers’ obligations victim protection and redress and aligning domestic laws with relevant international instruments.
According to Ade the consultations’ outcomes would be compiled into a report and presented to relevant authorities including the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice for consideration.
She said recommendations involving institutional practices training protocols and coordination could be implemented more quickly while proposals requiring legislative amendments would follow the appropriate legislative process.
Ade also stressed the need for sustained public education and stronger engagement with technology companies financial institutions and telecommunications operators to improve cybercrime prevention early detection and incident response.
Urging Nigerians to take personal responsibility for their digital security she advised citizens to verify information before trusting it avoid sharing one-time passwords (OTPs) and personal identification numbers (PINs) use strong and unique passwords enable two-factor authentication and report incidents promptly.
‘Cybercrime thrives where people stay silent. Securing our digital future is a shared responsibility and everyone has a part to play’ she said.