Cyber Attacks Threaten Government Systems, NITDA Warns – The Whistler Newspaper
The National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA has raised concerns over the growing cybersecurity risks confronting Nigeria’s public institutions, warning that weak and disconnected security systems across ministries, departments and agencies could leave critical government infrastructure vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
The agency issued the warning on Wednesday in a statement published on its verified X account, citing findings from the Deloitte Nigeria Cybersecurity Outlook 2026, which estimated that cybercrime inflicted losses exceeding $3bn on Nigeria between 2019 and 2025.
NITDA said the warning was delivered by the Assistant Director of its Cybersecurity Department, Dr Ayodele Bakare, who represented the agency’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, at the opening of a two-day capacity-building workshop titled “Securing Government Digital Infrastructure Through Capacity Building.”
According to the agency, the workshop was convened to strengthen the cybersecurity capacity of government institutions and promote a coordinated approach to protecting Nigeria’s expanding digital infrastructure from emerging cyber risks.
Bakare noted that attacks targeting government digital platforms have become more sophisticated in recent years, ranging from website defacement and account compromises to ransomware attacks and the theft of sensitive information, much of which eventually surfaces on illicit online marketplaces and the dark web.
He also referenced an assessment by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which identified Nigeria as one of the three African countries most frequently targeted by cybercriminals, largely because of the rapid expansion of its digital economy and increased online activities.
The NITDA official stressed that because government information systems are increasingly interconnected, a successful attack on one agency could easily spread across multiple institutions, making collaboration essential to national cyber resilience.
“The threat actors are organised, financially motivated, and politically driven. A weakness in one MDA becomes a doorway into another. Our defences cannot be fragmented; cybersecurity in government must be concerted,” he said.
He urged participants at the workshop to go beyond viewing the programme as a routine training exercise, describing it as an opportunity to exchange intelligence, strengthen institutional collaboration and contribute to the development of policies that will improve the country’s cybersecurity architecture.
Bakare emphasised that while technological solutions remain important, the effectiveness of any cybersecurity framework ultimately depends on the people implementing it, calling for stronger risk management practices, strict compliance with established policies and continuous capacity development.
“Effective prevention depends on rigorous risk assessment, policy enforcement, and building a strong human firewall,” he emphasized.
He reaffirmed that NITDA’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team remains the designated national platform for reporting and coordinating responses to cybersecurity incidents affecting government institutions.
The agency disclosed that participants at the workshop would review its draft regulatory framework on government information security management, assess practical cybersecurity case studies and explore strategies aimed at strengthening incident response mechanisms and improving the resilience of federal government institutions against future cyber threats.
NITDA said the initiative forms part of its broader efforts to enhance the security of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem by equipping public sector personnel with the skills, knowledge and collaborative frameworks required to tackle evolving cyber risks while safeguarding government information assets and digital services.
ENDS
