The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has called on Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to strengthen collaboration and adopt a proactive cybersecurity culture to safeguard Nigeria’s government digital infrastructure against growing cyber threats.
The call was made at the opening of a two-day Cybersecurity Workshop for MDAs themed, “Securing Government Digital Infrastructure through Capacity Building.” The Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, who was represented by the Assistant Director of the Agency’s Cybersecurity Department, Dr. Ayodele Bakare, said the workshop comes at a critical time as cyberattacks on government digital platforms continue to increase in frequency, sophistication and impact.
He warned that incidents such as website defacement, ransomware attacks, data breaches and the misuse of personal information now pose significant risks to governance, public confidence and national development.
According to him, government digital platforms, relied upon daily by millions of Nigerians, have become attractive targets for cybercriminals.
“We have watched websites of government organisations defaced, hijacked and quietly redirected to gambling sites. We have seen coordinated ransomware attacks force government web portals to shut down and witnessed repeated attacks on government databases leading to data exfiltration and abuse of personal data,” he said.
Inuwa cited the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Cybercrime Assessment for Nigeria, which identifies Nigeria as one of Africa’s three most targeted countries due to its expanding digital economy and growing cyberattack surface. He also referenced the Lloyd Cybersecurity Outlook, which estimates that cybercrime cost Nigeria more than $3 billion between 2019 and 2025.
He stressed that every government digital service represents a promise of efficiency, transparency and accessibility, adding that these objectives can only be achieved when the systems powering them are adequately secured.
The NITDA boss emphasised that today’s cyber threats are driven by organised and well-funded actors capable of exploiting vulnerabilities across multiple institutions, making inter-agency collaboration essential.
“A weakness in one MDA becomes a doorway into another. Our defences cannot be fragmented. Cybersecurity in government is a shared national obligation, and we are only as strong as our least protected system,” he stated.
Reaffirming NITDA’s commitment to building national cyber resilience, Inuwa highlighted the Agency’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERRT) as government’s first point of contact during cyber incidents. However, he noted that the ultimate goal is to prevent attacks through continuous risk assessments, sound governance frameworks, effective policy implementation, regular awareness programmes, technical safeguards, incident response planning and sustained capacity development.
He also described personnel as the first and most critical line of defence, stressing that technology alone cannot guarantee cybersecurity.
“No firewall or technical control can replace an informed, alert and security-conscious workforce. That is what we refer to as the human firewall,” he said.
Describing the workshop as more than a training programme, Inuwa said it would provide participants with opportunities for practical learning, intelligence sharing and collaborative problem-solving through discussions and case studies based on recent cyber incidents affecting public institutions.
He further disclosed that participants would become the first external stakeholders to review and provide feedback on NITDA’s draft Regulatory Guidelines for Government Information Security Management before wider stakeholder consultations.
He urged participants to engage actively and openly throughout the workshop, noting that sharing institutional cybersecurity challenges could help other agencies strengthen their own defences.
“Ask difficult questions and honestly share the security concerns within your environment because your candour may help a sister agency avoid the same issue,” he advised.
The NITDA Director General concluded by reaffirming that Nigeria’s digital transformation presents enormous opportunities that must be protected through collective action.
“Nigeria’s digital future is not a threat to be feared. It is an opportunity to be secured. Securing it is precisely the duty we have gathered here to take up together,” he said.
The workshop is expected to enhance cybersecurity capacity across MDAs, strengthen inter-agency collaboration and reinforce Nigeria’s collective cyber resilience in line with NITDA’s vision of building a secure, trusted and resilient digital ecosystem.
