Nigeria is losing $500 million to cybercrime annually - Communications Minister

folarin okunola

July 26, 2016 12:28 PM

The federal government has inaugurated a Cybercrime Advisory Council with the aim of tackling cybercrime in the country

Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu

The 26th National Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Computer Society has come and gone. At the event, Communication Minister Adebayo Shittu stated that Nigeria loses half a billion dollars to cybercrime annually.

“National safety and security include the nation’s cyberspace. Our growing dependence on digital infrastructure introduces and poses grave threats to national security. It is quite shocking that Nigeria loses about N127 billion which is 0.08 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP), yearly to cybercrime," he said.

Be that as it may, ICT is still contributing a lot to Nigeria's GDP - experts estimate that that contribution is as much as 10%. According to a report in iAfrikan, ICT and related services are responsible for the creation of over 10 million jobs in the last decade, and over $32 billion in foreign direct investment.

In Africa, Nigeria is the second largest ICT market, with the number of internet subscribers in Nigeria skyrocketing from less than one million in 2003 to over 80 million in November 2015.

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The federal government has inaugurated a Cybercrime Advisory Council with the aim of tackling cybercrime in the country, and computer emergency response teams have been put in place via the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and NITDA.

The government is also making use of technology in some of its functions. Some of them include the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

“Though great strides have been made in these areas, there is still a lot to do to secure our dear nation. We all know that ICT is the globally recognized enabler in all spheres of development and it is most appropriate for NCS to step in by offering the nation an authentic platform to explore the role of ICT in national safety and security. Using ICT and Geographical Information Systems to tackle Boko Haram, Niger Delta militancy and other security challenges with enhanced efficiency and professionalism has become a matter of paramount importance," Shittu said, according to iAfrikan.

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