Technology experts have raised the alarm that Nigeria does not have viable digital sovereignty and warned of danger amid rising cyber threats.
The Chief Executive Officer of FPG Technologies, Rex Mafiana, and the Chief Technical Officer at Check Point, Issam El Haddioui, issued this warning during an event in Abuja on Wednesday.
In an interview with DAILY POST, Mafiana stressed that both the public and private sectors in Nigeria must be proactive and intentional about ensuring the protection of critical national infrastructure.
According to him, Nigeria needs to have viable digital sovereignty in the same way it has physical borders.
As a solution, Mafiana urged the Nigerian government and private entities to invest in strengthening their risk management tools, especially continued security validation.
“We are talking about cyber threats to critical national infrastructure.
“With the current trends in cyber threats to CNI, that is why we are here—to bring together both the public and private sectors to brainstorm on the options regarding risk mitigation.
“Cybersecurity threat levels are high in Nigeria. We don’t have digital sovereignty. The way we have a physical border, there should be a digital border in the country.
“However, some private sectors, such as Nigerian banks and telcos, have cyber threat mitigation infrastructure, but this is rare in the public sector,” he said.
“I recommend that both the government and private sector, including banks, keep strengthening their risk management tools, especially continued security validation.”
On his part, Haddioui said that infrastructure and skill sets are key to combating cyber threats and crimes.
He emphasized that African countries should prioritize investment in cybersecurity to mitigate threats and attacks.
“Infrastructure and skill sets are key to combating cybersecurity threats and crime. Over the last few years, we have increased awareness and enlightenment in the public and private sectors on the seriousness of cyber threats.
“African countries need to prioritize investment in cybersecurity to mitigate the threats.”
He added that cyber threats pose high risks to critical institutions such as the financial sector, which can lead to economic disruption.
“Always make sure you know the risk you are protecting. It could be data or the citizens themselves. Don’t leave any black spots,” he said as a solution.
Recall that in 2024, the Nigerian banking and financial sector faced 4,718 weekly attacks, with about N59 billion lost.