FG to Establish National Cybersecurity Council to Tackle Digital Threats

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has announced plans to establish a national cybersecurity coordination council to strengthen Nigeria’s response to rising digital threats.

In a statement, the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy said the council will serve as a multi-stakeholder platform to improve coordination, intelligence sharing, and collaboration between public and private institutions.

The initiative, championed by the Minister of Communications, Mr Bosun Tijani, aims to enhance Nigeria’s ability to respond to increasingly sophisticated cyber incidents affecting both private companies and public systems.

“The proposed council is envisioned as a non-statutory, multi-stakeholder coordination platform, designed to convene key actors and strengthen partnerships that support efficient coordination, trusted information sharing, and sustained cooperation among institutions responsible for advancing Nigeria’s cybersecurity posture,” the ministry said.

The council will bring together chief information security officers, cybersecurity experts, technology firms, law enforcement agencies, and relevant government institutions.

It will also provide advisory support to the federal government on strategies and frameworks needed to improve national cyber resilience.

“The approach reflects the government’s recognition that modern cyber threats demand collective defence models, trusted threat intelligence sharing, and multi-stakeholder coordination,” the ministry added.

The move follows recent cyber incidents that disrupted operations and highlighted the “increasingly coordinated and sophisticated nature of cyber threats,” signalling the urgent need for stronger national cybersecurity frameworks.

This development comes amid the rising frequency and complexity of cybercrimes, which have made cybersecurity a vital tool that countries must focus on.

Special policies around data breaches, ransomware attacks, and third-party liabilities have come to the fore. While cybersecurity has been historically underutilised in Nigeria, its critical role in mitigating the financial fallout of cybercrimes and threats has taken a new dimension with the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Countries are leveraging AI tools to enhance threat detection, automate incident response, and analyse patterns to identify risks early. These AI-driven solutions enable quick and effective responses, improving resilience by detecting anomalies, predicting potential attacks, and mitigating threats before they escalate.