The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has announced plans to strengthen collaboration with the private sector and other key stakeholders to bolster Nigeria’s defences against escalating cyber threats.
As part of this effort, the government proposes the establishment of a Cybersecurity Coordination Council, envisioned as a multi-stakeholder platform bringing together actors from government institutions, industry, technology providers, and civil society.
The Council is expected to enhance information sharing, improve coordination in responding to cyber incidents, and strengthen the country’s overall digital resilience amid increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks.
The initiative follows a series of recent cybersecurity incidents that disrupted operations across major private institutions, public systems, and critical sectors of Nigeria’s services economy, highlighting the vulnerability of the nation’s expanding digital ecosystem.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, said the Council is designed to institutionalise structured collaboration between government and non-government stakeholders.
Its goals include improving threat detection, strengthening intelligence-sharing mechanisms, and ensuring a coordinated national response to emerging cyber risks.
Tijani noted that the growing complexity of cyber threats requires a unified national approach, stressing that isolated efforts are no longer sufficient to protect Nigeria’s rapidly evolving digital infrastructure.
He explained that the Council will function as a non-statutory advisory platform, comprising Chief Information Security Officers across key sectors, cybersecurity professionals, law enforcement agencies, regulators, technology companies, civil society organisations, and other relevant stakeholders, all working collectively to strengthen trust and resilience in the digital space.
The Minister added that, in consultation with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Federal Government will promote structured partnerships and reinforce existing cyber collaboration frameworks across public institutions, private operators, and industry associations. He stressed that modern cyber threats require coordinated defence strategies and real-time intelligence sharing across sectors.
To support the Council’s establishment, key agencies—including the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Galaxy Backbone Limited, and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), have been directed to set up a technical secretariat.
The secretariat will develop the Council’s Terms of Reference and coordinate stakeholder engagement ahead of a national cybersecurity industry roundtable scheduled for April 2026.
The roundtable will formally commence nationwide consultations, providing a platform for technical discussions, partnership building, and the joint development of the Council’s operational framework.
The Minister urged stakeholders from both public and private sectors to actively participate in the process, emphasizing that collective action is critical to building a resilient digital economy capable of preventing cybercrime, protecting critical infrastructure, and safeguarding citizens’ data and Nigeria’s digital future.
