FITC, a not-for-profit professional organization comprising members from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), and all licensed banks in Nigeria, disclosed the figures.

The report highlighted a decline in losses compared to the previous quarter’s fraudulent banking activities. In Q4 2022, a total of N3.18 billion was lost to fraudsters across various banking platforms, indicating an 85.13% decrease in losses during Q1 2023.

Moreover, the data from FITC revealed a 79.44% reduction in the total amount involved in fraud cases during Q1 2023 compared to the preceding quarter. The sum decreased from N12.58 billion to N2.59 billion.

Additionally, the total number of fraud cases reported in Q1 2023 declined by 14.07%. The report indicated that 12,553 cases were reported in the first quarter of this year, compared to 14,609 cases recorded in the previous quarter.

The data for Q1 2023 also revealed that mobile, computer/web, and point-of-sale (PoS) transactions were the top three channels with the highest number of fraud occurrences, consistent with the previous quarter.

“An analysis of the magnitude-based ranking of fraud categories for Q1 2023 shows that Mobile Fraud has the highest ranking, accounting for N1.1 billion (42.72%), followed by the Computer/Web fraud category at N646 million (24.99%). This was followed by POS Fraud at N450 million (17.41%) and fraudulent withdrawals at N139 million (5.36%),” stated FITC in the report.

The data further indicates that mobile fraud accounted for 34.07% (N161 million) of the total amount lost in Q1 2023, while computer/web fraud represented 27.69% (N130 million), and fraudulent withdrawals accounted for 24.72% (N116 million).

The Minister, who represented President Mohammadu Buhari, announced that the Committee was formed in response to Mr. President’s directive that he establish a committee to coordinate computer security centers in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, in collaboration with other relevant institutions, in order to intercept potential cyber-attacks.

He stated that with the increased role of ICT in online activities, as well as its critical role in the conduct of the 2023 General Elections in accordance with the Electoral Act, as amended, the Committee’s job will assist the nation in conducting free, fair, and credible elections.

He directed the Committee, which he serves on alongside the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, and the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Abdullahi, among other ministry CEOs, to work around the clock from Friday, February 24, 2023, until Monday, February 27, 2023.

He also stated that the committee will receive complaints about any attacks on critical infrastructure and will ensure that such complaints are escalated to relevant institutions, public or private, for necessary corrective actions.

Prof. Mohammad Abubakar, CEO of Galaxy Backbone, and Prof. Aminu Ahmad, Special Assistant to the Hon. Minister on Digital Economy, are members of the committee, which also includes key agency directors.

“Our main responsibilities in this committee are more advisory.” Firstly, when it comes to intercepting potential attacks that may come to our cyberspace. The Committee will coordinate the NCC’s Computer Security

Incident Response Team at NCC; the Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Galaxy Backbone National Cybersecurity Centre.

“These three centers must work together, complement each other and ensure they intercept any potential attacks on our cyberspace, particularly on our Critical Infrastructure during the election so that we could either take action or provide necessary advice to the government,” Pantami said.

He said the Committee will work closely with institutions such as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), mobile network operators (MNOs), among others, to collectively safeguard Nigeria’s cyberspace from potential attacks or cases of vandalism and fiber cuts during the election.

“The challenges of protecting our cyberspace is a collective national responsibility; it is a national assignment. As a sector, we would play our responsibility objectively and professionally. We would work collectively rather than working individually as agencies since we are in the same sector,” he added.