Nigeria Must Adopt Enterprise-Wide Security Strategy – Experts 

Security experts, regulators, policymakers and industry leaders have called for Nigeria to adopt an enterprise-wide approach to security management, warning that traditional and fragmented security frameworks are no longer sufficient to address today’s increasingly complex threat environment. The call was made at Nigeria’s inaugural Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) Conference, organised by the Association of […]

Security experts, regulators, policymakers and industry leaders have called for Nigeria to adopt an enterprise-wide approach to security management, warning that traditional and fragmented security frameworks are no longer sufficient to address today’s increasingly complex threat environment.

The call was made at Nigeria’s inaugural Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) Conference, organised by the Association of Enterprise Risk Management Professionals (AERMP) at James Hope University, Lekki, Lagos.

Participants at the conference agreed that security can no longer be treated as a standalone operational function but must be integrated into organisational strategy, governance, risk management and decision-making processes at the highest level.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Occasion and Chief Executive Officer of Advantec Marine Service, Rear Admiral Kenneth Bolanle Ati-John (Rtd), said modern threats such as terrorism, cybercrime, kidnapping, disinformation, supply chain disruptions and climate-related risks are increasingly interconnected and require a coordinated response.

According to him, organisations must move away from reactive security measures and embrace proactive, enterprise-wide risk management frameworks that anticipate threats and strengthen resilience.

The conference highlighted the growing urgency of the issue as Nigeria deepens its digital transformation and economic integration.

Delivering the keynote address, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, disclosed that Nigeria currently records more than 4,000 cyberattacks every week despite having over 185 million active mobile connections and 153 million internet subscriptions.

He also revealed that more than 27,000 fibre cable cuts were recorded across the country in 2025, while nearly 90 per cent of Nigerian data remains hosted outside Africa, raising concerns about national digital resilience and data sovereignty.

Maida stressed that protecting Nigeria’s digital infrastructure requires a shared responsibility model involving government agencies, regulators, telecom operators, private sector organisations, academic institutions and professional bodies.

He highlighted several initiatives being implemented by the NCC, including the Telecom Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS), a Cyber Resilience Framework for the communications sector and enhanced protections for Critical National Information Infrastructure.

Speakers throughout the conference maintained that security risks are no longer confined to physical threats but increasingly span cyber, operational, financial and reputational domains.

Representing the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Dr. Babatunde Onadeko said security has evolved into a strategic and economic issue requiring direct board oversight and executive accountability.

Similarly, representatives of the Lagos State Government, the Nigerian Correctional Service and the Nigeria Customs Service emphasized the importance of collaboration, intelligence sharing and technology-driven security systems in responding to emerging threats.

Experts also pointed to artificial intelligence as both a growing security risk and a powerful tool for improving threat detection, risk analysis and organisational resilience.

In a presentation on the future of security management, Director of the Centre of Excellence at Halogen Group, Dr. Wale Adeagbo, advocated predictive and intelligence-driven security systems built around principles such as Zero Trust Architecture, real-time resilience and security-by-design.