The Security Skills Development Company (SSDC) has released a new policy report calling for a coordinated national approach to protecting Nigeria’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), following its inaugural Thought Leadership Roundtable in Lagos.
 
Titled: ‘A New Strategy for Protecting Nigeria’s Critical National Infrastructure’, the report draws on insights from seasoned experts in national security, engineering, law, and private-sector security. It highlights the urgent need to strengthen Nigeria’s infrastructure systems against vandalism, cyberattacks, sabotage, weak enforcement, and a poor maintenance culture.
   
At the roundtable, speakers noted that Nigeria continues to suffer significant losses due to persistent attacks on telecom fibre lines, oil and gas pipelines, and power transmission assets.   According to industry data referenced in the report, more than 1,000 fibre cuts occur nationwide every month. Multiple national grid collapses have been recorded in recent years, often linked to vandalism and insufficient system resilience.

Key contributors at the session included security analyst Dennis Amachree, security expert Mike Igbodipe, engineering professional Jide Kumapayi, legal expert Babatunde Osadare, and security trainer Collins Onyewuchi. They collectively stressed the need for a unified national framework for CNI protection, stronger stakeholder accountability, and deeper collaboration between government agencies and private operators.
 
The report also identified emerging cyber risks as a growing threat. It noted that financial systems, digital government services, and telecom networks are increasingly being targeted by sophisticated attacks, underscoring the need for stronger cybersecurity capacity and enforcement.
   
Among its recommendations, SSDC called for the formal adoption of a National Critical Infrastructure Protection Framework, improved legal enforcement against vandalism, wider deployment of technology-driven surveillance tools, and increased investment in predictive maintenance systems. It also highlighted the need for public awareness, community engagement, and better intelligence sharing among security agencies.