THE Federal Government plans to roll out a new cybersecurity framework this year to curb rising AI-driven cyberattacks on banks, businesses and government agencies.

This is according to a statement by the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.

The move comes amid growing concerns that rapid digital adoption across Nigeria’s financial and public sectors has outpaced existing cyber defences.

Abdullahi said the cybersecurity framework is expected to be implemented later this year and will require organisations operating in Nigeria to meet minimum cybersecurity spending thresholds.

He said many companies currently underinvest in cybersecurity because they assume they are unlikely targets.

The framework will also introduce mandatory timelines for reporting data breaches, systems for sharing threat intelligence between the public and private sectors, and coordinated response protocols for major cyber incidents.

The NITDA DG said authorities are tightening cyber defenses as artificial intelligence accelerates both the scale and sophistication of attacks on banks, payment platforms and government networks globally.

Nigeria’s planned framework follows a global shift toward stricter cybersecurity regulation. From the European Union to Africa, regulators are introducing tougher breach-reporting requirements, mandatory risk controls and deeper information-sharing obligations as cyber threats intensify.