‘Nigeria needs stronger digital evidence management against AI-driven cybercrime’
In a major milestone for Nigeria’s technological advancement, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has officially handed over its Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) framework to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

This transfer of assets, technology, and ongoing operations is designed to provide the robust security backbone needed to establish a modern, integrated, and highly secure national digital identity ecosystem.

Speaking at the formal handover ceremony during a courtesy visit by the NIMC leadership to NITDA’s headquarters, NITDA Director General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, described the move as a clear demonstration of the agency’s commitment to collaborating with institutions that leverage technology for national development.

Abdullahi noted that NITDA had done extensive foundational work on PKI and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and would work hand in hand with NIMC’s team to ensure a seamless transition of the infrastructure.

As a technical framework, PKI enables the creation, management, verification, and authentication of digital identities using digital certificates. It serves as a vital tool for ensuring secure, trusted, and encrypted communications and transactions across the country.

The handover directly supports the updated NIMC Act, recently signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which aimed to harmonise identity databases across government agencies and establish the National Identification Number (NIN) as the cornerstone for identity verification, authentication, and public service delivery.

During the engagement, Abdullahi also reaffirmed NITDA’s broader commitment to driving nationwide technology adoption.

He emphasised that, as Nigeria’s apex IT regulator, NITDA’s core mission is to help every citizen adopt and utilise technology, and pledged ongoing support for NIMC and any other institution working to digitise its operations.

NIMC Director General and CEO, Dr Abisoye Coker-Odusote, thanked the NITDA leadership and highlighted the transformative potential of the newly enacted NIMC Act, which officially replaces a nearly two-decade-old framework from 2007.

MEANWHILE, to future-proof Nigeria’s fight against digital crime, justice sector leaders are prioritising a structural overhaul, pushing for advanced evidentiary frameworks, the dismantling of institutional silos, and continuous professional development to match the velocity of modern cyber threats.

Besides, the leaders called for stronger digital evidence management, inter-agency collaboration and continuous capacity building to help the country stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals.

They made the call at the end of a specialised four-day training on Cybercrime, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Evidence for members of the Joint Case Team on Cybercrime (JCTC) and designated Federal High Court judges in Lagos, over the weekend.

The specialised training, which had over 40 participants, including investigators, prosecutors, analysts, forensic experts, and six designated Federal High Court judges, was organised by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in partnership with the JCTC.

The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, said cybercrime had evolved beyond conventional hacking and online fraud.

He said it now included AI-assisted crimes, deepfakes, voice cloning, ransomware attacks, cryptocurrency-enabled offences, identity theft and complex transnational cyber networks.

Speaking on the training, Oyedepo said the inclusion of judges strengthened the criminal justice process because cybercrime investigations ultimately ended in the courtroom.

On his part, the ICMPD TIP-VAP Project Manager, Matthias Esene, said the organisation supported the training because technology had changed the way traffickers operated.

On her part, Deputy Director and Head of the Cybercrimes Unit, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Jamila Akaaga-Ade, said collective action remained central to combating cybercrime.

Sharing his experience, CSP Samuel Umezurike of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre, Abuja, said participants gained practical knowledge on AI-generated crimes, voice cloning and cybercrime investigations.

Also speaking, Becky Jibo, a Prosecutor with the Federal Ministry of Justice, said the training deepened participants’ understanding of how to acquire, preserve, and present electronic evidence.