The United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said it is committed to combating the increasing threats of cybercrimes and other related crimes in Nigeria, in response to the call made by President Bola Tinubu for collaboration.

Nigeria’s President Tinubu recently convened a meeting at the State House in Abuja on June 14, where he, along with security chiefs such as Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser and Kayode Egbetokun, Inspector-General of Police, announced that they joined forces with the FBI to combat the pressing cybercrime issues.

The FBI, is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States of America, and its principal federal law enforcement agency.

Cybercrime on the other hand, as defined by Kaspersky, “is criminal activity that either targets or uses a computer, a computer network or a networked device”. Perpetrators of these crimes, often referred to as cybercriminals or hackers, typically seek financial gain through activities such as website/server hacking, social engineering phishing, PIN compromise, and card/phone theft.

During the meeting, Director Christopher Asher Wray of the FBI reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in various areas, including counter-terrorism, cyber-enabled crimes, kidnapping, joint investigations, and intelligence sharing. He emphasized the importance of the strong relationship between the United States and Nigeria in addressing these critical security challenges.

The President spoke stating the importance of the partnership, in his words he said ”It is an honour for me to receive Director Christopher Wray, the leader of an organisation that has demonstrated consistent procedural sophistication and a reputation for excellence over several years. Your visit conveys the importance of Nigeria and Nigerian partnership in the work of America’s law enforcement institutions and vice-versa. For us, it is a recognition of what stage we are at, who we are, and the level of interest both countries share in eliminating crimes locally and globally.”

According to President Tinubu, ”we cannot achieve this important feat of eliminating crimes without collaboration. Incidentally, as the Chairman of ECOWAS, Nigeria is also collaborating with other West African countries to fight economic and other related crimes.”

In a recent news report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), concerning trends in cybercrime activities in Nigeria have been brought to light. The report highlights a significant increase in banking fraud cases, with Lagos emerging with the highest number of fraud cases and total loss value.