CBN seeks banks, telcos collaboration against financial fraud

The Central Bank of Nigeria has called for stronger collaboration among banks, telecommunications companies, technology providers and law enforcement agencies to combat financial fraud, warning that criminals exploit gaps in information sharing to move stolen funds across institutions.

The Director of Information Technology at the CBN, Omoyemen Jide-Samuel, made the call on Wednesday while delivering a keynote address on the second day of the second International Cybersecurity Conference in Abuja.

Speaking on “AI-Driven Financial Fraud: Synthetic Identities and Emerging Threats to National Financial Systems,” she said financial institutions must move beyond isolated fraud detection towards coordinated intelligence sharing and faster responses.

“Shared intelligence must be turned into coordinated action. Criminals benefit when institutions assess suspicious activity in isolation,” she said.

Jide-Samuel explained that fraud could originate in one financial institution, pass through several others and involve telecommunications networks before the initial complaint was processed.

“Financial institutions, telecoms, technology providers, law enforcement and regulators each hold part of that picture. And our response must connect those perspectives quickly enough to influence the outcome,” she added.

The CBN director disclosed that figures from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System showed digital payment fraud losses declined from N52.6bn in 2024 to N25.85bn in 2025, representing a reduction of approximately 51 per cent.

An analysis of the figures showed that losses fell by N26.75bn year-on-year, although the cumulative amount lost over the two years reached N78.45bn.

She described the reduction as significant but warned that the remaining losses continued to affect businesses, households and confidence in digital financial services.

Jide-Samuel raised concerns about artificial intelligence-powered fraud, particularly synthetic identities created by combining genuine and fabricated personal information.

She explained that criminals could manipulate images, clone voices and manufacture convincing financial records to deceive institutions into authorising fraudulent transactions.

“A familiar voice is not sufficient proof of authority,” she warned, urging banks to independently verify sensitive payment instructions and continuously assess customers’ identities and transaction patterns.

According to her, financial institutions must establish clear procedures for contacting receiving banks, preserving evidence, assisting customers and escalating suspicious transactions, including outside normal working hours.

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She also advocated human oversight of artificial intelligence systems, particularly where automated decisions could affect customers’ access to funds.

Jide-Samuel warned that repeated fraud could discourage participation in digital banking, undermine financial inclusion and facilitate illicit financial activities.

Also delivering a keynote address on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions and Head of the Cybercrime Unit at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Jamila Akaaga-Ade, identified delays in international legal cooperation as a major obstacle to prosecuting cybercriminals.

“The crime took minutes, the legal framework took months, and the victim paid the price,” she said, illustrating how bureaucratic procedures could allow digital evidence to disappear before investigators obtained it.

Akaaga-Ade, who leads the Joint Case Team on Cybercrimes, explained that Nigeria’s Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 2019 provided the framework for obtaining evidence across borders.

She advocated stronger inter-agency cooperation, electronic processing of legal assistance requests, bilateral agreements and effective use of international cybersecurity conventions.

“Cybercriminals cooperate with the speed of advancing technology, and our criminal justice response must match it,” she stated.

Akaaga-Ade said Nigeria’s joint cybercrime case team and designated international contact points were intended to accelerate cooperation and prevent procedural delays from frustrating justice.

Meanwhile, the Head of Fixed Network and Converged Services, Technical Standards and Network Integrity at the Nigerian Communications Commission, Musa Daibu, called for mandatory minimum cybersecurity standards for telecommunications operators during a panel session at the conference.

He warned that artificial intelligence could strengthen cyber defence while enabling criminals to automate attacks and conduct sophisticated phishing and impersonation schemes targeting unsuspecting victims.

Daibu said the NCC’s existing cybersecurity resilience framework recognised emerging AI-related threats but required further review to address regulatory gaps and evolving vulnerabilities.

He advocated periodic security audits, stronger risk management procedures, coordinated incident responses and a national cybersecurity index to assess the effectiveness of safeguards protecting critical infrastructure.