The initiative, announced by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, forms part of broader efforts to improve collaboration, intelligence sharing and coordinated responses to cyber incidents affecting both public and private institutions.
According to a ministerial press statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, the proposed council will serve as a non-statutory, multi-stakeholder coordination platform designed to strengthen partnerships among organisations responsible for safeguarding Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
It reads, “The platform would convene key actors across sectors to enable efficient coordination, trusted information exchange and sustained cooperation in addressing cybersecurity risks. It will also provide advisory support to the federal government on strategies, collaborative frameworks and mechanisms required to enhance national cyber resilience.” The move follows a series of cybersecurity incidents that have posed risks to customers and disrupted operations across major private institutions, public systems and Nigeria’s services industry.
Authorities said the incidents highlight the increasingly coordinated and sophisticated nature of cyber threats, often driven by organised threat actors and malicious networks targeting trust within Nigeria’s expanding digital ecosystem. Against this backdrop, the federal government said modern cyber risks now require collective defence models rather than isolated institutional responses.
In consultation with the Office of the National Security Adviser, the government plans to promote structured partnerships among government institutions, private-sector operators, industry associations and regulatory bodies responsible for cybersecurity oversight.
The council will also focus on sector-wide cyber defence protocols aligned with national cybersecurity strategies, capacity-building programmes to strengthen Nigeria’s cybersecurity workforce, and operational coordination frameworks for incident response, recovery and cyber risk management.
In addition, governance and regulatory alignment frameworks may be supported where necessary to improve accountability, interoperability and national cyber readiness. To kick-start the consultative process, the minister directed key government agencies – the National Information Technology Development Agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission, Galaxy Backbone Limited and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission – to jointly facilitate the establishment of a technical coordination secretariat and develop initial terms of reference to guide stakeholder engagement.
The secretariat will be domiciled within NITDA and operate under the strategic coordination of the minister’s office to ensure alignment with national cybersecurity priorities and cross-sector collaboration objectives. As part of the engagement process, the ministry will convene a national cybersecurity industry roundtable later in the month.
The event is expected to formally commence stakeholder consultations and provide a platform for technical dialogue, partnership development and co-creation of the operational framework for the proposed council. Speaking on the initiative, Tijani stressed that protecting Nigeria’s digital economy requires collective national action involving government, industry and civil society.
“Cybersecurity is a shared national responsibility. Protecting Nigeria’s digital economy requires strong partnerships, trusted collaboration and collective vigilance across government, industry and civil society,” the minister said. He added that through sustained collaboration, Nigeria aims to strengthen its capacity to detect threats early, respond effectively to cyber incidents and build a resilient and trusted digital ecosystem.