Policy paper

Statement of intent between the UK and the Republic of Nigeria on co-operation relating to cyber-enabled fraud and scams

Published 19 March 2026

Statement of intent

Statement of intent between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria regarding UK–Nigeria co-operation on cyber-enabled fraud and scams.

1. Context: Scale of cybercrime in Nigeria and threat to the UK

Nigeria faces one of the highest levels of cyber‑criminal activity on the African continent, with direct implications for UK citizens, businesses, and financial systems. As joint partners, the UK and Nigeria commit to tackling this threat.

Nigeria experiences an average of 4,200 cyberattacks per week; 60% higher than the global baseline. High‑value Nigerian sectors—including finance, energy and telecoms, as well as the government—face persistent targeting due to exposed identities, misconfigured private-sector system security protocols, and increased use of AI by threat actors. Cyber breaches in Nigeria surged by 1,047% in Q3 2025 underscoring the growing scale and sophistication of malicious activity. The rising wave of cybercrime in Nigeria contributes to economic leakage, undermines strategic sectors, and erodes public trust. Prevalent attack types including business email compromise (BEC), phishing‑led fraud, ransomware, and cyber‑enabled financial crime—pose systemic risks to national and economic security.

Fraud networks continue to target UK citizens with online scams, including cryptocurrency investment schemes and romance frauds as highlighted by coordinated UK–Nigeria law‑enforcement takedowns in 2026. The UK Government notes that a significant proportion of UK fraud originates overseas, making Nigeria’s rising cybercrime threat directly relevant to UK national economic and cyber security interests.

Both nations are facing criminal actors who are deploying increasingly sophisticated methods — including exploitation of emerging technologies, which heightens risks to both UK and Nigerian citizens, businesses and critical supply chains.

The scale and evolution of cybercrime make bilateral co-operation essential for protecting UK and Nigerian citizens and disrupting transnational threat actors.

Cybercrime co-operation forms part of the wider Nigeria–UK Strategic Partnership, enhancing security collaboration.

2. Strategic frameworks and agreements

In April 2025, Nigeria and the UK formalised an MoU to deepen joint action on international cyber-enabled fraud. Areas of co-operation included capacity building to tackle fraud at source, and co-ordination on effective response, awareness campaigns, and the establishment of strategic and tactical intelligence exchange.

A Joint Fraud Action Plan enhances information sharing and introduces UK-supported capacity building. The bilateral plan focuses on the early detection and disruption of fraud networks; enhanced information sharing (NCA–ONSA); joint public‑awareness campaigns; and UK‑supported capacity‑building for Nigerian criminal justice sector professionals.  

3. Operational highlights and enforcement actions

Disruption of Major Cross‑Border Scam Network (Jan–Feb 2026): A joint operation by the NCA, Meta, and the Nigerian Police Force dismantled a sophisticated scam centre in Agbor, Delta State.

• Seven suspects arrested.
• Hundreds of fake cryptocurrency‑related social media accounts used to target UK residents.
• Seizures included 26 phones, 42 SIM cards, and a laptop used for fraud and phishing.

UK authorities described the operation as a key milestone in combating overseas fraud syndicates.

The Nigerian Ministry of Justice Joint Case Team on Cybercrime (JCTC) is a Nigerian initiative, established under the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice. It is a special purpose vehicle to strengthen inter-agency collaboration and brings investigators from multiple Nigerian enforcement agencies alongside prosecutors and judges with respect to online fraud. The JCTC was launched alongside the UK-Nigeria MoU, and has supported the UK in a number of investigations, including high-harm fraud types, and the UK is equally supporting Nigeria in relevant investigations.

Alongside fraud, the JCTC has prioritised Financially Motivated Sextortion, including initiating an operational programme in that regard with Priority 1 cases from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline.

This action marks a significant step in our collective fight against fraudsters operating overseas and will help in our mission to protect the public in the UK from serious and organised criminals. Fraudsters can operate from anywhere and will target victims both domestically and globally. The UK National Crime Agency, and Nigerian authorities will continue to work with international and private sector partners to tackle fraudsters working upstream, overseas and online.

4. Cybercrime capacity building and technical co-operation

The UK assisted the Nigerian criminal justice and law enforcement sectors in the enhancing of their capabilities by delivering specific training programmes including fraud investigative training, open-source intelligence development, crypto-tracing, digital evidence, charging under national legal frameworks on cybercrimes and international co-operation. The UK and Nigeria are also in discussion on initiatives to further expand capacity to tackle fraud, including supporting a train-the-trainer approach to expand the training offer to more law enforcement and criminal justice officers in Nigeria. The UK - Nigeria partnership also includes specific initiatives like a joint communications campaign to better protect the public and enriching global public-private partnerships with technology companies to leverage their unique capabilities.

5. Commitments for the future; joint planning, joint work

To mark the State Visit, the UK and Nigeria are delighted to announce the deepening of our Fraud Partnership. Including the following commitments to strengthen our joint capacity, resolve, and strategic direction in combatting the threat of organised transnational fraud:

• UK support to the Nigerian Joint Fusion Cell on Fraud
  • The UK’s National Economic Crime Centre, which leads law enforcement, government, regulators and the private sector to combat economic crime will lend its capacity and insights support to the newly established Nigerian Fraud Fusion Cell.
  • This integration will enable Nigeria to take a “whole‑system” fusion‑cell‑type approach to intelligence, threat monitoring, and operational tasking.
• The UK commits to supporting and engaging with the NFIU as part of Nigeria’s National Risk Assessment, strengthening evidence-based risk identification and mitigation.
• The UK commits to supporting Nigeria in establishing dedicated kill‑chain protocols to disrupt and prevent fraudulent activity across digital and physical domains.
• UK and Nigerian jointly commit to strengthen work on awareness creation for Nigerians on the risks of working in scam centres at home and overseas.
• The UK and Nigeria commit to advancing the Fraud Action Plan as a core element of the UNTOC‑Nigeria Transnational Organised Crime Strategy, ensuring coordinated progress against shared threats.
• The UK and Nigeria commit to undertaking joint activity focused on the protection of victims of fraud and the prevention of further harm created by criminal actors perpetrating fraud, ensuring that support mechanisms are strengthened and accessible.
• The UK and Nigeria commit to expanding capability‑building initiatives on fraud indicators, digital forensics, and investigative attribution, enhancing both countries’ operational effectiveness.
• The UK and Nigeria commit to supporting a review of legal powers, sentencing frameworks, and regulatory provisions relating to fraud and cyber‑enabled crime to ensure they remain robust and fit for purpose.
• The UK and Nigeria commit to exchange information on Nigerian cybercrime threat actors in the UK, in support of Nigerian investigations on fraud.
• The UK and Nigeria commit to using established channels to better share information on illicit funds held in UK banks linked to Nigerian Cybercrime suspects.
• The UK and Nigeria reaffirm their commitment to sustained knowledge and technological exchange between Nigeria and the UK on combatting fraud.
• The UK and Nigeria commit to convening a Year 1 lessons‑learnt roundtable and jointly developing a Year 2 Action Plan to drive continued improvements in our shared fraud response.

6. Conclusion

UK–Nigeria co-operation has deepened in response to rising cyber threats, combining legal frameworks, enforcement, capacity building, and diplomatic alignment to counter transnational cybercrime. This announcement, and our ongoing commitment to public protection, is testament to an enduring and evolving partnership to tackle these threats which harm the lives and livelihoods of our citizens.