The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has launched a nationwide cybersecurity campaign titled ‘‘Real Odogwu No Dey Hide Face”. The campaign aims to promote online safety, raise public awareness, crack down cybercriminals, human trafficking networks and money launderers. While this shows growing institutional commitment from the NPF, significant gaps remain in technical expertise, resources, coordination with international partners, and overall enforcement capacity.
The Nigerian Police Force is not yet adequately equipped to handle the scale and sophistication of these threats. Current efforts include the NPF National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC), which is leading the campaign and serving as a central hub for reporting and coordination. The force is also benefiting from ongoing UNODC led training programs for frontline officers, covering topics such as: phishing, sextortion, and financial scams. Previous nationwide awareness campaigns have also focused on digital literacy and citizen engagement.
Strengths include the existence of a dedicated cybercrime unit and active international support from bodies like the UNODC, as well as growing partnership within Africa. Public engagement efforts are particularly important given Nigeria’s high ranking in global scam incidents. However, major weaknesses persist. The NPF faces serious resource limitations, including inadequate funding, outdated equipment, and limited digital forensic tools. Skill gaps are widespread because training is mostly delivered through short workshops rather than continuous, force-wide programs. Cybercrime is transnational in nature, often crossing borders, which requires stronger international cooperation that is not yet fully in place. Additionally, the police must tackle cybercrime alongside human trafficking and money laundering, which further stretches already limited resources.
Risks include the possibility that awareness campaigns become largely symbolic without sustained investment in technology and personnel. Cybercriminals adapt quickly, so public education alone is unlikely to deter organized networks.
It will be necessary to expand the partnerships with Interpol, Europol and private cybersecurity firms. The force should also increase funding for digital forensic laboratories and recruit more specialized cyber investigators. Cybercrime strategies need to be integrated with financial intelligence units and anti-trafficking frameworks.
The Nigeria Police Force maintains criminal databases that include records related to cybercrime, although these systems are still developing and not yet as comprehensive as those in more advanced countries.
The main systems are the Nigeria Police Crime and Incident Database (NPC & IDB), which was upgraded in 2022 to store electronic records of suspects, incidents, modus operandi, and support forensic tools including GPS integration. There is also the NPF-NCCC Cybercrime Reporting Portal, where citizens can report offences such as : hacking, phishing, identity theft, banking fraud, and others. Data from the portal feeds directly into police records.
Strengths of the current setup include ; centralized electronic access for officers and some integration between general crime records and cyber-specific reporting. This provides a foundation for intelligence gathering and basic investigations.
Limitations are notable. Cybercrime-specific data is not yet exhaustive, with many incidents remaining under-reported. The system has limited interoperability with global databases such as INTERPOL’s I-24/7 platform. Resource constraints and technical expertise gaps hinder full and effective use of the database. Data protection is also becoming a bigger challenge, especially with the rise of AI-driven threats and the need to sefaguard sensitive information.
With the emergence of AI, these gaps in data management and protection become even more critical. Nigeria will need to expand database capacity, improve international integration, and strengthen security to keep pace with evolving threats.
Nigeria Police Force requires deep, continuous, and specialized training to approach the capabilities of INTERPOL or the FBI in tackling cybercrime, human trafficking, and money laundering. Such training is critical for several reasons. Officers need advanced skills in digital forensics, blockchain analysis, AI-driven threat detection, and dark web monitoring-areas where Interpol and the FBI already have strong expertise. Effective participation in global intelligence-sharing systems is also essential. Additionally, police must learn to handle AI-accelerated threats while properly protecting sensitive data.
Current efforts include UNODC workshop on core cyber issues and the coordinating role of the NPF-NCCC. The Data Protection Act of 2023 provides a basic legal framework, though its enforcement remains limited.
Compared to Interpol and the FBI, notable gaps exist. Digital forensics capabilities in Nigeria are still limited and growing slowly, while advanced jurisdictions benefit from sophisticated AI-driven laboratories. Global integration is only partial in Nigeria, relying mostly on UNODC support, whereas Interpol and The FBI operate with full real-time intelligence networks. Training in Nigeria tends to be sporadic rather than delivered through continuous specialized academies. Data protection frameworks are emerging but lack the mature enforcement seen in more advanced systems.
To bridge this gap realistically over the next decade, Nigeria could follow a focused roadmap: establish a dedicated National Cyber Police Academy, formalize deeper partnerships with Interpol, Europol, and the FBI for joint operations and training, invest heavily in technology such as forensic labs and AI monitoring systems, implement regular refresher courses for officers, and build stronger public-private collaboration with Fintech companies, telecoms, and local cybersecurity firms.
Moreover, the Nigeria Police Force must continue to collaborate with cybersecurity think tanks, experts, and financial institutions, but these efforts are largely ad hoc and project-based rather than fully institutionalized. Nigerian cyber laws have improved over time, but remain narrower in scope and weaker in enforcement compared to leading global standards.
NPF participates in African Union and AFRIPOL alliances, sometimes working with partners like Kaspersky to train officers in threat hunting and digital investigations across multiple African countries. The NPF_NCCC has also partnered with banks and financial institutions for intelligence sharing and digital forensics. National conferences bring together the police, Central Bank of Nigeria, and National Security Adviser to encourager cross-sector cooperation against cyberattacks.
On the legal side, the main framework is the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act of 2015, which was amended in 2024. It criminalizes hacking, identity theft, cyberstalking, phishing, and financial fraud, while also protecting critical national information infrastructure. The Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023 adds a layer for handling personal data.
However, limitations are clear. These laws are less comprehensive than frameworks such as the EU’s GDPR or U.S. cybercrime regulations, particularly in areas like data privacy, regulation of AI misuse, deepfakes, ransomware response, and cross-border enforcement. Enforcement is often hampered by limited technical expertise and institutional capacity. Collaboration with think tanks and experts has not yet become permanent or deeply embedded in police operations.
It will be necessary to institutionalize permanent partnerships with both local and international cybersecurity think tanks, expanding the legal framework to explicitly cover emerging threats like AI-driven crimes, strengthening international cooperation for better intelligence sharing, and investing in ongoing training so that officers can enforce laws more effectively.
Conclusion
The Nigeria Police Force has taken visible and important steps through its new ”Real Odogwu No Dey Hide Face” campaign, the establishment of the National Cybercrime Centre, Ongoing training programs, database upgrades, and legal updates. Nigeria’s high global ranking in cybercrime and scam incidents makes these efforts urgent and necessary. The campaign represents a positive start, but the NPF is not adequately equipped for Nigeria’s cybercrime challenges at present. Deeper and more consistent investment will be required for meaningful impact.
Progress is being made, but without long-term commitment to training, technology, and global cooperation, the NPF risk being continually outpaced by increasingly sophisticated criminal networks operating across Africa and beyond. Success will depend on moving beyond awreness campaigns to deliver sustained investment in modern technology, specialized and continuous training, robust and well- protected data systems, and deeper partnership with international agencies and the private sector.
