Nigeria: Financial institutions urged to strengthen cybersecurity, data governance

Financial institutions, regulators, technology providers and law-enforcement agencies have been urged to strengthen cybersecurity, data governance and internal controls as emerging technologies continue to transform the banking sector.

The call was made at the 65th Quarterly General Meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN) in Lagos, themed, “Auditing the Future: Governing AI, Cyber Risks and Digital Trust in an Era of Intelligent Banking.”

Emerging technologies create new risk dimensions

Moruf Oseni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank, represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Digital, Tunde Mabawonku, said the banking industry was undergoing significant transformation driven by artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, digital platforms, automation and other emerging technologies.

He said the rapid adoption of these technologies was also introducing new categories of risk, including AI-enabled fraud, deepfakes, identity manipulation, cyberattacks, API vulnerabilities, data breaches and business email compromise.

According to Oseni, these threats could no longer be treated as distant possibilities and required coordinated attention from boards, management teams, regulators and assurance functions.

“As our customers increasingly interact with financial institutions through digital channels, the preservation of digital trust must become an enterprise-wide priority,” he said.

Oseni also called for a shift in the role of internal audit functions, saying they must move beyond predominantly retrospective assurance towards a more forward-looking, technology-enabled and insight-driven approach.

Such a shift, he said, would enable internal auditors to help boards and management anticipate emerging risks and challenge existing assumptions.

ACAEBIN backs stronger cyber resilience

The Chairperson of ACAEBIN, Aina Amah, represented by the First Vice President, Mogbitse Atsagbede, said technological innovation must be supported by robust governance, effective internal controls, cyber resilience and accountability.

She said ACAEBIN had expanded its engagement beyond the banking and professional community, including through discussions with the Nigerian Police Force National Cybercrime Centre on cybercrime, fraud trends, intelligence sharing and stronger cooperation.

Amah said closer collaboration among law-enforcement agencies, financial institutions and internal auditors would be important in responding to evolving cyber and financial crime threats.

Auditors urged to strengthen technology skills

Chisom Odobeatu, Senior Manager, Information Technology and Control Assurance at Deloitte Nigeria, said the banking sector’s growing reliance on technology required assurance professionals and audit executives to continuously strengthen their technical capabilities.

She urged auditors to move beyond traditional audit approaches and adapt their skills and methods to an increasingly technology-driven banking environment.

The discussions reinforced the need for financial institutions to align technological innovation with effective risk management, data governance and internal controls as digital banking and AI adoption continue to expand.