Nigeria, UK Partner To Detect, Disrupt Fraud

Nigeria and the United Kingdom have reached agreement to partner in response to rising financial losses and increasingly sophisticated fraud threats against UK citizens reportedly perpetrated from international territories, including Nigeria.

UK’s Minister for Fraud, Lord Hanson, was in Abuja recently to meet with Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with agreement on a Joint Action Plan to formalise commitment to deeper collaboration.

According to a statement from the British High Commission in Abuja, key elements of the Joint Action Plan include information sharing and operational coordination, as well as potential for joint law enforcement operations involving the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and Nigeria’s Office of the National Security Adviser.

During the meeting, Hanson said, “Fraud ruins lives. It strips people of their savings, their confidence, and their sense of security. The fact so many of these crimes now originate overseas makes our international partnerships more important than ever.

“Our new agreement with Nigeria will help us better identify and stop fraud before it happens, crack down on criminals who exploit our systems, and ultimately protect the public from the devastating impact of fraud.”

He described the meetings in Abuja as hugely constructive, giving the opportunity to align UK’s efforts and take meaningful action to prevent further harm. “I’m proud to have signed this agreement, which sets both our nations firmly on the path to a safer and more resilient future.”

As one of the world’s largest and fastest growing economies, the UK and Nigeria recognise the shared threat fraud poses to their prosperity and long-term stability.

According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, fraud is the most commonly experienced crime in the UK, with more than one in fifteen adults affected each year.

In the year ending December 2024, an estimated 4.1 million incidents were recorded – almost 43 per cent of all incidents recorded by the survey.

The societal harm is also severe, with fraud against individuals in England and Wales alone estimated to cost £6.8 billion annually in 2019/2020.

Beyond the financial damage, the emotional and psychological toll on victims is devastating. Many report lasting emotional harm, while increasingly sophisticated criminals are using emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to design realistic scams difficult to detect.

Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion (FMSE) is a particularly cruel form of exploitation, with many victims tragically taking their own lives due to these scams.

This prompted NCA to express commitment to raising awareness, providing targeted support to victims, and improving the investigation and prosecution of offenders, both in the UK and internationally.

In his reaction Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Ribadu, said by building on the foundation of the past successes, both countries must confront crime with greater seriousness and deepen collaboration across all fronts.

Ribadu also said the measures must “address enablers, supporting victims, and pursuing perpetrators, and sustain an unyielding commitment to protect our societies.”

Deputy Director of Fraud at the NCA, Nick Sharp, said: “Over 70% of fraud impacting the UK is estimated to originate overseas or have overseas links. However, those same fraudsters often also target victims in their own country. “

Sharp said the MoU with Nigeria underscores the shared commitment to tackling a threat that causes significant harm to citizens of both nations.

By sharing vital intelligence, conducting joint operations, and working to identify and address vulnerabilities, he stressed that both countries will strengthen collective response – ensuring that criminals are brought to justice, wherever they are.

The UK-Nigeria Fraud Dialogue was launched in November 2024 to further strengthen the two nations’ shared commitment to combating fraud in line with the UK-Nigeria Strategic Partnership.

The Dialogue serves as a forum for regular exchanges of views and ideas, bringing together representatives from cybersecurity, law enforcement, and policy institutions, and provides a platform to review progress under the MoU.

Areas of collaboration include intelligence sharing, trend analysis, and joint performance monitoring as this international cooperation is placed at the heart of a new, expanded UK Fraud strategy due to be published later this year, as part of the government’s plan for change.

The UK Mission said further that the public will be better protected from fraud as law enforcement collaboration between both countries is stepped up under a new joint fraud action plan agreed between the two countries.

The partnership will provide increased protection for victims by focusing on earlier detection of threats, faster law enforcement intervention, and the disruption of cross-border criminal networks before they can cause harm. It will also support stronger systems to help prevent people from falling victim to fraud in the first place.

Other key elements of the plan include development and strengthening of National Fraud Strategies through the exchange of best practice, frameworks, and lessons learned, along with potential joint public awareness campaigns to deter fraudsters.

It will also address exploration of collaboration between financial, online, and telecoms regulators and industry bodies in both countries to help close loopholes exploited by criminals as well as sharing insights on the misuse of financial systems, with the potential for joint studies and research into emerging threats.

Also, the MoU seek to identify training needs and delivering capacity-building initiatives, starting with targeted training for Nigerian prosecutors by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, with further programmes.