United Kingdom (UK) and Nigeria have reached an agreement to partner in response to rising financial losses and increasingly sophisticated fraud threats against UK citizens some of which are reportedly perpetrated in Nigeria.
The UK’s Minister for Fraud, Lord Hanson, was in Abuja recently to meet with his Nigerian counterparts and other strategic partners.
Lord Hanson, Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, and National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and agreed on a Joint
Action Plan formalising a 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, including the 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, Lord 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.
“My meetings in Abuja have been hugely constructive, giving us the opportunity to align our 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.
At the end of 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 the 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 Nuhu Ribadu, said, “Building on the foundation of the past successes, we must confront crime with greater seriousness, deepen collaboration across all fronts; addressing 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 percent 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 countries.
“This Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Republic of Nigeria underscores our 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, we will strengthen our collective response – ensuring that criminals are brought to justice, wherever they are,” the NSA said.
In November 2024, the UK-Nigeria Fraud Dialogue was launched 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 cyber security, 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 further said 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 practices, frameworks, and lessons learned, along with potential joint public awareness campaigns to deter frauds.
Exploration of collaboration between financial, online, and telecoms regulators and industry bodies in both countries to help close loopholes exploited by criminals are also part of the agreement as well as sharing insights on the misuse of financial systems, with the potential for joint studies and research into emerging threats.
Identifying training-needs and delivering capacity-building initiatives, starting with targeted training for Nigerian prosecutors by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, with further programmes planned, subject to funding is also crucial to the agreement.
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