By Chinedu Okorie, African Security Correspondent
The Security Skills Development Company (SSDC) has unveiled a new policy report urging Nigeria to adopt a coordinated national strategy for safeguarding its Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).
Speaking at its inaugural Thought Leadership Roundtable in Lagos on Thursday, SSDC emphasized the urgent need to shield vital assets from vandalism, cyberattacks, sabotage, weak enforcement, and poor maintenance culture.
The report, titled “A New Strategy for Protecting Nigeria’s Critical National Infrastructure”, draws on expertise from national security professionals, engineers, legal practitioners, and private-sector security specialists. It paints a stark picture of the country’s vulnerability, noting that persistent attacks on telecom fibre lines, oil and gas pipelines, and power transmission assets continue to drain the economy.
Industry data cited in the report revealed that Nigeria suffers over 1,000 fibre cuts monthly, while repeated national grid collapses—often linked to vandalism and fragile system resilience—have disrupted power supply in recent years.
Key voices at the roundtable included security analyst Dennis Amachree, security expert Mike Igbodipe, engineer Jide Kumapayi, legal practitioner Babatunde Osadare, and security trainer Collins Onyewuchi. Together, they stressed the importance of a unified national framework for infrastructure protection, stronger accountability among stakeholders, and deeper collaboration between government agencies and private operators.
The report also flagged emerging cyber threats as a growing danger, warning that financial systems, digital government platforms, and telecom networks are increasingly targeted by sophisticated attacks. It called for enhanced cybersecurity capacity and stricter enforcement measures.
Among its recommendations, SSDC urged the government to:
- Formally adopt a National Critical Infrastructure Protection Framework
- Strengthen legal enforcement against vandalism
- Deploy advanced surveillance technologies
- Invest in predictive maintenance systems
- Promote public awareness and community engagement
- Improve intelligence sharing among security agencies
SSDC noted that the roundtable is part of a bi-monthly series aimed at shaping policy reforms and fortifying Nigeria’s security ecosystem. Future sessions will explore the role of the private sector in national security and strategies for building human capital capacity within the industry.