NITDA warns Nigerians about sextortion rise—safety steps and reporting advice
NITDA issued a warning on Friday as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month about the growing danger of sextortion—online blackmail where attackers threaten to share intimate images or videos unless victims pay money or comply with demands. The agency explained that perpetrators often obtain real images through deception or use AI to create convincing fake explicit content without ever having an actual photo of the victim.
This threat affects children, teenagers, and adults across Nigeria, with young people especially vulnerable due to fear and shame preventing them from seeking help. NITDA emphasized that paying demands rarely stops the abuse—it often leads to more requests, causing emotional trauma, reputational harm, and financial loss. The warning comes amid rising cases: Nigerian-linked sextortion scams caused nearly $65 million in losses over two years per FBI estimates, and AI is now enabling over half of African cybercrimes including deepfake-based sextortion.
If you're targeted, NITDA advises: never share intimate images online (even with trusted contacts), refuse to pay or send more images if threatened, save evidence by screenshotting messages and account details, immediately stop communicating with the perpetrator, report the account to the platform, and file a report with the Nigeria Police Force Cybercrime Unit. Remember: complying with blackmailers usually makes things worse—your safety comes from documenting the threat and involving authorities, not giving in to demands.