Over N1bn fraud slipped past Nigeria's automated security systems in H1 2026
Over N1 billion in fraud went undetected by automated security systems across West Africa in the first half of 2026, according to esentry's Eye of Horus H1 2026 Threat Landscape Report. The report found that three major fraud incidents investigated across Nigeria's fintech, payment and core banking sectors were completed without triggering a single security alert, only surfacing after transactions through routine audits, customer support tickets and settlement warnings.
Nigeria's cybersecurity environment is increasingly exposed, with organisations facing an average of more than 4,700 attacks per week during H1 2026 and 281,500 Nigerian accounts newly breached in the first quarter. The incidents were not mainly due to software vulnerabilities but attackers abusing legitimate credentials, compromised sessions and weaknesses in security logging. Although esentry's six teams processed over 3.5 million alerts in the period, achieving a median detection-to-escalation time of 11 minutes, faster responses do not guarantee comprehensive coverage when the logs needed to spot suspicious activity are missing.
The report recommends continuous visibility, proactive threat hunting and the ability to identify malicious behaviour before it causes financial or operational loss. Organisations should enforce backend authorisation checks at every application endpoint, retain outbound network traffic logs and authentication source IP addresses as baseline requirements. Individuals and businesses are advised to review access controls, enable multi-factor authentication, monitor account activity regularly and report any anomalies immediately.