Fraud Cases To Spike In Nigeria As 90% Of Security Chiefs Plan To Increase Their Budgets

Nigerian companies anticipate the highest rates of fraud in Sub-Saharan Africa next year. Half (50%) expect to face external fraud and 41% anticipate insider fraud to impact their businesses.*

The threat of violence toward company executives has jumped in the last two years according to 33% of security chiefs. Global institutional investors share this concern. Seven in 10 (68%) say the contributions of senior executives to strategic decision-making, leadership and innovation represents 30% or more of the value of the companies they invest in.

In response to rising threats, more security chiefs in Nigeria (90%) than anywhere else in the world say their physical security budget will increase in the next year (81% regional average, 66% global average).

These are key findings from the World Security Report, commissioned by Allied Universal®, the world’s leading security and facility services provider and its international business, G4S.

2,352 chief security officers (CSOs) in 31 countries at medium and large, global companies with total revenue exceeding $25 trillion took part in the research. 58 security chiefs from Nigeria and 174 in total from Sub-Saharan Africa were surveyed. The report also incorporates the crucial perspectives of 200 global institutional investors managing over $1 trillion in assets.

Reinforcing the prevalence of financial motivated threats, economic instability is expected to surge in Nigeria next year with nearly half of security chiefs (47%) predicting it to be a security-impacting hazard. This is up from 40% last year.

The top driver of intentional insider threats is financial dissatisfaction (low pay, lack of bonuses or incentives) more than half of security chiefs say (55%). This is higher than anywhere else in the world alongside Kenya (36% global average).

“Financial pressures mean fraud is pervasive in everyday life and some individuals can be easily exploited. But Nigeria also has plenty of opportunities and many businesses want to operate here, giving careful consideration to how they can best protect their people and operations. Real-time information and intelligence gathering is essential, particularly as the risks differ depending on which part of the country you are in,” said Jonas Ahl, managing director of G4S Nigeria.

Nearly a third of businesses view civil unrest as a top hazard for the coming year. Typically this translates into protests and demonstrations which are predicted to impact 17% of companies, well above the global average of 10%.

Nigeria will also face a growing threat from activist groups, with 86% of security chiefs saying they increasingly pose a physical security risk to corporate facilities and executives – higher than anywhere else in the region (78% regional average, 77% global average).

“Consistent with the 2023 findings, fraud is the dominating internal and external threat across the region which can be tied back to economic instability. Despite these challenges, there are plenty of opportunities across the region and it is encouraging to see the planned investment in smart security infrastructure and AI-powered video surveillance,” said Christo Terblanche, regional president of G4S in Africa.

*The anticipated global and regional average for external fraud next year is 30% and 40%. Last year, 45% of companies in Nigeria experienced this threat.

World Security Report 2025 – further key findings for Nigeria:

Top 3  measures to mitigate the threat of violence to company executives

• 62% say enhanced security procedures (i.e. Enhanced background checks, on site firearms or explosives screening) (62% regional average and global average 49%)
• 53% say risk assessment for leaders (i.e. Pre-event assessments, travel risk management)             (59% regional average and global average 45%)
• 52% say monitoring online threats (i.e. social media, dark web, etc.) ( 60% regional average and global average 44%)

Threats and hazards

• 36% say theft of company physical property is the second top external threat expected next year  (31% regional average and 28% global average)
• 38% say policy violations is the second top internal threat expected next year(36% regional average and 27% global average).
• 76% say geopolitical tension will compromise the security of our supply chain over the next 12 months (77% regional average and 78% global average).
• More than half of investors say fraud is both the internal (59%) and external (53%) security incident they think it’s most important for companies they invest in to prepare for.

Priorities

• 69% say enhancing physical security is a budget priority for the next 12 months e.g., barriers, surveillance, access control (60% regional average and 43% global average)
• 53% say improving threat detection to prevent security incidents is their priority for improvement (49% regional average and 33% global average)
• 90% agree physical security should have a higher strategic priority within their business – highest in the region (85% regional average and 82% global average)

Cutting-edge technologies classified as crucial for operations over the next two years:

• 59% say smart security infrastructure for buildings and public spaces (58% regional average and 38% global average)  
• 48% say AI-powered intrusion detection and perimeter security (43% regional average and 44 % global average)
• 48% say AI-assisted threat intelligence and automated incident response (45% regional average and 40% global average)

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