News Highlights:
- NITDA signed an MoU with France-based SecDojo to establish a Cybersecurity Academy in Nigeria.
- The partnership aims to build digital skills and strengthen Nigeria’s cyber resilience through targeted training initiatives.
In a strategic move to bolster national security through enhanced cybersecurity measures and digital trust, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has entered into a partnership with SecDojo, SAS—a cybersecurity training and upskilling company headquartered in France.
Digital TimesNG reports that this partnership, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aims to fortify Nigeria’s digital infrastructure and contribute to national peace and prosperity by fostering a resilient cybersecurity ecosystem through targeted capacity-building initiatives.
The MoU which was signed during the GITEX Africa 2025 event held in Marrakech, Morocco, had the two organisations represented by their chief executives- NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, and SecDojo’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Younes Benzagmout, respectively.
With this collaboration set to transform Nigeria’s cybersecurity landscape, central to the agreement are plans to establish a Cybersecurity Academy, deliver advanced training and simulation programmes, develop customized curricula and educational resources, and facilitate research, knowledge sharing, and professional exchange initiatives.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Inuwa expressed confidence in the partnership, calling it a significant step in Nigeria’s pursuit of a secure digital future, and emphasised that strengthening national cybersecurity is not only essential but also requires sustained investment in human capital, which he described as the cornerstone of any innovation ecosystem.
“We just signed an MOU with SecDojo, which is a cybersecurity capacity-building provider, and this is one of our efforts to strengthen our national cybersecurity to enhance our cyber resilience,” Inuwa noted.
Highlighting Nigeria’s advantage, he noted the country’s large, youthful population as a resource that, if properly harnessed, could bridge the global cybersecurity talent gap and position Nigeria as a major player in the international cybersecurity market.
Inuwa also underscored the need to integrate digital skills, including cybersecurity, into Nigeria’s formal education system and called for stronger collaboration between technology stakeholders and the Federal Ministry of Education to embed these competencies into the national curriculum—from primary to tertiary levels.
He argued that while NITDA currently offers skills acceleration programmes, the long-term goal should be the systemic integration of digital literacy into academic learning.
Drawing attention to successful models such as Cisco’s academic partnerships, which enable students in over 100 Nigerian universities to earn degrees alongside professional certifications, Inuwa advocated for a dual-track educational approach that prepares graduates for immediate relevance in the digital economy.
He urged the broader technology ecosystem to welcome diverse partnerships beyond a single vendor model, citing Google’s interest as an example and encouraging other tech firms to contribute open-source or customized learning content aligned with Nigeria’s National Digital Literacy Framework.
In his remarks, Mr. Benzagmout expressed optimism about the collaboration and reiterated SecDojo’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s cybersecurity sector, noting that the partnership will leverage SecDojo’s innovative training platforms and methodologies to empower Nigerian cybersecurity professionals while advancing the country’s broader cyber capacity-building strategy.
He thanked NITDA for its trust and expressed eagerness to begin what he described as a meaningful and impactful collaboration.
