UBA seeks improved vigilance against cybertheft

The United Bank for Africa has called for sustained vigilance and a strong fraud-prevention culture as it rounded off the 2025 Fraud Awareness Week.

This call was made at the grand finale of the week-long activities on Friday, held at the UBA House in Lagos and themed “Combating Fraud-Risk & Cybertheft in Digital Banking.”

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, global champion of the week, the Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations, organisations lose an estimated five per cent of their revenue annually due to fraud. Fraud takes many shapes and forms, among them corporate fraud, consumer fraud, tax fraud, identity theft, and many others.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UBA, Oliver Alawuba, who was represented by the Executive Director, Finance & Risk Management, Ugochukwu Nwaghodoh, in his opening remarks, said that fraud prevention was not a one-off event but a culture.

“It strengthens trust and protects customers. This year’s activities have all deepened and deterred fraud at every customer touch point. As we close this week, let us uphold UBA’s integrity across the countries of operations. Let us continue to lead the industry. Stay alert, stay safe, and let us stop fraud together.”

The acting Chief Internal Auditor of UBA, Kayode Ajayi, said, “The fight against fraud in UBA is progressive, and it is a good fight. I want to encourage all of us to join the fight. One of the challenges we have in Nigeria is ownership. We have decided to own the fight. We have the will and the resources to own the fight, but we cannot do it alone.

“Fraud doesn’t respect your degree or education. Fraud is a trend, AI is here, but social psychology is the same. Don’t allow yourself to be defrauded.”