The United Bank for Africa closed the 2025 Fraud Awareness Week with a strong call for continuous vigilance and a fraud-prevention culture. The event’s grand finale took place on Friday at the UBA House in Lagos, carrying the theme “Combating Fraud-Risk & Cybertheft in Digital Banking.”
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, which champions Fraud Awareness Week globally, reported in its Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations that organisations lose about five percent of their annual revenue to fraud. These losses cut across corporate fraud, consumer fraud, tax fraud, identity theft and several other forms of financial deception.
UBA’s Group Managing Director and CEO, Oliver Alawuba, represented by Ugochukwu Nwaghodoh, the Executive Director for Finance and Risk Management—reminded participants that fraud prevention works only when it becomes a culture. He explained that a strong prevention system builds trust and protects customers, adding that activities held during the fraud awareness week strengthened UBA’s safeguards at every customer touchpoint. He urged staff across all countries where UBA operates to remain vigilant and committed to upholding the bank’s integrity. He encouraged everyone to stay alert, stay safe and work together to stop fraud.
Acting Chief Internal Auditor of UBA, Kayode Ajayi, noted that the bank continues to make progress in its fight against fraud. He encouraged employees to take ownership of the battle, pointing out that one of Nigeria’s challenges is the lack of collective responsibility. Ajayi said UBA has the will and resources to combat fraud but cannot win the fight alone. He warned that fraud affects everyone regardless of education or status, and stressed that although technology such as AI keeps evolving, human psychology remains constant. He advised customers and staff not to let themselves fall victim.
Keynote speaker, Prof. Godwin Oyedokun, explained that fraud never happens by accident, describing it as deliberate and planned. He urged individuals to remain vigilant, especially concerning the people around them. He emphasised that people must stay ahead of fraudsters because detecting wrongdoing discourages them the most. He also said prevention works far better than detecting fraud after it causes damage. He also encouraged banks to strengthen internal processes, prioritise customer protection and improve fraud-reporting systems.
During the panel discussions, Adebayo Adebeshin pointed out that every innovation comes with a trade-off between convenience and security. He added that knowledge alone no longer gives institutions an advantage because fraudsters now operate with similar levels of information. Another panellist, Fiyinfolu Okedare, stressed the importance of customer empowerment. He said customers serve as the first layer of security and must be guided away from a victim mindset toward becoming defenders. He encouraged banks to teach customers how to identify phishing emails and other fraud attempts, noting that customer education remains one of the most underused tools in fraud prevention. He emphasised the need to move from theoretical awareness to practical training.
Bright Anyanwu contributed by warning that increased information sharing has made fraud risks more complex. He explained that many banks focus heavily on product development and compliance without fully considering security implications until late in the process. He argued that no product is truly good unless it is secure, and urged banks to prioritise thorough testing and “security by design” when creating new services.
