Reported by Simon Daniel Yusuph l Journalist at Weng Global
Wema Bank and the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN) have called for stronger cybersecurity, governance and collaboration across Nigeria’s financial sector as artificial intelligence and digital banking create new opportunities as well as emerging risks.
The call was made on Thursday, September 17, 2026, during the 65th Quarterly General Meeting of ACAEBIN, hosted by Wema Bank in Lagos. The meeting focused on the theme, “Auditing the Future: Governing AI, Cyber Risks and Digital Trust in an Era of Intelligent Banking.”
Wema Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Moruf Oseni, said the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, digital platforms and automation was changing how financial institutions serve customers and manage their operations.
However, he warned that technological transformation was also creating new forms of risk that require greater attention from bank boards, management teams, regulators, auditors and other stakeholders.
AI-Enabled Fraud and Deepfakes Among Emerging Risks
According to Oseni, financial institutions are increasingly exposed to threats including AI-enabled fraud, deepfakes, identity manipulation, cyberattacks, API vulnerabilities, data breaches and business email compromise.
He said the risks could no longer be treated as distant possibilities because the banking industry’s growing dependence on interconnected digital systems was increasing the potential impact of security failures.
Oseni, who was represented at the meeting by Wema Bank’s Executive Director of Finance and Digital, Tunde Mabawonku, also stressed that strengthening digital banking could not be left to one department or institution.
He called for cooperation among boards, management, risk and compliance teams, internal auditors, regulators, technology companies and law-enforcement agencies.
The Wema Bank chief said such cooperation was necessary to build digital banking systems that are both resilient and trusted by customers.
ACAEBIN Pushes Stronger Audit and Risk Management
ACAEBIN Chairperson Aina Amah also highlighted the changing responsibilities of internal auditors as Nigerian banks expand their use of digital technologies.
Amah, who was represented by ACAEBIN First Vice-President Mogbitse Atsagbede, said the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, digitalisation, automation and interconnected platforms was creating both opportunities and vulnerabilities for financial institutions.
She said auditors would increasingly need technological knowledge, professional scepticism and the ability to identify emerging risks before they develop into major incidents.
ACAEBIN has consequently expanded its capacity-building activities to cover areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and smart contracts, fraud-risk assessment, forensic audit, data analytics, and the auditing of banks and fintech companies.
The association has also been examining the development of an audit management framework for Nigeria and continuing mentorship programmes aimed at strengthening leadership capacity among chief audit executives.
Cybersecurity Requires Broader Industry Collaboration
The discussions at the ACAEBIN meeting reflect a wider shift in how financial institutions approach cybersecurity and internal controls.
As banks increasingly rely on mobile applications, APIs, cloud-based infrastructure, automated processes and other interconnected digital systems, security risks can emerge across several points of the financial ecosystem.
This means that preventing fraud and cyber incidents requires more than traditional internal controls. Banks must also consider how customer identities are protected, how digital systems communicate with one another, how third-party technology providers are managed and how quickly suspicious activity can be detected.
ACAEBIN said it had also engaged the Nigerian Police Force’s National Cybercrime Centre on cybercrime, fraud trends, intelligence sharing and cooperation between law-enforcement agencies, financial institutions and the internal-audit community.
The engagement underscores the importance of information sharing when financial crime increasingly crosses institutional and technological boundaries.
Digital Trust Becomes Central to Banking
The growing emphasis on digital trust comes as Nigerian consumers increasingly depend on electronic channels for payments, transfers, account management and other financial services.
For banks, technological innovation can improve convenience and operational efficiency, but confidence can be undermined when customers encounter fraud, identity theft, service disruptions or concerns about the security of their personal and financial information.
Wema Bank has previously maintained that fraud prevention and detection remain important parts of its control environment. Its current fraud-management policy states that reported incidents are to be investigated and that the bank maintains measures intended to prevent and detect fraud.
The wider banking industry has also been confronting changing cybersecurity risks as digital services expand.
In April 2026, BusinessDay reported that Nigerian bank auditors were being pushed towards more continuous monitoring, data analytics and earlier involvement in technology-related processes as the pace of emerging risks increasingly outstripped traditional audit cycles.
Why the Cybersecurity Debate Matters
The discussion is significant for Nigeria because the country’s financial system is becoming increasingly digital.
Artificial intelligence can support customer service, fraud detection, data analysis and other banking functions. At the same time, the same technological advances can be exploited by criminals to make scams more sophisticated, manipulate identities or automate fraudulent activity.
Deepfake technology, for example, can make it more difficult for individuals and institutions to determine whether digital communications or identities are genuine. API vulnerabilities and compromised digital connections can also create risks across multiple services when systems are closely interconnected.
For customers, the consequences of successful attacks can include financial losses, compromised personal information and reduced confidence in digital financial services.
For financial institutions, cyber incidents can create operational, regulatory, financial and reputational consequences.
This makes cybersecurity not only a technical issue but also a governance and risk-management responsibility.
Wema Bank Calls for Responsible Innovation
Wema Bank said innovation and governance must develop together as financial institutions adopt new technologies.
The bank’s position, as reported at the ACAEBIN meeting, is that technological development should be accompanied by appropriate controls, resilience measures and accountability.
The approach places internal audit within a broader framework in which auditors are expected not only to examine what has already happened but also to help institutions identify and address emerging risks.
That shift is particularly relevant to artificial intelligence because AI systems can introduce risks associated with data, automated decisions, model behaviour, cybersecurity and third-party technology.
What Happens Next
ACAEBIN said it would continue engaging regulators and other stakeholders, expanding professional capacity and providing platforms for chief audit executives to exchange practical experiences and approaches to emerging risks.
The association is also expected to continue training in areas including AI, fraud risk, data analytics and the auditing of financial institutions and fintech companies.
For Nigerian banks, the central challenge will be maintaining the benefits of digital innovation while ensuring that security, governance and accountability develop at the same pace.
The September 17 meeting therefore placed digital trust at the centre of the industry’s response to an increasingly technology-driven financial system.
As artificial intelligence becomes more deeply integrated into banking, the effectiveness of cybersecurity and internal controls will increasingly depend on cooperation between financial institutions, regulators, auditors, technology providers, law-enforcement agencies and customers.
Weng Global – Stories beyond borders
Sources
- TheCable — Report on Wema Bank’s call for digital trust and stronger collaboration amid AI-related banking risks. (TheCable)
- Vanguard — Report on the 65th ACAEBIN Quarterly General Meeting and calls for stronger collaboration in digital banking. (Vanguard News)
- Wema Bank — Fraud Management Policy and information on the bank’s fraud-control framework. (Wema Bank)
- BusinessDay — Reporting on the changing role of Nigerian bank auditors amid cybersecurity and technology risks. (Businessday NG)
.
