Public-private partnership (PPP) projects appear to be of great benefit to Nigeria, particularly within the last year.

Within this period, these projects have attracted over $500 million worth of investment, according to the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

The Director-General of the ICRC, Dr. Jobson Ewalefoh made this known during his courtesy visit to the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

During the visit, Ewalefoh felicitated with Dr. Tunu-Ojo as the latter was honoured with the PPP Icon Award.

According to him, the $500 million in investments through various PPP projects wouldn’t have been possible without Dr. Tunji-Ojo.

To ensure compliance with statutory requirements, Ewalefoh detailed that the commission will carry out a performance audit of all PPP projects

To him: “We have mechanisms in place to begin auditing PPP agreements, not to terminate them but to optimize them for national benefit. Compliance with the insurance policy is key to protecting our national assets under these partnerships.”

Minister Ojo received praise from Dr. Ewalefoh for his efforts in revenue generation and the continuation of abandoned projects.

Ewalefoh revealed that the past year has the highest number of PPP projects presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC), a development he attributed to the efforts of the Ministry of Interior.

On the other hand, Minister Tunji-Ojo said the government is more focused on fostering private-sector participation.

To him, this will help bridge resource gaps and create a conducive environment for investments.

Key PPP initiatives within the Ministry include the e-gate system, the Advanced Passenger Information System, and the upcoming Gap Management System, as detailed by the minister.

Minister Ojo signifies that the $500 million investment recorded in the past year is just the beginning of the many benefits of the PPP initiative.

The Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) has expressed concerns over the increasing cases of fraud in Nigeria.

This is as the institution reveals that it recorded a total of 11,532 fraud cases only in the second quarter of 2024.

In a latest report, FITC revealed that many of these frauds were linked to computers, mobile devices, and point-of-sale (POS) systems.

Also, the report revealed that these frauds did not start now.

It started in 2023 and now, like a deadly plague, it has crawled into the first quarter of 2024.

In the second quarter, the total value of fraud stood at ₦56.3 billion, a significant increase from the ₦34.8 billion reported in the first quarter of the year.

Despite efforts by financial institutions to recover the stolen funds, only ₦13.7 billion was salvaged leaving fraudsters smiling home with a whooping ₦42.6 billion.

When we talk about Mobile fraud, we mean fraud carried out via mobile apps and internet banking.

This fraud scheme accounted for 33.4% of the total cases in the report, making it the largest category.

Fraudsters who operate via POS did not disappoint.

They contributed 24.6% of the cases.

Web-based fraudsters were well represented, holding 16.9% of the total fraud incidents.

Meanwhile, via the report, FITC decried the increase in computer-based fraud as a growing concern.

The report reveals how bank branches counted their losses, with 95% of the total fraud value occurring at the branch level.

Of a truth, there have been many advancements and upgrades in technology.

Yet, fraudsters continue to excel.

We cannot help but blame this on the insiders who betrayed their organizations.

During the quarter in question, 49 employees were dismissed for their involvement in fraudulent activities.

The report also brought to light a new kind of fraud.

It is called fraud by magnitude.

Fraud by magnitude caused bank branches to lose approximately ₦54 billion.

That amount signifies a staggering 95.63% of the overall fraud amount.

Web-based fraud followed closely with losses of ₦1.2 billion (2%).

POS and mobile fraud each contributed around 1%, resulting in ₦651 million and ₦547 million losses, respectively.

On the bright side, there was a 31.8% decline in card-related fraud, but cheque and cash fraud surged significantly.

This rise in cash-related fraud reaffirms that criminals are also updating their skills as the days go by.

The big question is, what is the way forward?

For FITC the use of advanced technology, including artificial intelligence may be worth a shot.

Also, attention must be paid to proactive measures, such as bolstered security systems and continuous training of staff, as critical to reducing fraud.

As detailed in the report, fraudsters have stolen a total of ₦42.6 billion from commercial banks between April and June 2024.