In a sobering revelation that highlights the rising tide of cyber vulnerability, cybersecurity firm Surfshark has reported that over 119,000 Nigerian user accounts were compromised in the first quarter of 2025 alone. This alarming statistic places Nigeria as the third most breached country in Sub-Saharan Africa since 2004, with an estimated 23.2 million compromised accounts to date.
A data breach, as defined by Surfshark, involves unauthorized access where personal user information—including names, email addresses, passwords, and more—gets exposed or leaked. The firm’s Q1 2025 analysis shows a significant 85% drop in leaked Nigerian accounts compared to the previous quarter. However, the danger remains far from over. On average, one Nigerian account has been leaked every minute since the start of the year.
While global breaches fell by a staggering 93% year-on-year—from 973.7 million in Q1 2024 to just 68.3 million in Q1 2025—Nigeria’s breach figures continue to illustrate a troubling trend. According to the report, 7.3 million of the compromised Nigerian accounts were tied to unique email addresses, suggesting that the average user’s information has been repeatedly exposed. In total, 13 million passwords linked to Nigerian users were compromised.
Cybersecurity experts warn that 56% of affected users face high risks of account takeovers, identity theft, extortion, and other cybercrimes. Statistically, 10 out of every 100 Nigerians have fallen victim to at least one data breach.
Globally, Surfshark found that 280 accounts are breached per 100 people, placing Nigeria 54th in the world for breach frequency in Q1 2025. The exposure of 94 unique email addresses per 100 Nigerians further emphasizes the scale of the problem.
The report also recalls Nigeria’s most significant data breach in recent years, which occurred in September 2024. A hacker using the alias Addka72424 released a dataset containing 3.3 billion email addresses worldwide—including 2,555,642 Nigerian accounts. The cybercriminal described the incident as a “small experiment” aimed at showcasing the sheer volume of freely accessible data on the internet.
As cybercrime evolves, experts stress the urgent need for improved data protection laws, public awareness campaigns, and investment in national cybersecurity infrastructure. For millions of Nigerians, the breach is not just a digital inconvenience—it is a direct threat to their privacy, finances, and safety in an increasingly online world.
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