(Ecofin Agency) - The U.S. will support Nigeria in tackling cybercrime and financial fraud. This was revealed by U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, at the second annual Conference on Combatting Financial Fraud, Cybercime, and Cross-Border Crimes on Tuesday.

Themed “U.S.-Nigerian Cooperation in combating cybercrime and financial fraud”, the conference was organized by the Nigerian ministry of justice and the National Information Technology Development Agency.

“The U.S. has partnered with the Nigerian government to combat fraud, financial crimes, money laundering, cybercrime, and cross-border crimes including drug, human, and wildlife trafficking. The two countries also continue to work to counter these threats, strengthen information sharing, and develop strategies to work together to protect citizens, resources, and financial networks from dangerous criminal attacks,” Symington said.

For her part, Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu, special adviser to the President on justice reforms, declared: “We want to ensure that we are looking at cross border crimes that can affect the national security of Nigeria and we taking proactive steps in that direction.”

Let it be recalled that in March, Kenyan firm Serianu Ltd in a report entitled “Achieving Cyber Security Resilience: Enhancing Visibility and Increasing Awareness”, revealed that five Africa countries have lost overall $895 million in 2016 due to cybercrime. Nigeria is the biggest loser with losses amounting to nearly $500 million. This is to show the impact of the phenomenon on economies.