Abstract

This study examined the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI)- driven cyber threat detection and digital infrastructure protection in Nigerian organizations, against the backdrop of a rapidly escalating threat landscape. Nigerian organizations faced an average of 4,388 cyber attacks per week in the first quarter of 2025, a 47% year-on-year increase, while the country moved sharply up the Global Threat Index (Check Point, cited in Rhizome, 2025). Adopting a cross-sectional survey design, the study drew on 384 information-technology and security personnel from banks, telecommunications firms and publicsector institutions, selected through stratified random sampling. Two objectives guided the inquiry: to determine the extent to which AIdriven threat-detection capability influences the effectiveness of cyber threat detection, and to assess the effect of AI-driven detection on digital infrastructure protection. Data were analysed using performance percentage analysis, descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation and simple linear regression at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed a strong positive and statistically significant relationship between AI-driven capability and threat-detection effectiveness (r = 0.76, p < 0.05), and a significant positive effect of AIdriven detection on digital infrastructure protection (β = 0.71, p < 0.05, R² = 0.498). Percentage analysis showed that 82% of respondents affirmed that AI had improved the speed and accuracy of threat detection. The study concludes that AI is a decisive enabler of cyber resilience in Nigerian organizations, though skills shortages, cost and data-quality constraints limit its full realisation. It recommends sustained investment in AI security platforms, talent development, and compliance with the Cybercrime Act and the Nigeria Data Protection Act.