Nigeria’s very first Legislative Stakeholders Conference on ICT and Cyber security held on Monday in Abuja. it was during this conference that the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, represented by Senator Philip Aduda, the Senate Minority Whip, said that Nigeria has lost about N127 billion to cyber crime although there was no mention of the when exactly this occurred.
He pleaded for measures to be taken immediately in order to minimize the losses suffered and also to amp the country’s cyber security to better repel attacks. His words;
“It is indeed ironic that while internet penetration in Nigeria is tentative at best, hovering at just over the 90 million people mark, a percentage of 47.7%, internet facilitated crime seems to be growing. Our cyber borders are very porous, indeed…
In recent times, we have seen the virulent use to which criminals and other shadowy agents have put the cyber space. The cyber ecosystem has been weaponised and manipulated to devastating effects to undermine democratic processes, influence voting in elections and whip up tension and divisions between societal groups…
Kidnapping, already a scourge in the Nigerian physical space, is also becoming a problem in the virtual realm as ‘cyber-kidnapping’ of encrypted data poses a clear and present danger to our economic viability. Not so long ago, one web-based Ponzi scheme succeeded in entrapping thousands of Nigerians with promises of quick gains. Investors were left counting the costs when the bubble burst while those responsible moved on to new pastures. There was no accountability anywhere.”
Proffering a solution to the problem at hand, he said “it is essential that we come up with effective cyber-security management strategies based on existing legislative frameworks, while building on the work already being done by bodies like the Cybercrime Advisory Council.” Hopefully cyber crimes may be nipped sat the bud.
