The activities of cyber criminals has become a threat to our society. This can also be linked to the rapid growth in the usage and dependence on internet.
To end cyber related crimes, the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) held her 50th Edition of Consumer Town Hall Meeting (CTM) in Ago- Iwoye, Ogun State with the theme: “Mitigating Effects of Cyber-crimes: The Role of Telecom Consumers”.
The Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mrs. Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, who spoke at the event said, ” one of the most effective ways to protect telecom consumers from cybercrime is through continuous consumer education and awareness”, noting that the theme of this program was carefully chosen for deliberations with the aim of educating and informing the masses of the threats and modus operandi of cyber criminals in our society.
Speaking further, she said the Commission is conscious of dishonest individuals, who scam people via the internet and as such the Nigerian Communications Commission has called for a synergy among various stakeholders in the sector with the aim of discussing salient issues bordering the telecoms industry, such as cybercrime, hacking and others.
Onwuegbuchulam who was represented by her Deputy Director, Alhaji Ismail Adedigba also said the Commission has initiated a process to establish an Internet Industry Code of Practice for Internet Service.
According to her, the ” internet Code is a regulatory intervention that will not only help to secure the country’s cyber space against imminent threats from cyber attackers but also address such issues as online child protection, privacy and data protection, contents, among others.
She further noted that, cyber space covers everything Consumers do online or with computing devices including mobile phones, tablets and personal computers. “Admittedly, the internet touches almost all aspects of our lives as telecom Consumers” she added.
Mr. Abdulazeez Deji of Consumer Advocacy Group, (Wheel of Hope), who presented the lead paper, called on Stakeholders to collaborate towards combatting cyber crime in our society. Adding that most of the fora organised by NCC are geared towards enlightening telecom users.
He however urged Nigerians to work together to fight against the menace bedeviling our society.
Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof.Umaru Danbatta, said the rationale for setting up of internet laboratories in both secondary and tertiary institutions across the country was to bridge the skills gap in the information communication technology among the students and staff.
Danbatta, who gave this explanation on Tuesday in Abuja at the headquarters of the Commission when he received a delegation from the Federal College of Horticulture, Gombe, said the initiative was part of the NCC’s project to make Nigerian graduates employable.
Danbatta represented by the Director, Projects Department in the NCC, Mrs. Abigail Sholanke, said the Commission has been supplying laptops, internet facilities as well as organising train- the -trainers’ workshops in various schools.
He further revealed that the Commissioned had embarked on the building of computer based centres across the country, adding that ICT Parks were being constructed across various states in Nigeria.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC also underscored the need to Nigerian Schools to embrace e-learning to forestall being left behind by comity of ICT compliant nations across the world.
As part of efforts to encourage the learning of ICT in schools, Danbatta said the Commission had begun to give grants to the academic staff of tertiary institutions for research purposes, adding that research is indispensable for national development.
Earlier, the Provost of the Federal College of Horticulture, Prof. Fatima Sawa, showered encomiums on the management of NCC for the provisions of internet facilities, e- libraries in schools.
Sawa noted that this gesture has transformed the learning capacity and research of the benefitting institutions.
She expressed joy that most of the staff from the institutions are e- compliant, courtesy of the assistance of the Commission.
She however solicited more assistance and support of NCC’s interventions in the areas of provision of laptops to lecturers, and building of computer based centre in the school.
