Ernest Ndukwe, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) assures that the Commission is in the process of establishing a Cyber Security Centre to look at the gains the country can harness from Cyberspace as well look at Cyber security which is very important in modern business transactions.
Giving this assurance at the Cyber Security Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, put together by Anti-Money Laundering and Cyber Security Coalition of the National Assembly, Ndukwe however urged participants not to be negative about the technology but instead encourage the teeming Nigerian youths to think of new ways to use Cyber Space.
“It is important that we tackle the issue on a positive note because there is more to gain from Cyber Space instead of throwing away the baby with the bath water”.
While explaining that the Federal Government has taken a number of measures to combat Cyber Crime in Nigeria, he pointed out that the aspect of legislation was very import, encouraging the National Assembly to quickly put the relevant laws in place.
Ndukwe meanwhile made the gathering sober when he informed that in Nigeria, electronic transactions and evidence are not recognised.
“We need to work on the law to recognise electronic transactions and evidence. We should work at that very fast. Laws are the very steps critical in the
On the Cyber Security Centre which the NCC plans to set up, he explained that it would among others help to train manpower for the sector. “Who says a new way of protecting the Internet cannot come from Nigeria,” he asked, adding that the NCC had the manpower to set up such a Centre.
The universal nature of Cyber Crimes committed locally makes it “a global headache,” prompting various nations to seek national and transnational ways to proffer solutions with most experts advising that countries build multilateral channels to solving Cyber problems.
This perhaps explains why Hamadoun Toure, the Secretary General of the International Telecoms Union (ITU)U to take as one of his cardinal programmes Cyber Security and the fight against Cyber Crimes. Ndukwe said that the NCC was working very closely with him to achieve results.
A number of speakers at the event asked the Nigerian government to work with her neighbours and other African countries since no Nigerian solution would endure without the support of neighbouring countries.
At the conference, Ndukwe appealed to Legislators to appropriate adequate funding to the various agencies fighting against Cyber Crime to enable them embark on what he described as a collective fight.
“The Legislators have a major role to play in appropriating funds to the agencies involved in the fight against Cyber Crimes,” he noted.