Personnel of the Nigerian police, along with members of various civil society organisations, embarked on a freedom walk in Enugu on Tuesday to sensitize the youth and residents of the Southeast region about the ills of cybercrime.
The event, organized by the South Saharan Social Development Organization and Spaces for Change (S4C), in collaboration with the Nigerian Police National Cyber Crime Centre, aimed to raise awareness about the dangers of cybercrime in society.
The walk saw policemen, CSOs, and youths marching through the streets of Enugu and visiting several schools to educate the public.
Speaking during the event, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Nigerian Police National Cybercrime Centre, Force Headquarters, Henry Ifeanyi Uche, lamented that many young people are getting involved in cybercrime, defrauding and scamming numerous individuals.
“Some of them don’t even know that there are consequences for their actions. I believe that anybody who goes into cybercrime should be able to understand that there are consequences for their actions.
“So, we’re here basically to tell our youngsters that it’s not good to go into cybercrime,” he said.
He added that part of the sensitisation was on how people, especially the youth, can stay safe online.
“This is because it’s a very big issue. You can’t get what you don’t have. It’s only when you understand your right as a citizen and what to do so that you won’t become a victim of online scammers.
“So many of our citizens don’t even know what to do when confronted with cyber-attacks. So, when you see unsolicited messages, you are not supposed to click on them. You must ensure that you have a very strong password. Some of us who normally use our date of birth, first names, family names etc as passwords should desist because they’re very weak passwords. You should be able to generate complex passwords that will help you stay safe online.
“Our walk here is simply to tell our people how to wash their cyber hands and practice cyber hygiene. What I mean by all this is observing the security tips as I have already enumerated to protect yourself,” he said.
Read Also: Defamation: Police oppose appearance of SAN for Dele Farotimi in Court
Uche, who appreciated the organisers of the event, called on the citizens to join hands in the fight against cybercrime because it is not something the Nigerian police or security agencies can do alone.
“It requires a collective approach. That’s why we’re working with some non-governmental organisations, who organised this in conjunction with the Nigerian Police Force Cyber Crime. So, we need all hands to be on deck,” the CP said.
The finance and administration manager of South Saharan Social Development Organization, Udoamaka Okoye, noted that the group with her S4C partners organnised the freedom walk on cybercrime because it had become a very serious issue with teenagers and young adults, some of who are only concentrating attention on how to hack into systems, yahoo boys and those kind of thing.
“For us, as a civil society organization, we think that our contribution to curbing this menace is to make people aware of the dangers that come with cybercrime. And in line with Nigerian laws, if you are caught, there are punishments for such actions. We’re telling the youth that whatever it is they are doing, they must be careful not to fall a victim,” she said.
