The Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami,
has frowned at the continued harassment of young Nigerians with computing
devices by the security agencies, and has called for immediate retrain.
The minister on Tuesday called on security agencies to stop
the current profiling and harassment of young Nigerians, and admonished
security agencies to be circumspect in these situations.
He said the ministry understood the need for
proactivity to protect the society, but he insisted that it must be done
credibly while recognising the fundamental human rights of every citizen of
Nigeria.
The minister explained that if the situation goes
unchecked, it would dampen the vigorous attempt at diversifying the economy,
and rather, push more young energies underground with catastrophic consequences.
Pantami, in a statement signed by his spokesperson,
Mrs. Uwa Suleiman, said: “The attention of the Federal Ministry of
Communications has been drawn to reports of widespread harassment of young
Nigerians with personal computers (laptops), tablets or phablets in public
places. These reports indicate that young persons are generally regarded as
fraudsters by officers of security agencies if found with such devices in their
possession, and subsequently subjected to varied forms of harassments, and in
some cases outright extortion.
“The ministry notes with dismay, this unfortunate
turn of events as we celebrate the growing and bubbling technology eco-system
in Nigeria that enables young persons to learn various skills ranging from
software engineering to varied forms of entrepreneurship by simply accessing
online tools and content on these devices. We are aware that several other
persons have engaged in nefarious activities using computers and similar
devices, we must, however, be careful not to paint all young Nigerians with the
same brush.”
Pantami, however, commended the efforts of some law
enforcement agencies, particularly the approach of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), in intelligence gathering and subsequent apprehension
of unscrupulous elements, that use computing systems to commit cybercrimes.
According to the minister, “It should be further
noted that many young Nigerians have contributed significantly to the
impressive growth of the Nigerian economy and have created employment for youths
in Nigeria. The digital economy in Nigeria has continued to soar, thereby
giving impetus to the growth of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
as a major segment of the economy. It would, therefore, be counterproductive to
stifle this sector of the economy by labelling every young Nigerian with a
computing device as a fraudster.”
Pantami reiterated the commitment of the ministry
to work closely with parastatals under his supervision, particularly the
National Information Technology Development Agencies (NITDA) and the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC), including relevant security agencies, hubs and
all the groups promoting digital capacity building in Nigeria, to ensure that
such incidents are completely eliminated and that all hands are on deck to
promote the growth of a healthy eco-system supportive of young Nigerians as
well as creating opportunities to harness their energies.
According to him, the Federal Ministry of
Communications would keep working assiduously to foster the growth of a
knowledge-based economy and facilitate ICT as a key tool in the transformation
of Nigeria in the areas of job creation, economic growth and transparency in
governance.
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