THE Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu on Tuesday in Abuja restated the ministry’s commitment to ensure adequate cyber-security in the country.

Shittu said this at the 2018 Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) with the theme: “Internet: An Enabler for Good Governance’’.

He said that the ministry was putting in place necessary measures to check cyber-crime which he noted was militating against economic growth of the country.

“We are aware of the negative activities of some users in the past, so government has taken cyber-security with all seriousness and has enacted the Cybercrime Act that leaves no hiding place for criminals online,’’ Shittu said.

He said that the Federal Government was aware of the difficulties faced by Nigerians in transacting businesses online due to cyber-crime.

According to him, (Internet Protocol) IP addresses that are traceable to Nigerians or Nigeria are sometimes restricted or out rightly blocked by major e-commerce sites.

The minister, however, said that Nigeria must leverage on ICT to reposition its economy.

“We recognise ICT as not just an enabler but a catalyst for economic growth and development and envisage the drive to  successful implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the country.

Shittu said ministry’s determination to embark on building a smart digital Nigeria as enshrined in its ICT strategic road map 2017-2020.

“This road map is consistent with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government.

“We envisage a society with the knowledge and means to make transactions anytime, anywhere and by anyone.

“It is expected that the effort will help Nigeria’s transition to a digital and knowledge-based economy that gives the private sector the latitude to innovate and easy to access government services,’’ Shittu said.

Earlier, the President, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Mr Sunday Folayan frowned at indiscriminate arrest of people with tools of ICT under the guise that they used them for cyber-crime.

Folayan, in his lecture titled: “Impact of Internet Governance Process in Nigeria in the last six years’’, condemned persons who use ICT tools for fraudulent purposes.

He said “in recent times people with phones and laptops were arrested by security operatives and tagged: “yahoo-yahoo boys”, but no to that because the internet ecosystem has evolved.

He urged the minister to raise the issue at the Federal Executive Council meeting to attract the attention of the Federal Government.

He, however, urged internet users in the country to explore the benefits as provider of information and tools for improving one’s capacity.

– Jul. 3, 2018 @ 17:29 GMT |