From Omobola Odeyemi, Ibadan
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has initiated actions to strengthen cyberspace towards protecting telecoms consumers across the country against hackers and cybercriminals that have been deploying sophisticated systems to dupe Nigerians.
The Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau of NCC, Mrs. Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, made the disclosure, in her opening remarks, during the 53rd edition of consumer town hall meeting, with the theme: Mitigating Effects of Cyber Crime: ‘Roles of Telecom Consumers,’ organised by the NCC, held at Tees Resort Event Hall, Ilora Road, Oyo town, Oyo State, on Thursday.
Onwuegbuchulam, who was represented by Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau of NCC, Alhaji Ismail Adedigba, stated that “It is noteworthy that, as the commission embarks on various initiatives to increase access to the internet for Nigerians for positive engagements, we are, nonetheless, conscious of dishonest individuals using the internet for illegal activities.
“The hackers and cyber criminals deploy sophisticated systems to intrude into your connected devices as telecoms consumers to perpetrate their exploitation schemes.
“Cybercrime is on the increase and the commission is committed to using its various outreach programmes to embark on series of awareness campaigns with a view to keeping consumers well informed on the risks associated with being online.”
Adedigba, earlier in his welcome address, said the NCC has realised that liberalisation of the telecoms industry has led to an unprecedented increase in the usage of Internet-based solutions and services, and that the commission has initiated a process to establish an Internet Industry Code of Practice for Internet Service providers in the country.
“The Internet Code is a regulatory intervention expected to secure the country’s cyber space against imminent threats from cyber attackers as well as addressing issues such as online child protection, privacy and data protection among others.”
He emphasised that the regulatory intervention and other initiatives by NCC “are ongoing to sanitise our internet space, telecoms consumers must play their response. Thus, the need for you all to take this meeting seriously as we educate you on what your roles should be in minimising the effect of cybercrime.”
Speaking on the objective of the programme, Onwuegbuchulam said one of the initiatives of NCC was to identify, discuss and jointly proffer effective solutions to different issues affecting telecoms consumers in the country, saying: “As a tripartite programme, the forum aims to, on a continuous basis, engage telecoms consumers by educating, informing and empowering them with information they need to know, their rights when violated by the service providers.
“Since we started organising this event some years back, we have treated different thematic topics, which have produced key resolutions that have been communicated to service providers for implementation. Indeed, this has helped to guarantee improved services and value for money spent on telecom services for the consumers. Telecom consumers have been the ultimate beneficiaries of the initiatives.”
Bashorun of Oyo Kingdom, Chief Yusuf Ayoola, who represented the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, on the occasion, urged NCC to make the towns hall meeting regular and if possible, should be held every month in order to adequately equip telecoms consumers on how not to be victims of cybercriminals.
Chairman, Wheel of Hope Consumer Advocacy Group, Mr. Jide Abdul-Azeez, who was the guest speaker on the occasion, highlighted various ways that cybercriminals have been operating, and enjoined telecoms consumers to be wary of giving out their personal information to unofficial elements.
Iyaloja of Oyo town, Mrs. Adepeju Bakare, also urged traders to take necessary preventive steps against cybercriminals before initiating any business on the cyberspace.
