..As Commission Unveils Cybercrime Rapid Response Service
Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede has said that cybercrime portends grave dangers to the entire world.
Speaking when the EFCC unveils Cybercrime Rapid Response Service in Abuja, Olukoyede said “The menace of cybercrime, like most economic and financial crimes, is a burning challenge that we cannot deny, ignore or wish away.”
The national discourse on cybercrime, the EFCC boss said, was necessitated by “the overarching need for us to articulate opinions and build greater strength against the scourge of cybercrime. This time around, we are not only interrogating the problem, we are aggregating workable solutions to it.”
Further in his speech, he observed that “The enormity of challenges posed to us as individuals and nation by cybercrimes are grievous. As individuals, youths’ involvement in these crimes is distorting and corrupting acceptable family values. The tendency towards quick riches no longer positions our young people for enterprise, resourceful intellectual aspirations and technological innovations
In financial terms, Olukoyede stated that 2,328 (Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Twenty-eight) cases of cybercrime occur daily globally with a global loss projected to hit $10.5 trillion by 2025. “Projections by multiple sources show that the global loss to cybercrime may reach a staggering $10.5 trillion by 2025, with approximately 2,328 (Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Twenty-eight) cases occurring daily. The implication of all these is that, if left unchecked, cybercrime portends grave dangers to the entire world. These are the realities stoking the Commission’s fight against these crimes.”
Minister of State for Youth Development, Mr. Ayodele Olawande while commending the EFCC in its fight against cybercrime stated that “The Commission has done so well in planning and engaging the youths in every state that will give them the platform to do so. As youths, as a body, we are promising the EFCC that we will do everything in our power, everything we can do to make sure that Nigerian youths are with the EFCC and that we are ready to work with it. We will make sure that we will go to every nook and cranny of the 774 local government areas to spread the anti-cybercrime message”, he said.
The Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, and Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq commended the EFCC for organizing the summit and pledged his support to the Commission in its efforts to redeem the youth from the path of cyber criminalities. “You have our support in this regards. We commend you on their efforts in putting this gathering together. I am sure that after this summit, we will all leave here better informed on our perception of cybercrime.”
A lot more goodwill messages came from His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, His Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Ugochukwu Achebe, Obi of Onitsha, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (The Ojaja 11), Ooni of Ife, Danladi Plang, Head of Programme, IDEA, among others.
