Alternative to Cybercrime for Nigerian Youths

With the kick-off of awareness campaigns on cybercrime, as part of the Internet Safety, Security and Privacy Initiative for Nigeria, in 2008, public conversation has continued to gravitate towards why government has not taken the menace as serious as other issues that have less impact on the economy. Cybercrime is largely seen at the level of minor financial loss in Nigeria, and we are working on a documentary that will highlight what the economic cost is to Nigeria, Nigerians and Nigerian businesses, with the hope that it can stimulate a new level of discussions leading to legislative and additional action on the problem of cybercrime in Nigeria.

The challenge of making the internet safe informed the need to raise awareness through the social campaign that involved sensitization workshops in selected schools, one-day events and deliberate follow-up projects including discussions with legislators and other stakeholders that can ensure appropriate legislative action towards eradicating cybercrime in Nigeria. The annual social campaign directed the spotlight to the issue of internet safety while also providing a platform for other industry players to work together. This follow-up project seeks to produce a short (15 minutes) documentary on the economic cost of cybercrime in Nigeria. The short video will be made available via online channels, multimedia distribution and traditional media partners, towards the aim of reaching as many young people, businesses and policymakers as possible with the message. It is hoped that the message will drive a new wave of conversation on the need for legislative action and additional efforts towards curbing cybercrime in Nigeria, and providing alternatives to at-risk youth.

The video documentary will be made available to ALL legislators in relevant committees. It is short enough to catch attention, but long enough to give details of the real economic cost of cybercrime

As part of the ongoing MISSPIN effort supporting cybercrime legislation for Nigeria, Microsoft announced additional support through a $10,000 grant in November 2011. The grant was announced towards a Video Contest and Courtesy Visits to stakeholders involved in the work around cybercrime legislation for Nigeria.

The Video Contest saw entries sent in by young Nigerians who were asked to respond to a question: How Can Nigeria Tackle Cybercrime Effectively? Entries were received until December 7, 2011, and the contest publicity was supported by radio mentions, news reports and social media adverts. New radio station, Naija Info 99.3, popular technology blog, TechLoy, and youth empowerment blog, YouthHubAfrica, are some of the media channels engaged for the campaign. The top winners of MISSPIN competitions, who were selected to join the courtesy visit to Abuja, are Raphael Nwachukwu, Yinka Awosanya, Denni Ajalie and Mayowa Olugbile.

The Courtesy Visits by selected young participants, along with PIN and Microsoft staff, took the team to the Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly. At the Ministry of Justice, the Cyber Crime Prosecution Unit provided information about ongoing work on cybersecurity legislation by the offices of the Attorney General and National Security Adviser. The team met with Senator Bukola Saraki who represents Kwara Central, was the chairman of the Governor’s Forum and has been very active on social media.

During the courtesy visit, Senator Saraki pointed out the existence of a similar bill in the Senate and asked the tem to study the card transaction bill alongside the proposed cybersecurity bill in order to confirm that there is no legislative overlap. This was done and communicated to him before the Senate discussion on the card transaction bill on Thursday, February 2, 2012. Following this, PIN has been advised to provide a summary of the major components of the proposed cybersecurity bill for onward transmission to the Senate, in order to accelerate the process of securing cybercrime legislation for Nigeria.