By James Ogunnaike
The Senate has assured Nigerians that it is currently working with relevant government agencies and other stakeholders to deploy technology to combat the insecurity ravaging the country.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, Senator Shuaibu Afolabi Salisu, who disclosed this while speaking with newsmen shortly after the induction of new members, vice patrons, and the investiture of the new executive of the Abeokuta Sports Club 1904, led by its President, Alhaji Taoheed Awodele, said the Senate is currently revising the National Cybercrime Law, as part of efforts to combat rising insecurity and technology-driven offences in the country.
Salisu, who represents Ogun Central, said the Senate recently held an engagement session in the South West on tackling insecurity, adding that similar consultations would be extended to all geopolitical zones in the country.
He said, “We are working on a new National Cyber Security Law. We are going to repeal the existing law and promulgate a new one. Since the last law was promulgated, we have faced new technologies, artificial intelligence, and new manifestations of cybercrime. There was also a new UN Convention on Cyber Crimes”.
“So, a new cybersecurity law is coming to play, and I have also engaged all the agencies in the digital economy space. From NCC and NITDA: ask what we can do to use technology to stem the rising insecurity in the country.
“There is hardly any crime you want to commit now that does not have an input of technology. You want to make phone calls, you want to defraud people. So, we are putting in place, first and foremost, infrastructure to ensure that no part of this country is uncovered.
“It is when every part of this country is covered, particularly with broadband technology. Therefore, we can deploy technology to govern the currently ungoverned spaces. And therefore we are also doing rural telephony to ensure that rural areas are covered by telephone”.
“The telecoms, they will only invest where they can make money. But it is the government’s responsibility to bridge the gap. And that is why we have the USPA, Universal Service Provision Fund. We are also positioning and proposing the fund to ensure it meets the objective of leaving no part of this country uncovered. When that happens, we are also strengthening digital identity. Meaning that whether a criminal will leave a digital trace that will allow security agencies to know that this crime has been committed by this person”.
The senator encouraged the Abeokuta Sports Club and similar organisations to participate in leadership recruitment by offering guidance and civic insight.
“Clubs like this should help provide clarity — to distinguish what is good in the long and short term and what is politically motivated. They are to serve as a repository of knowledge, helping policymakers shape and refine public policy,” he said.
Deputy Governor Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, who also spoke at the event, urged the new leadership to pursue impact, progress, harmony, and new possibilities.
“Leadership is about leaving things better than you met them,” she said
In his acceptance speech, the new President of the Club, Alhaji Taoheed Awodele, promised that his administration will focus on building on the three core pillars of the club, which include excellence in sports, unbreakable community and sustainable legacy, to ensure its prosperity and impact.
He promised to lead with integrity, transparency, and relentless passion.
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