Akwa Ibom Government Urges Amendment Of Cyber Crime Act

The growing list of voices making a case against cyber crimes has also included that of the Akwa Ibom State government as it urged the federal government to amend the Cyber Crime Act to reflect current social media challenges amongst others.

Amongst various proactive measures to mitigate the negative impacts of cyber crimes, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Ini Ememobong, also advocated the introduction of a compulsory course on social media etiquette at all levels of education in Nigeria.

Speaking at the weekend while delivering a public lecture on “Social media and the Quest for Authentic Leadership: The challenge of government information management” at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), Ememobong said early training backed up with the understanding of the provisions of the law would encourage social media users to fact check every contentious item found on the social media.

He explained that these measures will reduce tension and emotional trauma associated with the widespread of certain wrong information. It should be recalled that cybersecurity issues have continued to dominate centre-stage matters, not just in Nigeria but all over the world.

If the damages caused by this cyber menace cannot easily be quantified, then even measure to nip it in the bud needs to be taken with despatch.