Etim Ekpimah
The Port Harcourt Zonal Commander of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE Aliyu Naibi has charged Nigerian students to embrace positive values of hard work, innovation, and enterprise as effective ways of tackling economic and financial crimes.
He gave this charge on Wednesday, September 6, 2021, while addressing the National Union of Rivers State Students, at their National Cyber Security Summit which held at the Rivers State University, Nkpolu- Oroworujwo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
According to him, the menace of cybercrime has become a global pandemic and students could only shun it when they embrace positive social values in all their engagements.
“The get-rich-quick syndrome among youths across the country is depressing. This is responsible for all manner of fraudulent practices, including cybercrimes.
“The solution is simple: reject criminality and embrace positive social values. Cybercrimes have dire consequences. Your future is more important than any opportunistic gains through crimes,” he said.
Naibi, who spoke through the Head, Public Affairs Directorate of the EFCC in Port Harcourt, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE Dele Oyewale, stressed that cybercrimes had become a global pandemic because of its international destructive effects.
Cybercrimes like identity fraud, Business Email Compromise (BEC), Yahoo Yahoo! practices and others affect international businesses, the image of the nations where the criminals operate and cause insecurity as deadly as terrorism financing. These are heinous dealings. The world is still smarting from the pains of such crimes,” he said.
He challenged the students to channel their youthful energy to industry, technological advances and resourceful projects “because no nation will tolerate fraudulent adventures of its youths. There are always positive things to do with youthful intelligence. Cybercrimes cannot be an alternative to hard work.”
In her remarks, Dr (Mrs) Ipalibo Harry Benigo, Rivers State’s Deputy Governor and Special Guest of Honour at the Summit, charged the students to embrace Information Technology as a potent means of wealth creation and competitive engagement.
She commended the initiative of the Union for organising a Summit on Cyber Security and expressed optimism that the lessons learnt at the Summit would empower all the students for useful and more profitable initiatives in future.