NAN to unearth mysteries of cybercrime

A one-day workshop to unearth the mysteries of cybercrime is planned to hold in Lagos on Saturday, September 17, 2005, by concerned group of Nigerians.

The group which goes by the name, Nigerian Anti-Scam Network (NAN), informed that the theme is "Unearthing the Mysteries of Cybercrime" and would hold at the Lagos Digital Village, Ebute-Metta, Lagos.

NAN is composed of patriotic young Nigerians who are working professionals in various fields and are concerned about putting an end to the bad image online scam and other forms of cybercrime have brought to the nation.

According to one of the leading protagonist and Manager, Lagos Digital Village (LDV), Mr. Gbenga Sesan, said "Unearthing the Mysteries of CyberCrime" is the first in a series of efforts being made by this group to provide alternative and positive use of technology and technology tools.

“This is because throughout the world, Cybercrime is a very serious and contentious topic of debate. The activities of cyber criminals have resulted in economic losses running into billions of dollars globally. Various countries have had to review previously existing legislation to update laws and proscribe punishment for cyber fraud acts,” he declared.

Internationally, he noted, that the nation has been publicized as the major breeding ground of some sort for high volume of these online scams with attendant effect of her high ranking in global corruption indexes in the last three years.

LDV manager stressed that it is known throughout the entire globe that young people are major users of technology hence key players in cybercrime acts and the fight against cybercrime.

He said NAN seeks to provide alternative, positive examples of the use of technology in the country and how it has affected the lives of the innovators for good.

“We believe that we can add to other anti-cyber crime efforts being made by government and businesses to pool resources and fight this menace in our society,” he said.

Adding, “We have no legal mandate to arrest or prosecute anyone and aim basically to provide a large resource base where cybercrime activities can be exposed, with the global public better informed while providing positive models on the use of technology as a wealth creating tool. We seek to expose supporters, funders and perpetrators of these crimes through our online resource while providing a platform for Nigerians to share their views, aggregate their voice and adopt action in their immediate environment to stop future generations from being caught in this web”.

According to him, the online portal, www.cybercrime.org.ng is geared to provide a one-stop resource shop for research, information and knowledge sharing amongst interested parties while providing a platform for the showcasing of the Nigerian youth and country in positive ways.