A not-for-profit organisation, the
National Cyber Security Awareness Movement (NASCAM) has advanced plans for a
Master Class programme for Nigerian journalists to acquaint practitioners with
the provisions of the Cybercrime Act 2015, as it relates to media practice,
particularly online journalism, reports ITRealms.
Confirming this to ITRealms, the
Executive Director, NASCAM, Mr. Aaron Ukodie, said the plan to empower media
practitioners with the requisite capacities for maintaining legal decorum
online.
He also said that the theme of the
workshop would be “The Nigerian
Cybercrime Law: What Journalists Need to Know” stressing the workshop
media practitioners shall be educated and engaged on the rudiments of the cyber
law.
For Ukodie “this workshop has
become necessary following the fact that numerous media practitioners are not
aware of the provisions of the law, regarding their practice such that many
have recently fallen foul of the law.
“Going by the tracked trends, Public
officers, including the President, Vice President, Governors, legislators
(State and National Assembly members), Judges and lawyers, Corporate brands,
CEOs and senior officials of organisations and religious leaders are vulnerable
to the dearth of knowledge on the cybercrimes Act 2015 by the ‘citizen
journalists’ on the prowl in Nigeria.
He said that the damage to brands and
individuals could have multifarious implications if ‘citizen journalists’ are
not immediately given the knowledge backing to disinfest them of the dangers
inherent in the unbridled dissemination of unveted information online.
According to the Director,
Communications and Mobilisation at NASCAM, Olubayo Abiodun, in a press
statement made available to ITRealms, equally quoted Ukodie as saying the
workshop has been scheduled to hold on June 23, 2017, at the Sheraton Hotels
Ikeja, Lagos.
This would be hosted in close collaborations
with the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Nigerian Union of Journalists
(NUJ), Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), the Nigerian Information
Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) media and public relations officers in
the private and public sector, lawyers and members of the National Assembly.
Further, he stated that the faculties
would also be drawn from the key institutions including the judiciary,
parliament, academia, media, public and private service institutions.
While NASCAM acknowledges that the
evolving and growing threat certainly requires legislation that defines
offences and establishes structures for reporting and investigating cybercrime,
he underscored the importance of building capacities for the media
practitioners in order to create a robust environment for the stakeholders in
the media industry.
“It is also imperative that within the
constantly evolving cyber landscape, knowledgeable and responsible public
information are needed more than ever to frame ethical debates around new digital
trends and complex security issues.
The Master class will deepen the
understanding of these challenges and also increase knowledge, accuracy and
accountability with regards to reporting on cyber threats and foster dialogue
and exchange lessons between the sectors in this area,” he said.
The NASCAM Executive Director said that
the Master Class has been designed to raise awareness among the journalists and
media officers in the public and private institutions. He said that the
programme will increase the awareness about their vulnerabilities while working
online or using digital devices; and provide them with resources to plan their
own security protocols for dealing with complex threats.
Chuks Egbune/GEE
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