Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami,
has frowned at widespread harassment of
Nigerians with personal computers, tablets and
other ICT gadgets in public places by security
operatives.
The Minister made his feelings known in a
statement issued on Tuesday by his Spokesman,
Mrs Uwa Suleiman.
Part of the statement read, “the attention of the
Federal Ministry of Communications (FMC), has
been drawn to reports of widespread harassment
of young Nigerians with personal computers,
tablets or phablets in public places.
“These reports indicate that young persons are
generally regarded as fraudsters by officers of
security agencies if found with such devices in
their possession and subsequently subjected to
varied forms of harassment and in some cases
outright extortion.
“The Ministry notes with dismay, this unfortunate
turn of events as we celebrate the growing and
bubbling technology eco-system in Nigeria that
enables young persons to learn various skills
ranging from software engineering to varied forms
of entrepreneurship by simply accessing online
tools and content on these devices.
However, Dr. Pantami, commended the efforts of
some law enforcement agencies, particularly the
approach of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), in intelligence gathering and
subsequent apprehension of these unscrupulous
elements who use computing systems to commit
cybercrimes.
He noted that, many young Nigerians have
contributed significantly to the impressive growth
of the Nigerian economy and have created
employment for youth in Nigeria.
Young-po Reporters 