EFCC To Partner Edo NUJ In Curbing Cybercrime
By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
The Zonal Director of the Benin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), Mr. Effa Imoh Okim, has said the commission is poised to partner with the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) to curb the menace of cybercrime perpetrated by children, mostly underaged.
Mr. Okim stated this while addressing journalists while on a courtesy visit to the Secretariat of the Council in Benin City, Edo State. He noted that the Commission is worried about the statistics of cybercrime convicts in the society as Edo State came second while Lagos State came first in the last check by the Commission.
He explained that cybercrime, popularly known as ‘yahoo yahoo’ have led some children to go into ritual and even resorted to using their parents for money rituals, which has undermined the culture, tradition and sanctity of the Nigerian state. He blamed parents for not checkmating their children and guiding them against cybercrime and rituals.
Okim warned that the Commission would not tolerate the act of spraying money in public, stressing that it is even worse than cybercrime as it gives teenagers the mentality of getting wealth by any means so they can join in spraying too.
He disclosed that some laws that frown against accessory to crime would be activated by the anti-graft agency to curb the close affinity that some individuals share with the criminal elements, adding that when activated such issues of landlords leasing their properties to such youngsters would become a thing of the past as the landlords to the ‘yahoo yahoo’ boys would also be prosecuted along with the boys.
The EFCC boss promised that his doors will remain open at all times for the press to play its constitutional role in helping to address the menace and bring sanity back to the society as envisioned by the mandate he got from Executive Chairman of the Commission, Ola Olukoyede.
In his response, Chairman of the Edo State Council of the NUJ, Comrade Festus Alenkhe, while aligning with the wish of Mr. Okim pleaded that the Commission should operate an open door policy whereby journalists will have no encumbrance in carrying out their duties.