Two Secondary School Students on Thursday urged the federal government to provide cybersecurity protection for youths and children in colleges in the country.
Miss Chisom Ifeanatura from Government Secondary School, Kubwa and Master Emmanuel Jaiyeola of Government Secondary School, Garki made the appeal on Thursday at the ongoing three days cybercrimes awareness programme organized by the Federal Ministry of Justice for Secondary School Students in Abuja.
The students said that youths and children in colleges in the country need protection due to the pervasive nature of the Internet and proliferation of mobile smartphones.
They also called for an inclusion of cybersecurity education in the curriculum for secondary schools in the country.
The three days cybercrime awareness programme with the theme, “don’t fall a victim, don’t perpetrate‚” was organised to sensitise secondary school children and youths on cyber-related crimes such as cyberbullying, Internet fraud, identity theft, online soliciting of minors and others.
Speaking at the programme on Thursday an American and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Legal Attaché, in Nigeria Mr. Charles Smith said the newest trend among cybercrimes was sextortion and stressed the need for secondary school students to be educated as well as provided with necessary information that would protect them from cyber criminals.
Also, an IT Expert from Odyssey Educational Foundation, Mr. Chinedu Kalu, noted that the awareness was essential as children were highly involved in the use of new technological applications which exposes them to potential harmful contents.