The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has set up a cyber security response team.
Director General of the Agency, Prof Fatima Waziri-Azi, while inaugurating the team said the high cases of cyber sextortion necessitated the action.
Speaking to the team, Professor Waziri-Azi cautioned Nigerians most especially youngsters, against indiscriminate sharing of intimate contents, and private information, with friends, and strangers to address the rising cases of online sexual exploitation and sextortion in the country.
The Director General gave the warning at the Agency’s Headquarters, Abuja while inaugurating the NAPTIP Cybersecurity Response Team set up to handle all issues relating to online exploitation.
The Cybersecurity Response Team made up of trained Officers from different units and departments, coordinated by the Head of the National Monitoring Center will leverage cutting-edge technology and expertise to identify perpetrators of cybercrimes within its remit.
The cases of Sexual exploitation had heightened in the FCT, which with NAPTIP scaling up intelligence and undercover operations nip in the bud the activities of some suspected criminal in the habit of exploiting vulnerable people especially young girls and children.
Speaking shortly before the inauguration of the Cybersecurity Response Team, the Director General expressed concern over the careless attitude of some persons who, in the euphoria of emotion and love, let down their guard and naively share inappropriate content or themselves.
Prof Waziri-Azi, said, “We all know that the advent of technology has brought about unprecedented opportunities for communication and access to information which has also created new avenues for criminals to exploit people, especially vulnerable women, and children.
“We have seen incremental cases of Child Sexual Assault Materials on the internet, child pornography; sextortion, and revenge porn, and these are all forms of sexual exploitation. Which is why as an Agency we must take a proactive and collaborative approach to tackle online threats.
The agency would be executing the mandate in partnership with International Justice Mission (IJM), Meta, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau (INL), National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and The United Nations office on Drug and Crimes, UNODC, which has trained 20 Officers from the HQ and Zonal Commands on Child Sexual Exploitation Materials, Open Source & Social Media Intelligence as well as Online Investigation.
