National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has set up a Cybersecurity Response Team (CRT) to address rising cases of online sexual exploitation and ‘sextortion’ in Nigeria.
Director-General of NAPTIP, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, said “the team is expected to scale up intelligence and undercover operations” within the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), and other flashpoints within the country to nip in the bud the unwholesome activities of criminal elements, who continue to take advantage of vulnerable people, especially girls and children.
Speaking at the setting up of the CRT, yesterday, in Abuja, Azi 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 of themselves” online, resulting in them becoming prey to extortionists.
The DG cautioned Nigerians, especially youngsters, against indiscriminate sharing of intimate contents and private information with friends and strangers.
She 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. 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.”
According to her, this made NAPTIP to partner the International Justice Mission (IJM), Meta, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau (INLEB), National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to train 20 officers from its headquarters and zonal commands on Child Sexual Exploitation Materials, Open Source and Social Media Intelligence as well as Online Investigation.
She continued: “The CRT, made up of trained officers from different units and departments, coordinated by the Head of the National Monitoring Centre, will leverage cutting-edge technology and expertise to identify perpetrators of cybercrimes within our remit.
“The unit is expected to work closely with other stakeholders in this space to enhance our collective response to cybersecurity and online exploitation challenges.”
