Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), on Wednesday called on the National Assembly to enact laws to address the cyber threats facing the nation.
General Monguno said at a two-day “Awareness and Sensitisation Workshop for Judiciary and National Assembly on the implementation of Nigeria’s National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2021 that the emergence of cyberspace technology was accompanied by inherent challenges, including threat to national security, cyberspace operations and negative impact on critical infrastructure.
The NSA, who was represented by the Director of Policy and Strategy, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Ambassador Aminu Lawal, the judiciary and the National Assembly have crucial roles to play in addressing the myriads of security challenges confronting cyberspace.
He said the workshop was expected to give the necessary direction or key initiative within the NCPS 2021 to address some of the aforementioned challenges.
He added that the workshop should provide modalities for implementing the action plans by various establishments towards protecting the nation’s infrastructures against cyber attacks.
The NSA said that more was required to develop the requisite framework for the gathering, use and validating electronic and digital evidence in investigations and prosecution processes.
He said there was an urgent need for the enactment of the data protection legislation to bridge the existing gap on data protection and privacy matters.
On his part, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, commended ONSA for the initiative to engage all stakeholders towards addressing all security challenges.
Malami, who was represented by the Director of Public Prosecution, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, said there was the critical need for seamless synergy between the various arms of government in dealing with the monster of cybercrime.
He said that all nations have been transiting from analogue to digital age in all aspects, including health records, court exhibits, space research, weather forecast, national database, corporate trade secrets, bank records among others.
He said the dynamics of national security surpasses technological supremacy and economic wealth, as progress of nations were being placed and measured by the ability of cyber-smart nations to outwit their contemporaries.