Nigerian Students Inducted as National Cyber Security Ambassadors

In a significant move to combat cybercrime, the Federal Ministry of Justice has inducted 12 Senior Secondary students from Premiere Academy, Lugbe Abuja, and several other young digital talents as National Cyber Security Ambassadors. This induction follows their exceptional performance at a Cybercrime Awareness Workshop, a joint initiative of the Ministry and the United States Embassy in Abuja.

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The workshop, aimed at empowering and building capacity among the youth, attracted participants from selected secondary schools and digital talent grooming institutions in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The main objective was to equip the upcoming tech and cyber leaders with modern knowledge to streamline and professionalize their digital skills for a revitalized national youth-centered campaign against cybercrimes.

The training and assessment of the participants were conducted by a team of cybercrime experts, including Jamila Akaaga Ade, Head of the Cybercrime Unit at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Oluwatobi Ayodele, Co-Founder of the CyberSecurity Education Initiative (CYSED), Joshua Moses, Programmes Manager at CYSED, and Monica Yahaya, Mentorship Coordinator at the Give Girls A Chance Project, among others.

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The workshop was structured into three sessions focusing on assessing participants’ residual knowledge of cyberspace, skills brush-up, and cybercrime detection and containment tasks. Participants also took part in tests designed to grade their assimilation of new knowledge and know-how imparted by the expert trainers.

Three students from Premiere Academy, who emerged as overall outstanding performers at the end of the tasks, were among the inductees decorated with the Attorney General of the Federation Gold Medals in recognition of their feat.

During a formal launch session to celebrate the inductees, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, noted that cyber security issues are gaining international attention. He revealed that the Ministry of Justice has set up helplines for victims of cybercrimes and charged the new Cyber Security ambassadors to bring zest and dynamism to their roles.

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He stated, “As ambassadors, you have been selected as some of the finest of Nigeria’s young digital hands in whom the country has great hope. You are expected to deploy zeal, passion, and enduring activism wherever you find yourselves to ensure that we collectively end cyber bullying and other cybercrimes that threaten to give our dear country a bad image.”

The appointment of these young ambassadors underlines the government’s belief in the skills, potentials, and capabilities of the youth. It is a clear indication of the government’s determination to mobilize all available resources to ensure that the menace of cybercrime is uprooted from society.