The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) on Tuesday disclosed that it was partnering with Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other security agencies to curtail criminal assaults on the nation’s telecommunication operations.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, made it known during a one day sensitisation workshop for law enforcement agencies on telecommunication issues organised by the organisation in Keffi, Nassarawa State.
Danbatta who was represented by the NCC’s Head of Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement, Efosa Idehen, said that the collaboration between the organisation, the security agencies and other stakeholders would help in tackling all forms of criminality on telecommunication operations in the country.
He said that the workshop was planned to sensitise the law enforcement officers on some key challenges and issues on telecommunication regulation in Nigeria for the overall development of the sector and country at large.
“It is one in the series of self-activity that the commission instituted to underline our belief in forging strategic partnership with a spectrum of stakeholders for optimal results and for the good of the nation.
“The long term objective is to enhance our ability to regulate effectively in order to consolidate the exponential gains recorded in the telecommunication industry in Nigeria.
“The NCC has instituted series of social capital programmes to galvanise our nation’s social and economic transformation. “The most notable is the school support programmes initiated a decade ago, which has resulted in the commissioning of over 700 projects in various institutions of learning in the country.
“The contribution of our sector to the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) is nearing 10 per cent, hence the need to form a coalition of forces in a renewed strategic partnership with all players in the security sector to contain every forms of criminality on telecommunication in Nigeria,” he said.
Danbatta also stated that the organisation had witnessed painful rise in the tempo of outright theft of telecommunication equipment as well as vandalism of telecommunication installations, facilities and infrastructure.
“We have also seen proliferation in the sale and usage of pre-registered Subscribers Identification Module (SIM), all of which constitute nasty infraction of the Nigeria Communication Act 2003 and other extant regulation governing the telecommunications sector,” he added
The executive vice chairman called for the prosecution of anyone that violated the laws of the commission and those involved in the vandalism of the telecommunication installations, facilities and infrastructures.
The former Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, in his paper titled: “ICT- An enabler for effective policing’’, called for the training of security operatives on ICT to adequately fight crimes in the country. Arase also called for the training and retraining of security agents for optimal results.
