Nation
‘FG Not Interested In Spying On Citizens’
Director, New Media and Information Security with Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr Sylvanus Ehikioya,said the Federal Government was not interested in the surveillance of citizens on the Internet.
Ehikioya made the statement in an interview in Aba, on Tuesday with newsmen.
“Nigeria is not a police state and government is not considering carrying out surveillance on its citizens. The freedom of expression of its citizens as guaranteed by the constitution ais sacrosanct.
“Government is not interested in spying on her citizens but government is interested in doing what is right to ensure that citizens are free to use the Internet and is safe in doing so,” he said.
Ehikioya said although the monitoring of citizens in some countries was a means for checking Internet crime, “such option is not being considered by the Nigerian Government.’’
He said that the effort to check Internet fraud was an ongoing effort which would involve the use of the Cyber Security law, which could not be perfected without the passage of the bill into law.
Ehikioya said that Nigeria would rather collaborate with other countries to check Internet crime than to monitor the citizens.
He said that since cyber crime cut across boundaries, which meant that there were different governments with jurisdiction in cyber governance, thus requiring collaboration to check the problem.
The director said that countries must make provisions in their laws to collaborate with other countries to check cyber crimes.
Ehikioya said that measures were being taken to create appropriate frameworks and guidelines in Nigeria to facilitate collaboration with other countries against cyber crime.
He, however, said that for a country, such as Nigeria, to collaborate with other countries, the appropriate framework, such as the Cyber Security Bill pending at the National Assembly must be passed into law.
Nation
Rumuaholu Community Denies Land Grabbing Allegations, Accuses Obio/Akpor Chairman of Interference in Land Dispute
The Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Peters Nwagor, has commended the orderly conduct of the ongoing 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination in the state and urged schools to sustain the standard.
Dr. Nwagor gave the commendation on Tuesday during a monitoring tour of selected secondary schools in Port Harcourt and environs where the WAEC exam is ongoing.
The commissioner, who was accompanied by directors and monitors from the Ministry of Education, said he was impressed with the peaceful atmosphere at the centres visited.
“The students conducted themselves properly and wrote their papers under conducive conditions. Invigilators and supervisors also performed their duties professionally,” he stated.
Nwagor noted that the Rivers State Government had invested heavily to ensure the smooth and credible conduct of the examination across the state
He urged candidates to reciprocate government’s effort by shunning all forms of examination malpractice and focusing on their studies.
“Government has done so much to ensure successful examinations in our schools. Students should take advantage of it by remaining focused,” the commissioner said.
While no case of malpractice was recorded in the centres inspected, Dr. Nwagor warned that any principal, teacher, invigilator, or official caught aiding malpractice would face strict sanctions in line with regulations.
He also commended school administrators, teachers, WAEC officials, and security personnel for upholding the integrity of the process.
Centres visited included County Grammar School, Ikwerre/Etche; Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Borokiri; Government Secondary School, Borokiri; and Pabod Model Secondary School.