The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation has called for urgent enforcement of cyber crime laws in the financial
institutions.
Speaking with a crop of financial journalist in Benin City, with the theme cyber-crime: its implication for the Nigerian banking/financial system, Director, Insurance & Surveillance Department NDIC, Mr. Mohammed Umar, said the enforcement of the cyber crime laws and the office of the National Security Adviser should play a more active and leading role in the campaign against cyber crime.
According to him, for Nigeria to serve as a fertile ground for economic break through, it must be built on a crime free society, adding that an ideal economy is virtually not possible, because as technology increases so also crimes.
Other strategies he identified that could help curb crime in the financial institutions are continuous capacity building for end users, cooperation between actors/players, establishment of Institutional framework for coordinating cyber security issue/efforts, review of related bills to further strengthen the cyber security and continuous public awareness campaign to educate the general public.
Umar explained that cyber criminals are always in the habit to overcome firewalls and securities in technologically driven environment, with the social or political aim of obtaining information/data or funds as well as destruction of the efficacy of installed servers and related computer
applications.
He noted that with the advent of ICT, cyber –crime has come to stay since the modern business world relies on technology to operate.
“It is difficult to successfully run/operate major businesses, financial, medical, academic, transport, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, etc without the use of computers along with related softwares,” he
said.
Meanwhile, there were 26,182 cases of fraud and forgeries recorded in the banks in 2017 which is 56.30 per cent higher compared to 16,751 cases reported in the previous
year.
Similarly, the amount involved in the fraudulent activities documented increased by N3.33 billion from the N8.68 billion reported in 2016 to N12.01 billion in 2017 or 38 per cent, while
the expected/actual loss slightly-decreased by N24.42 million or 1.03 per cent from N2.39 billion in 2016 to N2.37 billion in
2017.
