Reps move to curb child exploitation, internet crimes

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives yesterday moved to curb incidences of internet based crimes and child exploitation among Nigerian youth and adults.

The Green Chamber equally urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure that all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Nigeria have an application and solution which allows parents to track online activities of their children whenever they are online at no cost.

They want the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure that all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Nigeria engage in sensitization of children and parents on online child exploitation and the accompanying dangers, as a form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The Lawmakers further asked the Ministry of Women Affairs to develop a policy framework to promote education advocacy on online crimes and child exploitations in Nigeria, just as it mandated the Committees on Telecommunications and Women Affairs to ensure compliance.

The House resolutions was as the result of adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Bamidele Salam, (PDP, Osun)

He said that Nigeria had about 99.05 million internet users in 2020 and is projected to grow to 131.7 million in 2023 as Nigeria remains the only country with the highest number of smartphones penetration in the world;

“In 2020, internet penetration in Nigeria amounted to 46.6 per cent of the population and set to reach 65.2 per cent in 2025.

“Crimes, anti–social and harmful acts like killings, kidnappings, internet scams, cyber–bullying, grooming, luring and sexual exploitation are being committed daily via mobile devices as part of the accompanied threats of digital/technological innovation in Nigeria.

“Online child grooming has become a growing source for concern as minors are lured into various illicit businesses such as child trafficking, child prostitution and production of child pornography through online grooming.

“In 2016, the Internet Watch Foundation identified 57,000 Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), the web addresses containing child sexual abuse materials.

“The closure of schools and other COVID–19 related restrictions have increased the number of time children spend online for educational and social purposes which have invariably increased the vulnerability of children falling victims to sexual exploitation”, the lawmaker noted.

He lamented that despite the glaring dangers of the ugly trend, “no decisive steps have been taken to curb the prevalence of online crimes despite reported cases, which include the case of Cynthia Udoka Osokogu who was lured from her residence in Abuja via Facebook chat and killed in a hotel in Lagos, in 2012, Favour Oladele, a 300–level undergraduate of the Department of Theatre Art, Lagos State University was gruesomely murdered on 8 December 2019 at Ikoyi–IIe in Osun State, among others.”

He expressed concern that there are several unreported cases of missing persons, rape and other related crimes through mobile devices connectivity and social media platforms.

“Online crimes and child exploitations are largely preventable through the creation of an application/solution by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) which allows parents and guardians to track online activities, location, calls, SMS, WhatsApp, and other internet activities of their children and wards.”