The International Police Organization, INTERPOL, has appointed Nigerian Police Commissioner, CP Ifeanyi Henry Uche, as the Chairman of the African Heads of Cybercrime Units comprising heads of 54 countries.
This is just as he has advocates for the establishment of African Incident Response Mechanism and Cybersecurity Frameworks on Police-to-Police basis to eliminate the bottlenecks impeding free flow of resources.
CP Uche who is the Commissioner of Police in charge Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF -NCCC) is taking over from Ratjindua Tjivikua, head of Cybercrime of Namibia after his tenure expired.
Speaking at the closing of the Africa Working Group Meeting on Cybercrime on Friday, CP Uche said, “The high penetration rate of new technologies in Africa increasingly exposes the sub-regional cyberspace as potential targets for cybercriminals as most African countries still have low levels of commitment to cybersecurity.
“It is important that we join the operational sub groups created by INTERPOL to bolster our collective efficiency in the fight against cybercrime in the subregion.
He said, “Resource sharing, the level of information and intelligence among African law enforcement is still at its lowest ebb largely blamed on extant domestic laws.
“I advocate for the establishment of African Incident Response Mechanism and Cybersecurity Frameworks on a Police-to-Police basis to eliminate the bottlenecks impeding free flow of resources.
“We must leverage the INTERPOL NCB 1/247 communication network and existing capabilities with regard to sharing of classified intelligence.”
Uche said this should be done with “Establishment of Specialized Cybercrime Units, noting it is rather unfortunate that most African countries do not have a specialized Cybercrime Unit dedicated for the investigation of Cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime. I implore member states to under-study the Nigeria police model of the Nigeria police Force National Cybercrime Center (NPF-NCCC).
“Investment in Technology, Infrastructure and Capacity building through a deliberate effort by member states to make the multi-million-dollar commitment in acquiring the much-needed technology and digital solution as a prelude to efficient cybercrime response and prevention. We must begin to look inwards by developing indigenous technologies to address our peculiar socio-cultural challenges,’, he added.
In her remarks at the event, Minister of State, Police Affairs, Imaan Ibrahim said, “The Government of Nigeria is fully committed to reforming our police force, recognizing that cybersecurity is an integral component of our national security agenda.
