The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has emphasised the important role of parents in child online protection.
Henry Ojiokpota, Controller, Lagos Zonal Office of NCC, reiterated this during a sensitisation exercise on cybersecurity and cybercrime.
The programme, which held recently in Lagos was aimed at equipping parents with relevant knowledge needed to protect themselves online while further cascading such knowledge to their children and younger ones who use the Internet, was in line with the Commission’s regulatory mandate of protecting, informing and educating telecom consumers in the country.
Ojiokpota said the sensitisation programme was targeted at parents of the school’s pupils, with the aim of equipping parents with the right knowledge they require to limit the exposure of their children to the negative aspects of Internet use.
The zonal Controller, who was represented during the sensitisation by Joseph Dimka, a Principal Manager at the Zonal Office, said the cyber awareness programme has become necessary given the rising spate of criminal activities being perpetrated online.
Ojiokpota said because children listen to their parents in the area of counselling and taking parental instructions, targeting the parents was purposive because they will, in turn, pass the knowledge gained to train their children and guide the children’s exposure to cyber threats as they use Internet-enabled smart devices.
The team from the Zonal Office took time to discuss and educate the parents on dimensions to cybercrimes and also equip parents with cybersecurity measures to take, stressing the critical role of parents in teaching the children on how to keep safe while online.
