No Excuses for Cybercrimes Due to Poverty or Unemployment—Bawa

According to Abdulrasheed Bawa, Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), unemployment and poverty are not justifications for participating in computer-related fraud.
He claimed that just as unemployment should not be used as justification for teenagers who engage in internet fraud, poverty should not be used as an explanation for criminal behaviour.
In a lecture titled "The Roles of Youths in Curbing Economic and Financial Crimes" given during the Orientation/Matriculation event for new students of the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, Bawa made this claim.
Bawa described the youth as one of the most strategic stakeholders in nation-building. He was represented by ACE1 Michael Wetkaz, Commander, Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC. He added that if the youth showed a willingness to change agents in their various engagements, they could confront and overcome corrupt practices.
You cannot stop committing the crimes that you are, he said. Be change agents by declining to participate in, assist in, or commit any type of economic crime. Avoid criminal behaviour both within and outside of the educational environment. You can have a beneficial impact on everyone around you in this way.
Additionally, he exhorted the youth to act as whistleblowers by joining the army of individuals opposing economic crime and other unethical practices of The EFCC's Eagle Eye application.
He explained that "The App" is a digital reporting tool that supports anonymous reporting. The EFCC can receive uploaded images. Some organizations can help you if you have no idea how to become a whistleblower. The EFCC Zero Tolerance Club is one example that we are introducing to your school. By becoming a member of the Zero Tolerance for Corruption Club at its launch, you can become an ambassador for honesty. Among other things, the Zero Tolerance Club's goal is to instil good morals in students and provide a forum for ongoing dialogue about the need to resist the seductive temptations of societal vices;
to promote the proper attitude and values that affect members' ethical behaviour and excellent character as well as to sensitize them to the impacts of economic and financial crimes.

The EFCC chief said the engagement was a part of the Commission's ongoing efforts to educate the youth about all types of financial and economic crimes, particularly the notorious internet frauds. He also urged Nigerian youth to learn from youth who are engaged in innovation, manufacturing, and ground-breaking inventions in other nations of the world.
Given that cybercrimes are the most common economic and financial crime among our youths, the Commission is always willing to take advantage of every forum and platform at its disposal, he said.
He asserts that one way to combat the threat of corruption "is a systemic and generational shift to the youth, given the fact that they hold the key to the future."
He claimed that without the backing of all its stakeholders, particularly the youth, the EFCC could not fulfil its missions on its own.
So he ordered them to be the Commission's foot troops in the fight against economic and financial crimes in the country.