Human rights lawyer and public affairs commentator Chidi Odinkalu has criticised a controversial claim by the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that 60 percent of students in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions are involved in cybercrime.
In a statement shared on his official X handle on Wednesday, Odinkalu described the assertion as alarming and potentially dangerous, warning that it risks unfairly criminalising an entire generation of young Nigerians.
According to him, such a sweeping claim demands transparency and accountability. He argued that if the EFCC chairman intends to stand by the figure, he must disclose the methodology and data used to arrive at the conclusion to allow for independent verification.
Odinkalu stressed that without credible evidence, the statement should be withdrawn, accompanied by a public apology to Nigerian students who may be unjustly stigmatised.
The former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission further warned that remarks of this nature could expose students to harassment or abuse, particularly by security operatives such as the Nigeria Police Force. He cautioned that labelling a large segment of the youth population as criminals could embolden unlawful profiling and vigilante-style actions…… See More
Leave a Reply