A Nigerian Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Uche, yesterday emerged chairman of INTERPOL’s African head of cybercrime unit.

Uche emerged after a week-long meeting of the cybercrime heads in Abuja.

He said after his emergence: “Cybercrime poses a significant threat to our societies, economies and security, and it is imperative that we work together to address this growing challenge. As chairman, I am committed to lead from the front, fostering the much-desired collaboration among our member units to enhance our collective ability to prevent and investigate cybercrimes effectively in Africa.

“I consider this as call to champion the enthronement of a new charter of technological renaissance and home-grown cybersecurity ethics in Africa and a paradigm shift from absolute dependence on external solutions to African nurtured technological initiatives, adaptive to our socio-political ecosystem. This is achievable by harnessing and leveraging our inherent collective expertise, and resources through a common political will.”

Also speaking, the minister of state for police affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim; said: “Having over 120 participants across 54 African countries and beyond engaging for over five days is not only commendable but inspiring, because it gives us hope and confidence in the safety of Africa’s digital space and the prosperity of our nations and citizens.”