Cynthia Udoka Osokogu was a young Nigerian woman who embarked on a business trip in July 2012 but never returned, becoming a victim of kidnapping and murder. Her death highlighted issues with Nigeria's national security and identification management systems, which are unprepared for online crimes. Protecting digital infrastructure through proper authentication of individuals and devices online is a national security priority that could help address crimes like fraud, human trafficking, and identity theft. The government needs a national strategy working with regulators and ministries to define responsible online conduct, identify and authenticate all components connected to the internet, and build trust in digital identities to reduce anonymous anti-social behavior and improve cybersecurity.

1. REMEMBERING CYNTHIA UDOKA OSOKOGU (Part 1)
July 2012, a young, promising and enterprising post-graduate student of Nasarawa State University had
embarked on a treacherous journey; one that will forever leave an indelible mark in the hearts of her
family, friends and the nation at large. Although it was a journey for the sole aim of replenishing stock
for her clothing business, she did have other plans that were by the way. The only daughter, though the
last of her family; the uniting child of her family as at the time of birth, She had high hopes, tall dreams,
king sized aspirations and she worked tenaciously hard at achieving them, so also did her family.
Today, Cynthia Udoka Osokogu is no more; she never returned from the supposed business trip, she was
cut short in her prime by her assailants, a victim of social media abuse, unsafe online communications,
interfacing and a nauseating national and identification management security system that’s un-
proactive, intelligently-clueless and consistently tackling crime from the management-of-crisis position,
rather than from the crisis management stand – I wonder just how many more we would lose before
institutions responsible for safety and protection of lives actually realize crime has recently undergone
facial (recognition) surgery
A secure cyberspace is critical to our prosperity, we use the Internet and other online environments to
increase our productivity, as a platform for innovation, and as a venue in which to create new
businesses “Our digital infrastructure, therefore, is a strategic national asset, and protecting it—while
safeguarding privacy and civil liberties—is a national security priority” and an economic necessity and by
addressing threats in this environment, we will help individuals (and institutions) protect themselves in
cyberspace and enable both the private sector and government to offer more services online
With more and more devices and individuals connected to the internet on a daily basis, the need to well
authenticate these devices and individuals have become very important. Who are you? And how can
you prove it? has become two very simple yet critical questions that lie at the heart of all internet based
transactions and answering these questions is fast becoming a key requirement for significant online
based activity.
The rapid and vastly positive changes that have followed the rise of online activity – like making online
purchases, transact bank activities or connecting with our peers – have also led to new challenges, few
have been as costly or nerve wracking for businesses and families as online fraud, human trafficking,
kidnapping, ritual related deaths and identity thefts stem high. These crimes cost families and the nation
billions yearly and often leave in their wake, ransoming kidnapped family members or an endless search
for missing persons and in complex cases, a mess of ruined credit, damaged finances that can take years
to repair.
It will amaze you to know that one way to track missing persons and understand rape cases clearer is to
have access to the victim’s social media accounts and effectively profile their IDs cross referenced – that
is if they have maintained an active online presence. While the potential for fraud and crime-related
proclivity of internet users often leave individuals and businesses reluctant to conduct major

2. transactions online yet same strongly desire to expand its communications and interface channels, open
up its doors to individuals and vendors, then the withdrawal factor comes to play and often times
masked as security measures
Honestly, we really need to begin considering a national security strategy to online interactions.
Understanding that online crime is not only finance related but encompasses every other form of crime
as perpetrated in the offline environment, it’s a national embarrassment that as Nigeria ranks high in
Africa as one with the highest number of internet users, equally we account in several international
registers as a nation with the highest record of online fraudsters and scammers.
The present administration should set up a national strategy to include governments at all levels,
regulatory agencies and ministries, defining proper conduct in the use of the internet, proper
identification and authentication of individuals and devices that connect to the internet, charting a
course for the public and private sectors to collaborate to raise the levels of trust associated with the
identities of individuals, organizations, networks, services, and devices involved in online transactions.
This roadmap will only be a success—and the ideal of a proper identification management structure will
only be fulfilled—if privacy, security, interoperability, and ease-of-use are achieved. Achieving them
separately will not only lead to an inadequate solution but could serve as a hindrance to the broader
evolution of cyberspace.
Specifically, achieving optimal identification and authentication of connected components to cyber will
likely reduce the occurrence of anti social vices linked to anonymous. However, this risk is more likely to
be realized if we take no action: while identity solutions globally are evolving to keep pace with the
intricate nature of security risks, our local identification management structure is ill-defined,
inconsistent and zero-functional – how do we then achieve security at a digital front. The onus is on the
Federal Government alongside relevant agencies, in the implementation of this strategy to partner with
the private sector to ensure that the strategy is coupled with the necessary databases of individuals in
the offline and online environments and a robust identification management structure at all levels.