The Senate has launched an urgent legislative offensive to confront the country’s fast-mutating digital insecurity crisis, setting the tone for the upcoming national security summit.

At the heart of the initiative was a charged and high-level interactive session held in Abuja, yesterday, organised by the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, chaired by Senator Afolabi Shuaib and formally opened by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele.

The session brought together lawmakers, regulators, telecoms operators, and cybersecurity experts to diagnose Nigeria’s digital vulnerabilities and map a path forward.

“Technology has become a double-edged sword. While it fuels innovation and growth, it is also enabling crime, extortion, harassment, and terrorism. If we don’t act now, we will be chasing shadows at the National Security Summit,” Shuaib warned.

Director of Technical Standards and Network at the NCC, Edoyemi Ogoh, acknowledged some of the gaps but defended ongoing reforms, saying: “Yes, every active SIM is registered to an identity. But we face challenges when the registered owner isn’t the user. Many Nigerians are unaware that they are liable for any crime committed with a SIM tied to their name.”

Also, Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said that Nigeria’s cybersecurity must evolve beyond patches and penalties to systemic integration.