‘We Will Nab Financial Criminals through Deployment of Digital Forensics’

Yetunde Bello

The Chairman, Board of Diplomats for Digital Forensics, Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN), Prof. Adesina Sodiya, has stated that digital forensics is about the acquisition of digital evidence and analysis of digital evidence and the scientific approach to investigation and prosecution. 

Sodiya disclosed this recently during the inauguration of the Board by CIFCFIN and the Board of Diplomats for Forensic Accounting and Auditing in Abuja. He said the inauguration of the Boards was in fulfilment of the Act establishing CIFCFIN to set standards in all the areas, and in all the components of Forensics and Fraud Investigation.

“So, you are not going to look at papers, you are not going to look at records and files but you will be looking at transaction movements, signal movements, communications, changes in data at rest and in motion; changes in digital records, and so on and so forth.” 

“So, we need specialised skills and knowledge to be able to track these people, and that is also our area of expertise,” he said.

He further explained that adequate attention must be paid to digital forensics as most activities of governments, corporate organisations and individuals are now being done on digital infrastructure or digital platform in order to checkmate the activities of criminals, corrupt officials and fraudsters who exploit the loophole in the digital space.

Sodiya, who is a Professor of Cyber Security and President, Computer Society of Nigeria, stated that CIFCFIN was actually established in Nigeria in order to also develop their capacities, skills and knowledge in the area of forensic investigations so that they would be able to garner enough digital evidences to be able to prosecute, and ensure that even if an individual does many things on the digital platforms and think people are not aware, it would be tracked and investigated, and the perpetrator can be arrested.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Board of Diplomats for Accounting and Auditing, Godwin Oyedokun, said when considering forensics, focus should is shifted to financials, accounting and audit related forensics, noting that that every other one is sub-relative.

He added: “So, it means my Board must wake up, get to work and close the gap in society with respect to the appropriate standards that we must set and put in place for the Institute.”

Earlier in his remarks, CIFCFIN President, Dr. Iliyasu Gashinbaki, charged the two boards to face the hard tasks head-on, adding that they have a lot of digital challenges, and globally, technology is what drives the digital economy and therefore diplomats cut across every area of human endeavour.

Continuing, he added: “So, we expect members of the Board for Digital Forensics to swing into action to tackle Ponzi Schemes, Yahoo Yahoo Boys, and the monumental fraud that happen in the digital space. To the diplomats for forensics We need proper forensic accountants and forensic auditors that will analyse financial statements, audited accounts among others to forestall fraud especially in the public sector. So, you have enormous responsibilities.”