The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Lagos State Chapter, has attributed the rise in fraud rate among the youth to idleness and lack of proper engagement.
The association stated this during its 6th Annual Anti-Fraud National Conference held in Lagos on Friday.
The conference, with the theme, “Technology, Fraudulent Activities and Crime in the 21st Century,”was held in Lagos.
Speaking with The PUNCH, the Chairman of the Conference Committee, Dr Titilayo Fowokan, explained that the spike in crime rate among Nigerian youth was induced by an increased lack of opportunities.
Fowokan advised the Federal Government to tackle the menace by creating more opportunities for the youth to harness their hidden talent and energy.
She said, “When we talk about fraud, it comes with an opportunity, you rationalise it and you take actions. So, it is more of government, you know.
“When there is idleness and you are not harnessing the energy, they channel it into somewhere else. Our youths have a lot of energy in them, and once they are not gainfully engaged, they tend to engage in fraudulent activities.
“Government needs to have target programmes to engage our youths in governmental activities.
“They have that agility and they are very inquisitive. The government needs to leverage these things and get them engaged and also get them to channel that energy into productive venture rather than committing crimes.”
Fowokan added that there must be justice in the country, to make the youth understand that crimes would be punished.
“If a person commits fraud in the public or private sector, let there is punishment according to the laws of the land.
“When the youth see that the government is serious about its actions and is giving them opportunities to share their ideas, they will turn a new leaf.”
