Abstract:
This study examined the effect of new communication technologies on national security in the recent times in the face of terrorism. Despite indications that there is a correlation between new communication technologies and national security, the discourse on the nature of these challenges and threats posed by new media on national security remain scanty and largely undocumented. It is therefore imperative to evaluate the challenges and threat of new communication technologies on Nigeria’s national security in the face of Terrorism. The theory was anchored on the Gate Keeping Theory and Social Responsibility theory of Mass Communication. The study adopted an explanatory mixed method design to gather quantitative and qualitative data for the first and second phases of the study. The sampling formula was used to select 400 respondents from government security agencies across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, from a population of 607, 201. The stratified and purposive sampling techniques were employed in the selection process. The specific objectives of the study include: (i) ascertain the Nigeria security agencies’ awareness of the security implication of new communication technologies, (ii) identify the types of new communication technologies that mostly posed a security threat in Nigeria, (iii) examine the frequency of threat to Nigeria’s national security in the use of new communication technologies, (iv) examine the challenges posed by new communication technologies on Nigeria’s national security system, (v) ascertain the extent to which the new communication technologies have posed a threat to Nigeria’s national security system. The instrument for data collection was the questionnaire and the interview schedule. Pilot test of the questionnaire showed a Crobach Alpha coefficient of .899. Findings showed that: (i) that majority of the security agencies sampled were aware of the various security implications of the new communication technologies (X2=20.56, df=6, p=.98); (ii) that most respondents use the new communication technologies in their daily work (n=286, N400, 74.9%). The implication is that while new communication technologies are useful in government management information system, the usages pose serious security challenge. It is recommended among others that, Data collected by respective agencies such as the National Communication Commission, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, etc on users of ICT and mobile telecoms services should be utilized by security Agencies to curb crime.
