Information Literacy Skills and Information Security Awareness Among Lecturers in North-Central Nigerian Federal Universities

This study examined the relationship between information literacy skills (ILS) and information security awareness (ISA) among lecturers in North-central Nigerian federal universities. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population comprised 5185 lecturers across seven federal universities, from which 1065 respondents were selected using stratified and disproportionate stratified random sampling techniques. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire adapted from existing ILS and ISA frameworks and validated through expert review and pilot testing. Reliability coefficients of 0.81 and 0.79 were obtained respectively using Cronbach’s alpha. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson product-moment correlation) were used for data analysis at a 0.05 significance level. The findings revealed moderate levels of ILS (x̅ = 112.4) and ISA (x̅ = 112.1) among lecturers. A significant positive relationship was found between ILS and ISA (r = 0.569, p < .05), indicating that higher levels of information literacy skills are associated with higher levels of information security awareness. The study concludes that strengthening lecturers’ information literacy skills may support improved information security awareness. The study therefore, recommends the implementation of continuous faculty development programmes by integrating both information literacy skills and information security awareness components.