Experts
have continued to react to the Nigeria Cybercrimes Act 2015, the new
law that was made to contain the growing spate of Internet offences by
seeking to arrest, prosecute and sentence anyone found guilty of
committing cybercrime and allied offences.
The new law was commended for eventually coming to make the Internet a safer place but a cross section of experts and stakeholders also seek an improvement to the new legislation to complement efforts at combating Internet offences in Nigeria.
This was the subject matter at the Technology Times Outlook Review of Nigeria Cybercrimes Act 2015, the thought leadership series that attracted various profession including legal professionals, the media and leaders in industry and government.
Mr. Basil Udotai, the Managing Partner of Technology Advisors LLP, a specialty law practice that focuses exclusively on ICT and who delivered the thought leadership keynote presentation at the event, said that the new law is a welcome development for Nigeria.
Udotai said that the new legislation is a major step forward in the nation’s attempt at making Nigeria’s cyberspace a safer place to live, work and play for the Nigerian Internet community.
“For years, the Nigerian digital economy had carried on with the absence of a legal framework for cybercrime/cybersecurity; a glaring gap in law enforcement/national security framework as well as a debilitating weak link in our digital economy value chain”, he told attendees at the event.
Udotai believes the enactment of the legislation is an attempt to bring Nigeria in line with global best practices and modern trends in the justice sector.
According to him, “it is a truly ground-breaking with potentials to greatly impact jurisprudence and legal development; governance (eGovt); businesses and commercial activities; law enforcement and national security; foreign direct investment and economic growth.’’
He added that, “the Cybercrimes Act, though long in coming and beset with certain challenging components, may be applied to effectively tackle Nigeria’s cybercrime and cyber security challenges. But deliberate efforts have to be made by the key players; Office of National Security Adviser and the Office of Accountant General of the Federation working with stakeholders to make this a reality.’’
In his welcome address at the event, Mr Shina Badaru, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Technology Times said that the Technology Times Outlook thought leadership series is organised to refocus technology issues, policy and market trends that will foster innovation, job creation and overall economic growth for Nigeria.
In today’s connected world, the Internet, which he described as the new domain after land, air and sea, it has imperative for Nigeria to keep the Internet a safer domain to live, work and play, added Badaru.
According to Badaru, Technology Times Outlook was created in 2008 as a platform to promote thought leadership that continue to foster growth across the diverse segment of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Nigeria.
Mr Emmanuel Edet, Head Legal Services & Board Matter Unit, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), who also commended the enactment of the new law, cautioned that the definitions provided in the Act are “too specific” and may give room for offenders to devise other means of committing crimes outside the specific definitions of the law.
Edet, a member of the Technology Times Outlook panel said that “one of the major challenges we had when going through the law was definitions. There is a danger of confusion when we use specific definitions’’
According to him, “definition of terms may be a problem in enacting this law. For example, if we say someone commits a crime with an ATM machine and in the future we have another machine that is not called ATM to commit fraudulent act, that means by definition the person has not committed any offence or done anything wrong.’’
He also raised the issue of the Cyber Security Fund provided for in the new law saying that, “there is nothing that defines what those funds are used for.”
According to him, “there is need for the government to fully articulate all these issues and collaborate with the citizens to have a proper framework as to the workings of the Act.’’
He noted that the law is no doubt a welcome development but more needs to be put in place if we most win the war against cyber attacks in Nigeria.
“It is a good law but it has fundamental flaws which should be addressed to comply with international standard”, Edet said adding that, “we (NITDA) have dealt with so many issues regarding the legal aspects of information technology in Nigeria. Basically, we try to put in place a legal environment so that information technology will be properly developed in Nigeria.’’
On his part, another panellist, Mr Olufemi Awoyemi, the Founder/ Chief Executive Officer of Proshare Nigeria Limited identified that with an estimated improved GDP contribution, it is obvious that the ICT industry is a key growth industry and as such deserves the design and execution of a well articulated cyber security law.
According to him, if we are talking about cyber security, it should be regarded as our way of life, which means by implication means that what is happening offline is also obtainable online
According to Mr Awoyemi, the core competence of Nigeria is not oil and gas, not banking; it is the ICT sector “because if we look critically into it, the ICT sector has the highest employers of labour in the country.
“We may not have a perfect law but we don’t need to reinvent the wheel”, said Mr Awoyemi who suggested that Nigeria we should take a cue from other neighbouring countries like Ghana and Kenya that offer good mobile banking system backed by an effective legal framework.
Ms Sola Salako, President of Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON), who was also a panellist acknowledged the situation of Nigerian consumers and called for a united front in the fight for rights of consumers in the face of poor services by some technology companies.
Salako particularly urged the legislators to clarify areas where there could be problems that would affect the take-off of the law while listing concerns such as ATM fraud, illiteracy and lack of awareness of the law.
Speaking on the objectives of the event, Sola said it was to alert consumers to possible areas of vulnerability in transactions especially online, saying it especially seeks to equip consumers with adequate information to help protect themselves from exploitation.
“To address these issues, there is always a need for such a forum to evaluate the ubiquitous consumer issue encountered in the area of online services and also create an avenue for consumers, service providers, regulators, legal and sector consultants to connect, with a view to enlightening, empowering and resolving these issues as much as possible”, according to the CAFON President.
She said CAFON, a non-for-profit organisation was gravely concerned as consumer advocates about the blatant case of neglect from the regulatory authorities and an alarming case of ignorance on the part of consumers most especially on how and where they can report cyber offences.
“The Cybercrime Act should clearly state places or organisation where consumers could lodge their complaint each time they are defrauded such that they are protected from exploitation”, Salako added.
Another panellist, Mr Alex Mouka, the immediate past Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Lagos branch in his intervention said the law is a radical piece of legislation but that it “is structurally deficient.”
According to Muoka, “as a lawyer, when I reviewed the Act, I asked myself who was responsible for this legislation. I am sorry to say it is one of the irresponsible legal legislations I have ever reviewed. It is structurally deficient.”
According to him, there is no structure in place to give life to the law. “It is surprising that the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) responsible for the Act through an Advisory Council is not itself a member of that Advisory Council. This is real funny. I also wonder who administers the alternative taxation foisted on Nigerians by the creation of the Cybersecurity Fund under this Act,” he added.
On his part, Mr Tobe Okigbo, the Chief Corporate Service Officer of Smile Communications Nigeria Limited, who gave a network operator’s perspective as a panellist at Technology Times Outlook said that the new law is risky from the compliance point of view.
According to Okigbo, “from an operator’s point of view, I think the law is a major risk. The risk comes from the compliance issue. In my view, they should have made it possible for an agency like the Nigerian communications commission (NCC) to get involved in advising the President on information on critical infrastructure.”
Okigbo believes that going forward; Nigeria’s National Security Adviser should call for a stakeholder engagement on the new law if Nigeria must catch up with developed countries of the world in technology advancement.
The new law was commended for eventually coming to make the Internet a safer place but a cross section of experts and stakeholders also seek an improvement to the new legislation to complement efforts at combating Internet offences in Nigeria.
This was the subject matter at the Technology Times Outlook Review of Nigeria Cybercrimes Act 2015, the thought leadership series that attracted various profession including legal professionals, the media and leaders in industry and government.
Mr. Basil Udotai, the Managing Partner of Technology Advisors LLP, a specialty law practice that focuses exclusively on ICT and who delivered the thought leadership keynote presentation at the event, said that the new law is a welcome development for Nigeria.
Udotai said that the new legislation is a major step forward in the nation’s attempt at making Nigeria’s cyberspace a safer place to live, work and play for the Nigerian Internet community.
“For years, the Nigerian digital economy had carried on with the absence of a legal framework for cybercrime/cybersecurity; a glaring gap in law enforcement/national security framework as well as a debilitating weak link in our digital economy value chain”, he told attendees at the event.
Udotai believes the enactment of the legislation is an attempt to bring Nigeria in line with global best practices and modern trends in the justice sector.
According to him, “it is a truly ground-breaking with potentials to greatly impact jurisprudence and legal development; governance (eGovt); businesses and commercial activities; law enforcement and national security; foreign direct investment and economic growth.’’
He added that, “the Cybercrimes Act, though long in coming and beset with certain challenging components, may be applied to effectively tackle Nigeria’s cybercrime and cyber security challenges. But deliberate efforts have to be made by the key players; Office of National Security Adviser and the Office of Accountant General of the Federation working with stakeholders to make this a reality.’’
In his welcome address at the event, Mr Shina Badaru, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Technology Times said that the Technology Times Outlook thought leadership series is organised to refocus technology issues, policy and market trends that will foster innovation, job creation and overall economic growth for Nigeria.
In today’s connected world, the Internet, which he described as the new domain after land, air and sea, it has imperative for Nigeria to keep the Internet a safer domain to live, work and play, added Badaru.
According to Badaru, Technology Times Outlook was created in 2008 as a platform to promote thought leadership that continue to foster growth across the diverse segment of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Nigeria.
Mr Emmanuel Edet, Head Legal Services & Board Matter Unit, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), who also commended the enactment of the new law, cautioned that the definitions provided in the Act are “too specific” and may give room for offenders to devise other means of committing crimes outside the specific definitions of the law.
Edet, a member of the Technology Times Outlook panel said that “one of the major challenges we had when going through the law was definitions. There is a danger of confusion when we use specific definitions’’
According to him, “definition of terms may be a problem in enacting this law. For example, if we say someone commits a crime with an ATM machine and in the future we have another machine that is not called ATM to commit fraudulent act, that means by definition the person has not committed any offence or done anything wrong.’’
He also raised the issue of the Cyber Security Fund provided for in the new law saying that, “there is nothing that defines what those funds are used for.”
According to him, “there is need for the government to fully articulate all these issues and collaborate with the citizens to have a proper framework as to the workings of the Act.’’
He noted that the law is no doubt a welcome development but more needs to be put in place if we most win the war against cyber attacks in Nigeria.
“It is a good law but it has fundamental flaws which should be addressed to comply with international standard”, Edet said adding that, “we (NITDA) have dealt with so many issues regarding the legal aspects of information technology in Nigeria. Basically, we try to put in place a legal environment so that information technology will be properly developed in Nigeria.’’
On his part, another panellist, Mr Olufemi Awoyemi, the Founder/ Chief Executive Officer of Proshare Nigeria Limited identified that with an estimated improved GDP contribution, it is obvious that the ICT industry is a key growth industry and as such deserves the design and execution of a well articulated cyber security law.
According to him, if we are talking about cyber security, it should be regarded as our way of life, which means by implication means that what is happening offline is also obtainable online
According to Mr Awoyemi, the core competence of Nigeria is not oil and gas, not banking; it is the ICT sector “because if we look critically into it, the ICT sector has the highest employers of labour in the country.
“We may not have a perfect law but we don’t need to reinvent the wheel”, said Mr Awoyemi who suggested that Nigeria we should take a cue from other neighbouring countries like Ghana and Kenya that offer good mobile banking system backed by an effective legal framework.
Ms Sola Salako, President of Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON), who was also a panellist acknowledged the situation of Nigerian consumers and called for a united front in the fight for rights of consumers in the face of poor services by some technology companies.
Salako particularly urged the legislators to clarify areas where there could be problems that would affect the take-off of the law while listing concerns such as ATM fraud, illiteracy and lack of awareness of the law.
Speaking on the objectives of the event, Sola said it was to alert consumers to possible areas of vulnerability in transactions especially online, saying it especially seeks to equip consumers with adequate information to help protect themselves from exploitation.
“To address these issues, there is always a need for such a forum to evaluate the ubiquitous consumer issue encountered in the area of online services and also create an avenue for consumers, service providers, regulators, legal and sector consultants to connect, with a view to enlightening, empowering and resolving these issues as much as possible”, according to the CAFON President.
She said CAFON, a non-for-profit organisation was gravely concerned as consumer advocates about the blatant case of neglect from the regulatory authorities and an alarming case of ignorance on the part of consumers most especially on how and where they can report cyber offences.
“The Cybercrime Act should clearly state places or organisation where consumers could lodge their complaint each time they are defrauded such that they are protected from exploitation”, Salako added.
Another panellist, Mr Alex Mouka, the immediate past Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Lagos branch in his intervention said the law is a radical piece of legislation but that it “is structurally deficient.”
According to Muoka, “as a lawyer, when I reviewed the Act, I asked myself who was responsible for this legislation. I am sorry to say it is one of the irresponsible legal legislations I have ever reviewed. It is structurally deficient.”
According to him, there is no structure in place to give life to the law. “It is surprising that the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) responsible for the Act through an Advisory Council is not itself a member of that Advisory Council. This is real funny. I also wonder who administers the alternative taxation foisted on Nigerians by the creation of the Cybersecurity Fund under this Act,” he added.
On his part, Mr Tobe Okigbo, the Chief Corporate Service Officer of Smile Communications Nigeria Limited, who gave a network operator’s perspective as a panellist at Technology Times Outlook said that the new law is risky from the compliance point of view.
According to Okigbo, “from an operator’s point of view, I think the law is a major risk. The risk comes from the compliance issue. In my view, they should have made it possible for an agency like the Nigerian communications commission (NCC) to get involved in advising the President on information on critical infrastructure.”
Okigbo believes that going forward; Nigeria’s National Security Adviser should call for a stakeholder engagement on the new law if Nigeria must catch up with developed countries of the world in technology advancement.
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