Have we put out Best Foot Forward? An Appraisal of Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act (2015) in the Context of Global Realities

Abstract

The internet is a phenomenon of unlimited possibilities. The domain of the internet is the cyberspace. Despite its tremendous merits, the cyberspace has been employed by unscrupulous elements to occasion great harm. Cybercrime refers to the unscrupulousness committed in the cyberspace. As a global issue, the United Nations, the African Union, the Council of Europe and the Economic Community of West African States, have designed legal initiatives to prevent and combat cybercrime. The proliferation of internet in Nigeria came with explosion in cybercrime, notably cyber-fraud, popularly referred to as ?yahooyahoo?. The country‘s notoriety for cyber-fraud is globally established. Before 2015, such laws as the Criminal Code, Penal Code and the Advance Fee Fraud Act were utilised to combat the crime. However, the need for a more potent legislation remained eminent, hence the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015 (?the Act). This paper is both descriptive and prescriptive. It explores the contents of the Act and annotate as necessary. It also assesses the Act in the light of global efforts directed at combating cyber-criminality. The article concludes by identifying key points of the Act, exposing some shortcomings of the Act and proffering recommendations for review and in implementation of the Act. The key finding of the article is that although there are shortcomings requiring improvement, the Act is currently Nigeria‘s best foot forward in the fight against cybercriminality. Therefore, all stakeholders must work in concert to ensure its success.