Cybercrime and Cybercrime Policing in Nigeria: Findings from Oyo State Police Data on ICT-Related Cases

Abstract

The present age is characterised by a wide availability and application of Information and Communication
Technology. Proliferation of ICT while beneficial to human race, has also advanced the dark side of life by
presenting opportunities for those with criminal intentions to perpetrate their evil acts more easily; giving rise to
a host of criminal acts termed cybercrime. Studies have reported that curtailment of cybercrime has been
challenged by a lack of consensus on what constitutes cybercrime and the limitations of the law enforcement in
handling technology-driven crimes. There is however, a need to investigate these claims in different geographical
areas in order to determine the effectiveness of cybercrime policing in such areas. Police records on ICT-related
offenses is a potential resource for research on cybercrime and its policing but this has been sparsely studied. The
present study in a bid to shed light on cybercrime and cybercrime policing in Nigeria examined data on ICTrelated
cases that have been recorded by the Oyo State Police Command. The present study revealed that ICT
related cases reported by Oyo state police are traditional offences with no information on emerging offences that
are associated with the new Information Age. Analysis of the demographic characteristics of suspects revealed
that most of the suspects are male and adults. The study also revealed that ICT related cases constitute a great
financial loss of almost 1.8 billion Naira in 10 years out of which about 35 million Naira (2%) was recovered. The
study amongst others, recommends that the Nigeria Police Force should update the system of recording and
reporting offences to include emerging ICT related offences.