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Internet Access And Cyber Crimes in Nigeria




Umar Garba Danbatta: NCC boss


By Tony ICHEKU

With more than 97 million Nigerians on the internet, there are far  more Nigerians with access to the internet than was previously projected, so says the Nigeria Communication Commission, NCC. The regulatory body also states that there are over 129.3 million active telephone lines 
in the Country.

The reality therefore is that with virtually anyone able to access the internet from telephone handsets, one could safely infer that far more Nigerians have become more conversant and immersed with the demands of the digital age. It is not out of place to find its negative side growing parri-passu with its positive side.

Cyber-crime and cyber-security, threats associated with the internet, are now ranked in the same category with other transnational organised crimes such as  terrorism/terrorist financing, corruption, oil theft, money-laundering, human-trafficking, and others.

Speaking recently on cyber-crime and cyber-security trends in the Country, 
Malam  Abubakar Malami, SAN, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice quoting Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN  sources says that Nigerian banks loose huge amounts of money annually to different forms of of cyber-crime and cyber criminals. It was in response to this ills associated with the internet that the country last year promulgated 
the Cyber-Crime Prevention Act, 2015.

But it appears more work needs to be done to sufficiently tackle the menace. According to Malami who was speaking at the First Annual Conference on Financial Fraud, Cyber Crime And Cross-border Crimes organised by the ministry in Abuja "the total estimated loss incurred by the financial system alone from 2012 to 2014 could be more than N64 billion or USD321,689 million".

An online media platform, Ultrascan, reported that internet scammers in Nigeria defrauded victims of over $12.7 billion. Internet use may not be as pervasive as in the Western countries, but  Nigerian  is ranked first in Africa as the target and origin of malicious cyber activities. The country also ranks third with 8% behind the USA, 65% and the UK, 9.9% among the list of top ten sources of cybercrime in the World, according to a report published in 2010 by the Internet Crime Complaint Centre.
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People&Politics, published monthly in print and daily online, is Nigeria’s leading magazine on People, Politics and Policy. It is the publication where you find the most refreshing news, incisive analysis and informed commentaries on Nigerian politics and governance.
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