A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER ONE
Since the advent of the internet and the digital age ten years ago, the rate of cybercrime has increased significantly.
According to Nigeria’s national security adviser (NSA), cybercrime costs the economy N127 billion annually, or 0.08% of the country’s GDP. According to the recently published Cybercrime Act 2015, a variety of actions, including illegal access to computers, interceptions of communications, and change of data without authorization, will be considered offenses.
Among the offenses that are penalized under the Act include data, data abuse, system interference, intercepting electronic messages, emails, and e-money transfers, interfering with essential infrastructure, computer-related fraud, and computer-related forgeries. Under the Act, there are additional penalties for theft of electronic equipment, electronic signatures, child pornography and associated offenses, racism, and xenophobia. There were also provisions included for cyber-stalking, cyber-squatting, and cyber-terrorism as crimes; in reality, Nigeria needed legislation against cybercrime for a variety of good reasons. The paper examines the characteristics of cybercrime legislation and the difficulties that the act and laws dealing with cybercrime encounter, including: what counts as a cybercrime, and who do you contact?
Who implements this law in the event of a cybercrime—the police or a special force—and how equipped are these officials? It also examines subjectively some contentious provisions of the 2015 Cybercrime Act, including the registration of cybercafés, the requirement to wind up businesses and forfeit assets, the legal interception of communications, the establishment of a cybersecurity fund, and the cancellation of international passports.
Each author whose work is used in this research to supplement previously published works will get reference and credit over the duration of the study.
This study will bring up several critical points about the cybercrime act of 2015’s provisions, its enforcement methods, its officers, and how effective these officers are at stopping cybercrime in Nigeria. Additionally, it would examine the research methods, importance, and breadth of the study.
THE STUDY’S HISTORY
Over the years and decades, humans have developed from one stage of life to the next, constantly coming up with new and better ways to carry out their everyday tasks, which they refer to as development. This can be traced back to the Stone Age, the Industrial Revolution, the Renaissance, or the Iron Age. The hunter-gatherer, agricultural, and technological stages of human development are the three (3) main stages that humanity has progressed through.
Information is now represented in an electronic or digital format thanks to human advancements in information and communication technology (ICT), which has sped up consumer demand for free, worldwide access to information.
However, given that laptops, computers, and internet access are becoming more widely available and inexpensive for the general public, this change away from the old or antiquated methods of information transmission has now created a platform for illicit operations on the internet. Since the advent of the internet and Nigeria’s involvement in this global phenomenon, there has been a sharp rise in the number of crimes committed online using a variety of platforms, including social media, emails, dating websites, online stores, mobile devices, and others.
Websites for trade, services, and social engineering. The society has become more and more reliant on new information technology in recent years as a means of conducting business through websites like Jumia, Konga, Wakanow, E-bay, Amazon, and Alibaba, managing industrial activities, and engaging in personal communication through social media platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Pinetrest, Badoo, Tinder, Twitter, LinkedIn, and many others. The efficiency, productivity, and other advantages that these technology and information provide also leave people vulnerable to others who want to exploit the system and novel circumstances.
Nowadays, cybercrime is pervasive in Nigerian culture, with fraud being the most frequent type. This is a result of the high unemployment rate, various societal problems, and the “Get Rich Quick mindset” that keep young people in Nigeria idle. Given that there are inadequate enforcement mechanisms in place in Nigeria, this encourages young people to examine their abilities in the online environment and how they might profit from it without being discovered.
The cyber-crime Act, 2015 is the most current piece of legislation to combat cybercrimes in Nigeria, and this research tries to assess its most important provisions as well as its disputed ones. It also offers potential remedies and ideas for dealing with Nigeria’s cybercrime problems. The investigation would also provide information on the numerous cybercrime culprits, their methods, and their equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE PROBLEM
This study will chart the development of cybercrimes such as ATM fraud, piracy, hacking, email scams, etc. Its impact on the Nigerian economy, its impact on Nigeria’s standing in the international community, the severe impact of the 2015 Cybercrime Act on cyber cafes operating in Nigeria, and the use and management of the cyber security fund will all be covered. The study takes a subjective look at the characteristics of cybercrime laws and some of the challenges that the act and laws surrounding it face, including: what constitutes a cybercrime, who should you call when one occurs, who will enforce this law—the police or a special force, and how prepared are these officials?
OBJECTIVES
This study’s main goal is to assess Nigeria’s cybercrime laws, with a particular emphasis on the recently passed Cybercrime Act 2015, which governs cybercrime activities there. The study examines the subjective characteristics of cybercrime laws and some of the difficulties that the cybercrime act and laws encounter, including: what constitutes a cybercrime; who should you call when one occurs; who will enforce this law—the police or a special force; and how prepared are these officials? Additional research will, among other things:
Discuss the characteristics and forms of cybercrime;
Analyze the contentious provisions of the 2015 Cybercrime Act;
examine and evaluate the Cybercrime Act of 2015’s essential sections;
Provide ideas and suggestions for practical approaches to tackling cybercrimes in Nigeria.
AIM OF THE STUDY
This study will concentrate on the current and foreseeable issues with cybercrime. The 2015 Cybercrime Act, which was just passed, and an overview of cybercrimes in Nigeria are all included in the study’s or work’s purview. One might try to
designed to examine the 2015 Cybercrime Act, as well as global perspectives and collaboration in relation to the 2015 Cybercrime Act.
NECESSITY OF THE STUDY
This study’s importance cannot be underlined enough. This is due to the fact that everyone who regularly engages in online business, education, Cyber café, and financial transaction activities would profit from this study. The research aims to analyze newly passed cybercrime legislation, as well as its inadequacies and difficulties in combatting cybercrime. a Nigerian activity. This report would be very helpful to the government, the legal system, and policy makers as they work to provide workable solutions to the growing problem of cybercrime in Nigeria. By offering tips and advice on how they may enforce the law and prepare themselves to take on cybercrimes in Nigeria, this study will similarly benefit law enforcement authorities in their efforts to curb cybercrimes. This research would
assist future study by law researchers as well as those in allied fields.
RESULT ANALYSIS METHODS
The doctrinal research approach would be used for this study project throughout. Both primary and secondary sources will be used in the research. To aid in this research activity, pertinent legislation and case laws would be studied.
The nature of this study also necessitates heavy dependence on internet resources, books, journals, and papers that have been published in this field.
READING REVIEW
Crime: What Is It?
The definition, components, and extent of crime will be assessed with the intention of comprehending and discovering the actual nature of cybercrime and the laws governing it in Nigeria.
According to Sir Carleton Allen
“Crime is a crime since it consists of conduct that seriously and directly jeopardizes the safety of the society.”
Sir Allen’s explanation clarifies why some actions have been classified as crimes by the court system or the legislative branch. These actions that have been classified as crimes may not always represent the current situation. implying that a crime may continue to be
long after the public or society is no longer threatened by the conduct or crime. Therefore, Allen’s perspective tells us more about what he believes should be illegal than actual illegal behavior.
However, some crimes can also be considered civil wrongs or torts, including theft or criminal damage, for which the victim may seek damages and restitution.
Any action or inaction that violates the law and has a penalty is considered a crime. The severity of the punishments might vary, from paying a fee to spending time in jail. The seriousness of the crime will often determine the degree of the offense or crime.
According to Kadish, a crime is any conduct or failure to act that is banned by a law that has been passed to protect the general public. If the court finds the perpetrator guilty of the crime, as requested by the state’s prosecutor, they must be punished. According to Kadish, a private crime is a “civil wrong” and a tort to a person, as opposed to a “public crime,” which is a public wrong.
ELEMENTS OF CRIME; Preliminary element: The state must first establish I that there has been an injury that qualifies as a crime and (ii) that someone’s criminal act is to blame for the injury before it can seek to show that the defendant is guilty of the alleged crime. In a cybercrime prosecution, the state would need to demonstrate that the defendant committed the criminal conduct and that there was harm as a result. [11]
In order for the accused to be found guilty at a criminal trial, the prosecution must establish two (2) components. These components are referred to as the “Actus Reus” or “an act” (i.e., an unlawful act) and the “Mensrea” or “mental aspect of a guilty thought or purpose.” For instance, if a person attacks another person with the aim to damage or kill him without a legal justification (such as self-defense), this is banned behavior. The mental component, or guilty mentality, is the desire to strike, hurt, or injure. Latin’s “Actusreus” means “to conduct an act,” i.e., the commission of a crime or the unlawful omission of an action.
It is the deed itself, when combined with mensrea, that makes a crime. For instance, the act of physically stealing something (the actusreus) and the intention to permanently deprive the owner of the property constitute the crime of theft (the mensrea). the act of a cybercriminal convincing another person online to send money for fictitious purposes or under false pretenses, which would constitute a crime of fraud.
Mensrea is a Latin word that means “to bear in mind.” It is crucial to establish if the defendant had the necessary mental condition to have the “guilty mind” necessary to commit the specific crime at issue, making it a crucial component of every crime. 1) The Hyamv DPP case refers to the notion that there is adequate “criminal intention,” according to that case. The case of Sweet v. Parsley demonstrates the need for mens rea when a genuine crime as opposed to a normative offense is committed.
Additionally, there are two other factors that must be proven, namely social harm and causation. Simply put, causation indicates that the unlawful act done caused or led to the final injury.
The State must demonstrate that the defendant purposefully committed a physical act that resulted in social injury in order to establish social harm.
Cybercrime: What Is It?
The term “cybercrime” is not specifically defined or commonly accepted under Nigerian law since it is a relatively new area of criminal law that has only lately come to the attention of the judiciary. The main distinction between cybercrime and traditional crime is the scale and platform on which the latter’s actions are carried out.
The term “cybercrime” is frequently used to refer to illegal activity taking place in cyberspace or the online environment. In addition, any crime that uses computers or networks, even those that do not primarily rely on them, is considered a cybercrime. In most cases, computers are either used as tools, targets, or both. As a result, cybercrime includes offenses including data tampering, unauthorized access, unlawful interception, and device abuse that include computers, cyberspace, and other electronic information storage devices.
Several legal academics have also argued that cybercrimes are just old crimes committed using computers. That is, although cybercrime offenses are covered by our legislation, they are now promoted and committed through computers. Digital media is utilized as an alternate tool to commit them, though.
According to Chukkol, it has been correctly noted that nearly all criminal activities for which existing statutes like the Criminal Code Law, the Criminal Code Act, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act already provide penalties may be committed using computers or related electronic devices like mobile phones.
To prevent, punish, and discourage cybercriminals, there is still a need for distinct law, which is why the Cybercrime Act of 2015 was created. The fundamental principle of criminal law in Nigeria is that an individual cannot be judged guilty of an offense for which there is no criminal statute, legislation, or enactment. Additionally, Nigeria’s current penal code and criminal act are insufficient and ineffective for dealing with such cybercrime offenses. The jurisdictional question of what happens when a Nigerian commits a cybercrime outside of Nigeria was not addressed by the country’s existing laws on crime.
Who has legal authority? Which courts have the authority to hear the case? Investigation and the evidence problem are other issues that require attention. New laws or other enactments are thus required to solve these challenges.
Cybercrime Categories
cybercrime directed towards people;
Cybercrime against people or individuals includes things like delivering malware and DDOS, cyberbullying, harassing someone online or using an electronic device, and broadcasting child pornography. Cybercrime against people can also be seen from the perspective of an online privacy right infringement.
online theft of property;
A well-known occurrence in Nigerian online is the crime against property, which includes activities like intellectual property offenses (software piracy,
Virus distribution, cybersquatting, cybervandalism, copyright, patent, and trademark infringement, hacking, and theft of computer source code are all examples of such offenses.
cyberattacks against the government
In order to compromise a government’s national security, obtain unauthorized access to their data, and cause other harms, the growth of the internet has given rise to a variety of crimes and cyberterrorism, such as Wiki Leaks, which obtained documents from the American government without authorization and threatened to leak them to the media.
cybercrimes committed against society;
Any illegal activity carried out with the goal to harm the cyberspace or society at large, as the internet may be used to carry out physical attacks on people and the general populace.
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