Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015: Challenges to Enforcement

In the past decade, there has been an explosion in cybercriminal activity in Nigeria, occasioned by the evolutionary impact of the digital world along with the phenomenal growth and economic power associated with it. The emergence of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 in Nigeria could not have come at a better time, especially in the light of the manifest gross inadequacy of the country’s traditional criminal laws which focus their legal objects on physical objects, when as a matter of fact, cybercrimes attack intangible objects, such as information and information technology; and also because cyber-security plays an important role in the ongoing development of information technology as well as internet services which are critical to a country’s security and economic wellbeing. The Act having been salutes as an appropriate legislation against the misuse of the information and communication technologies for crimes or other purposes intended to prejudice the integrity of national critical infrastructures, this paper analyses the Nigerian legal framework for combating cybercrimes, the numerous challenges confronting it; and of course, given the virtual and unlimited expansibility nature of cybercrime, the paper concludes with suggestions for a more structured approach to combating the scourge. 

Key Words: Law; Crime; Cybercrime; Economic Crime.