An Examination Of The Nigerian Cyber crime Bill 2014

Nigeria recorded a milestone in October 2014, when the Cybercrime bill was passed by the Senate. The Bill will no doubt, speed up judicial processes on cyber criminality and as well boost e-Commerce activities in the country. It is an indisputable fact that a country without cyber laws is susceptible to all sorts of online attacks. The absence of cyber laws gives hackers the freedom to have unauthorized access to individual and corporate data banks and to steal or manipulate classified information. The perpetrators often get away with the crime in Nigeria, because there are no laws in place to prosecute offenders. Disturbed about the huge economic losses to cybercrime coupled with the dent on Nigeria’s image in the international community and also the pressure from experts in the field of information and communications technology (ICT), the upper chambers of the Nigerian National Assembly has passed the cybercrime bill which will have the full force of law after the President signs same. In the light of this development, this paper will conduct an x-ray of the Cybercrime Bill with a view to preparing the minds of stakeholders in the ICT sector and the general public on the content of the proposed Law. This paper will also proffer necessary recommendations for the proper enforcement and implementation of the law