Fresh Worries Trial Law to Hunt Yahoo Boys

Ten years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo formation of a cyber crime committee, a cyber crime law was finally last week presented to the nation but reactions trailing the new suggest that the National Assemble must get ready for a periodic review due to technological trend.

THE siege of criminal elements, commonly referred to Yahoo-Boys may soon be on the decline following the passing into law last week the cyber crime bill by the senate a

rm of the National Assemble, however, reactions from key experts and stakeholders observed that there may be a loophole if the law does not take care of the effects in technology trend.

The Act provides for the Prohibition, Prevention, Detection, Response, Investigation and Prosecution of Cybercrimes and for Other Related Matters 2014.

The new law, described as long overdue by the President of the Nigerian Internet Group, Engr. Bayo Banjo was the result of years of the call for a cyber crime to deal with the menace of the cyber crime, which have persistently put the nation in bad light in the global community.

Key stakeholders that were at the forefront of agitation for a law to regulate life on the cyber space include the Nigerian Internet Group, Computer Professionals’ Registration Council, Nigerian Computer Society, Paradigm Initiative and a host of including the some international multinational companies like Google and Microsoft.

In the early years of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whose regime the nation began to witness the IT and Telecoms revolution, stakeholders saw the need for a law to regulate life on the internet as criminal activities went viral.

And so in 2005 the he announced the formation of a cyber crime committee. The 15 member committee consisted of representatives from both the Government and private sector, and were asked to design solutions for Nigerian Internet based fraud and cyber crime.

After many weeks of deliberations, the committee presented a Draft Cyber Crime Act to the President, and the committee formed the Nigerian Cyber crime Working Group (NCWG), to accelerate the implementation of its cyber crime research efforts, and to assist the Nigeria National Assembly in the quick passage of a Cyber Crime Bill. 

In nutshell, the Draft Nigerian Cyber Crime Act provides the legal framework for the establishment of an independent Cyber Crime Agency and for the Legislation concerning Cyber Crime and Cyber-security. Basically, the Draft Act was divided into eight different parts, namely: Preliminary, Offences, Protection and security of critical information and communication infrastructure, Ancillary and General Provisions, Cyber Crime and Cyber Security Agencies Establishment, Functions and powers of the agency and Financial Provisions.

           Criminal aspects of the Draft Act include Unauthorized access to compute, electronic or ancillary devices, Access with intent to commit an offence, Unauthorized modification of the of any computer, Illegal communication using electronic messages, Illegal interception, Data interference, System interference, Misuse of devices, Denial of service, Email bombing, Computer trespass, Computer vandalism, Computer identity and impersonation, Attempt, conspiracy and abetment, Duties of service providers, Record retention by service providers, Cyber squatting, Computer communication, Cyber terrorism Intellectual property, Soliciting a minor with a computer for unlawful sexual purposes, Computer offences against minors and Other sexual offences.

            While the birth of a cyber crime delayed, cyber criminal activities were perpetuated and in some cases resulting to death as was recorded in the widely celebrated murder of a young lady Cynthia Osokogu who was killed by some young men she met on the social network site, Facebook.

            President of the Nigerian Internet Group, Engr. Bayo Banjo in an interview told National Mirror that the law is a good fight against the activities of criminal elements that have not only stained the image of Nigeria but caused huge monitory lost to the country.

He attributed the long delay in getting a cyber crime to the current situation in the country, where someone needs to push before he does his job, even when it is obvious that he needs to be up and doing in his job.

He added that while some bills are hurriedly passed into law, others are left alone for long before they are actually attended to adding that the passage of the cyber crime law is better late than never.

            He noted that technology changes every four years as a result both legislature and the judiciary should brace up for the changes that will be needed to make the enforcement of the law effective.

According to him the new cyber crime is one law that needs to be updated regularly to be compliant with the global trend in technology noting that technology is the only discipline where things can change completely thereby making the old things obsolete.

Banjo however observed that the new law may not slow down the activities of the criminal cyber crooks known as Yahoo Boys noting that just like the anti-money laundry law which seems to have left so many people un-arrested, the cyber crime law may not result to arrest and persecution of many.

“It is good that we have the cyber crime law in our legal books but we need the political will and the conviction to go after the Yahoo Boys. It is so rampart that there is even a name for the profession. And like as it is common there are those who benefit from the activities of those boys.”

He said that to be able to measure the success that is expected from the enforcement of the new law in the fight over cyber crime, suspect arrest and conviction should be publicised for the nation to know adding, “So that every young people will know that people are going to jail for getting involved in Yahoo business.”

He added that if you are convicting Yahoo Boys without it being reported massively then nobody will know that people are going to jail for the crime saying that the empathy in the Nigeria culture will make security agents to over the Yahoo Boys since they cannot go after the public officers and politicians who are stealing more than the Yahoo Boys.

The NIG president however, expressed optimism that it will help to reduce the volume of obscene things and falsehood that people post on the internet particularly Facebook stressing, “You will see people write on Facebook President Jonathan is a thief or this other person is a thief. We must have some form of orderliness in the kind of things that we post on the internet.”

 The new Act according to Senator Adegbenga Kaka from Ogun East constituency stipulates a seven year jail term for cyber crime and online fraud perpetrators in Nigeria.

The law, which was a bill sponsored by Kaka, seeks among others to punish interception of data, system interference and misuse of devices.

Also, anyone found guilty of possessing a manipulative device, unauthorised automatic teller machine (ATM) card, damaging a computer with the intention to defraud, trafficking in any password to defraud customers or financial institutions will be sentenced to seven years imprisonment or a fine of N7 million.

Similarly, any person or organisation who unlawfully traffics in any password or similar information through a computer with the intention to defraud public and private interests within or outside Nigeria will be liable upon conviction to a fine of N7 million or three years imprisonment.

The law further spelt out a three-year jail term or N2 million fine for anyone who knows that a crime has been committed in his premises or cybercafé and fails to report it to relevant authorities within seven days.

While the law provides for compulsory registration of all cyber cafe businesses with Computer Professionals’ Registration Council, in addition to business name registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), it also spells out three-year jail term or a fine of N1 million for anyone who perpetrates electronic fraud through a cybercafé.

Where the fraud is found to have been perpetrated in connivance with the owner(s) of the cybercafé, such owner(s) shall be liable to a fine of N2 million or three years’ jail term.

It also seeks to punish all kinds of computer-related fraud, computer-related forgery, offences relating to pornography, cyber-stalking and cyber squatting, as well as to promote cyber security, protection of computer systems and networks, electronic communication, data and computer programmes, intellectual property and privacy rights.

The law stipulates that anyone who commits fraud using a computer system or network with the intention of obtaining computer data, securing access to any programme, commercial or industrial secrets or classified information will upon conviction be sentenced to seven years in jail or a fine of N7 million or both.