When Nigeria’s telecoms revolution took off after the licensing of GSM operators in 2001, it heralded positive developments for Nigerians as a people, and the economy in general.
#Communications among Nigerians and between Nigeria and the rest of the world, which was very difficult, became simplified almost overnight.
Cyber-bugged.
As the GSM operators penetrated the virgin market, information technology devices became prime gadgets for acquisition by Nigerians.
In no time, computers with internet connections became ubiquitous, and with the coming of data services, devices with mobile internet capability became choice attraction. When the tablet computer took the world by storm, Nigeria and Nigerians were not left out as tablets of various brands found their way to Nigeria, and were promptly gobbled up by a population whose desire to communicate became almost insatiable.
Thus, Nigerians joined the rest of the world in being active in cyberspace. Thousands, even millions, opened email accounts, and started playing games online. E-commerce gained ground, and online retailers are smiling to the banks. But like every good thing, the ugly came with it.
Scammers started operating in cyberspace, ripping off the unwary. While the Police and other law-enforcementagents tried their best, a major flaw existed: there was simply no law that captures cybercrime and prescribes punishment for cyber criminals.
It was this that prompted many interest groups in the ICT arena to clamour for a cyber crime law to regulate activities in the sector as well as to take care of the criminally-minded.
Only recently, the Senate passed the long-awaited Cyber Crime Bill into law.
It would be recalled that in the past 10 years, several bills on cybercrime had been pushed to the National Assembly by the Nigerian Information Technology experts, but none scaled through the final reading on the floor of the Senate.
Many of the bills did not even get a mention, but recently, one of the bills eventually passed through the final reading and was approved by Senate, a development that has drawn commendations from ICT professionals in the country.
In 2011, Senator Gbenga Kaka (APC, Ogun East) had presented a bill to stop cybercrime. But the bill came under controversy due to a section related to social media.
In January, President Goodluck Jonathan in the bill titled, “Cybercrime Bill, 2013”, which was routed through the Senate President, David Mark, had urged members of the upper legislative chamber to consider its enactment into law.
#Communications among Nigerians and between Nigeria and the rest of the world, which was very difficult, became simplified almost overnight.
Cyber-bugged.
As the GSM operators penetrated the virgin market, information technology devices became prime gadgets for acquisition by Nigerians.
In no time, computers with internet connections became ubiquitous, and with the coming of data services, devices with mobile internet capability became choice attraction. When the tablet computer took the world by storm, Nigeria and Nigerians were not left out as tablets of various brands found their way to Nigeria, and were promptly gobbled up by a population whose desire to communicate became almost insatiable.
Thus, Nigerians joined the rest of the world in being active in cyberspace. Thousands, even millions, opened email accounts, and started playing games online. E-commerce gained ground, and online retailers are smiling to the banks. But like every good thing, the ugly came with it.
Scammers started operating in cyberspace, ripping off the unwary. While the Police and other law-enforcementagents tried their best, a major flaw existed: there was simply no law that captures cybercrime and prescribes punishment for cyber criminals.
It was this that prompted many interest groups in the ICT arena to clamour for a cyber crime law to regulate activities in the sector as well as to take care of the criminally-minded.
Only recently, the Senate passed the long-awaited Cyber Crime Bill into law.
It would be recalled that in the past 10 years, several bills on cybercrime had been pushed to the National Assembly by the Nigerian Information Technology experts, but none scaled through the final reading on the floor of the Senate.
Many of the bills did not even get a mention, but recently, one of the bills eventually passed through the final reading and was approved by Senate, a development that has drawn commendations from ICT professionals in the country.
In 2011, Senator Gbenga Kaka (APC, Ogun East) had presented a bill to stop cybercrime. But the bill came under controversy due to a section related to social media.
In January, President Goodluck Jonathan in the bill titled, “Cybercrime Bill, 2013”, which was routed through the Senate President, David Mark, had urged members of the upper legislative chamber to consider its enactment into law.
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