Participants at a workshop on Digital Rights and Cybercrimes
have called for increased capacity building for law enforcement agencies on
handling issues related to cybercrimes in Nigeria and digital rights of the
citizens, reports ITRealms.
Speakers at the workshop hosted by Paradigm Initiative in
collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice on Wednesday, 31st May 2017
focused primarily on section 24 and 38 of the Nigeria’s Cybercrimes (Prohibition,
Prevention, etc) Act 2015.
According to the Program Manager at Paradigm Initiative,
Adeboye Adegoke, “the focus on the two sections was deliberate. We focused on
those sections because they are prone to be misapplied to infringe on the
digital rights and freedoms of citizens, especially freedom of expression and
privacy online. Section 24, in particular, has already been cited in more than
ten documented cases of alleged illicit arrest and abuse of rights. Provisions
of Sections 24 and 38 of the Act were examined at the workshop as they are
believed to be threats to digital rights in Nigeria. Section 24 poses a threat to freedom of
expression online while section 38 gives security agencies the right to hold on
to citizen’s information, thereby violating their rights to privacy of their
information online.”
The workshop which provided an opportunity for participants
to review cases of arrests related to sections 24 and 38 of the Act and the
effects of these arrests on citizens.
Participants were drawn from the Nigerian
Police Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from
various states in Nigeria and the FCT.
Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative Mr ‘Gbenga Sesan,
while introducing participants to Digital Rights, highlighted the importance of
the internet to democratic participation in Nigeria, and stressed that though
rights in the digital realm exist, they are not respected.
He spoke on the
provisions in the Cybercrimes Act 2015 that give law enforcement agents access
to citizen’s data and how these provisions are prone to abuse. He illustrated
with examples of ways in which files in government offices and Nigerian courts
are currently being handled.
According to him, “Surveillance and Interception
must be lawful, with clearly stated procedures and clear judicial oversight to
avoid abuse. Respect for human rights in the day to day activities of law
enforcement officers helps to foster citizen and security agency cooperation.
It is well known that countries that focus on innovation rather than clampdowns
avail themselves huge economic opportunities. This can be seen through the
relationship between the GDP of those countries and the level of internet penetration
and internet freedom”.
Also speaking to participants at the training, Mr.
George-Maria Tyendezwa, Head, Computer Crime Prosecution Unit at Federal
Ministry of Justice stressed that we must differentiate between libel and
slander from cyberstalking, and that one-time acts don’t constitute stalking
mentioned in Section 24.
He advised anyone that feels defamed not to use the
apparatus of the state to oppress anyone but to go to court for remedy
According to Tope Ogundipe, Director of Programs at Paradigm
Initiative, “we believe that law enforcement agents who participated in the
workshop are better equipped in handling and managing cases involving
Cybercrime as a result of this workshop. Our objective is to ensure that the
Cybercrimes Act 2015 does not become an instrument of oppression in the hands
of the powerful using security agencies as tools.”
The workshop was attended by operatives from Abuja, Bauchi,
Gombe, Nasarawa, Rivers, Kano, Lagos, Enugu and the FCT.
Uboshe Uboshe/GEE
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