Nigeria Joins Budapest Convention on Cybercrime

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) yesterday said Nigeria has achieved a milestone in cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime by its accession to the Convention on Cybercrime on July 6, 2022, to enhance international cooperation.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd), is the Chairman of the Cybercrime Advisory Council.

It said, in a statement, that the elevation was achieved after fulfilling requirements after a five-year assiduous effort by the Nigerian government.

It said the development came after the approval of the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday, 29 June 2022, and the signing of the instrument of accession by President Muhammadu Buhari as well as transmission to the Council of Europe on 6 July 2022.

“Recall that Nigeria enacted the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) Act 2015 as the legal framework for the codification of criminal activities in the cyberspace. This was aimed at guaranteeing, amongst others, the safe use of the cyberspace and minimise the attendant risks to online platforms and critical infrastructure with consequential negative impact.

“Furthermore, the federal government also made significant efforts to implement its provisions by the development of a comprehensive National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2021, establishment of the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) and the National Digital Forensic Laboratory, amongst others,” it said

“As an essential component of the Act, Section 41(2b) provides for conformity of the Nigerian cybercrime and cybersecurity laws and policies with regional as well as international standards.

“The objective is to support and be part of international cooperation in addressing the menace of cybercrime. This is considering the cross-border nature of cybersecurity threats and the dire need for synergy as well as effective collaboration with the international community to tackle the ever-increasing challenge”, it said.

The statement signed by the Head, Strategic Communication Office of the National Security Adviser, Zachari Usman, noted that as part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen the global architecture of cybersecurity, the Council of Europe invited Nigeria to accede to the Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, in July 2017.

Thereafter, the Nigerian government collaborated with the Council of Europe to provide the necessary frameworks to meet the requirements for the final accent to the Convention.

Consequently, Nigeria joined 66 other countries across the world that have signed and ratified the Convention on Cybercrime on 6 July, 2022.

“Among other benefits, the ratification will enhance international cooperation, provide common platform and procedural law tools for efficient investigations of cybercrimes as well as the preservation and transfer of electronic evidence as appropriate in relation to any crime. It will also automatically make Nigeria a priority hub for cybercrime capacity building programmes”, it said.