Cybercrime and Regulatory Challenges in Nigeria

Introduction

The development of technology has charged the world especially the electronic information transfer system which has enhanced the communication across the sectors such as finance, trade, manufacturing, transportation, vital public service, military, medical system (Umana, 2018). Cyberspace is continually evolving, so too is the threat of cybercrime, it comes with the challenges such as cybercrime security challenges, drugs, and human trafficking avenues.

The essay aims to evaluate the impact of cybercrime on the development of an appropriate regulatory regime to combat women trafficking. Currently, in Nigeria, several internets assisted crimes are committed daily in various forms such as identity thefts, desktop counterfeiting, cyber harassment, internet chatroom, fraudulent electronic mails. Automated teller Machine Spoofing, hacking, pornography, spamming and piracy (Shafic & Adamu, 2015). Usually, such crimes are committed in forms of sending a false message by cyber criminal to reliable internet uses with the aim of getting information including financial details.

Besides that the internet enables the human, drugs trafficking especially the women who as a result used by criminal as sex toys to produce a pornographic image. Women are also victims of terrorist activities such as Boko Haram. They were kidnapped and transported to terrorist zone, sexually abuse by terrorist to give birth to what refers as “the new bread of terrorism”. Therefore women specifically Nigerian women are more vulnerable to cybercrime and human trafficking. Thus, there is a need for innocent internet users to continuously update their knowledge on new crime wave and how to stay safe.

Impact Of Cybercrime

Cyber-crime composed of the use of computers and the internet to commit a crime by individuals. As seen earlier, various forms of cybercrime in Nigeria include cyber terrorism, theft identity, spamming. Some researchers like Kubiat Umana (2018) associate the causes of the Nigerian's cybercrime activities to urbanization, unemployment rate. Below are some of the impacts of cybercrime in Nigeria. From a criminal law perspective, the fight against trafficking in and smuggling of person is mostly independent of gender differences. It is undeniable that due to the feminization of poverty, gender discrimination and lack of education and professional opportunities especially in Nigeria, women become victims of human trafficking. Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation has increased in recent years in the context of the development of the sex and prostitution sector.

Impact of cyber terrorism

The shocking has implications of cyber terrorism on a country’s economy cannot be overemphasized. Countries like Britain, the USA have recorded billions loss of pounds and dollars respectively, Nigeria is not exceptions (Ebenezer, 2014). In 2016 for instance, the Federal government published that the estimated annual cost of cybercrime to Nigeria is 0.08% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), representing N127 billion.

Loss of revenue and decrease the corporation’s competitive edge

Persistence cyber crimes cost a lot of havoc not only to the individual victims but also to the public and private business organizations inside and across the borders, causing a lot of financial loss and physical challenges (Azeez & Osunade, 2019). The current research indicates that individual and corporations have lost billions of dollars annually as results of crime. The crime os such magnitude is a threat to Nigeria’s national security and financial system. The corporations have lost billions as a result of hacking into formation system and sells the plan to the competitor. It automatic decrease the corporation’s competitive advantage.

Image Defamation

When the cybercriminals hacks into the system and stole the information of a given corporation it tarnished the reputation of such corporation as a majority of the clients will never trust the corporation with their data (Shafic & Adamu, 2015). It is a privacy concern which not only affects the victim corporation or individual but the Nigerian government at large. Based on the high level of cybercrime in Nigeria, the Nigerians image has globally tarnished and their reputation lowered.

The increase of on online Assisted Kidnapping

Cybercrime assisted kidnapping is on the rise recently in Nigeria. Kidnappers supported by their victims particularly social media activities and geolocation data on modern smartphones. The kidnappers use the geolocation data to identify an electronic device physical location using smartphones inbuilt global positioning system (Folashade, & Abimbola, 2013). The functionality allows location-based services to locate and publish information about the gadget owner or to geotag to target their victims. Geotagging is a piece of information attached to tweet, status or photos on the social networking site that show the physical location of where something has posted. All social media platform has geotagging implemented. After identifying the position, the kidnappers lure the victim, deceive, or coerce them.

Facilitating Cyber Terrorism

Cybercrime increases cyber terrorism. Cyber terrorism is the use of the internet to commit terrorism or launch attacks and publicity. It is a new means in which insurgents or religious extremist such as Boko Haram uses to recruit new members and form a strategic plan on how to attack. The cybercrime like child pornography assist the insurgents in raising revenues and targeting the criminal with personal gender-based violence and women abuse (Shafic & Adamu, 2015). The use of the web for sexual harassment remains a very active research area of interest. The purpose of web filtering programme has advocated checking internet pornography in Nigeria.

Development Of Appropriate Regulatory Regime To Combat Women Trafficking

Legislation Implementation

The government both state, local and the federal government of Nigeria should have effective legislation that stipulates the severe punishment for the women traffickers and cybercriminals. The challenges are that most countries lack stiff law thus allow women traffickers and cyber. According to the law transport, transfer or harboring, receipt by mean of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power vulnerability giving payments or benefits sums to the acts of trafficking (Annie & Lorenzo, 2016). Exploitations entail prostitution, sexual prostitution, forced labor.

To allow distinct actors within a complex system to understood as part of the problem addressed through punitive and preventative policies. The mechanisms of coercion and or abuse of power threat or use of forces or other forms of oppression, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power. Sexual offenses Act needs to revise to take into account cybercrimes that result in the violation of the rights of women online. Thus, the Nigerian government need to make provision of offenses such as cyber harassment, cyberstalking; privacy violation; human trafficking, and online prostitution

Policy Makers

The Nigerian government has shown a commitment to addressing gender violence as offered by various policies, strategies, and legal documents. Additionally, it has established gender focal points in all ministries and gender desks in police stations to service accessibility to gender violence survivors (Ahaoma, 2014). The challenge experienced regarding cases of violence against women in law enforcement is that some police officers and stations are ill-prepared, poorly equipped or insensitive to instances of women trafficking and violence against women.

The complex nature of cybercrime illustrates that few officers most within specialized agencies are capable of understanding, investigating and prosecuting cybercrime and human traffickers. Proofing the human trafficking and cybercrime beyond a reasonable doubt in Nigeria entails findings and collecting, handling evidence creating a challenge with a chain of custody. Another problem occurs as a premature prosecution of women traffickers before thorough investigations which sees most of the accused acquitted. The Nigerian government and development partners should consider setting aside resources both human and financial to train more police officers on how to handle technology-based human trafficking cases to allow apprehending and prosecution of the culprit. It will boost the capacity of the Nigeria police officers to understand, investigate and treat cybercrimes and situations of women trafficking.

Creating Awareness

Advance in technology creates internet over-reliance and online storage of vital information like banking credit card information. Criminals attempt to steal the info making crimes becomes a threat to Nigerians. Creating awareness about the women trafficking and information leak causes and consequence enlight the Nigerians and enhance protection. Nigerian government both federal, state and local must as a matter of urgency make sure that the people are aware of the tricks used by the traffickers.

Women Groups Engaged In Violence Against Women Movements

Women groups both individuals and community leaders, civil society should pick online violence against women as an advocacy issue and lead initiatives to highlight the critical problems regarding the cases of violence against women (Ajayi, 2014). To date, organizations that work in the area of violence against women still operate in traditional ways of monitoring and reporting violence against women cases. The majority are yet to embrace technology components of violence against women.

Formation of organizations or movement will need onboard technology-based violence against women as a programmatic area since violence against women has taken on a new dimension where some women are being used by large numbers online. On top, they need to strengthen their existing networks and collaboration as a civil society with government institutions. Additionally, instrumental in the provision of legal aid to women who cannot afford legal services and make suggestions to policy formulation and legislative changes that address technology-based violence against women at the community, National and regional.

Technology Companies

Technology providers including the ISPs and operators of social media platforms should provide quick and effective mechanisms for recourse such as for reporting instances of abuse and getting additional assistance. Technology companies should cooperate and partner with law enforcement agencies to facilitate the sharing of useful information to assists the prosecution of offenders, who uses their services to exploits, kidnap, or harassed Nigerians. At the same time technology companies should take responsibilities and put in place measures to minimize the use of their services for criminal activities. The proactive measures should include reporting and publishing acts that deterred violation and creates public awareness.

References

Azeez & Osunade (2019). Towards ameliorating cybercrime and Cybersecurity(IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security. (3)1

Annie K. & Lorenzo T. (2016). Trafficking of Nigerian women into prostitution in Europe 'at crisis level'. The guardian. [Online].

Ebenezer, J. A (2014). Cyber fraud, global trade and youth crime burden: Nigerian experience. Afro-Asian Journal of Social Sciences, 5 (4): 1-21.

Folashade, B. O & Abimbola, K.A (2013). The nature, causes and consequences of cyber crime in Tertiary Institutions in Zaria- Kaduna State, Nigeria. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 3 (9): 98-114.

Shafic & Adamu (2015). Cybercrimes and the Nigeria Academic Institution Networks Cyberime, its impacts on government, society and the prosecutor.