Nigeria ranks 3rd in global cybercrimes after UK, US – NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday revealed that Nigeria was currently ranked globally as the third most notorious perpetrators of cyber-crime attacks after the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) which are both on the top list.

The disclosure was made by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, during the on-going 2017 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). The conference is themed ‘African Business: Penetrating Through Institution Building’.

During a breakout session sub-themed ‘The Business of Cyber Law, Internet Policy and Privacy Rights’ moderated by Mr Augustine Alegeh (SAN), a former President of the NBA, Danbatta , a panellist, said: “There are 91.6million internet users in Nigeria. “N127 billion was the estimated loss to cybercrime in Nigeria in 2015.

Nigeria ranks third in global internet crimes behind the UK and US. “A critical factor militating against Africa’s economic resurgence is the weakness of its in- stitutions.

“Nigeria ranks 169 out of 199 on the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings; we are in a middle of a revolution and the rise of what we call the networked society. “The NCC stipulates the laws of engagement that will make the cyberspace safe and ensure the confidence as well as the safety of the cyberspace.

“There are benefits and risks of the use of cyberspace and both have to be properly managed.”

Other panellists at the breakout session were Mr Bayo Adekanmi, the Chief Transformation Officer of MTN Communications and Ms Ibikun Abidoye, the legal counsel of Chocolate City Group. Ms Sascha Grimme, the Associate Solicitor of Cooley LLP, a UK based Law firm and Mr Bisi Adebutu, the Managing Director of Premier Lotto also known as ‘Baba Ijebu.’ Adebutu gave an insight on the challenges Premier Lotto, a lottery company, faced while conducting transactions on the cyberspace.

“Premier Lotto has moved from the streets to the internet. We have faced certain challenges, including paying those who do business with us.

“The cyber laws are not favourable to our business. Premier Lotto ranks as the fourth most visited site in the country. “We have no easy of verifying or identifying the owner of cards used to transact business.

In Nigeria, the business of giving is just emerging and it is important that we respect the privacy of our clients when they interact with us through the use of usernames and passwords. “Gaming is very popular on the internet and fraud is one to the challenges we have. If we apprehend an individual trying to perpetuate fraud, we block their access to us