THE LEGAL REGIME OF CYBER SECURITY AND CRIME: ROLE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN NIGERIA

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Author

Presented To

Department of Law

ABSTRACT
With the advent of computer age, legislatures have been struggling to redefine the law to fit crimes perpetuated by computer criminals. The rise of technology and online communication has not only produced a dramatic increase in the incidence of criminal activity, it has also resulted in the emergence of what appears to be some new varieties of criminal activity. Both the increase in the incidence of criminal activity and the possible emergence of new varieties of criminal activity pose challenges for legal systems, as well as for law enforcement. Successful response to these challenges requires new paradigms. In the light of the fact that a lot of problems have been generated as a result of the “lacuna” in our criminal laws, several issues has brought to the fore the imperativeness for a research of this nature for constructive legal reforms of the Nigerian criminal law and acritical examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the most recent legislation on cybercrime enacted only on 15th of May 2015 to tackle the menace of cyber insecurity in Nigeria as is done in other jurisdictions. The research methodology adopted is doctrinal which is a library-based methodology that is, an extensive analysis and review of existing literatures on the subject. The key findings among others, from this study are: Law enforcement authorities, prosecutors, and judiciary in developing countries, require long-term, sustainable, comprehensive technical support and assistance for the investigation and combating of cybercrime, Cybercrime prevention activities in all countries require strengthening, through a holistic approach involving further awareness-raising, public-private partnerships and the integration of cybercrime strategies with a broader cybersecurity perspective and as long as there is an absence of a centralized electronic databank containing specific information on each individual resident and visitor to Nigeria, exposure of criminal intentions before they are executed and the effective investigation of crimes committed would continue to pose a heavy challenge to law enforcement agencies. This work recommended “seven critical” or top priority needs, some of which are: Public awareness, uniform training and certification courses, steady electric power supply, that the court should play down on the proof of specific intent, because the requirement to proof these specific intents significantly narrows the scope of each offence and also makes proving each offence more difficult, exceptions for law enforcement, military or intelligence activities must be addressed in order to avoid these categories from falling victim of the penal provision of section 14(1) of the cybercrime Act, 2015. This thesis argues that law enforcement officials cannot effectively pursue cybercriminals unless they have the legal tools necessary to do so.