Bachelorarbeit, 2019
126 Seiten, Note: 71.0
DEDICATION
TABLE OF STATUTE
LIST OF ABBREVATION
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
1.2 Statement of The Problem
1.3 Aims and Objectives of Study
1.4 Research Methodology
1.5 Significance of Study
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 THE LAW AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
2.1 History and Development of ICT
2.2 The Nexus Between ICT And Crime
2.3 How ICT Changed the Face of Crime
2.4 Understanding Cybercrimes: Phenomena and Challenges
2.4.1 Classification of Cybercrimes
2.4.2 Development of computer crime and cybercrime
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK ON ICT AND CYBERCRIMES IN NIGERIA
3.1 Cybercrime Act 2015
3.1.1 Highlights of the cybercrime Act
3.1.2 Administration and Enforcement of the Cyber Crime Act 2015
3.1.3 Establishment of The Cybercrime Advisory Council
3.1.4 Overview of Selected Offences and Penalties
3.1.5 The Shortcoming of the Cybercrime Act 2015
3.2 Advance Fee Fraud and Related Offences Act
3.3 The Nigerian Criminal Code Act 2004
3.4 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2004
3.5 Independent Corrupt Practices Act 2000
3.6 The Nigerian Communications Act
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 CYBER SECURITY
4.1 Data Protection
4.2 E-Consumer Protection in Nigeria
4.3 Managing cyber-security risks
4.4 Cyber Security Policies and Strategies of various countries
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary
5.2 Conclusion
5.3 Recommendation
BIBLOGRAPHY
Advance fee fraud and related offences Act
Competition Practices Regulations 2007 (Nigerian Communications Commission) S.I. No. 39 of 2007.
Consumer Code of Practice Regulations 2007 (Nigerian Communications Commission) S.I. No. 32 of 2007
Consumer Protection Council Act, Cap 25, LFN 2004
Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015
Dispute Resolution Guidelines (Nigerian Communications Commission) 2004;
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2004
Enforcement Processes, etc. Regulations 2005 (Nigerian Communications Commission) S.I. No. 7 of 2005.
European Union Council Regulation 44/2001
European Union, Unfair Contract Terms in Consumer Contracts Directive, Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts OJ L 95, 21.4.1993.
Evidence Act 2011
General Data Protection Regulation EU 2016/679
Independent Corrupt Practices Act 2000
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act 1992 (as amended)
National Information Technology Development Agency Act of 2007 (NITDA Act).
National Information Technology Policy 2000;
National Mass Communication Policy;
Nigerian Communications Act, 2003;
Nigerian Communications Commission (Registration of Telephone Subscribers) Regulations, 2011
Nigerian Postal Service Act 2004 Cap 127 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria;
NITDA Data Protection Guidelines 2017
NITDA Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in Information and Communications
Technology (ICT), 2013
Quality of Service Regulations 2012 (Nigerian Communications Commission) S.I. No. 3 of 2012
The Child Rights Act No. 26 of 2003
The Nigerian Criminal code Act 2004
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended)
The Consumer Code of Practice Regulations 2007
The National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (Establishment)
Act of 2007 NESREA Act).
The National Telecommunications Policy (NTP) 2000;
The Nigerian Copyright Act, Cap C28. LFN 2004
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria Act of 2004.
The Wireless Telegraphy Act, Laws of the Federation 1990
ATM- Automated Teller Machine
B2B- Business to Business
B2C-Business to Consumer
C2C- Consumer to Consumer
ccTLDs- Country - Code Top - Level Domain
COD- Cash on Delivery
CPC- Consumer Protection Council
CSC-Computer Science Course
DM- Direct Messaging
DNA- Deoxyribonucleic acid
DPO - Data Protection Officers
DTH-Direct-to-Home
EU - European Union
GDPR-General Data Protection Regulation
gTLDs- Generic Top - Level Domains
ICANN- Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
ICT - Information and Communication Technology.
IP - Internet Protocol
NBC- National Broadcasting Commission
NCC-Nigerian Communications Commission
NESREA-National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency
NIRA-Nigeria Internet Registration Association
NITDA- National Information Technology Development Agency
NRA- National Regulatory Authority
NTP-The National Telecommunications Policy
POS- Point of Sale
SON-Standards Organisation of Nigeria
WTA-Wireless Telegraphy Act
This study examines the stand point of Nigerian criminal law on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the jurisprudence of an emerging E-law, the Impact of Information Technology on court process and how ICT has changed the face of crime. It further appraises selected concepts associated with ICT in contemporary issues as they relate
This study shall rely on both primary and secondary sources of information. The primary sources include the Evidence Act 2011, The Economic Financial Crimes Commission Act, Criminal Code 2004, Cybercrimes Act 2015 and International Conventions. The secondary source includes textbooks, journals, articles, opinions of legal luminaries and the internet.
This dissertation finds that Nigerian laws particularly the criminal code needs to realize the judicial process, in particular the courtroom, has traditionally been a bastion of decorum, resistant, too conservative and immune to the extreme changes of ICT.
This study concludes that ICT is a complex and powerful tool that the Nigerian criminal law can harness to achieve a flexible and transparent criminal justice system in Nigeria. The development of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) enables businesses and individuals to communicate and transact with other parties electronically, instantaneously and internationally. This gives rise to a variety of legal and regulatory issues which makes it imperative for the criminal system adapt to this new reality that have come to stay.
There is no gainsaying that technology has come to stay and the world is generally advancing with each second that passes by. At the start of the second decade of the third millennium and with its birth, one cannot help but come to terms with the truth around us that technology is slowly but surely beginning to dictate life1. You wouldn’t agree more that life is better with technology.
As humans evolve, we take advantage of every item that revolves around one self with obvious neglect to the repercussion. Without mincing words, mankind has become so addicted to the use of machines for every activity, that they do not only push their limit, but move mountains and persevere to give opportunities for technology to dictate lives.
The advent of networking and cyber technology is remarkable in that respect, to say the least. Although the inception of this ideology has been in existent since a very long time, its growth rate has evidently multiplied over the last decade. Every other day, people have new products and services, new devices, applications, and ground-breaking ideas emerging on the networking cycle. With every passing day, networks are getting stronger, powerful and ubiquitous since its inception. Networking is now a major tool that almost all aspects of life have become dependent on. Other technologies have now begun to act as peripherals revolving around the core. information and communication technology is a core technology, i.e. a technology, which needs itself to advance further, intricate and deep enough to bolster the creativity and imagination of people for a sufficient duration.
Technology enhances our intelligent quotient as humans to the extent that regardless of who you are and however, you can bring your ideas to life. ICT is very dynamic and its own competition and gets better as time passes by.
The dependency on technology amongst humans is becoming terribly alarming, but who wants to go back to the stone age? Truthfully, it is not really a bad thing when we complain about our absolute dependency in contrast to past centuries, you will discover we have really got it good. However, enjoying these benefits and advantages comes with a need to feel secure. Security has been a major issue that arrives as a baggage with technology, the irony with technology is that in itself can destroy and protect itself. Even though technological advancement has brought sophisticated security measures, technological attacks are frequently updated with powerful tools to ‘break in’. Security is just one out of the many concerns of ICT.
Information technology has a goal to make everything paperless (digitalized). With information now being digitalized, these ‘soft’ contents remain susceptible to attacks, misuse, theft, plagiarism and can be used by imposters. These attacks come in various forms, even though there are existing security in place no matter how advance is still not enough to keep out this ‘breach’. Sometimes, there can be torrential attacks on individuals, private institutions, and even the government. These attacks create a loophole that will lead to an eventual destruction. No one is immune to a technological firing zone.2
ICT is a phenomenon that can stand on its own and dictate its own rules without considering the sacrosanct laws of any society. It was until recently that there was a global wakeup call after its major influence on the Presidential election of the United States of America3 4. Also, ICT contributed positively to a failed coup in Turkey 4after its initial ban by the government which eventually became a tool by the same government. ICT is a complex tool and very simple to make work easier regardless of discipline. ICT doesn’t need the law to exist, but the law needs ICT to regulate ICT and for sure, the law can maximize the potentials of ICT in legal procedures, to dispense justice and carry out fair trails and even make court proceedings expeditious.
ICT has created plethora of vises and unimaginable activities people pleasure themselves under guise of being anonymous. Humans are inherently evil and ICT is empowering and making us better at it. We can’t ignore the negative side of ICT because, it is just as important as the good side of ICT.
In Nigeria, policy on adoption of Information and Communication Technology was introduced in 1999, when the civilian came into power of government5. Information technology is comparatively a new development in Nigeria solely because Nigeria is manifestly less advanced in technology.
The emergence of ICT in Nigeria has great influence on all sectors in the Nigerian economy. In terms of impact and reach, it is the core of the industrial society, at once commanding the heart and soul of the home.6 Andrew Groove stated in 2001 that in the future, all companies will be Internet companies7, the truism is obvious in today’s exodus to the internet by all corporate bodies.
Computers have become almost close substitute for the human that writers have assumed that computers may displace human labour and create unemployment should they continue to undergo refinements.8 Writers have pointed areas in which computers have and will displace human efforts in the world economy.9 Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft Corporation and one of the world’s richest men,10 summed the significance of ICT in these words: “Any business that hopes to succeed in the future must have internet presence.”11
It has been stressed that the new possibilities provided by internet technologies present to African countries with an opportunity to leapfrog phases of development and make use of the most recent innovations to establish a strong information society and increase the distribution of wealth among the populace, thereby addressing the poverty that has plagued the continent from time immemorial till date.12
The development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has led to significant social, economic and consequently legal changes. Technological change has one of its widest impacts on society and everyday life through information and communication technology. These changes are about to be deepened and reinforced as our societies develop further towards interconnected and inter-dependent, ICT-dependent network societies. This development results in increasing complexities and challenges for the regulation and application of law. Legal change linked to information and communication technology has created the need for a new regulatory paradigm, and, a systematic law, which could govern the new information and communication, markets and provide for conflict resolution and the optimal implementation of fundamental rights and freedoms. The paradigm and systematic of law should also connect law to the new ethics of information processing, information sharing, security and responsibility in the ICT and interdependent world. The paradigm needed for an effective legal and rule of law approach is modern or late-modern information law. Information law is the corpus of general principles regulating information processing, information markets, information infrastructure and communication. There is inadequate infrastructure for full utilization of ICT in Nigeria. There is inadequacy of ICT legislation in Nigeria as well.
The question then, is, whether law and its machineries as tools for social engineering which endear wherever human endeavor reflects as such as ICT affects or is growing to affect all these areas of human activities, ought to be unprepared.
Hence, this study aims at appraising the meaning ICT and its impact and interaction with Nigerian criminal law.
The ICT revolution has brought along Computer Crimes (cyber-crimes) which poses a serious challenge to the Nigerian Judiciary. Issues of Criminal Trespass into another computer, theft of computer data, the use of internet to commit or aid in the commission of fraud could hardly be established through the conventional standards of evidence in the Nigeria criminal system.
Most statutes both substantive and subsidiary are not ICT proactive. In fact, some laws and rules of procedure run counter to ICT regime. These have to be reviewed before electronic and computer-generated evidence can be admissible in our courts13.
Commercial transactions that are electronically conducted will be difficult to establish under the Evidence Act because of non-compliance with some provisions of the Act. For instance, it would not be possible under the Act to prove PIN number as representing signatures in a transaction that was conducted electronically.
Increased inflow of foreign investors and development partners whose systems are wholly ICT based would compel the Nigerian Courts to embrace IT, otherwise confidence of these investors and partners may be eroded.
Provision and maintenance of ICT infrastructure and equipment is capital intensive. The Nigerian Judiciary, particularly in the states, lack the resources to undertake the venture. Added to this is the problem of our maintenance culture, erratic power supply and poor capacity building.
1. This study expresses the need for the Nigerian Judiciary to embrace the radical changes of ICT.
2. This study aims to influence the Nigerian statutes for review and updated with appropriate provisions in other to accommodate ICT oriented crimes and transactions.
3. This study recognizes the law as the only means to regulate the extremities of ICT and it is therefore necessary for the law to have a deep understanding of what it is dealing with it.
4. This study exposes that Nigerian judiciary lags behind in the global ICT revolution and suggests appropriate measures plug the loopholes in our system.
This study shall rely on primary and secondary sources of information. The primary sources include such as the Criminal Code, The Evidence Act 2011, Cybercrime Act 2015, The Economic and financial crimes commission Act 2004.
The secondary sources include textbooks, journals, articles, opinions of legal luminaries and the internet.
This study concludes that ICT is a complex and powerful tool that the Nigerian criminal law can harness to achieve a flexible and transparent criminal justice system in Nigeria. The development of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) enables businesses and individuals to communicate and transact with other parties electronically, instantaneously and internationally. This gives rise to a variety of legal and regulatory issues which makes it imperative for the criminal system adapt to this new reality that have come to stay.
Information and communications technology is having an ever-growing impact upon society and the way that society conducts its affairs. Computers have flooded almost every professional, commercial and industrial activity and man organizations would find it difficult, if not impossible, to function without relying heavily on computers14. It is not a claim without appropriate backing that there exist few literatures in this jurisdiction appreciating the impact of ICT in criminal law These literatures are mostly available on journals and web post. This development result to much reliance on foreign works in order to bring to fore the general trend of the impact of ICT on criminal law.
This work sets out in this section to examine the blend of literatures on the subject of Information and Communication Technology and its interplay and impact on the Nigeria justice system, viz-a- viz criminal procedures, legal practice and also the judicial system. The purports which is to examine the various literatures on ICT and its interplay and impact on Nigerian criminal structure and also, to drive to line, the particular scope to which this work is concerned.
The internet of things has created another realm of human existence. A whole new system of digital or virtual communication which effecting participation in an electronic space that invariably dictates or affects the overall physical existence of human being. A person can own a shop or store where he sells several goods to different persons without that shop having a physically built compartment or space. People can have meetings in the virtual space. People can reach agreement and execute contract on the internet. There are physical attacks with the aid of internet. With the internet of things, robbery can be done with the perpetuators not physically present.
From the available texts on the ICT, one can easily spot the important nature of ICT in our society. These technologies and platforms have created “global village,” in which people can communicate with other across the world as if they were living next door.15 Some of these literatures have also, reiterated the impact of ICT on every sector in the economy, and more particularly, the impact in the criminal law. The impact on legal education, judicial system and criminal justice system. The human right infringement, the crime, the new order that the ICT has brought to being. Great controversy as to the admissibility of electronic evidence. Issue of net neutrality, data privacy, electronic currencies,16 internet governance among others
Parading on the meaning of, scholars have endeavour to highlight in some basic terms what ICT means.
Information Communication Technology (ICT)17 is an umbrella term that includes all technologies for the manipulation and communication of information.18 ICT refers to Technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications19. ICT covers a product that will store, retrieve, manipulate, transmit or receive information electronically in a digital form. For example, this includes personal computers, digital television and robots. On broader level, this also includes the internet, intranet, email, wireless networks, cell phones and other communication mediums.20
More so, ICT has been defined as “a broad base technology (including its methods, management and application that supports the creation, storage, manipulation and communication of information”21 1. According to Hang and Keen in Nworgu (2007), information technology means a set of tools that helps you work with information and perform tasks related to information processing22.
Actually, the term originated as Information Technology until recently when it was thought that the communication component ought to be highlighted because its significance. It was then that the concept transformed to Information and Communication Technology.23
ICT may also be defined as the study, design development, implementation, support or management computer-based information system especially software application and computer hardware. It entails the use computers and information based electronic system to input process, store, output, transmit and receive data information including texts, graphic, sounds and video as well as the ability to control machines of all kinds-electronically.24
ICT also comprises computers, networks, satellite communication, orbits, video texts, cable television, e-mail system, automated equipment.25
K. Mary Reid, opines that the terms Information Technology and Information and Communication Technology are widely used and mean much the same. Both refer to the use of modern electronic (digital) technologies to store and communicate information26. They cover all the hardware and software that make up computer systems, and include wide range of computer networks, including the internet.27
Explaining the meaning of Nigerian legal system, Asein in his book The Nigerian legal System, he puts that a system connotes an ordered set of ideas, theories or principles28 interacting within a given framework, or the organized relationship between the component parts of a body.29 And more elaborately, Okwonkwo, in his work Introduction to Nigerian Law, defines the Nigerian legal system, in this sense, “the totality of the laws or legal rules and the legal machinery which obtains within Nigeria as a sovereign and independence African country.”30 The Nigerian legal system means the laws, courts, personnel of the law and the administration of the justice system in Nigeria.
The legal system which is the complex wireframe of the legal machinery; the law, the process, the practitioners, plays major role in every society, by regulating the social normative order. ICT has significant impact on this legal operational framework. It has altered the status quo that has been running for centuries. The law seems inadequate, the judicial system seems not to have fully grabbed the whole shift, the legal profession; the practice and educational system still dwell in shortfall.
The above points accentuate a fact among others, the fact that our legal system is operating below the advance standard of the changed in the society in the effect of ICT. The law makers have little or no knowledge about the efficacy and the paradigm implication of the ICT in the legal organization and order of the society. The available texts on this matter grow obsolete as the year passes by. And this is due to the nature of technology as ever changing, constantly and steadily, like daily weather. The impossibilities of yesterday, in the ICT world, might suddenly become possible today as a result of innovation, which permeate the very core of the technology world of today.
Consequently, the possibility of every work, on this subject matter, just necessarily being an insight to the novelty of and temporal response to the dynamism of the impact of the ICT on our legal system is acute. Works on this area, for most writers in this jurisdiction have always borne on the certain areas of personal concerns, which in most cases appear obsolete in a short period, due to the fact earlier stated.
It must not be kept out of note, that, in spite this uncertain and unresolved progress, the society continues to use and experiment the usage of technological innovations, arising from the constant development in the ICT. In effect, individual engages in act, controlled not only by his mental capability, but also according to the direction of the digital or electronic program or the programmer, he is moved by his/her desire to get a result which, in fact, can be made or is made possible or made quite easily possible by the implication of ICT. This user in our legal system, is not abreast of possible legal or illegal consequences of his/her act and our law, most blindly, but often on sharpened, lies in the darkness of irresponsive or incapable legislative system.
Hence, this work will appraise the interplay and impact of ICT on Nigerian criminal syetem, viz, the law, the legal practice and the judicial system. During the cause of that, highlight the existing and emerging legal and regulatory framework on ICT in Nigeria. Selected issues would be discussed and recommendation for proper participation of ICT on Nigerian criminal System shall be adduced.
The term “Information Technology” evolved in the 1970s. However, its concept can be traced to the World War II alliance of the military and industries in development of electronics, computers, and information theory. After the 1940s, the military remained the major source for research and development through substantial funding for the expansion of automation to replace manual power to machine power. The U.S department of defense awarded contracts for the development of the ARPANET project. The first message was sent over the ARPANET in 1969 from computer science laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to the second network node at Stanford Research Institute31.
Since the 1950s, four generations of computers have evolved. Each generation reflected a change to hardware of decreased size but increased capabilities to control computer operations. The first generation used vacuum tubes, the second used transistors, the third used integrated circuits, and the fourth used integrated circuits on a single computer chip. Advances in artificial intelligence that will minimize the need for complex programming characterize the fifth generation of computers, still in the experimental stage.
The first commercial computer was the UNIVAC I, developed by John Eckert and John W. Mauchly in 1951. It was used by the Census Bureau to predict the outcome of the presidential election. For the next twenty -five years, mainframe computer was used in Large corporations to do calculations and manipulate large amounts of information stored in databases. Supercomputers were used in science and engineering, for designing aircraft and nuclear reactors and for predicting world wide weather patterns.
In 1975, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed microcomputer. In 1976, Tandy corporations first radio shack microcomputer followed; the Apple microcomputer was introduced in 1977. The market for microcomputer increased dramatically when IBM introduced the first personal computers in the fall of 1981.Because of dramatic improvements in computer components and manufacturing, personal computers do more than the largest computers of the mid-1960s at about a thousandth of the cost.
Digital revolution also known as the Third Industrial Revolution is the shift from mechanical and analogue electronic technology to digital electronics which began from the late 1950s to the late 1970s with the adoption and proliferation of digital computers and digital record keeping that continues to present day. Central to the to this revolution is the mass production and widespread use of digital logic circuits, and its derived technologies, including the computer, digital cellular phone, and the internet. These technological innovations have transformed traditional production and business techniques.
ORIGINS (1947-1969)
In 1947, the transistor32 was invented, leading the way to more advanced digital computers. From the late 1940s, Universities, the military and businesses developed computers systems to digitally replicate and automate previously manually performed mathematical calculations.
From 1969 to 1971, Intel developed the intel 4004, an early microprocessor that laid the foundations for the microcomputer revolution that began in the 1970s.
The public was first introduced to the concept that would lead to the internet over the ARPANET in 1969. Packet switched networks such as ARPANET, Mark I, Cyclades, Merit Network, Tymnet and Telent, were developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s using variety of protocols. The ARPANET in particular led to the development of protocols for internetworking, in which multiple separate networks could be joined together into networks of networks.
1980s
In developed nations, computer achieved semi-ubiquity during the 1980s as they made their way into schools, homes, business and industry. Automated teller Machines, industrial robots, CGI in film and television, electronic music and video games fueled what became the zeitgeist of the 1980. Millions of people purchased home computers, making household names of early personal computers.
In 1984, the U.S. census Bureau began collecting data on computer and internet use in the United States, their survey showed that 8.2% of all U.S. households owned a personal computer. By 1989, 15% of all household in United states owned a computer and nearly 30% of household with children under the age of 18 owned one33. By the late 1980s, many businesses were dependent on computer and digital technology.
1990
The World wide web became publicly accessible in 1991, which had been available only to the government and Universities. In 1993, Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina introduced Mosaic, the first web browser capable of displaying inline images and basis for later browsers such as Netscape Navigator and internet explorer. Stanford Federal Credit Union was the first financial institution to offer online internet banking services to all its members in October 1994.
The internet expanded quickly and by 1996 almost every county had a connection and nearly half of Americans and people in several other countries used the Internet on a regular basis. However, throughout the 1990s, “getting online” entailed complicated configuration and dial up was the only connection type affordable by individual users.
2000
Cell phones became ubiquitous as computer by the early 2000s ,with movie theaters beginning to show ads telling people to silence their phones .They also became much more advanced than phones of 1990s.The digital revolution became truly global in this time as well, after revolutionizing society in the developed world in the 1990s,the digital revolution spread into the masses in the developing world.
In the late 2005, the population of the internet reached 1 billion and 3 billion people worldwide used cell phones b the end of decade, HDTV became the standard television broadcasting format in many countries
2010
By 2012, over 2 billion people used the internet, twice the number using it in 2007. Cloud computing had entered the mainstream by the early 2010s. Tablets, computers and smartphones were expected to exceed personal computer in internet usage. By 2016, half of the world population was connected.
TODAY
In modern society ICT is ever-present, with over three billion people having access to the Internet. With approximately 8 out of 10 Internet users owning a smartphone, information and data are increasing by leaps and bounds. This rapid growth, especially in developing countries, has led ICT to become a keystone of everyday life, in which life without some facet of technology renders most of clerical, work and routine tasks dysfunctional. The most recent authoritative data, released in 2014, shows "that Internet use continues to grow steadily, at 6.6% globally in 2014 (3.3% in developed countries, 8.7% in the developing world); the number of Internet users in developing countries has doubled in five years (2009-2014), with two thirds of all people online now living in the developing world."
However, hurdles are still large. "Of the 4.3 billion people not yet using the Internet, 90% live in developing countries. In the world's 42 Least Connected Countries (LCCs), which are home to 2.5 billion people, access to ICTs remains largely out of reach, particularly for these countries' large rural populations." ICT is yet to penetrate the remote areas of some countries, with many developing countries dearth of any type of Internet. This also includes the availability of telephone lines, particularly the availability of cellular coverage, and other forms of electronic transmission of data. The latest "Measuring the Information Society Report" cautiously stated that the increase in the aforementioned cellular data coverage is ostensible, as "many users have multiple subscriptions, with global growth figures sometimes translating into little real improvement in the level of connectivity of those at the very bottom of the pyramid; an estimated 450 million people worldwide live in places which are still out of reach of mobile cellular service."
Favorably, the gap between the access to the Internet and mobile coverage has decreased substantially in the last fifteen years, in which "2015 [was] the deadline for achievements of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which global leaders agreed upon in the year 2000, and the new data show ICT progress and highlight remaining gaps." ICT continues to take on new form, with nanotechnology set to usher in a new wave of ICT electronics and gadgets. ICT newest editions into the modern electronic world include smart watches, such as the Apple Watch, smart wristbands such as the Nike+ FuelBand, and smart TVs such as Google TV. With desktops soon becoming part of a bygone era, and laptops becoming the preferred method of computing, ICT continues to insinuate and alter itself in the ever-changing globe.
Information communication technologies play a role in facilitating accelerated pluralism in new social movements today. The internet according to Bruce Bimber is "accelerating the process of issue group formation and action"34and coined the term accelerated pluralism to explain these new phenomena. ICTs are tools for "enabling social movement leaders and empowering dictators “in effect promoting societal change. ICTs can be used to garner grassroots support for a cause due to the internet allowing for political discourse and direct interventions with state policy34 35 as well as change the way complaints from the populace are handled by governments.
The Internet’s rapid diffusion and digitization of economic activities have led to the emergence of a new breed of criminals. Economic, political, and social impacts of these ‘cyber-criminals’ activities have received considerable attention in recent years. Individuals, businesses, and governments rightfully worry about the security of their systems, networks, and IT infrastructures. Looking at the patterns of these ICT crimes, it is apparent that many underlying assumptions about crimes are flawed, unrealistic, and implausible to explain this new form of criminality. The empirical records regarding crime patterns and strategies to avoid and fight crimes run counter to the functioning of the cyberworld. The fields of hacking and cybercrime have also undergone political, social, and psychological metamorphosis. ICT crimes are comparatively young area of inquiry. While there has been an agreement that the global cybercrime industry is tremendously huge, little is known about its exact size and structure. Very few published studies have examined economic and institutional factors that influence strategies and behaviors of various actors associated with the cybercrime industry. Theorists are also debating as to the best way to comprehend the actions of cyber criminals and hackers and the symbiotic relationships they have with various players 36.
Computers are everywhere, starting from cash registers in the grocery stores to running our cars, medical instruments that automatically read our temperature and blood pressure, routine banking, navigating airlines, and directing electricity to our homes and businesses.
Virtually all of these computers are interlinked through computer networks. Increasingly, computers and networks will entrench literally every aspect of our civilization without exception. For the first time in our civilization, computers and networks, together, constitute an amplifier of the human mind, where the amplification factor is at a billion and growing fast with no upper bound in sight. With such formidable potential and power, computers and networks are destined to fundamentally alter our world-even beyond what we can reasonably imagine. To an ordinary citizen, ICT crimes may logically appear to be defined as crimes that involve computers in any role or capacity. In fact, governments, civil and criminal justice systems, and law enforcement agencies, worldwide, choose to use this broad, working definition to help guide them in their crafting of the laws of the land, legal thinking, and the development of law enforcement tactics. This understanding of cybercrimes is very useful; however, it is of limited depth and may impede our ability to adequately address the large and growing cybercrime problem.
The term computer crime now appears in the legislation of many countries. Countries are giving computer crimes special attention within their Internet regulations. Computer crimes comprise two36 overlapping domains. The first one is illegal activities directed at or perpetrated through the use of the computer, the materials contained therein such as software and data, and its uses as a processing tool. These include hacking, denial of service attacks, unauthorized use of services and cyber vandalism. The second area is the protection of information, which include amongst others several legal measures related to the protection of information from unlawful use and distribution which include intellectual property laws, privacy laws, data protection law and others37.
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that has revolutionized nearly every aspect of human lives. Internet technology and the development of cyberspace have taken society to the next level of evolution. An integral feature of societal evolution has been the development and use of technology and its associated components38.
The rapid advancement of the Internet has allowed entire industries to move their operations online. The Internet allows legitimate companies and criminal enterprises to expand their operations globally. The United States accounts for approximately one third of computer ownership in the world. In Nigeria, Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that the country has a 4.5 percent personal computer (PC) penetration. Despite the significant growth experienced in the country’s telecom market which according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), currently has over 101 million active phone connections, the survey stated that over 95 percent of Nigerians lack access to a PC or the internet. Based on the report, Nigeria which has a populace of over 160 million peoples, has a national average total internet access of 4.5 percent while actual PC ownership stands at 0.9 percent. Omatek Computers and Zinox Technologies, are indigenous PC makers who have boost production levels but the cost price of the products remains considerably high for the majority of the population. In Nigeria, a PC with a current edition operating system could cost at least 50,000 naira ($320), a price out of reach for over 60 percent of the country living below the $2 per day poverty level39.
The survey also revealed that the most widely-used ICT devices in the country are radios and mobile phones. According to report, Nigeria has a 4 million smart phone market size
The Internet provides a vast array of services and resources that are merely a click away; the world is literally at our fingertips. It has allowed for greater flexibility in working hours and location, enhanced globalization, provided educational material at all levels from pre-school to postdoctoral, provided an alternative medium for experiencing new and creative romantic endeavors, and made collaborative work dramatically easier through the instantaneous sharing of ideas. Although cybercrime is not a new phenomenon, computers have always proved to be lucrative targets; the essentialness of the Internet has necessitated a change in our understanding of security, risks, and threats. Not only does the greater connectivity increases the number of potential victims of computer-related crime, it also increases the number of prospective offenders. The Internet has no centralized governance in either technological implementation or policies for access and usage; each constituent network sets its own standards. It has no geographical or political boundaries, and can be accessed from anywhere in the world from a multitude of devices. The Internet is not without its own dangers and problems. The growth of the Internet has been accompanied by an increase in newly detected system vulnerabilities - insecure areas that may threaten the security of a computer system. Technological advances have always been used to the advantage of criminals. This has led to the development of the field of cyber criminology which is a multidisciplinary field that encompasses researchers from various areas such as criminology, victimology, sociology, Internet science, and computer science. Another alternative word that has been used by other professionals is virtual-criminology.
Cyber criminology is often merged with cyber-forensics. Cyber-forensics deals exclusively with the investigation of cybercrimes, whereas cyber criminology deals with the causation of cybercrimes. It’s a field that is slowly emerging from a niche area that is often marginalized by mainstream criminology to one of high importance. Traditional cybercrimes are crimes that occur in the physical world but involve technology such as stealing a computer or mobile device with Internet capability. True cybercrimes are crimes that can only be executed in the virtual world, such as phishing and social engineering. Many traditional crimes are now being aided, enhanced or abetted through the use of computers and networks, and wrongdoing previously never imagined has surfaced because of the capabilities of information systems and advanced technology devices[40].
Hybrid cybercrimes are crimes that can be committed with or without the internet, but are increased in severity through the use of computer technology such as cyber terrorism and child pornography. The number of new technologies, especially mobile phones, has increased opportunities for criminal activity. Cybercrime is a worldwide problem that is costing countries billions of dollars. Computer crimes have caused havoc to individuals, private and public business organizations, causing financial, and in some cases, physical and emotional damage. Cybercrime, like other types of criminal activity, can be associated with high rates of unemployment and harsh economic conditions. Lack of gainful employment allows youth the opportunity to use their time and knowledge as a platform for their criminal activity. There continues to be a large gap between the rich and the average, as many strive to bolster their socioeconomic status using the quickest means possible. Today many parents transmit criminal values and acceptance of deviant behavior to their children. If this culture is entrenched among the younger generations, most of them will see no wrong in cybercrime practices.
Estimating the incidence, prevalence, and cost of computer-related crime is a difficult challenge. Research shows cybercrime is a growing worldwide problem and no country is immune. Statistics on computer-related crime are not a true reflection of the number of crimes committed because they are out of date before they appear in print and cybercrime is notoriously underreported. Some of the most skilled perpetrated offenses are never detected. In the United Kingdom in 2006, there were 92,000 cases of online identity fraud. In 2006, 850,000 cases of unwanted online sexual approaches occurred. The systems of NASA, US Army, Navy and Department of Defense were hacked right after the 9/11 attacks. In 2012, the Internet Crime Complaint Center received 289,874 consumer complaints with an adjusted dollar loss of $525,441,110, which is an 8.3 percent increase in the reported losses since 2011 . The Internet Crime Complaint Center was established in May 2000 to address the increasing incidence of cybercrimes.
Online crime has taken off as a serious problem since about 2004. Prior to that, much of the online nuisance was from amateur hackers who wrote malicious software and defaced websites in pursuit of bragging rights. Unfortunately, due to the lax security and ambiguous nature of early information system networks, it is nearly impossible to know when the first Internet crime actually occurred. The current generations increasingly rely on the Internet and advanced technology to further their criminal operations. Cyber criminals today can easily leverage the Internet and carry out traditional crimes such as trafficking illicit drugs and illegal sex trafficking.
Today criminal networks exist with online black markets where trade occurs and criminals are able to take on specialized roles. Online criminals are involved in many types of fraud from fake lotteries through stock scams to advance-fee frauds, and in other crimes such as the distribution of images of child sexual abuse. Social networking sites (such as Facebook,Twitter, and MySpace) provide outlets for bullying and stalking. Crimes that were once done in person, like stalking and bullying, have been taken online where the perpetrator can reach their victim twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Thus far, the world has not coped well with the rapid growth and mobilization of online crime. Banks often hide fraud losses, or even blame their customers for fraud, and they hesitate to share information with other banks and law enforcement.
Especially in Nigeria, increased cybercrime has brought about investigative difficulties because enforcement agencies are ill-equipped to tackle computer crimes because of its technologically- advanced nature and the fact that cybercrime can occur almost instantaneously. Police agencies have floundered from lack of experience in this technical area and the weakness in current legislation that limit the jurisdiction and cooperation of agencies.
There are tens of thousands of law enforcement agencies worldwide and many of them are uninformed about computer crime. Existing mechanisms for international police cooperation is designed for rare serious crimes like terrorism and murder, while online crime is petty crime committed on an industrial and global scale. The existing mechanisms for international police cooperation is low and expensive and are not designed for dealing with online crime. What is specifically illegal varies from one country to another: the leading global legal framework, the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, has been ratified by the United States but has yet to be ratified by a majority of European Union member states. Once nations have agreed on what is a crime, law enforcement agencies will still have little incentive to work together on globalized crime. A serious crime that often provokes considerable alarm is cyber terrorism. Cyber-terrorism represents the convergence of the virtual world of cyberspace and the intimidation techniques of terrorism. The potential threat of cyber terrorism is alarming and extremely concerning; however, the potential threat posed by cyber terrorism has been exaggerated in the past and leads to confusion over how real the threat actually is. Research shows that cyberterrorism is an attractive option for modern terrorists who value anonymity and the opportunity to inflict massive damage.
Hard statistics on losses from online crime are difficult to come by in most countries. The cybercrime data available is fragmented due to several causes, one being the reoccurring argument over what the definition of cybercrime actually is and what should be reported. A conflict of interest is occurring because many of the statistics on security failure are collected by parties with an incentive to under or over report. There is a chance that governments might seek to minimize crime statistics by changing reporting requirements. In a particularly egregious case, the UK government changed the rules so that fraud must be reported to the bank rather than the police.
Without accurate information on online crime, it is hard for private markets to provide incentives for more secure software and it is hard for law enforcement professionals and government officials to grasp the magnitude of this problem. Despite the misinformation and lack of information surrounding the proliferation of cybercrime, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) lists cybercrime as its third priority behind terrorism and counterintelligence.
Responsibility for online crime prevention could be placed on computer owners, software suppliers, private security firms, law enforcement, Internet service providers, or banks. As expected, every one of these stakeholders wants someone else to fix the problem. Accountability and cooperation is a must to combat growing online crime. To control online crime better, a greater understanding of how online criminal activity works, why current enforcement efforts are feeble, and an economic perspective of the incentives faced by the different players are necessary.
Theoretical Framework
Cybercrime, like crime in general, may be explained by the conjunction of three factors: motivation, opportunity and the absence of responsible guardianship. The Space Transition Theory is an explanation about the nature of the behavior of the persons who bring out their conforming and non-conforming behavior in the physical space and cyberspace. This theory argues that people behave differently when they move from one space to another. Some of the postulates of the theory are persons with repressed criminal behavior (in the physical space) have a propensity to commit crime in cyberspace, which, otherwise they would not commit in physical space, due to their status and position.
Persons from closed society are more likely to commit crimes in cyberspace than persons from open society, and Identity Flexibility, Dissociative Anonymity and lack of deterrence factor in the cyberspace provides the offenders the choice to commit cybercrime. The Internet has assisted the evolution of new social norms and accepted behaviors. The adherence to copyright laws has drastically decreased with the advent of the Internet. The theft of copyrighted materials via filesharing website is considered relatively socially acceptable by internet users today. Pirate Bay, MegaUpload, LimeWire, and BearShare are a few of the big file-sharing websites that have been shut down for copyright infringement. It is suggested that poorer nations have higher piracy rates because individuals are less able to afford copyrighted materials and have cultures more conducive to copyright infringement.
Crime does not exist in a vacuum. It has evolved and changed with the times.One might speak of cybercrime, high tech crime, computer crime, technology crime, digital crime and IT crime and be discussing the same or very different concepts. Achieving any indication of comparative analysis of the impact of cyber-crime therefore, is filled with difficulties. It is also common to refer to cybercriminal ‘groups’ as if they were of equivalent size, complexity, etc., yet these groups are never defined.
Because of these variances, the term cybercrime has rapidly become a generic descriptor for any deviant online behavior no matter what the relative differences in complexity and seriousness. A recent IBM survey on cybercrime did not define cybercrime and yet sought information from business participants on every continent on the impact of such crime. The net effect of such surveys is that the myth of cybercrime is perpetuated and the facts of cybercrime become sacrificed at the whim of public perception.
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1Imranuddin Mohammed, "A Study of Cyber Laws in the United Arab Emirates"(2017). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Available from: https://scholarworks.rit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=10766 &context=theses [Accessed 31st May,2019].
2Ibid Imranuddin Mohammed.
3 Carole Cadwallardr and Emma Grahamharrison. 50million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analyticalin Major data breach . The Guardian [Online] 17th May 2018. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election [Accessed 31st March 2018]
4 According to Naunihal Signh, author of seizing power, the coup attempt failed because the plotters failed to secure control of the media (ICT). They failed to capture Turksat, Turkey's main cable and satellite communications company, and failed to gain control of the country's television and mobile Network. This allowed Erdogan to make his facetime call and speak on television. Accessed from Wikipedia: https://en.iTi.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016 coupd'etatattempt
5 Sunday Mauton. A. Posu, (2006) ‘Information and Communication Technology in the Nigerian Economy.' Papers of the Annual IUE-SUNNY Cortland Conference in Economics, in: Proceedings of the Conference on Human and Economic Resources. Pages 327-337 Izmir University of Economics. Available at https://ideas.repec.org/prcdng/200626.html (visited 2 March, 2019).
6 Onome Osifo Whiskey, ‘ The Pen as an Endangered Species' TELL Nigeria's Independent weekly No 17 April, 2006 p 57.
7 “Andy Groove's Rational Exuberance” An interview by John Heilemann of Andrew Groove, the then Chairman of Intel (2001). Available at https://www.wired .com/2001/06intel-2/ ( visited 3/4/2019)
8 Emmanuel I. Onu. ‘The Relevance of Computer to Industrial Development '. Afikpo Today. Vol 2 NO 6 July-December 200 p 75.
9 David Rotman "How Technology is Destroying Jobs” MIT Technology Review, (2013) available at https://www.technologyreview.com/s/515926/www.how-technology-is-destroying-jobs/ (last visited 5/4/2019)
10 Lately, in 2017, a man Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon outrun him as the latest world's richest man.
11 Femi Ogunseitan. ‘Economic power of the Internet .' The Guardian (Nigeria, August 24, 2005) vol 22 p 45.
12 Muhammed Rudman. ‘The Journey so Far for Nigeria' Internet Exchange Point.' The Guardian ( Nigeria, July 1 2007) Vol 25 p 31.
13 Justice Abubakar. Impact of Information Technology on the law and court process . Da/7yTrust [Online] April 10th 2018.Available from. https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/impact-of-information-technology-on-the-law-and-court- process. Accessed 31st March 2019
14 Bambridge D.I. 'Introduction to Computer ' (1996), Third Edition.
15 Audu Echono, ‘ICT and The Advancement of Legal Studies and Practice in Nigeria'. https://www.thelawyerschronicle.com/ict-and-the-advancement-of-legal-studies-and-practise-in-nigeria/
16 Cryptocurrencies
17 An acronym For Information and Communication Techno or Technologies; Audu Echono , ‘ICT And The Advancement Legal Studies and Practice in Nigeria'
18 Jide Owoeye, ‘Information Communication Technology (ICT) Use as a Predictor of Lawyers' Productivity' (2011) Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 662. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/662
19 Ibid Audu Echono.
20 Ibid Audu Echono.
21 Nwabueze, A.U.; Ozioko, R.E., ‘Information and Communication Technology for Sustainable Development in Nigeria' (2011) Library Philosophy and Practice https://www.digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/600/ (PDF) 1 para. 1.
22 Ibid Dr A.U. Nwabueze p.1 para.2
23 Ibid Dr A.U. Nwabueze citing Olusanya O.M & Olayede, O.I. (2003). Effective Utilization of Inofrmation and Communication Technology (ICT). For boosting Research in Science, Technology and Mathematics Education in Nigeria in M.A.G. Akale (Ed). Proceeding of the 44th Annual Conference of Science Teachers Association of Nigeria.
24 Barr. FSN Ogazi, ‘ICT and The Law', Lecture note delivered to Law Students, Faculty of law, EBSU, Abakalik, 2012.
25 Ibid Barr. F.S.N. Ogazi.
26 Reid et al, ‘I.T Practitioners' First Published, 2003. P 68.
27 Ibid Reid et al. p 68.
28 A.S. Hornsby, ed., Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, 4th ed. (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1974).
29 J.O. Asein, (2005) Nigerian Legal System,(Ababa Press Ltd., Nigeria) 2nd ed p. 1.
30 C.O. Okonkwo, ed., (1980) Introduction to Nigerian Law (Sweet & Maxwell, London), p. 40.
31 CS1105 Group Reports 2008, ‘History of ICT' (University of Singapore, 14 November 2008) https://wiki.nus.edu.sg/display/cs1105groupreports/History+of+ICT (last accessed 21 March 2019)
32 A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power. It is composed of semiconductor material usually with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals controls the current through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal. Today, some transistors are packaged individually, but many more are found embedded in integrated circuits.
33 Camille Ryan and Jamie M. Lewis. Computer and Internet Use in the United States. American Community Survey Reports.2015.Accessed: 25th March 2019.
34 Bimber, Bruce (1998-01-01). "The Internet and Political Transformation: Populism, Community, and Accelerated Pluralism". Polity. 31 (1): 133-160. doi:10.2307/3235370. JSTOR 3235370.
35 Kirsh, David (2001). "The Context of Work". Human Computer Interaction.
36Nir Kshetri .Tbe Global Cybercrime Industry. [Online]USA.2010.Available from: https://dl140.zlibcdn.com/download/book/902767?token=adfc34f868f21e3eaf90ac86dc994b17 [Acessed 1st April 2019]
37 Appudurai, Janaletchumi and Ramalingam, Chitra L. (2007) "Computer Crimes: A Case Study of What Malaysia Can Learn from Others?,"Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law: Vol. 2 : No. 2 , Article 1. DOI:https://doi.org/10.15394/jdfsl.2007.1020 Available at: https://commons.erau.edu/jdfsl/vol2/iss2/1
38 Sara Norden. How the internet has changed the face of crime.2013.Masters Thesis. Florida Gulf Coast University.
39 VenturesAfrica . Nigeria has 4.5% pc penetration. Weblog. [Online]Available from: http://vnt.rs/mgl9f [Accessed 26th March 2019].
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