Oluwanifemi Ojo
The Ministry of Justice has partnered with the Crime West African Response on Cybersecurity and Fight Against Crime and Global Action on Cybercrime partnered with the European Union to train judges on cybersecurity and the use of electronic evidence.
According to The PUNCH, Solicitor General of the Federation, Beatrice E. Jedy-Agba, during the closing ceremony of the training noted that ” only a small fraction of cybercrimes are prosecuted and adjudicated”.
She went on to say that the training would improve Nigeria’s ability to curb cybercrime, which she claims is already endangering the country’s political system.
She had before argued that the training is essential and helpful for member states that adhere to the Budapest framework.
“As you may recall, Nigeria acceded to the Council of Europe’s Budapest Convention on Cybercrime ETS No. 185 in July 2022; this is so far the most relevant close-to-global existing legal framework on cybercrime and one of the benefits of Members States is capacity building in the area of cybercrime.”
According to her, the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in Nigeria recently inaugurated the Reconstituted Global Action on Cybercrime Extended (GLACY+) National Coordination Team with membership from key stakeholders as a commitment to the fight against cybercrimes and the capacity building of the criminal justice authorities in Nigeria.
She remarked that Nigeria, which the United Nations estimates to be eighth in Internet deployment, is positioned to be a leader in the anti-cybercrime campaign thanks to the capacity building plan.
According to Jedy-Agba, “It goes without saying that digital transformation has essentially redefined life, particularly in the post-covid era and while it has benefits, there are resulting challenges which include the increase in cyber crimes.”
“The increasing reliance on electronic evidence not only for cybercrimes but even traditional crimes which may not be located in the territory where the case is investigated makes it even more imperative to build capacity on its use.”
“Therefore, the continuous need to train and retrain criminal justice sector authorities cannot be overrated.”
“This will enhance their ability to effectively apply cybercrime legislation and respond to the challenges it poses.”
