Nigeria ranks 3rd in cyber crimes rating globally

Nigeria has made another unwanted record after it climbed up the ladder to the third position on the global cyber crimes ratings behind the United Kingdom and the United States of America in first and second place respectively.

This was revealed by the Nigerian Communications Commission [NCC], through its Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Umar Danbatta, at the ongoing 2017 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Lagos.

Prof. Danbatta, at a breakout session with the theme 'The Business of Cyber Law, Internet Policy and Privacy Rights', moderated by a former NBA President, Augustine Alegeh (SAN), said with the number of Internet users in Nigeria hitting 91.6 million, the number of cyber fraud cases traced to Nigerians have also increased drastically.

“About N127 billion was the estimated loss to cyber crime in Nigeria in 2015. Nigeria now ranks third in global internet crimes behind the UK and U.S.

A critical factor militating against Africa’s economic resurgence is the weakness of its institutions. 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.”

Though this record is quite unwanted, many still believe that most cyber crimes traced to Nigerians are actually being perpetrated by citizens of other African countries using Nigerian names