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May 7, 2024
The apex bank had issued the directive in a circular dated May 6, 2024 to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks as well as mobile money operators and payment service providers.
Human right activist and convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, has berated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Police Force, for using the amended Cybercrimes Prohibition Act, 2015 to rob Nigerians and vicitmise Nigerian journalists.
Sowore, also presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 and 2023 general elections, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday said that the Nigerian police are using Section 24 of the act which its amendment has forbidden arrest of people based on frivolous petitions by assumed aggrieved government official to cage Nigerians and Nigerian journalists for carrying out their lawful duties.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the CBN directed deposit money banks in the country to start charging 0.5% cybersecurity levy on every transaction.
The apex bank had issued the directive in a circular dated May 6, 2024 to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks as well as mobile money operators and payment service providers.
SaharaReporters also earlier reported that facts emerged on what led to the arrest of a journalist working with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Daniel Ojukwu, by the Nigerian police.
The FIJ had said that Ojukwu was arrested by the police after a petition was written by Muiz Banire, a popular Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and founder of the United Action For Change.
Banire was a former national legal adviser of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was appointed by President Bola Tinubu as the Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties in 1999.
SaharaReporters had also reported how Nigerian tweeps questioned the arrest of Daniel Ojukwu by the police.
Sowore said that when he visited the Cybercrime Unit of the Nigeria Police on Monday to secure Ojukwu’s release, the police claimed not to be aware of the amendment of the Cybercrimes Prohibition Act 2015 assented to by President Bola Tinubu in February this year.
Meanwhile, under the newly amended law, the police had no right to arrest Ojukwu as the notorious Section 24 of the Act had forbidden police from arresting people based on frivolous petitions.
He wrote, “The @cenbank is using the newly amended #cybercrimes Prohibition Act of 2015 to rob Nigerians while the @PoliceNG is using the old Cybercrimes Prohibition Act as a tool to cage journalists.
“When we visited the Cybercrime Unit of the @PoliceNG yesterday to #FreeDanielOjukwu they claimed not to be aware of the amendment of the Cybercrimes Prohibition Act 2015 assented to by @officialABAT in February 2024.
“Under the newly amended law @Policeng had no right to arrest Daniel Ojukwu because the notorious “Section 24” has forbidden arresting people based on frivolous petitions by aggrieved thieves on govt. Lawless country!”
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