SERAP Gives Tinubu Government 48 Hours To Reverse Cybersecurity Levy

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has threatened to sue the Nigerian Government over the 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

 

This is contained in a statement on its official X account on Tuesday, in which it gave the government 48 hours to reverse the directive.

 

“The (Bola) Tinubu administration must immediately withdraw the grossly unlawful CBN directive to implement section 44 of the Cybercrime Act 2024, which imposes a 0.5% ‘cybersecurity levy’ on Nigerians. We’ll see in court if the directive is not withdrawn within 48 hours,’’ the statement reads.

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had directed deposit money banks in the country to start charging 0.5% cybersecurity levy on transactions.

 

In a circular dated May 6, 2024, the apex bank directed all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks as well as mobile money operators and payment service providers to deduct the levy.

“Following the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and pursuant to the provision of Section 44 (2) (a) of the Act, ‘a levy of 0.5% (0.005) equivalent to a half percent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act’, is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),” the circular partly read.

 

The apex bank said that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from the date of the circular.

 

“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy’.

 

“Deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of this circular for all financial institutions and the monthly remittance of the levies collected in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the fifth business day of every subsequent month,” the circular added.

 

Exempted from the levy include loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank.

 

Also exempted from the levy were inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, ⁠Letters of Credits, ⁠Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding only bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments, among others.

 

The apex bank recently stopped fintech firms like Opay and Palmpay from onboarding new customers and directed banks to deduct 0.375 per cent stamp duty charge on all mortgaged-backed loans and bonds.