Nigeria has officially joined 66 countries of the world to sign and ratify the Budapest Convention on cybercrime.
Zakari Usman, a spokesperson for the Office of the National Security Adviser, made this known in a statement on Monday.
The Budapest Convention, also known as the Convention on Cybercrime, is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet crime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations.
It was drawn up by the Council of Europe in Strasberg, France, with the active participation of the Council’s observer states.
In Nigeria, the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015 was introduced as the legal framework for the codification of criminal activities in cyberspace.
According to the NSA, Nigeria officially joined the convention after the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on 29 June, and the signing of the instrument of accession by President Muhammadu Buhari as well as transmission to the Council of Europe on 6 July.
“Against this background and as part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen the global architecture of cybersecurity, the Council of Europe invited Nigeria to accede to the Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, in July 2017,” the statement partly read.
Credit: premiumtimesng.com
