THE National Assembly recently passed the new Cybercrimes Act 2025 into law.
With that, every provision in the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act into law and it now binding and enforceable across Nigeria.
Key offenses under the Act include:
- Unauthorised Access (Section 3). Unauthorised accessing of someone else’s phone, laptop or account without permission, punishable by up to five years in prison.
- Tampering with Data (Section 4). Deleting, modifying or interfering with another person’s digital data, punishable by up to five years in prison.
- Disclosure of Critical Information (Section 5). Sharing classified or sensitive data without proper authority, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
- Recording Private Conversations (Section 10). Recording private conversations without authorisation, even if you are part of the conversation, punishable by up to two years in prison.
- Publishing Fake News (Section 19), spreading false, misleading or deceptive information online, punishable by up to two years in prison
- Online Harassment and Abuse (Section 22), posting offensive, vulgar or indecent content to insult or humiliate others, punishable by up to two years in prison.
- Inciting Ethnic/Religious Hatred (Section 24), making statements that provoke ethnic, tribal or religious violence, punishable by LIFE imprisonment.
As a manager of a WhatsApp Group, Facebook Page, Telegram or any online community, you couldn be held responsible for what members post.
If you knowingly allow illegal content or fail to moderate, the law holds you accountable.
