By Emeka Aginam The non passage of Cyber Crime bill by the out-going National Assembly has continued to attract condemnations among stakeholders in the Nigerian ICT sector even as Nigeria is still rated high as a result of the ugly trend which has remained unabated.

Dr Eugene Juwah, Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Mr Emmanuel Amos, CEO, Programos Software Limited and Engr. Lanre Ajayi, ex-President, Nigerian Internet Group

While experts lament that Nigeria is yet to have a legal frame work to combat cyber crime, the National Assembly, it was learnt, may have stepped down passage of the bill on the ground that it presents the same objective with the bill recently presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) which, among others, also seeks legal backing for tackling and prosecuting perpetrators of internet-related crimes. Raising alarm on the implication of non-passage of the bill by the law makers, President of the Nigerian Computer Society, Professor Charles Uwadia in an e-mail to CyberLIFE noted that the current posture of government on the issue simply means the status quo remains. “Business continues as usual. The bad guys in cyberspace continue plying their “trade”; no laws to define what is legal and what is illegal in cyber space; no laws to criminalize some activities in the cyber space; no laws to ensure cyber safety; no laws to deter or prosecute cyber offenders; and no laws to guide prosecutors and judges as well as defendants in cases of litigation,” he explained. Adviser on Cybersecurity, Office of National Security Adviser , Mr. Basil Udotai who spoke to journalist at the Technology Africa forum assured that the Office of National Security Adviser and other stakeholders would try to enlighten the legislators further on the urgent need of revisiting and passing the Bill into law. In his presentation on Critical Software Issues and Imperatives for National Security and Survivability at a recent stakeholders’ summit on national security emergency, Chairman, Connect Technologies and President, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Chris Uwaje, said national cyber security must be given topmost priority and funding preference in our national budget. He said that Nigerian national security is vulnerable to the outside world unless legal framework on cyber crime is given priority attention it deserves.