FG MOVES TO REVIEW CYBERCRIME LAW OVER RISING AI-POWERED THREATS

The Federal Government is preparing to review Nigeria’s cybercrime legislation to tackle emerging threats associated with artificial intelligence, including online fraud, digital surveillance and attacks on critical infrastructure.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, disclosed this on Tuesday through a message delivered by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, at the second International Cybersecurity Conference in Abuja.

Fagbemi said the Federal Ministry of Justice had made significant progress on a draft executive bill aimed at strengthening the country’s legal framework for addressing cybercrime.

“The Federal Ministry of Justice has advanced work on a draft executive bill to strengthen our legal framework,” he said.

The conference, organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), was themed “Cyber Resilience in the Age of AI: Defending Minds, Networks and Nations”.

According to the minister, the proposed legislation would update existing laws to reflect technological advancements, improve the preservation and exchange of electronic evidence, and strengthen cooperation among law enforcement agencies.

He explained that the initiative built on Nigeria’s accession to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, its engagement with the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime and ongoing consultations on the existing Cybercrimes Act.

Fagbemi noted that cybercrime had evolved beyond conventional internet fraud to include cryptocurrency-related offences, sextortion, child exploitation and AI-assisted deception.

“Our objective is clear: laws that respond to emerging technologies, facilitate the preservation and exchange of electronic evidence, support effective investigation and prosecution, and uphold human rights and the rule of law,” he said.

However, he cautioned that efforts to strengthen law enforcement powers must not undermine fundamental human rights and freedoms.

“Security must protect liberty, not become an excuse to undermine it,” the minister added.

Also speaking at the conference, NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said the agency was collaborating with the Office of the National Security Adviser and the National Assembly to review the Cybercrimes Act.

He said the review was intended to strengthen the legal powers available to relevant authorities to address evolving cybersecurity challenges.

Abdullahi also disclosed that the government was considering a national cybersecurity architecture that would establish minimum protection standards for organisations.

He warned that cybercriminals were increasingly exploiting human vulnerabilities through AI-generated voices, videos and images instead of directly attacking computer systems.

“Today hackers focus more on hacking people than systems, because it is easier to hack people to get what you want than hacking the system itself,” he said.

The NITDA chief further identified digital sovereignty as a priority, citing the agency’s national sovereign cloud regulatory instrument, which covers data, infrastructure, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

In his keynote address, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Aminu Maida, warned that AI-powered cyberattacks could disrupt telecommunications, financial services and government operations.

Represented by the commission’s Executive Commissioner for Technical Services, Sunday Oshadami, Maida said cybercriminals were increasingly deploying automated attacks, deepfakes and sophisticated malware.

“We are no longer defending against human hackers operating at human speed; we are confronting machine learning systems operating at microsecond computational speed,” he said.

He cited reported cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration systems in France and spyware allegedly targeting at least 45 devices belonging to journalists and media personnel in the Middle East.

Maida said the NCC had established a Computer Security Incident Response Team and introduced a cyber resilience framework outlining security standards for licensed telecommunications operators.

He urged operators to adopt zero-trust security systems and regularly test AI models for vulnerabilities, warning that attacks on telecommunications infrastructure could threaten national security and disrupt economic activities.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, Shuaib Salisu, proposed the establishment of a national cybersecurity resilience index to assess organisations’ preparedness for cyber threats.

Salisu also called for a joint retreat involving technology regulators, security agencies and lawmakers to improve coordination in cybersecurity policymaking.

He further urged African governments to ease restrictions on cross-border business activities, arguing that greater mobility was necessary to support regional digital integration.

Similarly, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, Stanley Adedeji Olajide, warned that rapid technological advancements were exposing the limitations of existing cybersecurity laws.

Olajide called for adaptable legislation and stronger international cooperation, noting that cyberattacks could threaten essential services, including food supply systems.