You Risk 5 Years In Jail Or N10m Fine If You Insult Someone On The Internet - New Nigerian Cyber Crime Bill

Guys, I don't know why I find this very funny. But just incase you
haven't heard, for using profane language on other people or pelting
them with insults or abusive words on social networking sites,
internet users in Nigeria now risk a jail term that ranges between 12
months and five years.


Craziest part - you can also get sentenced to death if you are not
careful according to the Cyber-Crime Bill 2013, which is now pending
before the House of Representatives.


Here are the listed offenses in the bill with their punishment. I
compiled them from the report Punch just released.


If you as a Nigerian internet user:
insults someone else publicly, through a computer system
or network, you have committed an offense and will be
liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less
than five years or to a fine of not less than N10m or to both
fine and imprisonment.


If you circulate or make any racist and xenophobic material
available online, you get a jail term of five years.


Cyber-criminals, who hide under the anonymity of the
Internet to bully, harass other users of online platforms also
risk jail terms when the law comes into full force.


Anyone found guilty of posting messages deemed “grossly
offensive, indecent, obscene” or messages aimed at
“causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety” to
another online user gets a jail term of 12 months
If you bully, threaten or harass another person, through
“information and communication technologies” or posts
messages online that contains “threats to kidnap or injure”
another person, you will be jailed five years or pay a fine of
N15m or both.


Then the craziest part I earlier told you about - if you
commit an offense against what the bill calls “critical
national information infrastructure” which results in death,
automatically, a death sentence will be prescribed for you!
According to the bill, Internet service providers will be required to
keep all traffic data and subscriber information for the purpose of
prosecuting those suspected of committing cyber-crimes. The service
providers are expected to provide necessary assistance towards the
identification, apprehension and prosecution of offenders, failure of
which makes them liable to fines and or jail terms.


Part V, Section four of the bill prescribes the Office of the National
Security Adviser as the co-coordinating body for all security and
enforcement agencies when the bill becomes law.

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