FACT CHECKED: No Such Thing as “Cybercrimes Act 2025”

Checks show that there is no law in Nigeria called the Cybercrimes Act 2025.

The cybercrime law currently in force is the Nigeria Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act 2024, which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed into law on February 28, 2024.

The first cybercrimes law in Nigeria was introduced in 2015 before it was amended in 2024.

ALSO READ : Why is Abia Media Silent About “Abia at 34”? By Micheal Oni

So, to be clear, no new “Cybercrimes Act 2025” has been passed into law by the National Assembly. The latest cybercrimes law in Nigeria is the 2024 amendment of the 2015 law.

The viral message claiming otherwise started spreading in late July this year.

But at that time, the Senate had not passed any new cybercrime bill into law. In fact, members of the National Assembly have been on a two-month recess since July 24 and are not expected to resume until September 23.

Another misleading part of the viral message is the claim that social media group administrators can be jailed if they fail to remove false information shared by members.

Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024 states: “Anyone who knowingly or intentionally sends a false message, with the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will, or needless anxiety to anyone… commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of seven million naira or three years in prison, or both.”

The law does not mention social media group administrators. However, social media companies themselves may face fines or have their platforms blocked by the government if they fail to remove offensive content quickly.

ALSO READ: Gov Otti to Receive Ex-SSG Ralph Egbu, Ukwa Political Leaders into Labour Party

— Michael Oni is a BBC-trained broadcast journalist specializing in news and current affairs, as well as a public affairs analyst based in Aba.