It is not a good omen to wallow in ignorance. The implications are usually bad. Just imagine that you are being incarcerated for violating a particular section of the law.
Ignorance of the law isn’t an excuse at all. The court will not ask you if you know about this law or not. Once you contravene any section of the law, you are likely not far from going to jail.
The internet is an an open source now, far from regulation. Somehow it’s also being regulated, certain activities on the internet are highly prohibited, depending on the country. This means, when you carry out some kind of activities you pay for it in the form of punishment.
That is why an organization like International Paradigm initiative clamours for internet freedom. The non-profit organization has been on this course for some time. People now get arrested easily but understanding the law will save some people the embarrassment.
Gbenga Sesan, a seasoned advocate for Internet Freedom puts this in perspective: “In Nigeria, there is a new proposal on hate speech bill, and the definition of hate speech is very interesting actually, an insult is considered hate speech. So we have a situation where citizens would not be able to express themselves freely online. Next month, we will release our report on Nigeria and I can tell you right now that things are not looking great for Nigeria in terms of respect for internet freedom.”
For instance cybercrime is a critical issue in Nigeria and has several implications. In Nigeria today we have a law called the the “Cybercrime Act 2015.” If you do a lot of things on the web and you don’t know about these laws. Then, that is not good enough. You need to have a full grasp of the components of the Act.
Here are a few things you need to know about Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act 2015:
1. Anybody found guilty of identity theft will be be in jail for three years or pay a fine of N7 milion. 2. If anybody is found guilty of unlawfully accessing a computer system/network will be in jail for at least one year or pay a minimum fine of N2 Million. More serious offenses will could attract a N25 million fine or 10 years imprisonment. 3. Anybody found guilty of child pornography (distributing or producing pornographic images) will be jailed for 10 years or pays a fine of N20 Million depending on the nature of the offense. 4. A conviction for any offense committed against any part of Nigeria’s critical national infrastructure that results in someone’s death attracts a death penalty. 5. The Act prohibits cyber-squatting and anyone convicted of this, faces at least 2 years imprisonment, and/or a minimum of N10 million.
It doesn’t stop there. There are other clauses of the law which you must also know. But, having these ones at your finger tip is good.
