Ex-presidential Candidate, Sowore, Faults Cybersecurity Levy

Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC)  Omoyele Sowore, has kicked against the 0.5 percent Cybersecurity Levy recently activated by the federal government.

The Cyber security (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act 2024 (An Amendment of the 2015 Act) prescribes a levy of 0.5% of all transaction value.

However recently the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) directed the full implementation of the Act as was referenced in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) circular.

The fee is a debit charge on the initiator of the electronic transfer and not for the receiver of the transfer.

Reacting on his X platform, however, Sowore said, “The @cenbank is using the newly amended #cybercrimes Prohibition Act of 2015 to rob Nigerians while the @PoliceNG is using the old Cybercrimes Prohibition Act as a tool to cage journalists. 

“When we visited the Cybercrime Unit of the @PoliceNG yesterday to #FreeDanielOjukwu, they claimed not to be aware of the amendment of the Cybercrimes Prohibition Act 2015 assented to by @officialABAT in February 2024, under the newly amended law @Policeng had no right to arrest Daniel Ojukwu because the notorious “Section 24” has forbidden arresting people based on frivolous petitions by aggrieved thieves on govt. Lawless country! #RevolutionNow,” he said.