Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has threatened the Federal Government of potential legal action if they do not revoke the 0.5% ‘cybersecurity levy’ imposed on Nigerians within 48 hours.
This demand was communicated via a statement on its official X handle on Tuesday.
SERAP warned of potential legal action against the Federal Government if the “blatantly unlawful” directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria is not rescinded.
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The statement reads, “The Tinubu administration must immediately withdraw the grossly unlawful CBN directive to implement section 44 of the Cybercrime Act 2024, which imposes a 0.5% ‘cybersecurity levy’ on Nigerians. We’ll see in court if the directive is not withdrawn within 48 hours.’’
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, had in a circular on Monday, directed banks to levy a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity charge on electronic transactions effective May 20, 2024.
The CBN clarified that the levy would be separately “reflected in the customer’s account” as “Cybersecurity Levy” and “applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution.”’
