•It’s ill-timed, negates financial inclusion –Expert
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withdraw the cybersecurity levy on Nigerians as it patently violates the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international human rights obligations and commitments.
SERAP also called on him to stop Mr. Nuhu Ribadu and the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) from implementing section 44 and other repressive provisions of the Cybercrimes Act 2024 as it flagrantly violates the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.”
SERAP urged him “to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN to immediately prepare and present a bill to amend section 44 and other repressive provisions of the Cybercrimes Act 2024 to the National Assembly so that those provisions can be brought in line with the Nigerian Constitution and the country’s international human rights obligations.”
On Monday, the CBN had directed all banks to commence charging a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions within the country.
The directive was contained in a circular jointly signed by the Director, Payments System Management Department, Chibuzo Efobi; and the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustafa.
The circular was directed to all commercial banks, merchant banks, non-interest banks, and payment service banks.
It announced that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from May 6.
“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution.
“The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy,’” the circular said.
However, some 16 banking transactions were exempted from the new cybersecurity levy.
They include loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank among others.
By the calculations of the new levy, five Naira will be charged on a transaction of N1,000 while N50 will be charged on a transaction of N10,000. Others are N500 charge on a transaction of N100,000, N5,000 charge on a transaction of N1,000,000, and N50,000 charge on a transaction of N10,000,000.
The cybersecurity levy will now be added to already existing bank charges like transfer fee, stamp duty, charges on SMS, and VAT.
In a statement signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “The Tinubu administration must within 48 hours withdraw the patently arbitrary and unlawful CBN directive purportedly imposing cybersecurity levy on Nigerians.
SERAP said, “Section 44(8) criminalising the non-payment of the cybersecurity levy by Nigerians is grossly unlawful and constitutional.”
The statement, read in part: “The administration must urgently take concrete and effective measures to ensure the repeal of section 44 and other repressive provisions of the Cybercrimes Act 2024.
“If the unlawful CBN directive is not withdrawn and appropriate steps are not taken to amend the repressive provisions of the Cybercrimes Act within 48 hours, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel the Tinubu administration to comply with our request in the public interest.
“Withdrawing the unlawful CBN directive and repealing the repressive provisions of the Cybercrimes Act 2024 will be entirely consistent with president Tinubu’s constitutional oath of office that requires public officials to uphold the provisions of the constitution, and the rule of law and abstain from all improper acts.
“The repressive provisions of the Cybercrimes Act 2024 are clearly inconsistent and incompatible with the public trust and the overall objectives of the Constitution. A false oath lacks truth and justice. The oath statements require the oath takers to commit to uphold and defend the Constitution.
“Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended] provides that, ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.
“The CBN yesterday has directed banks and other financial institutions to implement a 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy on electronic transfers on the basis of the section 44 44(2)(a) of the Cybercrimes Act 2024 purportedly imposing a “a levy of 0.005 equivalent to a half percent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the second schedule of the Act.
“The money is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).”
Reacting, Uwaleke, professor of capital market and the President of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, said the cybersecurity levy was ill-timed, coming at a time when the CBN is concerned about the high rate of financial exclusion and the increasing rate of currency circulating outside the banks.
He said that it carried the downside risk of discouraging financial intermediation as well as complicating the transmission of monetary policy with more people shunning the banks due to high charges.
“The end result is that it makes difficult effort by the CBN to tame inflation.
“So, I think the circular should be withdrawn, especially against the backdrop of assurances by the government that its plan to increase revenue would not include introducing new taxes or increasing tax rates.
“To this end, the government should suspend the policy while getting set to implement the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms,” he said.
He said the mandate of the committee included streamlining multiple taxes and levies currently inhibiting the growth of businesses in Nigeria.