The Senate Joint Committee on Information Communication Technology, Cyber Security, National Security and Intelligence, will on Wednesday, hold a public hearing on the proposed bill seeking to amend the Cybercrime Act 2015.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybercrime, Afolabi Salisu, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

The amendment bill was sponsored by Shehu Buba (APC, Bauchi South), and it passed second reading in October.

The bill specifically seeks to amend section 44 of the Cybercrime Act and to review the legislation of the Act to stop Internet related crimes.

Barau Jibrin, the deputy senate president, who presided over the plenary on the day the bill was read the second time, referred it to the Committees on Cyber Crime and National Security for further legislative action and report in four weeks.

Invitation to the hearing

Mr Salisu said the committees have invited relevant organisations and the general public to the hearing holding in the Conference Room 301 of the Senate Building.

The senator representing Ogun Central, said the committees needed contributions from Nigerians to improve the cyberspace in line with extant national security and digital economy strategic policy directives.

“The joint committees are soliciting memoranda to be considered in the Upper Chamber’s efforts to improve the protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace and critical national economy infrastructure in line with extant national security and digital economy strategic policy directives ” he said.

Mr Salisu urged all stakeholders in the ICT, cyber security and national security sectors to submit their memoranda to the committees.

He said the memoranda should be addressed to the clerk of the senate committee on ICT and Cyber Security.

“Memoranda, which should be submitted within one week in five (5) soft copies and forty-five (45) hard copies, should be addressed to the Clerk Senate Committee on ICT & Cyber Security, Room 3.8 White House Building, National Assembly Complex Abuja.”

Cybercrime Act 2015

The Cybercrime Act 2015 was enacted to ensure the protection of critical national information infrastructure, to promote cyber security, protect computer systems and networks.

The Act also protects electronic communications, data and computer programmes, intellectual property and privacy rights.

It established the procedural powers for cybercrime investigation and the collection of evidence in electronic format when probing criminal offences.