Nigeria, May 17 -- Last week, I watched members of the House of Representatives bitterly complaining about the contents of the Cybercrimes Act, which they had themselves passed into law this year. They angrily directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withdraw the circular directing all banks to commence charging a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions within the country. As this provision on the levy is part of the law they had written, debated and passed with the Senate and the President had signed, they were in effect asking a state institution not to obey a valid law they were themselves responsible for enacting.

The motion on the urgent need to halt the implementation of the cybersecurity levy was moved ...