The Federal Government has been given 48 hours by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project to remove the 0.5% “cybersecurity levy” that was imposed on Nigerian citizens.
This was said in a statement sent on Tuesday on its official X Twitter.
In the event that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s “grossly unlawful” instruction is not rescinded, SERAP threatens to take the Federal Government to court.
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 We’ll see in court if the directive is not withdrawn within 48 hours.’’
Remembers that on Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria, or CBN, ordered banks to impose a 0.5% cybersecurity fee on online transactions, starting on May 20, 2024, in a circular.
The CBN made it clear that the charge will be paid in addition “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.”’
