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SERAP issues FG 48-hour ultimatum to reverse cybersecurity levy
Story by Uchechi OGBUEHI-DANIEL, Lagos
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has given a 48-hour deadline to the Federal Government to withdraw the 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy imposed on Nigerian people.
SERAP made this known, Tuesday, in a statement on its official X handle, to react to the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) directives to commercial banks and other financial institutions to start charging cybersecurity levy.
It was reported earlier that CBN on Monday ordered banks to charge the cybersecurity levy on Nigerians for online transactions two weeks from now.
READ ALSO: CBN issues July 7 deadline for PoS operators’ registration with CAC
The apex bank, however, exempted 16 listed banking transactions from its new cybersecurity levy.
While making clarifications, the CBN said 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”.
Reacting to the new development, SERAP threatened to sue the FG if the “grossly unlawful” directive by the CBN is not reversed.
The statement read, “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 We’ll see in court if the directive is not withdrawn within 48 hours.’’
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