BREAKING: Tinubu Gets 48-Hour Ultimatum To Reverse CBN’s 0.5% Cybersecurity Levy, Details Emerge

• SERAP has reacted angrily as the CBN directed deposit banks in the country to start charging 0.5% cybersecurity levy on transactions
• In a terse statement on Tuesday, the non-governmental organisation issued a 48-hour notice to Bola Tinubu's government to withdraw the directive or face legal action
• This notice by SERAP came hours after the CBN said that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from the date of the circular

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

FCT, Abuja - On Tuesday, May 7, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) called for the immediate reversal of the "0.5% cybersecurity levy" imposed on Nigerians by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

SERAP demands reversal of CBN's 0.5% cybersecurity levy

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Recall that the CBN directed deposit money banks in the country to start charging 0.5% cybersecurity levy on transactions on Monday, May 6.

This was contained in a circular dated May 6, 2024, by the apex bank to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks as well as mobile money operators and payment service providers.

In a swift reaction, SERAP threatened legal action against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's led federal government if it failed to reverse the levy within 48 hours.

On Tuesday, the non-governmental organisation made its position known in a post shared on its X page @SERAPNigeria.

SERAP tweeted:

“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.

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“We'll see in court if the directive is not withdrawn within 48 hours.”

Sowore reacts to cybersecurity levy

Similarly, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, accused the CBN of using the newly amended Cybercrimes Prohibition Act of 2015 to rob Nigerians.

Sowore stated this while reacting to the new CBN directive for commercial banks to impose a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on all transactions.

He added that just like the CBN, the Nigeria Police Force is using the old Cybercrimes Prohibition Act as a tool to cage journalists in the country.

Source: Legit.ng