The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has given the Tinubu-led administration 48 hours to withdraw the cybersecurity levy directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Naija News reports that CBN had issued a new directive to all financial institutions, including commercial, merchant, non-interest banks, payment service banks, and mobile money operators, mandating the implementation of a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions.

This move is in line with the provisions of the recently amended Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2024.

The directive, detailed in a circular, instructs that the levy be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, with the deducted amount to be reflected in the customer’s account as a “Cybersecurity Levy.”

Financial institutions are required to start deductions within two weeks from the date of the circular and remit the accumulated levies monthly to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), which is administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

In response to the directive, SERAP took to its X handle to demand the withdrawal of the directive.

SERAP demanded the CBN directive’s immediate withdrawal, implementing a 0.5% cybersecurity levy, threatening legal action if not withdrawn within 48 hours.

In the statement, SERAP wrote: “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“We’ll see in court if the directive is not withdrawn within 48 hours.”