Cyber Crime Has No Jurisdiction – Udotai

Basil Udotai Esq; managing partner, Technology Advisors has identified jurisdiction as one of the challenges facing the law practice in matters of crime and security.
He said jurisdiction transcends the traditional boundary of a state and plays the role of evidence in the legal process.
Speaking at this year’s Technology Times Outlook 2010 organised by Technology Times Media Limited, Basil said the country “cannot do without international co-operation” in cases of cyber crime.
The cyber crime security lawyer said in developing cyber security policy, individuals and government agencies must play key roles, calling for public private partnership.
He said the law should determine what activity should be prohibited and identify liability and authority of persons involved.
“Public enlightenment is very crucial for people to know that cyber crime is a prohibited conduct in law with prescribed punishments.”
He explained that capacity building is also crucial for government agencies as the police force and anti-graft bodies like the EFCC and ICPC need to be educated on ICT related matters.
Speaking in the Digital Bar Initiative (DBI), Imo Ukpong, chief technology officer, DBI said the initiative is to eliminate quacks in the profession by identifying true lawyers, thereby sanitizing the Bar.
The initiative driven by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in collaboration with DBI consortium and their technology partners is also to establish a trust system around lawyers and develop a platform with which access to a range of services are developed.
Ukpong said DBI conducts background check on lawyers and stores their biometrics in a database and as well verifies lawyers call to Bar certificate for employers to confirm and verify whom they are hiring.