DSS boss seeks stronger support for cybercrime prosecutions

The Director-General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Ajayi, on Thursday called for stronger judicial and public support for the prosecution of cybercrime cases, saying the conviction of offenders would serve as a deterrent to others.

Ajayi made the appeal in Abuja at the public presentation of Electronic Evidence (Second Edition), A Compendium of Cases on Electronic Evidence, Volume 2 (2020–2025), and the presentation of the Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye Educational Foundation for Indigent Students.

He said security agencies had deliberately identified some cybercrime cases capable of sending strong signals to would-be offenders, including matters involving alleged online attacks against public officials.

Although he declined to comment on specific cases pending before the courts, Ajayi maintained that society would only change when offenders were held accountable under the law.

“We are prosecuting some cases against that (Cybercrime) Act. Interestingly, some lawyers, even SANs have to defend them, even against me.

“The state reserves the discretion to prosecute among 100 offenders, one or two that can give impact. We have picked one or two… that will give impact,” he said.

He also condemned defamatory attacks on individuals through digital platforms, warning that failure to punish such acts could embolden perpetrators to progress from online abuse to physical violence.

“There’s one of them who’s a presidential aspirant, and disparaged a sitting President. We chose that one. I can’t talk about it, because it’s in court. But what I know is that societies, countries, communities will not change unless those who are not affected feel like those who are affected.

“What I’m saying is that we have to join hands from the bench to the prosecution, to all ensure that we have a country where nobody can wake up… pick up a phone and say that the sitting President is a criminal when no court in the land has convicted him, either here or anywhere in the land,” the DG stated.

Ajayi appealed to legal practitioners and other stakeholders to support the prosecution of cybercrime cases, including by filing amicus curiae briefs where necessary.

“If you convict one person that has an impact, others will be picked up,” he said.

He credited retired Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye with helping security agencies address challenges surrounding the admissibility of electronic evidence in criminal prosecutions.

According to him, the retired judge had consistently encouraged him to strengthen the use of electronic evidence in investigations and prosecutions, even before he became the DSS Director-General.

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Ajayi added that Justice Ajileye’s publications had assisted prosecutors in overcoming legal hurdles associated with technology-driven crimes.

Earlier, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), commended Justice Ajileye for his contributions to Nigeria’s legal system through his scholarly works on electronic evidence and his support for indigent students.

Represented by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, Fagbemi described electronic and digital evidence as indispensable to the administration of justice in an era increasingly driven by technology.

“In today’s age where transactions, communications and disputes are increasingly conducted electronically or defined by technology, the ability of our courts to admit and interpret electronic evidence is indispensable to the administration of justice,” he said.

The AGF said Justice Ajileye’s scholarship had equipped judges and legal practitioners with the intellectual tools required to adapt to evolving technological realities, thereby strengthening the credibility of the justice system.

He also praised the retired jurist for establishing an educational foundation for indigent students, describing the initiative as complementary to the Federal Government’s efforts to expand access to education through programmes such as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

The Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, said the commission remained committed to tackling internet fraud, describing the activities of internet fraudsters as harmful to the country’s economy.

He added that the anti-graft agency required legislation to enable the deployment of Artificial Intelligence in investigations and evidence generation.

In his remarks, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) challenged Justice Ajileye to extend his research beyond electronic evidence to Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act, saying the law required deeper scholarly examination.

Responding, Justice Ajileye expressed concern over what he described as inconsistencies in the Electoral Act regarding electronic processes.

He questioned why election officials were expected to wait for network connectivity during voter accreditation but could quickly abandon electronic transmission of results in favour of manual procedures when network challenges occurred.

The event was attended by senior judicial officers, legal practitioners, academics, security chiefs and other stakeholders.