Cybercrime, Digital Forensic Readiness, and Financial Crime Investigation in Nigeria (eBook)

Nigeria has become one of the hotbeds of cybercrime since the liberalization of the telecommunication industry began in 1996. The scale and magnitude have been quite disturbing, not just for Nigeria but also for the international community, given the limitless boundaries of cybercrime. Like any other type of fraud, Internet fraud is primarily driven by financial gains. 

This book investigates the extent of the lack of digital forensic resources in Nigeria's financial crime agencies. It is vital to have a proper resource inventory and capabilities to successfully confront the growing threat of financial crimes. While a few studies have suggested the lack of forensic capabilities in Nigerian cybercrime investigative agencies and the justice system, none have examined this in great detail, particularly in relation to specific skills gaps and resources needed in Nigeria's financial crime agencies. This book contributes to the growing body of knowledge and clarifies the scope of the lack of digital forensic resources. Understanding the extent of the deficiency and its impact on caseloads could be crucial for developing a roadmap toward building forensic readiness and capability maturity for the agencies. This book presents the deficiencies in forensic readiness and recommends measures to fill this gap. 

This book also examines the specifics of the cybercrime caseloads and conviction records in Nigeria, identifying trends and patterns. The book explores other cybercrime complexities in Nigeria, such as common cybercrime taxonomies, prosecution, and conviction dynamics, juxtaposing it with select case studies in other jurisdictions.

Dr. Robinson Tombari Sibe is a visiting research fellow at the University of South Wales (USW) in International Centre for Policing and Security. He is a cybersecurity and digital forensic expert currently based in Nigeria. He is the co-founder of Digital Footprints Nig. Limited, Nigeria's leading Digital Forensic and Cybersecurity consulting company. In this role, he pioneered a state-of-the-art digital forensic laboratory, currently under his supervision. He is also a lecturer at the Department of Computer Engineering, Rivers State University. He also volunteers (pro bono) as an industry-based supervisor and mentor for master's and Ph.D. students of cybersecurity, at the National Open University of Nigeria. He holds several leading industry certifications such as Certified Chief Information Security Officer (EC-Council, PECB), PECB Lead Forensic Examiner, Cellebrite Certified Mobile Examiner (CCME), Certified Cybercrime Examiner, Certified Economic Crime Forensic Examiner (National White Collar Crime Center, USA), PECB Certified Trainer, and many others. He is a COREN registered Computer Engineer, a Fellow of the Nigeria Society of Engineers, a Member of the Technical Board of Diplomates for Digital Forensics of the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN), a Member of the Board of the Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA), and a Member of the Sectoral Advisory Board of the Africa Centre of Excellence for Technology Enhanced Learning (ACETEL), National Open University of Nigeria.

Prof. Dr. Christian Kaunert is Professor of International Security in the School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, Ireland. He is also Professor of Policing and Security, as well as Director of the International Centre for Policing and Security at the University of South Wales. Previously, he served as Academic Director and Professor at the Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Professor of International Politics, Head of Discipline in Politics, and Director of the European Institute for Security and Justice, a Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence, at the University of Dundee. Prof Kaunert has researched and taught in many international universities, such as University of Shandong, Jinan, China, IBEI Barcelona, Spain, Diplomatic Academy Yerevan, Armenia - United Nations Development Mission, University of Cairo, Egypt, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Turin, Italy, Ecole nationale d'administration Paris, European Institute of Public Administration Maastricht, Netherlands, European Studies Institute (ESI) at Moscow, University of Porto, Portugal, etc. He was previously Senior Lecturer at the University of Dundee, Marie Curie Senior Research Fellow at the European University Institute Florence, and Senior Lecturer in EU Politics & International Relations, University of Salford. Christian has been invited expert for the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA), the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the European Parliament, the European Union Institute for Security Studies (an agency of the EU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Over his career, he has been awarded seven prestigious Marie Curie Fellowships, four Jean Monnet Chairs, and, finally, three Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, as well as one Jean Monnet Network of Excellence (EUCTER). Additionally, he was awarded a large Horizon 2020 research grant on Terrorist Radicalisation processes - Mindb4Act. He is currently Editor of the Journal of Contemporary European Studies, was also previously an elected member of the national (UK) Executive Committee of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and co-founded and co-led the special interest section on the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice of the European Union Studies Association (EUSA). He has also previously been the Editor of the Journal of ContemporaryEuropean Research (JCER), on the Executive Committee member of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES), and an Expert for the European Parliament. He is also on the editorial board of the journal European Politics and Society (EPS) and the Journal of European Integration (JEI). Prof. Kaunert holds a PhD in International Politics & an MSc in European Politics from the University of Wales Aberystwyth, a BA (Hons) European Business from Dublin City University, ESB Reutlingen and a BA (Hons) Open University.