Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has pushed back against the “blanket stereotyping” of Nigerians as cybercriminals, saying that such generalisations misrepresent the West African country.
He said such a move tarnished the reputation of the majority of citizens, who are law-abiding.
“Over the decades, Nigerians have been victims of mislabelling. Such gross misrepresentation fails to reflect the true essence of our diverse and resilient nation,” President Tinubu, who is currently on a private tour in France, said in a speech read by Deputy President Kashim Shettima.
Mr Tinubu added that “the association of internet crimes with the entire Nigerian populace lacks statistical evidence” and does not reflect “everyday Nigerians”, whom he described as “hardworking, honest citizens who contribute significantly to various fields globally, from Artificial Intelligence to medicine”.
From the early 2000s, Nigerians have been labelled as perpetrators of internet fraud, from hacking to romance scams.
In 2020, the US security and intelligence agency FBI ranked Nigeria 16th among countries most impacted by cybercrime.
Cybercrime costs Nigeria $500m yearly, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission.
