Section 26 Cybercrimes Act
Section 26 of the Nigerian Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015 is about Racist and xenophobic offences. It is under Part III (Offences and Penalties) of the Act.
(1) A Person who with intent—
(a) distributes or otherwise makes available, any racist or xenophaobic material to the public through a computer system or network;
(b) threatens through a computer system or network—
(i) persons for the reason that they belong to a group distinguished by race, colour, descent, national of ethnic origin, as well as, religion, if used as a pretext for any of these factors ; or
(ii) a group of persons which is distinguished by any of these characteristics ;
(c) insults publicly through a computer system or network—
(i) persons for the reason that they belong to a group distinguished by race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, as well as religion, if used as a pretext for any of these factors ; or
(ii) a group of persons which is distinguished by any of these characteristics ; or
(d) distributes or otherwise makes available, through a computer system or network, to the public, material which denies or approves or justifies acts constituting genocide or crimes against humanity, commits all offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not more than 5 years or to a fine of not more than N10,000,000.00 or both, fine and imprisonment.
(2) For the purpose of subsection (1) of this section, the term “crime against humanity” includes any of the following acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any Civilian Population, with knowledge of the attack : murders, extermination, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity, persecution against an identifiable group on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious or gender grounds, enforced disappearance of persons, the crime of apartheid, other inhumane acts of similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious bodily or mental injury.
“Genocide” means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group as such: killing members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
“racist or xenophobic material” means any written or printed material, any image or any other representation of ideas or theories, which advocates, promotes or incites hatred, discrimination or violence, against any individual group of individuals, based on race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin, as well as religion if used as a pretext for any of these factors.
