The Investigator’s Handbook: Nigeria Edition

What the Nigeria edition covers

1. Nigeria 1. Domestic legal process: who can ask for what, and how

   This chapter shows an investigator working in Nigeria which law governs a request for a provider’s data, who is allowed to sign it, how long it lasts, and what a private investigator or journalist must do instead. The main tools are the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 as amended in 2024, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022. Because the data-request powers sit in several statutes, the chapter maps each need to the provision that supports it.

   Sections in this chapter

   • What was read, and which version is in force
   • The map: which provision for which need
   • Who may ask, and who may not
   • Preservation: stopping data being deleted
   • Subscriber data, traffic data and content
   • Search warrants, seizure and devices
   • Bank and account records
   • Emergency requests
   • Time limits, notice and secrecy at a glance
   • Interception: awareness only
   • If you are a foreign investigator
   • Making the records usable as evidence
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

2. Nigeria 2. Internet and telecom providers: finding who holds the records

   This chapter shows how to work out which Nigerian company holds the records behind an IP address, a telephone number or a domain name, what the law says that company must keep, and where our directory helps and where it stops. It then explains the two Nigerian rules that touch foreign platforms with users in Nigeria. The platform-by-platform routes are in the shared Chapter 2 of this book.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Regulators and licensing
   • Using the Ministry’s Nigeria directory
   • How to identify the provider
   • What providers must keep
   • Who to serve at the provider
   • Platforms with users in Nigeria
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

3. Nigeria 3. Banks, wallets and national reporting: money and complaints

   This chapter shows an investigator in Nigeria where fraud reports go, how funds can be held within hours rather than weeks, what a bank must do and by when under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s rules, and how the financial intelligence unit fits in. It also links our bank pages, so a victim or officer can reach the right fraud channel quickly. The Central Bank’s fraud-desk circular describes an industry hold channel run through NIBSS; the statutory freezes need the NFIU, the EFCC or a court.

   Sections in this chapter

   • National reporting: who receives what
   • Freezing or holding funds quickly
   • The regulator and complaint ladder
   • The financial intelligence route
   • Banks, wallets and our pages
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

4. Nigeria 4. Cross-border: treaties, platform routes and what Nigeria’s authorities can send out

   This chapter sets out Nigeria’s treaty position, the central authority and procedure for incoming and outgoing mutual assistance, how Nigerian requests reach the major US platforms, and the police channels that sit alongside formal requests. It ends with a decision flow for a foreign agency that wants records held by a Nigerian provider or bank, and for a Nigerian agency that wants records held abroad. The global method and the platform tables are in the shared Chapters 1, 2 and 4.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Nigeria’s treaty and agreement position
   • Incoming requests: how a foreign agency gets Nigerian records
   • Outgoing requests: what Nigerian authorities can send abroad
   • Nigerian requests to the major US platforms
   • Police and other channels (awareness)
   • What a foreign agency should send
   • Decision flow
   • Checklist

5. Nigeria 5. Templates, contacts and quick reference

   This chapter gives the national agencies and contacts quoted by their own pages, four ready-to-adapt templates that cite Nigerian law, and a one-page table of who to call first by case type. Each template lists the provision it relies on, so your legal officer can check it. Replace everything in [SQUARE BRACKETS], and do not send a template that your prosecutor has not reviewed.

   Sections in this chapter

   • National agencies and contacts
   • Template 1: Preservation request to a domestic provider
   • Template 2: Records request and applications outline
   • Template 3: Emergency request to a Nigerian provider
   • Template 4 (foreign agencies): requests to the Attorney-General
   • Who do I call first? Quick reference by case type
   • Checklist

Every edition also includes the global reference: how data requests work, the seven big platforms, the 116-service directory, country routes, cryptocurrency, evidence handling, templates and a glossary. See the full contents or try the free First 24 Hours checklist.

Related directories for Nigeria

• Nigeria ISP and telecom directory
• Bank fraud help in Nigeria
• How police in Nigeria request data from platforms
• Cybercrime agencies in Nigeria
• Law-enforcement request hub (LERS)

Questions