The nonprofit Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) has given a low rating to the country's current leadership under President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua on its efforts to curb cybercrime.

Law enforcement agencies -- the Economic and Finance Crimes Commission (EFCC), in particular -- are trying their best, but their efforts cannot match those of the previous administration under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, NIG President Lanre Ajayi told journalists.

"There were more aggressive attempts earlier, particularly during the regime of former President Obasanjo, to fight the criminality online in the country," he said.

The Cybercrime Working Group, created under Obasanjo, drafted a bill to criminalize cybercrime, Ajayi noted. Obasanjo sent the bill to the National Assembly before leaving office in May 2007, but it has not yet been passed into law, he lamented, making it difficult to prosecute cybercriminals.

Obasanjo's administration created an awareness of cybercrime among cybercafe operators and Internet users, Ajayi added, leaving behind the impression of Nigeria's determination to face the menace head-on.

However, he said, the aggression and determination that the government showed in combating cybercrime during Obasanjo's era is waning under Yar'Adua's current administration.

"This has given cybercriminals the opportunity to re-energize themselves," Ajayi said. "As a result, the damage to our national image due to the activities of these cybercriminals continues unabated."

In order to return to the battle's front lines, Ajayi proffered a solution based on a three strategies:

"First, there is a need for the establishment of a legal framework. This is what the draft bill on cybercrime before the National Assembly intends to do. Secondly, there is a need for cooperation among stakeholders, including the provision of technical solutions by the operators in the sector. This will make life more difficult for the criminals in the community. And thirdly, there is also a need to institute a public awareness campaign on the dangers of cyber crimes."

"However, there's quite a lot to do, because the damage that has been done by these cybercriminals is much," he said. "There's so much to do that whatever we've done so far in fighting this scourge is just like scratching the surface."