Background and Introduction

This chapter presents the background, contexts, and overview of the cybercrime challenge in Nigeria. The chapter presents foundational information of the rising caseloads of cybercrime in Nigeria. Specific challenges as well as the various reforms by government to tackle this, are also presented in this chapter. This chapter also presented the various institutional reforms, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), and others with the mandate to tackle cybercrime in Nigeria. This chapter presents the two theoretical framework that shapes this study—Cohen and Felson’s (Am Sociol Rev 588–608, 1979 [20]) Routine Activity Theory (RAT) and Technology Organisation and Environment framework developed by Tornatzky et al. (Processes of technological innovation. Lexington Books, 1990 [86]). This chapter also presented the conceptual framework for this study, the digital forensic readiness model, first introduced by Tan (Forensic readiness. @ Stake, Cambridge, MA, pp. 1–23, 2001 [84]). Using this conceptual model, the chapter presents a major challenge faced in the fight against cybercrime, which is the lack of forensic resources at the financial crimes agencies in Nigeria. The chapter ends by summarizing this challenge and the need to study the specifics of the lack of forensic readiness of the cybercrime agencies.