Tweets and Reactions: Revealing the Geographies of Cybercrime Perpetrators and the North-South Divide

Abstract

How do tweets reflect the long-standing disparities between the northern and southern regions of Nigeria? This study presents a qualitative analysis of Twitter users' responses (n = 101,518) to the tweets of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding the production and prosecution of cybercrime. The article uses postcolonial perspectives to shed light on the legacies of British colonial efforts in Nigeria, such as the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1914. The results revealed significant discrepancies between Nigeria's northern and southern regions regarding cybercriminal arrest, conviction, and sentencing. Specifically, the results showed that the EFCC's criminalization of Southerners differs substantially from that of Northerners. The contemporary manifestation of inequalities concerning the production and prosecution of cybercrime on Twitter reflects long-standing contestations (e.g., economic, political, cultural, geological) between the northern and southern parts of Nigerian society. Therefore, since the North-South divide in present-day Nigeria originated from British colonization, colonialism is the base that shaped the superstructure comprising political, religious, historical, geological (e.g., crude oil), and economic factors. In turn, the article spotlights that regional differences in educational attainment, originating from differing experiences of Christianization and colonization, interact with regional disparities in the production of cybercrime. More research is required to better understand how these contextual disparities in society interact with the production and prosecution of cybercrime, given that Nigerian cybercriminals defraud victims all over the world.

Exploring the value of feminist theory in understanding digital crimes: Gender and cybercrime types

“…Thus, while the study of gender issues inevitably involves comparisons, such comparisons are essential to advancing our understanding of the psychology of gender more broadly and how women and men may perceive some crimes on the Internet distinctively (Eagly, 2016). For example, many qualitative studies (e.g., Adeduntan, 2022; Cassiman, 2019; Ibrahim, 2017; Jansen & Leukfeldt, 2016; Lazarus, 2018; Lazarus & Button, in press; Lewis, 2020), quantitative studies (e.g., Barnor et al., 2020; Wang, Nnaji & Jung, 2020), and review articles (e.g., Hall et al., 2021; Lazarus, 2020b) on socio‐economic cybercrime category suggest that victims are not targeted based on their gender.…”

“…Indeed, online attitudes, behaviours and perceptions are extensions of offline social processes and relationships in society (Citron, 2014; De Kimpe et al., 2018; Jane, 2016; Li, Coduto & Morr, 2019; Mumporeze & Prieler, 2017). Empirical evidence from many nations such as Russia (Khlomov, Davydov & Bochaver, 2019), Rwanda (Mumporeze & Prieler, 2017), China (Liong & Cheng, 2017; Min & Shen, 2020), Finland (Koiranen et al., 2019), India (Ahmed, Cho & Jaidka, 2017), Taiwan (Lai, Hsieh & Zhang, 2019), Syria (Öztürk & Ayvaz, 2018), Nigeria (Lazarus & Button, in press; Lazarus & Okolorie, 2019), Australia (Hutchings & Chua, 2017), Malaysia (Shaari et al., 2019), Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States (Eckert, 2018) demonstrate the direct connection between online and offline behaviours and relationships. Before the digitalisation of crimes, women (and girls) were shown to be more fearful of traditional crimes than men (and boys) (Box, Hale & Andrews, 1988).…”

Advantageous comparison: using Twitter responses to understand similarities between cybercriminals (“Yahoo Boys”) and politicians (“Yahoo men”)

“…First, online fraud is an aspect of cybercrime ( Akanle et al., 2016 ; Lazarus & Button, 2022 ). Second, cyberbullying is another part of cybercrime ( Khlomov et al., 2019 ; Zsila et al., 2019 ).…”

“…The tendency of the Nigerian government to suppress public opinion is exemplified in Mrs. Aisha Buhari's public speech (i.e., the current first lady of Nigeria): “If China can control over 1.3 billion people on social media, I see no reason why Nigeria cannot attempt controlling only 180 million people” ( The Cable, 2019 , p. 1). Some studies investigated perceptions of corruption and cybercrime in a Nigerian context (e.g., Daxecker et al., 2019 ; Lazarus and Button, 2022 ; Ojeka et al., 2019 ; Zakari and Button, 2021 ). None of them used Twitter as a data source except Lazarus and Button's (2022) study, which used post-colonial perspectives to examine the North-South divide in Nigerian society and the legacies of colonialism.…”

“…Some studies investigated perceptions of corruption and cybercrime in a Nigerian context (e.g., Daxecker et al., 2019 ; Lazarus and Button, 2022 ; Ojeka et al., 2019 ; Zakari and Button, 2021 ). None of them used Twitter as a data source except Lazarus and Button's (2022) study, which used post-colonial perspectives to examine the North-South divide in Nigerian society and the legacies of colonialism. Therefore, it is vital to conduct this study because of the following additional rationales.…”