Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu has put Nigerians on notice that sharing another person’s nude or private photographs without consent is a criminal offense that will attract arrest and prosecution.
Disu issued the warning Thursday in Abuja while declaring the open 2026 Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign organized by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre, NPF-NCCC. The event was themed “Towards a Resilient Cyberspace: Think Before You Click.”
The IGP was represented by a senior police officer at the event. He did not limit the warning to nude images alone.
IGP Lists Seven Online Offences That Can Land Nigerians in Prison
Disu warned that seven categories of online conduct now expose Nigerians to criminal prosecution. They are unauthorized access to another person’s phone or social media account, sharing private sexual images without consent, creating fake accounts using another person’s name or photograph, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, sending threatening or harassing messages online, and knowingly circulating false information capable of causing panic or endangering lives.
He stressed that ignorance of the law would not excuse any offender. The warning covers both the person who originally leaks private material and anyone who subsequently circulates it for revenge or entertainment.
Offenses involving children, Disu said, are particularly serious and will be treated with matching severity by law enforcement.
Cybercrimes Act and the Legal Teeth Behind the Warning
The warning carries real legal weight. Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, as amended in 2024, criminalizes the distribution of intimate images without consent. Penalties under the Cybercrimes Act run as high as ten years imprisonment and fines of up to twenty-five million naira, depending on the specific offense and its circumstances.
The Act also covers offenses involving child sexual abuse material under Section 23, which criminalizes producing, distributing, possessing, or accessing such images. Disu’s explicit singling out of child-related offenses as especially serious aligns directly with that provision.
Legal experts have previously advised victims to file petitions with law enforcement agencies under the same act, citing its provisions on cyberstalking and the unauthorized circulation of intimate content. Courts have already handed down convictions under the law. A Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti sentenced a man to two years in prison and a five-hundred-thousand-naira fine after he shared the explicit photographs of his former partner on Facebook.
Not everyone in the legal community believes the existing framework is adequate, however. Analysts have pointed out that the VAPP Act and the Cybercrimes Act together still leave gaps, with technology-facilitated harms such as deepfake abuse and coordinated online harassment falling into legal grey areas where victims must stretch existing provisions to find protection.
Police Shift to Proactive Cyber Enforcement
Beyond the threat of prosecution, Disu used the event to signal a change in operational posture for the Nigeria Police Force in the digital space. He called for a move away from responding to cyberattacks after harm has already been done, toward identifying threats and disrupting criminal activity before victims are hurt.
He urged Nigerians to exercise caution in all online activities, verify information before sharing it, and avoid lending their bank accounts or SIM cards to others for suspicious transactions. Facilitating financial fraud through those means, he said, also attracts criminal liability.
Disu, who has served as the 23rd Inspector-General of Police since February 2026 after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed him to replace Kayode Egbetokun, has maintained an active public posture on law enforcement since taking office. He had earlier this year similarly warned politicians against vote-buying and electoral violence ahead of the 2027 general elections, promising arrest and prosecution regardless of political status.
The NPF-NCCC campaign represents the police force’s latest effort to draw a firm line between everyday digital behavior and conduct that will trigger a criminal response. For anyone who has already shared someone else’s intimate images online, the message from the nation’s top police officer on Tuesday is unambiguous: the force is watching, and prosecution is on the table.
