Cross-Border Cybersecurity Cooperation: Challenges in Enforcing Cybersecurity Laws in Africa

Abstract

The increasing transnational nature of cybercrime has created significant challenges for the enforcement of cybersecurity laws in Africa. Cyberattacks frequently involve offenders, victims, digital infrastructure and electronic evidence located across multiple jurisdictions, making traditional territorial approaches to criminal enforcement increasingly inadequate. This article examined the challenges affecting cross-border enforcement of cybersecurity laws in Africa, with particular focus on international cooperation, extradition and jurisdiction. Specifically, the study further examined the effectiveness of existing legal frameworks for cross border cybersecurity cooperation, analyse the challenges associated with jurisdiction and extradition in cybercrime investigations and prosecutions, and identify measures capable of strengthening international cooperation and enforcement mechanisms. The article adopted a doctrinal and comparative legal research methodology. It analysed international, regional and national legal instruments, including the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention), the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention), the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, and selected African cybersecurity and cybercrime legislation from jurisdictions such as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. The study also examined institutional practices and reports from organisations involved in cybercrime cooperation, including INTERPOL and AFRIPOL. The article argued that Africa’s principal cybersecurity enforcement challenge is not simply the absence of cybercrime legislation but the gap between legal frameworks and practical cooperation. Difficulties relating to overlapping jurisdictional claims, extradition restrictions, dual criminality requirements, delays in mutual legal assistance procedures, limited technical capacity and fragmented institutional structures continue to weaken effective enforcement. The article concluded with recommendations that stronger harmonisation of cybercrime laws, improved extradition and mutual assistance mechanisms, faster electronic-evidence cooperation and greater institutional capacity-building are necessary to develop an effective African framework for combating transnational cybercrime while preserving sovereignty, privacy and human-rights protections.