Feature/OPED
AfCFTA and What it Means for e-Commerce
By Siyanda Makhubo
The current nature of international relations, which is marked by a surge in diverse (economic, political and socio-cultural) crises, demands the mobilisation of joint capacities of states and non-state actors (enterprises and individuals), to find a durable solution that would help to improve the living standard in African countries marks the founding reasons of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
In line with agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU) which seeks to build the “Africa we want”, that is promoting intra-regional connectivity between capital cities by creating a single unified market, borders and air transportation network.
A conglomerate of varied states and industries will bring about a considerable shift in poverty alleviation, an influx in human movement via tourism, and a system that will work for women, thus promoting gender equality and women empowerment.
The AfCFTA is Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future. But what does that really mean for Africans and businesses most especially e-commerce like Jumia?
Prior to this initiative and till yet, Africa counts over fourteen economic blocs with eight recognized regional communities by the African Union. These include but are not limited to: the East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and; the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to name a few.
Many foreign to this concept will think that the AfCFTA will mean less safety for their country, borders and markets. However, the existence of these regional economic blocs may be seen by commentators as a hindrance to the development process of the African continent in its entirety on a continental level.
In reality, with these regional blocs, it is extremely difficult for sellers or enterprises of the East African Community (EAC) for instance in Kenya to easily trade with nations belonging to ECOWAS in Nigeria for instance. In reality, these regional blocs have different trading laws and agreements, using all different currencies with different levels of development and GNPs.
The priority of these economic blocs is to ensure continuous trade among its members, and promote diplomatic ties and security aspects among others. Nevertheless, this “security search” hinders the potential economic growth of the continent.
A perfect example is the case of e-commerce services. Under normal circumstances, e-commerce has delivery capacities of 24 hours to 3 business days on national territories where they operate depending on their operation sites and the land surface of the given country.
This means that one can expect their goods in a relatively short period of time for a much cheaper price compared to someone found in a neighbouring country and worst still one found in a different regional economic community.
Some challenges:
If Jumia, the leading e-commerce platform, for example, operates in Kenya and an online customer from Nigeria wishes to make transactions from their platform, they will generally receive their purchase after a relatively long period and with expensive constraints or maybe never (if there is no air connection) than if they were in Kenya.
This difference exists as a result of economic blockages put in place by regional economic communities. They include custom duties, tax, bureaucracy and just to cite a few. Since the cost of customs duties cannot be incurred by the producer, these costs are pushed down to the final consumer.
In nations where VAT (value-added tax) exists, consumers can see themselves purchasing a good for 1.7 times its original price. This is especially true for the 17 African States using the OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa) accounting system. This generally has devastating effects on consumers who spend more in economies where they earn much less, and also on companies who find themselves shutting down due to lots of bureaucracy to follow and the high cost of existence in some regional blocs.
The Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII) in partnership with the African Union has a composite index that assesses how countries and regional economic communities are making progress towards their integration agendas based on sixteen indicators, grouped into five dimensions. The ARII also measures the state of regional integration of the continent as a whole with finality to make Africa more connected for businesses and persons.
The five dimensions are in respect to the free movement of people; infrastructure integration; macroeconomic integration; productive integration, and; trade integration. They are all pivotal for the success of e-commerce in Africa in particular and for development in general. Free movement means people will move faster and more efficiently thus promoting tourism and interculturalism.
Infrastructure integration means more route connectivity between countries (roads, railways and ports) and also fewer customs duties and bureaucracy. Macroeconomic integration takes into consideration the stabilization of economies, currencies and international conventions guiding the laws of trade. Productive integration supposes quality and quantity in terms of always equalizing demand and supply with respect to each country’s desires.
Lastly, trade integration means the elimination of taxes, embargoes, and the eventual increase in government subsidies to adapt to international trends and requirements.
Looking Ahead
Experts agree that regional integration expands markets and trade, enhances cooperation, mitigates risk, and fosters socio-cultural cooperation and regional stability.
Regional integration has also been shown to maximize the benefits of globalization while countering its negative effects and stimulating development in least-developed countries by improving productive capacity and encouraging investments in those pieces of infrastructure that hold the most economic potential.
This also means an opportunity for e-commerce to leverage profit margins and improve supply chain management on the continent. It is also an opportunity to foster African industries, making African produce more available and accessible to all.
Moving further, this continental agreement coupled with the internet penetration of the continent will exponentially propel e-commerce, as more Africans are beginning to cherish online shopping and home delivery services.
According to the UN International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) study ‘Connecting Humanity’, this is a representative market of over 700 million persons connected to the internet. A joint African market will also make Africa the largest free continental free trade area of the world, with an investment of about $97 billion in internet infrastructure.
The case made is that Africa will be a thriving market for e-commerce as well as e-commerce companies that will have to make available the necessary infrastructure for business.
Historically, working for the establishment of a common sub-regional market zone was necessary for the encounter of people located in the same regions.
It was also important for the reinvention of social cohesion that was traditionally observed in cultural cohabitation, local or traditional rediscovery and peaceful coexistence in sub-regional parts of the continent. It is of pivotal necessity that states accelerate the implementation of the AfCFTA for a sustainable Africa, which is peaceful and which is economically viable and competitive in the international arena.
E-Commerce as a solution to integration:
The argument made is that the AfCFTA offers the solution for an integrated African market by way of trade through economic regions and countries. This inter-trading through such platforms fosters countries and economic regions to have common regulatory frameworks, policies and laws which will speak to a coherent African market.
It is also true that digitalisation and the AfCFTA will offer new and existing SMEs the opportunity to not only expand nationally but also throughout the continent beyond existing digital divides as a result of existing laws and regulations. Legislators in each country, therefore, have a responsibility to align with the AfCFTA so as to bridge these digital divides.
Siyanda Makhubo is the Group Public Relations and Communications Manager for Jumia since December 2021. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Law and Sociology, an Honours Degree in Marketing and Communications, a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and is currently studying for an MBA with the University of the Witswatersrand.
He has more than seven years of professional experience in Communication, Risk and Reputation, Crisis Communication and PR Advocacy both in the Public and Private sectors. His interests lie in the subject of utilizing the PR and Communications system for social justice
By Nafisat Damisa
Introduction
The proliferation of generative AI has transformed Nigeria’s cybercrime landscape, enabling deepfake fraud, automated social engineering, and AI-enhanced phishing at scale. In early 2024, scammers using AI-generated deepfake videos impersonating a company’s CFO defrauded a Hong Kong finance worker of $25.6 million. As similar threats emerge in Nigeria’s fintech sector, this article examines whether the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 (as amended 2024) is legally adequate, or whether Nigeria’s evidentiary and accountability frameworks are too weak to support effective prosecution of AI-driven cybercrime
Current Legal Landscape
Nigeria’s primary legal framework on preventing cybercrime is the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, amended in 2024 to address cryptocurrency transactions, cyberbullying and various forms of digital misconduct. Complementary frameworks include the National Information Technology Development Agency Act 2007, the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023, and sectoral regulations such as the CBN’s Risk-Based Cybersecurity Framework. However, the majority of these frameworks were issued far before now, and emerging risks like AI-driven threats are not really being addressed. The Act nowhere mentions “artificial intelligence,” “algorithm,” or “autonomous system.” Notably, the National Artificial Intelligence Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2025, is currently pending before the Senate. If passed, it would establish a dedicated commission to coordinate AI strategy, research, and ethical deployment. However, the Bill in its present form focuses primarily on development and innovation promotion, with limited provisions on criminal liability, evidence handling, or enforcement against AI-facilitated cybercrime, leaving the core accountability and evidentiary gaps largely unaddressed.
AI as a Double-Edged Sword
AI paradoxically enables both defence and attack. Nigerian financial institutions deploy AI for real-time fraud detection and pattern recognition. Conversely, cybercriminals exploit generative AI for deepfake creation, automated credential stuffing, and convincing phishing tailored to Nigerian English and Pidgin. The same technology that powers fraud detection systems can be weaponised to evade them. Take justice delivery as an example, the Evidence Act 2011 (as amended 2023) admits computer-generated evidence under Section 84, but remains silent on AI’s capacity to seamlessly generate or alter electronic records, creating “doctored AI-generated evidence”. These and many more issues await Nigeria’s digital space in the coming years.
The Legal Gaps
There are multiple critical gaps that undermine AI governance. For this article, three are considered. First, no framework attributes criminal liability when an autonomous AI commits an offence. The question of whether the developer, user, or owner should bear criminal responsibility for the acts of an autonomous system remains entirely unanswered under Nigerian law, leaving prosecutors without a clear legal theory of culpability.
Second, Section 84 of the Evidence Act 2011 governs computer-generated evidence but does not address AI-generated outputs. The Act’s definition of “computer” excludes AI’s cognitive processing capabilities, creating a statutory blind spot where evidence produced by generative or autonomous systems falls outside the existing admissibility framework.
Third, Nigeria lacks any framework for mandatory AI-generated content labelling, impeding deepfake traceability. Computer-generated evidence under Section 84 of the Evidence Act 2011 remains admissible if unchallenged at trial, a dangerous precedent for AI evidence, as opposing parties may lack the technical capacity to mount any challenge at all.
Comparative Jurisdictions: Rich Laws, Tangible Results
Jurisdictions with advanced AI laws demonstrate clear outcomes. The EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689) mandates transparency obligations, requiring synthetic content labelling and informing individuals when interacting with AI systems; non-compliance triggers significant penalties. The US Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2023 is a proposed Act that will require impact assessments for high-risk AI systems in housing, credit, and employment, with FTC enforcement and a public repository. China implemented mandatory measures for the Identification of AI-generated (Synthetic) content. These rules, mandated by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and others, require explicit (visible labels) and implicit (watermarks/metadata) identification for all AI-generated text, images, audio, video, and virtual scenes to ensure transparency, traceability, and combat disinformation. These laws contribute to measurable results: forensic traceability, expedited prosecution of deepfake fraud, and clear liability chains. Nigeria has none of these.
Hope or Illusion?
Without legislative intervention, AI’s promise against cybercrime remains an illusion. Nigeria requires the following to boost its hope:
- Amendment of the Cybercrimes Act to include AI-specific offences and mandatory content provenance standards;
- Revision of Section 84 of the Evidence Act 2011 to address AI-generated evidence credibility, not merely admissibility;
- Investment in digital forensic capabilities is currently hampered by inadequate enforcement, weak forensic capabilities, and a lack of specialised personnel; and
- A risk-based framework drawing from EU and US models.
- Review of both secondary and tertiary education curricula to address the knowledge gap in AI and prepare the next generation for the AI-driven future.
Conclusion
AI can help curb cybercrime in Nigeria, but only if legal capacity catches up with technical capability. The Cybercrimes Act 2024 amendments were a step forward, but they did not address AI accountability, algorithmic transparency, or evidentiary credibility. The pending National Artificial Intelligence Commission Bill, 2025, signals legislative awareness, but without substantive provisions on liability, evidence, and enforcement, it cannot fill the existing gaps. The effectiveness of existing frameworks remains a question. An optimistic but cautious path exists, but until Nigeria enacts AI-specific legislation, whether through amending the Cybercrimes Act, revising the Evidence Act, or strengthening the pending Bill, weak laws will remain unable to support strong technology.
Nafisat Damisa is a Legal Research Associate in Olives and Candles – Legal Practitioners. For further information, enquiries, or clarification, please contact Nafisat via: [email protected] or [email protected]
By Isah Kamisu Madachi
As of April 30, 2026, the crude price is said to have reached $125 in the global market. The all-time high price per barrel was recorded in 2008, when it surged to $147. It is obvious that the price is heading in that direction or even towards what experts have predicted — crude reaching a new all-time high of $150 in the near future if crude passages remain closed in the Middle East, which would ultimately come with several disproportionate challenges for businesses and households.
In Nigeria, what began as a mild adjustment in the price of gasoline and other refined crude products has not stopped anywhere until it reached N1,400 per litre of petrol at filling stations. When the price was surging, experts in energy, economics, marketing, business and other relevant fields tried to come up with explanations for how Nigeria, despite housing the largest petrochemicals refinery in Africa and being one of the largest oil-exporting countries on the continent, would continue to absorb this shock.
Despite our advantages, Nigeria recorded the world’s second-highest surge in petrol prices following the escalating geopolitical tension in the Middle East. In Africa, Nigeria has the highest spike, with many sources citing it at 39.5% and above. Even non-oil-producing countries in Africa, and countries that do not refine a drop of oil, did not experience this surge. Also, African countries like South Africa at 1%, Morocco at 2.1%, and Tanzania at 2.7% experienced far smaller increases that are nowhere near Nigeria’s.
To put it in context, South Korea, Japan, and China are among the foremost dependents on the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure escalated the crude price, but none of these countries has recorded even a 20% increase in their petrol prices. Nigeria does not import its crude through the Strait of Hormuz. Yet, as an oil-exporting nation, we have suffered some of the sharpest petrol price increases in Africa.
What went wrong in Nigeria to warrant this surge is not the primary focus of this piece. What lies ahead is. As a result of the increase in petrol prices, Nigerians have been disproportionately affected. Life has become unbearably difficult, with sharp increases in transportation costs, rising food prices, and higher costs of goods and services. Even charging points that used to collect N150 for charging a phone or battery now charge N300 or more.
As it stands, the gap between the current crude price and the predicted new all-time high is about $25. This means that if the passages continue to remain closed, we are not far from another historic price peak. It is even said that reopening the passages may not immediately stabilise prices, as crude tankers would still take time to reach their destinations.
What this means for Nigeria is another sharp increase in refined petroleum product prices, which could trigger another wave of stagflation. Already struggling, Nigerians do not deserve this. They are only just adapting to the post-subsidy era, yet are being hit again by another round of global geopolitical tensions. Many are already in deep energy poverty, with businesses struggling due to unstable electricity supply.
Therefore, as crude oil prices hover above $125 per barrel and threaten to reach the predicted $150 if disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz persist, Nigeria must act decisively to shield its citizens. The Dangote Refinery exists. Nigeria refines oil. What the federal government owes Nigerians at this point is a deliberate policy decision to make that the refinery serve domestic needs first, with pricing that does not mirror whatever is happening in the global market. That is not complicated; other oil-producing countries do exactly this.
The NMDPRA has the authority to act on this. The question is whether there is a political will to act before another price wave hits and Nigerians are once again left to absorb what their counterparts elsewhere never have to.
Sub-national governments also have something to do. Commercial motorcyclists and small business owners are the people who feel every petrol price increase the hardest and the fastest. Pushing CNG and LPG adoption among this group beyond the FCT and Lagos, with genuine support, would cushion a significant part of the next shock. Expanding solar access in underserved communities would do the same. A shop owner running on solar is not at the mercy of the next diesel price spike.
These solutions are quite feasible. Nigeria has attempted versions of them before. Where we often seem to get it wrong is in execution, and Nigeria has to treat this with the same urgency and seriousness as given to elections, for the well-being of its citizens. The only thing that has never matched the problem is the seriousness of the response.
Isah Kamisu Madachi is a policy analyst and development practitioner. He writes via [email protected]
By Gbolahan Oluyemi
In 2025, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) directed all Licensed Pension Fund Operators (LPFOs) to demand a Pension Clearance Certificate (PCC) from service providers before engaging their services. This new policy typically affects various types of entities, including small and medium-scale enterprises, most of which are not usually compliance-driven. Following this directive, the PCC has become an essential compliance document for both large, medium and small-scale firms. This article provides a guide on what a PCC is, why it matters, and how it can be obtained.
What is a Pension Clearance Certificate (PCC)?
A Pension Clearance Certificate (PCC) is an official document issued by PenCom confirming that an organisation has complied with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act. It is an annual document that must be renewed every year at no cost. The yearly renewal is intended to ensure that organisations treat compliance as a continuous activity rather than a one-off act.
Why is a PCC Important?
The PCC is important because it demonstrates that an organisation is compliant with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act, especially as it relates to employee pension contributions under Section 4 (1) of the Pension Reform Act and subscription to group life insurance under Section 4 (5) of the Pension Reform Act. It is also required for certain transactions, such as government contracts and engagements with compliance-sensitive partners. In essence, a PCC assures investors, partners, and clients that your business is properly structured and compliant with regulatory requirements.
Who Needs a Pension Clearance Certificate?
Under Nigerian law, companies with three or more employees are required to participate in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). If your organisation employs at least three staff members and provides or intends to provide services to Licensed Pension Fund Operators (LPFOs) or other regulated entities, you are expected to obtain a PCC annually.
How Do I Obtain a PCC?
PenCom issues the PCC electronically and at no cost through its web portal: https://pcc.pencom.gov.ng/. Please note that Applicants who are just beginning compliance and remitting employees’ pensions are required to first obtain an employer code from a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA). This code is necessary to initiate the PCC application on the PenCom portal.
Upon logging into the portal, you will be required to complete your company profile by providing your date of incorporation, contact details, and website (if applicable), as well as uploading your CAC documents.
Next, you will upload an Excel schedule (using the template provided on the website) containing your employee list. After this, you will be required to upload Excel sheets detailing pension contributions. You will also need to upload your organisation’s group life insurance documentation and payment instrument.
Finally, you will review your application and submit it for further processing by PenCom. Before commencing an application, ensure you have the following:
- Certificate of Incorporation (CAC documents)
- Group Life Insurance Policy for employees
- Evidence of Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) registration for employees
- Three years’ proof of monthly pension remittances, including penalties for any defaults (where applicable). For companies less than three years old, provide proof of remittances from the date of incorporation
- A valid Tax Identification Number (TIN)
- An employee schedule showing staff details and contributions (usually in Excel format) Templates are available on the PenCom portal
Also note that for the portal to accept employee details and remittance records, employees must have completed their data capture with their respective Pension Fund Administrator and updated their records to reflect their current employer.
Conclusion
Obtaining a Pension Clearance Certificate in Nigeria may seem technical at first, but once proper processes are established, it becomes routine. The key is consistency in remittance, maintenance of accurate records and prioritisation of compliance in overall operations.
For many Nigerian businesses, the PCC is more than a regulatory requirement; it is a mark of credibility. In a competitive environment, that credibility can make all the difference.
Gbolahan Oluyemi is a Legal Practitioner and currently leads Olives and Candles – Legal Practitioners. For further information, enquiries, or clarification, please contact Gbolahan via: [email protected] or [email protected]
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