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.