This paper examines the role of Internet Service Providers as bridges and intermediaries between private persons, organizations even government arms and the Internet and the liabilities placed on them by the law with regard to wrongful acts of their subscribers or clients under the laws of Nigeria. It is common knowledge that actions againstISPs are commonest with defamation and infringement of copyright. The legal framework in theUSand the UKare examined to determine if there are lessons to learn for Nigeria. The Nigerian legal framework also places some responsibilities on ISPs with regard to crime prevention and prosecution. This is because private rights are not yet much of an issue in the Nigerian cyberspace. The paper points out that much of the regulation governingISPs liability in respect of civil matters do not have legislative power but are mere guidelines and suggests that theUSand UKpatterns have a lot to offer Nigeria.

本文研究了互联网服务提供商在私人，组织甚至政府武器与互联网之间的桥梁和中介作用，以及法律根据其对尼日利亚用户的订户或客户的不法行为所承担的责任。众所周知，针对ISP的诉讼最常见于诽谤和侵犯版权的行为。对美国和英国的法律框架进行了审查，以确定是否有需要向尼日利亚学习的课程。尼日利亚的法律框架还在预防犯罪和起诉方面对ISP负有一些责任。这是因为在尼日利亚的网络空间中，私人权利还不是什么大问题。该文件指出，许多规章制度ISP在民事方面的责任不具有立法权，而仅是指导原则，这表明美国和英国的模式可以为尼日利亚提供很多服务。