This article presents a legal, ethical and social analysis of Nigeria's proposal to apply the death penalty to those who hack the national critical information infrastructure or computer networks and cause death. (Cybercrime Bill, 2013). The bill submitted to the National Assembly by Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan is currently being considered for enactment by the Senate. The legislation aims to protect the country's national infrastructure against cybercrime by criminalizing various cyber activities. (Goitom, 2014) The death penalty is already used in Nigeria for other crimes such as murder and armed robbery; In some northern states, sex crimes are punishable by death. (Ikenna, 2007) These types of crimes could be considered violent crimes in the sense that they directly kill or threaten the lives of other individuals. (Felson, 2009) Cybercrime however is an interaction with computers and technology and not directly with other individuals in society, although it is still a serious crime, the author is of the opinion that in most cases it is not a premeditated violent act. with the intent to kill or injure. Can hacking government infrastructure or computer networks to access the information they contain be considered a motive to murder someone? Is there then a moral obligation of the Nigerian society to oppose this bill and challenge the government not to go ahead and enact this bill?Constitution and legal system of NigeriaThe Laws that make up the constitution of Nigeria are Islamic law, common law and customary law. these laws are also heavily influenced by English law due to the colonization of Nigeria by the British state. (Chinwe, 2011) Nigeria's complex legal system consists of...... middle of paper ......ta-sheet/world-map.aspx#map/western_africa/population/2013Rome Statute of the Court international criminal law. (July 17, 1998). Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Retrieved from ICC-CPI: http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/rdonlyres/ea9aeff7-5752-4f84-be94-0a655eb30e16/0/rome_statute_english.pdfSiciliano, R. (March 16, 2011). 7 Types of Hacker Motivation. Retrieved from McAffee Blog Central: http://blogs.mcafee.com/consumer/family-safety/7-types-of-hacker-motivationsSterling, B. (1993). The crackdown on pirates. Virginia: IndyPublish.com. United Nations. (2014). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved from United Nations: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a5 Zheng, C. (September 11, 2012). Ethical Recognition – Ethical or unethical. Retrieved from Blog.nus: http://blog.nus.edu.sg/is1103grp202/2012/09/11/ethical-hacking-ethical-or-unethical/