By Dennis Erezi Nigerian states and the federal government have been using surveillance technologies to snoop on citizens’ data and ...
By Dennis Erezi
Nigerian states and the federal government have been using
surveillance technologies to snoop on citizens’ data and communications on
their devices, according to a report.
A report by the Action Group on Free Civic Space said the
government is using the technologies to track down rights activists,
journalists, opposition politicians, and other targeted citizens.
The report acknowledges Nigeria’s security challenges “that
threaten to tear its sovereign fabric apart” – such that the Nigerian
government is deploying technology and anti-technological means to curb
terrorist activities.
Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in June 2021
shutdown telecommunication networks in northern states – Zamfara, Katsina,
Yobe, Kaduna where bandit and other terrorism activities have rendered millions
of people homeless and over 20 thousand lives lost.
However, the report claims that the state and the federal
governments are guilty of hiding under the guise of deploying technology to
tackle societal challenges to ‘reign’ on private citizens, journalists, and
activists through snooping data and communication from their devices.
Allegations of the Nigerian government spying on its people
are not new.
In December 2020, Nigeria’s Defence Intelligence Agency
acquired equipment that it can use to spy on calls and text messages, according
to a report by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, which researches
digital surveillance, security, privacy and accountability.
“State actors have taken advantage of their unfettered
access to these new technologies to either expand pre-existing policing powers
or award themselves new surveillance powers,” the new report said.
“A deep dive into the state’s most popular techniques and
tactics explains why digital repression, including surveillance abuses in the
country, is on the rise and flags the subsequent reforms/steps needed to
counter these trends.”
Although Nigeria does not have a law that protects citizens’
digital rights – preventing government authorities from monitoring private
communications, recent events in the country suggested that the government was
moving to legalise its powers to access citizens’ private data.
In July 2021, the Nigerian Senate allotted a total of ₦4.8
(4,870,350,000) billion to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to monitor
WhatsApp messages, phone calls, text messages, and other forms of mobile and
digital communications in the country.
From the ₦4.8 billion, N1.93 billion was earmarked for
‘WhatsApp Intercept Solution’ and N2.93 billion for ‘Thuraya Interception
Solution’ – a communications system used for monitoring voice calls or
call-related information, SMS, data traffic, among others. This was met with
stiff opposition by right groups and the Nigerian public.
But prior to that, President Muhammadu Buhari had directed
the NCC to collect the phone International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of
citizens as part of measures to tackle insecurity.
Buhari’s directive to the NCC was contained in the Revised
National Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration which outlines how the
government intends to achieve security from the digital space.
However, the Security Playbook of Digital Authoritarianism
in Nigeria report is calling on the government to “end the misuse of digital
technologies to stifle dissent, mitigate the effects of illegal surveillance
practices, and increase the ability of citizens to freely access information
and exercise their legal freedom of expression and right to privacy.”
“To make matters worse, these restrictions on civic freedoms
and privacy rights wear the toga of “national security”, “intelligence” and
“secrecy,” making it easier for culprits to escape scrutiny and
accountability,” the report said.
It also indicted Nigerian telecommunication companies
(Telcos) who gave their cooperation to the government’s ploy to stifle free
speech and abuse of digital rights.
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