The federal government has reportedly planned to monitor phone calls, texts and Whatsapp messages of Nigerians.
This was revealed by The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project(SERAP) who filed an application before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja against the development.
SERAP argued that it is wrong for President Muhammadu Buhari administration to do that, adding that it contravened Nigerians’ constitutional right to privacy.
As such , it wants the court to “declare illegal and unconstitutional the plan by the administration to track, intercept and monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls, and text messages of Nigerians and other people, as it severely threatens and violates the right to the preservation of privacy.”
While SERAP is the applicant, the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, are the respondents in the suit.
The suit followed the proposal in the Supplementary Appropriation Act signed in July 2021 to spend N4.87bn to monitor private calls and messages. The amount is part of the N895.8bn supplementary budget approved by the National Assembly
In SERAP’s brief of argument, it stated that democracy and human right is under threat if the Buhari administration is allowed to track people’s private messages.
“The plan to monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages is an arbitrary interference by the administration into respect for family and private life, the home, and correspondence. It also fails to meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.
“The Buhari administration has legal obligations to protect Nigerians and other people against arbitrary interference and violations of their human rights. Monitoring of WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages would grant free rein to government agencies to conduct mass surveillance of communications of people.
“The mere threat of mass surveillance, even when secret, coupled with the lack of remedy, can constitute an interference with human rights, including the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” it added.
Scheduled date for hearing is yet to be approved.
