ACN Asks National Assembly Not To Pass Bill Authorising Telephone Tapping

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged the National Assembly not to pass a bill reportedly in the works to authorise e-surveillance of telephone calls by the security agencies, as part of efforts to check the worsening insecurity in the country.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said passing such a bill will only amount to giving the security agencies the carte blanche to tap the phones of any citizen on the pretext that it is for security purposes.

It said such a law was also capable of breeding dictatorship, as it can be easily abused by the government of the day to target the opposition or even their own party officials who have fallen out of favour.

ACN said what the country needs to tackle the enormous security challenges in the country is to think out of the box, encourage cooperation among the security agencies and fund them adequately so as to develop their capacity and vision.

The party said, however, that the ultimate answer to the serious security challenges facing the nation is the establishment of state police, securing the nation’s borders and improving training as well as intelligence gathering.

”Since it is said that all security is local, having state police will definitely enhance security across the country. One cannot over-state the importance of deploying security agents to areas with which they are very conversant, either in terms of language or the geographical terrain in which they operate.

”It is not for nothing that Russia, for example, will deploy to the US intelligence officers who have either been educated in the country (US) or understand the way of life of the American people, including their language,” it said.

ACN warns that any law that is capable of compromising the privacy law protecting phone users and interfering with the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of Nigerians can only create more problems than it will solve.

”Who determines whose phones are to be wire-tapped and for what reasons? What would be the implication of a law authorising e-surveillance by security agencies on the privacy law to protect phone users? How are we sure the government of the day will not abuse such a law? Who determines what constitutes a national threat that will warrant e-surveillance?

These are some of the questions that must be answered by those pushing for the enactment of such a law,” the party said.

It said the biggest problem facing those who preside over the security of the nation is that they barely understand what security is all about.

”However, if they are now so desperate as to start pushing for a law that will compromise individual privacy and trample on personal liberties, then it may be time for them to go and allow those who can adequately tackle the security challenges within the ambit of the law to take charge,” ACN said.