PIN urges respect for digital right on surveillance, interception

Participants at a workshop on Digital Cybercrimes have called for respect of the citizens’ digital right, especially with regards to digital surveillance and call interceptions.

Paradigm Initiative which organised the workshop in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Justice recently, focused mainly on section 24 and 38 of the Nigeria’s Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 and called for respect of the citizens’ digital right.

Adeboye Adegoke, programme manager at Paradigm Initiative, said that “the focus on the two sections was deliberate. We focused on those sections because they are prone to be misapplied to infringe on the digital rights and freedoms of citizens, especially freedom of expression and privacy online.

“Section 24, in particular, has already been cited in more than ten documented cases of alleged illicit arrest and abuse of rights. Provisions of Sections 24 and 38 of the Act were examined at the workshop as they are believed to be threats to digital rights in Nigeria.

Section 24 poses a threat to freedom of expression online while section 38 gives security agencies the right to hold on to citizen’s information, thereby violating their rights to privacy of their information online.”

The workshop provided opportunity for participants drawn from the Nigerian Police Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from Abuja, Bauchi, Gombe, Nasarawa, Rivers, Kano, Lagos, Enugu and the FCT in Nigeria to review cases of arrests related to sections 24 and 38 of the Act and the effects of these arrests on citizens.

Mr. Gbenga Sesan, executive director, Paradigm Initiative underscored the importance of the internet to democratic participation in Nigeria, noting that though rights in the digital realm exist, they are not respected.

Sesan stressed on the provisions in the Cybercrimes Act 2015 that give law enforcement agents access to citizen’s data and how these provisions are prone to abuse.

He cited instances in which files in government offices and Nigerian courts are currently being handled.

“Surveillance and Interception must be lawful, with clearly stated procedures and clear judicial oversight to avoid abuse. Respect for human rights in the day to day activities of law enforcement officers helps to foster citizen and security agency cooperation.

It is well known that countries that focus on innovation rather than clampdowns avail themselves huge economic opportunities. This can be seen through the relationship between the Gross Domestic Products of those countries and the level of internet penetration and internet freedom.”

On his part, head, Computer Crime Prosecution Unit at Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. George-Maria Tyendezwa, stated that we must differentiate between libel and slander from cyberstalking, adding that one-time acts don’t constitute stalking mentioned in Section 24.

Tyendezwa explained that anyone who feels defamed should not use the apparatus of the state to oppress anyone but to go to court to seek remedy.

Director of Programs at Paradigm Initiative, Mr. George-Maria Tyendezwa, told participants: “we believe that law enforcement agents who participated in the workshop are better equipped in handling and managing cases involving Cybercrime as a result of this workshop.

Our objective is to ensure that the Cybercrimes Act 2015 does not become an instrument of oppression in the hands of the powerful using security agencies as tools.”