War Against Terror …The Phones’ Monitor Law

Amidst the seeming helplessness of Nigerian’s security agencies to check the now worrisome terror threats and actual attacks in the country, by the Islamic extremist Sect, Boko Haram, recent plans by the Federal Government to draft an enactment that would empower security operatives to monitor dangerous telephone conversations, require some measure of passionate scrutiny.  For the singular reason that such a law, if and when enacted stands the likelihood of infringing on the citizens’ right to privacy, a lot must first be considered to ensure its workability.

On Tuesday, last week, the Federal government made public its plans to push for a legislation in the National Assembly, for a right of electronic surveillance of telephone calls by security agencies in order to stem the tide of security challenges in the country.

Branded, e-surveillance or eavesdropping, when endorsed,the process will involve wiretapping, through interception, by accessing the telephone signal itself as obtains in the United States of America (USA) even before the September 9, 2001 terror attacks on the twin Towers that once housed the World Trade Centre in New York City.

It will be like similar safe-guards put in place by Israel, China and Britain among other countries in proactive battle against criminality, particularly terrorism, drug trafficking and national felonies bordering insecurity. Generally, all such  enactments are intended for effective intelligence gathering needed to check money laundering which is the key component of virtually all crimes’ sponsorship and help nip in the bud unwholesome activities of dangerous citizens and others.

In 2009, long before the 9/11 terror experience, the US had a similar low-range monitoring arrangement which  recorded 2,379 authorised wiretaps, targeted mainly at drug pushing, and captured conversations of up to 133 individuals lasting about 42 days, according to media reports.

Expectedly, the volume of information gathered from the process successfully recorded 4,537 arrests resulting in, as many as 678 convictions. These figures do not include terrorism-related wiretaps or those of the National Security Agency (NSA) warrantless witetapping programme. But with the experience of 9/11, even the US, with all her love for human liberties and limitless opportunities, including of course, the very invaluable right to privacy has in tune with prevailing national concerns and realities upscaled the NSA’s electronic surveillance scheme with a mandate widened, to serve as a foil against security ships.

There however, US Federal Law enforcement officials, according to media reports, have the power to tap telephone lines only after showing “probable cause” of unlawful activity and only after obtaining a court order. Even so, such reported unlawful activity must involve specific violations, and still leave ample power to the courts to limit the requested surveillance to communications related to the unlawful activity and to a specific period of time, usually 30 days, in line with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2516.

Moving in like path, a bill, Nigerian Presidency sources revealed, last week Tuesday, is being drafted for consideration by the National Assembly as a means of boosting intelligence gathering needed to checkmate the increasing spate of violence, bombings and killings in the land. With this worrisome state of insecurity, government is optimistic that the lawmakers would show deep understanding and help fast track the passage of the law.

At the risk of sounding immodest, among all other benefits, the law, when passed, would  to ensure codification of messages for easy interception by security agencies and also promote information sharing on a national security network to help check unwholesome plots likely to endanger national security.

However, to work and work well, the projection shall require the co-operation of communication service providers who have already, started foot dragging on the matter, even before the proposed enactment. They have, with a seeming touch of finality, insisted that such an anactment would compromise the privacy law currently operating in the country meant to protect telephone users.

MTN for instance, said in a statement from its head office last week Tuesday, that the plan needs to safeguard against bugging by unauthorised persons. It said. “MTN Nigeria’s network is subject to the same standard protocol that pertains across the world and cannot be intercepted by unauthorised persons. The company goes to extra ordinary lengths to protect the confidentiality of its customers and data or call information are judiciously protected in strict compliance with the relevant laws”, the statement added.

Clearly, MTN’s position is a familiar stereotype by telephone service providers at peace time and is commendable, afterall, what is the use of  a telephone facility if it becomes a glorified radio station for all. No doubt, the company’s position can  best be understood from the view point that such uninhibited surveillance of individuals’ telephones by all, could in itself, be a danger to the citizenry which the law seeks to protect as criminals could also use same facility  to track various targets.

But the little now known of the Federal government’s attempt, and the example of the US experience, just as those of China, Isreal and Britain, may not get as bad as the telecommunication houses are wont to fear. The facility, for sure, cannot be free from all. Infact, even among the authorised users, there should be, I am minded to believe, necessary safe guards against abuses.

So, rather than kill the lofty federal government plan, even before birth, all well-meaning Nigerians, desirous to put an end to the wanton killings of innocent Nigerians and even foreigners in the land, should consider the effort as a citizen’s sacrifice necessary in times of war. Like that waged by the Boko Haram Sect.

Without doubt, a lot is indeed at stake from the individuals’ rights perspective but should we, for those reasons, remain helpless and merely watch hundreds more of human lives be lost to terror-related attacks in the hands of Boko Haram and, only recently, MEND?

But I have another worry. Letting the National Assembly to enact the law is one thing, what the security personnel do with the information to be gathered from that process is entirely another. What, for instance, has been done to fish-out security personnel known to have been compromised in the search of Boko Haram King pins? With such thorn-coats still masquerading as patriots among genuine officers, is there any way of telling what danger they could mean to the entire process? How would such fifth colummists use such information?

Yes, even in the US there are also black-legs in the security ranks but is it not also a statement of fact that a larger majority of Americans love their country and respect members of the Security and Armed Forces better? That public empathy indeed serves as a conscience booster to American Security personnel who for the same reasons after, feel eternally indebted to their nation and citizens in a way few Nigerians ever would.

These disparities must be properly considered in the entire process of law-making and ensure that rather than allow the facility open, even to all security personnel, only a trusted tiny command structure should be created for this sensitive job, who, in turn, will share such information in a manner that the plan does not end up as a curse to Nigeria and her peoples but a blessing.

My Agony is that hiding under the usual exaggerated defence of human rights,  the next line of the national  debates on the issue that will follow, will predictably be everything but for the passage of such a law, because it will give even the unknown sponsors of the terror groups, an escape root to express pretentious   support for human freedom, which in their protracted silence, Boko Haram terrorists have denied many.

The Law has my vote!

Soye Wilson Jamabo