The approved supplementary budget of 7.46 billion Naira is for a purported “independent lawful interception platform – voice and advanced data monitoring”.

Apart from the widely reported 4.87 billion Naira (N4,870,350,000)that was approved in the 2021 supplementary budget to be spent by the Nigerian Intelligence Agency for “Thuraya interception solution” and “Whatsapp interception solution”, the National assembly also approved the request of a sister intelligence agency for like surveillance of people’s private conversations, be it local or international correspondence.

The National Assembly approved a supplementary budget of 7.46 billion Naira (N7,459,373,304) for Nigeria’s Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) to launch a purported “independent lawful interception platform – voice and advanced data monitoring”. This is besides the 30.82 billion earlier approved for the agency in the 2021 actual budget. 

The sum was part of the 982.7 (N982,729,695,343) billion naira supplementary budget approved by the National Assembly (NASS).

While the DIA has denied up front that it is acquiring the surveillance technologies to carry out “(un)lawful” interception of people’s voice calls and social media accounts, it has stated that it will “independent(ly)” decide whose phones to bug and whose social media accounts to hack.

A Lawful Interception or an Awful Intrusion?

In one breath, the existing Nigerian constitution protects the people from such independent and discretionary interception of their private communications by any organ of the government. The discretionary interception violates Section 37 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) with regards to citizens privacy:

“The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected”

However, “Section 45 of the same Constitution derogates from the rights so nobly enshrined in Section 37 when it provides in subsection 1 that: Nothing in sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of this Constitution shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society (a) in the interest of defense, public safety, public order, public morality or public health; or (b) for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other persons’. 

So, beyond a debating flourish, it is hard to see how ‘phone tapping’ for security/ surveillance purpose(s) will, by itself, amount to an abuse of human right.”, a Perchstone & Graeys analysis of the law posits.

It is on such grounds that the Intelligence agencies such as NIA, DIA could lawfully intercept people’s Thuraya, WhatsApp, voice calls and monitor people’s personal data, of various sorts.

And here is the possibility for ‘awful intrusion’ of people’s private communications – the provision of the NCC’s Act for “interception without a warrant” from the court. 

Though the constitution prescribes judicial procedures to be observed before people’s private communications could be intercepted, there is yet a clause that could be exploited by unscrupulous security agents. The Act stated too that “the interception of communication of any person shall be lawful where – … in the ordinary course of business, it is required to record or monitor such communication.”

Who decides whether the surveillance of a person or group of persons is within the “ordinary course of business”? Here that decision appears to have been taken away from the objective interpretation of a Judge. And it awfully falls within the discretion of a government agent.

So much money committed to independently and freely spy on the people

In addition to the amount approved by the NASS to intercept and monitor calls and other internet communications, which could include WhatsApp, e-mails accounts, Facebook profiles, etc, other sums were approved to other security agencies that could further entrench the violation of citizens’ privacy. 

These include the sum of N2.9 billion for the “Thuraya interception solution” and N1.9 billion for the WhatsApp interception solution. All these sums were awarded to the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA).

In all, a total sum of N182 (182,014,529,648) billion was approved by the National Assembly (NASS) on items categorised as communication and surveillance.

Of the sum approved for communication and surveillance, the Nigerian Army got 53.42% of the sum amounting to N97.22 billion. Items earmarked by the Army in the supplementary budget are surveillance equipment worth N669.1 million and payment for the purchase of defence equipment worth N96.6 billion.

The Defence Space Administration took N31.2 billion (17.16%) of the sum to communication and intelligence. The agency plans to purchase satellite imaging equipment worth N23.64 billion, cybersecurity equipment worth N6.9 billion and tracking equipment worth N672.8 million.

Further breakdown of communication and surveillance shows that the Nigerian Navy’s approved sum of N20.62 billion is the third largest accounting for 11.33%.

The Defence Intelligence Agency got N16.9 billion which is 9.3%. The remaining agencies got less than 3% of the approved allocation. With the National Intelligence Agency getting N4.9 billion (2.7%), Police Formations & Command N4.15 billion (2.3%), Department of State Services got N3.95 billion (2.17%) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) getting N3 billion (1.65%).

The Defence Headquarters and the Nigerian Air Force got N13.7billion and N64.6 million respectively. 

All these sums were voted to purchase communication and surveillance equipment.