SERAP– has kick against the monitoring of whatsapp others as it infringe and violate the human rights of the citizens~details below

 According to SERAP, “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 Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) had filed a lawsuit against General Muhammadu Buhari, asking the court to “declare illegal and unconstitutional plan by the administration to track, intercept and monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls, and text messages of Nigerians and other people, as it threatens and violates the right to the preservation of privacy.”

According to report the suit followed by the proposal in the Supplementary Appropriation Act signed in July 2021 to spend N4.87 billion to monitor private calls and messages. 

The amount is part of the N895.8 billion supplementary budget approved by the National Assembly.

SERAP file the suit on Friday, at the Federal High Court Abuja in regards to the suit number ‘FHC/ABJ/CS/1240/2021’, seeking; “an order of perpetual injunction restraining President Buhari and any other authority, persons or group of persons from illegally monitoring the WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages of Nigerians and other people.”

According to SERAP “this act is oppressive and draconian, and tend to threaten and violates sections 37 and 39 of 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended,and as contained in Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights; and Articles 17 and 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a state party.”

SERAP argued that “The plan to monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages is an arbitrary interference by the administration into it lacks the respect for human, family, private life, the home, and correspondence. It also fails to meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.”

It further added that “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.”

 “Privacy and expression are intertwined in the digital age, with online privacy serving as a gateway to secure exercise of the freedom of opinion and expression. Therefore, targets of surveillance would mean interference with their rights to privacy and freedom of opinion and expression whether the effort to monitor is successful or not.”

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, read in part: “The powers to conduct arbitrary, abusive or unlawful surveillance of communications may also be used to target political figures and activists, journalists and others in the discharge of their lawful activities.”

“Any spending of public funds should stay within the limits of constitutional responsibilities, and oath of office by public officers, as well as comply with Chapter 2 of the Nigerian Constitution relating to fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy.”

“The lack of any safeguards against discriminatory decision-making, and access to an effective remedy shows the grave threats the purported plan poses to constitutionally and internationally recognized human rights.”

“Section 37 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provide for the right to freedom from arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy and correspondence, communications and private data.”

“Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 19 of the Covenant also guarantee the right of everyone to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers and through any media.”

“The UN General Assembly has condemned unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and interception of communications as ‘highly intrusive acts’ that interfere with fundamental human rights (see General Assembly resolutions 68/167 and 71/199).”

“Interference with privacy through targeted surveillance is designed to suppress the exercise of the right to freedom of expression. Surveillance of journalists, activists, opposition figures, critics and others simply exercising their right to freedom of expression – would lead to violations of other human rights.”

“Targeted surveillance creates incentives for self-censorship and directly undermines the ability of journalists and human rights defenders to conduct investigations and build and maintain relationships with sources of information.”

However this has become a headline as nigerians and in diaspora has reacted especially the negative effects it will impact on the citizenry.

Some groups had also described this move by the federal government as uncalled for, with the present situation of the country it will indirectly infringe on the right of the citizens and will cause a mental, psychological trauma to the citizens.

Though the date for the hearing of the suit by the court has not be stated.