Global Rights calls for the immediate suspension of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) directive compelling telecommunications operators in the country to block all sim cards that are not registered with the National Identity Numbers within two weeks and the imposition of a heavy sanction on the telecommunication operators including the threat of withdrawing their license. We unequivocally condemn this ludicrous governance style of creating knee-jerk policies without giving deep thought to the consequences or the possibilities of implementing such policies or directives.
The federal government has been on a data harvesting spree since 1999, with not enough harmonization of this plethora of data from agencies and organizations, into a single, reliable database. Biometric data from International Passports, Drivers Licence, Permanent Voters Card, Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), SIM registration data, and event the National Identity Numbers has been captured. According to the Senior Special Assistant on New Media to President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, this order is to curtail and checkmate the lingering security challenges in some parts of the country. That a National Identity Number is still needed to harmonize biometric data for security purposes in Africa’s largest economy, speaks to the failure of government and the haphazard nature of government operations in Nigeria. That the government is not considering the economic effect of blocking the sim cards of millions of Nigerians after an economically tumultuous year gives graves reasons for concern.
Although this order was given by the Minister of Communications and the Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami in February 2020, very little was done by telecommunications operators and the NCC to remind people to register for the NIN and update with their service providers. Considering that the world is battling a pandemic that has taken the lives of thousands of people and 1200 Nigerians as of 16th December 2020. A mad dash by Nigerians to different enrolment offices occasioned by the desire to prevent their sim cards from being blocked could see Nigeria’s COVID-19 infections climb even higher, amid warnings of a second wave of the pandemic, a situation which a thinking government should be out to avoid. While we are aware that some of the telecommunication operators are putting digital avenues in place to ease the stress, the people in the rural community who do not have televisions or smartphones will have their sim cards blocked if the government goes ahead to implement this directive. There will be more deaths from COVID 19 in the metropolis and the economy will also bear the brunt of the government’s insensitivity.
In addition to this are the privacy concerns raised by the insistence of the government to impose a two-week deadline for a process that is typically slow and tortuous. As of today, 173 private sector agents and 30 public sector agencies have been licensed to boost NIN enrolment. Nothing is been said about the legal capacity of these new operators to protect citizen’s data. There is a more security risk if citizens are been forced to release their data compulsorily without a law in place. In this digital age, a person’s privacy can only be protected where there are data protection laws, policies, and mechanisms in place. It is the responsibility of the state and individuals alike to respect the privacy of citizens. Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees this unequivocally.
We, therefore, urge the government to immediately suspend the implementation of this unthoughtful directive and hasten the process of accelerating the Data Protection bill which has only passed the first reading at the National Assembly. Existing NIMC and NCC data should be synced without stress and mechanisms should be put in place to create awareness on the need to complete the NIN registrations across Nigeria. Mechanisms must also be put in place to ensure that licensed operators understand the need to protect citizen’s data.
With the events of this year, citizens trust in government is at its barest minimal and the government should concern itself with deliberate efforts at building back trust, restoring the economy and dealing with insecurity not imposing directives that could literally crumble our already fragile state. Failure to suspend this directive will only justify the reasoning that the government’s insistence to go ahead with this despite all that happened this year is another avenue to clamp down on citizen’s voices by cutting down on internet usage via sim blockage which will inevitably affect future citizen demonstrations.
Signed:
Funke Adeoye
Programs Managers
contact@globalrights.org
