ALTON Backs FG’s Move to Grant Security Operatives Access to Subscribers’ Data

Emma Okonji

Following wide condemnation by Nigerians from all walks of life, on the approval given by the federal government, which allows security agents to have access to subscribers’ data for the purpose of carrying out investigation on any Nigerian, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has said the approval is in order.

Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, who cited security reasons for ALTON’s support, told THISDAY that the security of individual citizens remained paramount, insisting that the federal government has the prerogative to take security decisions that are in the best interest of the country.

Shortly after the establishment of the policy on National Identification Number and Subscriber Identification Module (NIN-SIM), six months ago, by the federal government, which allows NIN-SIM integration and the creation of a single database for all telecoms subscribers by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), President Buhari gave approval to security agents to have unhindered access to subscribers’ data when carrying out criminal investigation on any Nigerian or any registered citizen in Nigeria.

Nigerians had since then, kicked against the approval, saying it amounts to breach of personal privacy, if security agents could have access to subscribers’ data stored in NIMC’s database, without their consent.

The agitation however continued, when the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), this week, wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to review and rescind his reported approval for security agencies to access peoples’ personal details via NIN-SIM database without due process of law.

According to the letter, SERAP also urged Buhari to send executive bills to the National Assembly to repeal and reform all laws that are inconsistent and incompatible with Nigerians’ rights to privacy, dignity and liberty.

The organisation’s position followed reports that some security agencies had received presidential approval to access personal details of Nigerians via the database of NIMC in the course of carrying out their duties.

In the letter dated February 5, 2022, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation warned that if the president’s reported approval was not rescinded, millions of law-abiding Nigerians may feel that their private lives are the subject of constant surveillance.

Reacting to the letter, Adebayo said: “President Muhammadu Buhari is the Chief Security Officer of the country, and he has the prerogative to take decisions that boarder on national security and the security of individuals. So his decision to grant approval for security operatives to have access to subscribers’ data for the purpose of doing their job is in order and cannot be faulted. No body is in the position to question the authority of the president, when it comes to decisions on national security. The licenses issued to operators in the country are government licences and the operators take directives from government, who owns and issued those licences.”

“There are processes and procedures to get access to the data information and the security agents know how to go about the process to get whatever information they want to get, based on the laid down procedures in getting such information, “Adebayo further said.

Speaking on the issue of data privacy of individuals, Adebayo said the privacy of individuals cannot be compromised by security agents or any government agencies.

According to him, subscribers already had obligations with service providers from the very day the subscriber purchases a SIM card from the service provider, because the subscriber had already signed to the terms and conditions of service offerings from the point of purchase of the SIM card.

Adebayo further explained that the terms and conditions of service, protect the subscriber and that no subscriber would be intimidated or arrested when there are no criminal cases linked to the subscriber.

Responding to issues of why crime rates in the country are on the increase, despite the presence of security operatives who seek to use people’s data to track suspected criminals who use mobile phones to commit crime like kidnapping, Adebayo said the security operatives had told them that criminals use the mobile phones of their victims to make calls when demanding for ransom, which he said, had always made it difficult to track such criminals.

He however said the security operatives were doing so much to reduce crime rates in the country, unknown to many Nigerians.