El-Rufai dares NCC on Lawful Intervention draft regulations, threatens law suit

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former FCT minister  has warned Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC to shelf its proposed lawful intervention regulations that seeks to monitor all forms of communications arguing that only National Assembly  has the constitutional power to legislate on the matter and threatened to go to any length to challenge the legality should NCC insists.

The former minister made this known recently in Lagos at an event organized the Joint Action Committee on Information and Communication Technology Awareness and Development (JACITAD) an umbrella body of ICT journalists in Nigeria.

Nasir who spoke on the Policy Review of draft lawful interception alleged that Federal Government through NCC is attempting clampdown on free speech and supposed enemies of the government with the proposed regulations. He added that NCC has a creation of National Assembly will be undermining the institution by turning itself to a law making by tinkering with lawful interception.

“Government is trying to legislate through the back door. NCC is not a legislature which has the sole power to legislate on this matter. NCC should do the right thing by allowing the National Assembly review the draft regulations and pass it as a law. Can you imagine NCC creating offence in the proposed regulations which only the National Assembly has prerogative”, Nasir says.

He observed that because of the sensitive nature of lawful interception only the legislature can handle it not the NCC. According to him, the law that established NCC listed only six limited areas NCC can regulate not on every issue.

The draft regulation which he described as unlawful and unconstitutional according to him impedes on fundamental right of privacy which is not within the purview of telecom regulations.

He however agreed that there should be law that will give access to law enforcement agents to scrutinize communications with crime intent but advanced that balance must be maintained and right procedures must be follow in its enactment.

He further raised concerns while why government which has been unlawfully intercepting communications under the guise of national security was pushing for lawful interception. He suspected that the government was trying to established regulations which will validate the information it has unlawfully intercepted in the past.