ACN Calls Jonathan’s Plan to Spy on Nigerians ‘Evil,’ Calls on Citizens To Speak Up Before It Is Too Late

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has condemned as ‘evil,’ the reported $40 million Internet Surveillance Contract that will enable the government to invade the privacy of citizens, calling on the National Assembly, civil liberties organisations, professional groups and ordinary citizens to speak out before it is too late.

In a statement issued in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, ACN noted that since the emergence of reports of the contract, which is said to have been awarded to an Israeli firm, it has yet to be denied, an indication that it is safe to assume that it is indeed true.

Describing such a development as an unprecedented assault on the civil rights of Nigerian citizens by the Jonathan Administration, ACN said this marks the beginning of what is sure to be the curtailment of the right to freedom of speech and expression and the freedom of the press, in addition to the invasion of citizens' privacy, among other implications.

''For a government that is increasingly paranoid, having failed to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the citizenry who are justifiably becoming restive by the day, the ability to spy on the Internet communications of citizens as well as to intercept and read private emails, not to talk of being able to suppress unwanted connections, is a potent weapon against the civil rights of Nigerians as well as the constitutionally-guaranteed rights like freedom of expression, freedom of the press and freedom of association,” the party further said.

The party pointed out that it is common knowledge that the Jonathan administration has been getting a bad rap from Nigerians in the traditional media as well as the social media, which it described as a veritable platform for the citizens to vent their frustrations at a do-nothing government.

''It is also common knowledge that journalists have borne the brunt of the administration's increasing propensity to stifle freedom of expression and press freedom, while members of the opposition are being portrayed more and more as enemies of the administration, rather than being seen as indispensable allies in the nation's quest to evolve a strong and enduring democracy,” the statement said.

Speculating that these factors may have been the motivation for the administration to acquire the Internet Surveillance capability, ACN warned that no government in the history of Nigeria has taken this kind of brazen measure for whatever reason, and that it must raise serious concerns among Nigerians, their political representatives as well as civil liberties organisations.

According to the party, ''Desirable as it may be for the government to be able to gather useful intelligence on the terror groups that have held a section of our country by the jugular, nothing can justify what will essentially become a weapon for harassment, intimidation and even decimation of perceived opponents by a desperate and paranoid administration that is already firing poisoned
arrows at those it sees as its enemies, within and outside its fold, in the run up to the 2015 elections.

"No government should have the right to play a 'Big Brother' role in the lives of the citizens, because this will ultimately herald the return to autocratic rule and sound the death knell of our democracy," it warned.