PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo has forwarded a bill to the National Assembly seeking to empower security agencies to intercept all Internet communications in the country.
The bill also proposes life imprisonment for any person whose operations of the critical information infrastructure leads to the death of another person.
Our corresponden exclusively obtained the proposed law known as Computer Security and Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Bill 2005, on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to the House record, the bill was forwarded on August 16, 2006. However, it is yet to be committed to second reading.
The primary purpose of the bill is to secure computer systems and networks in the country.
To achieve this, it provides criminal liabilities and penalties for undesirable activities carried out using computers and other information and communication technology devices.
Clause 12 (1-3) of the proposed bill reads, �Every service provider shall keep all traffic and subscriber information on its computer or computer network for such period of time as the President may, by order published in the Federal Gazette, specify from time to time.�
However, Clause 14 of the bill reads, �It shall be the duty of every service provider in Nigeria to comply with all the provisions of this Act and disclose any information requested by any law enforcement agency or otherwise render assistance howsoever in any inquiry or proceeding under this Act.
�Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, every service provider shall, at the request of any law enforcement agency in Nigeria or at the initiative of the service provider, provide assistance towards the identification, apprehension and prosecution of offenders.�
It also requires service providers to aid in the identification, tracing and confiscation of proceeds of any offence or any property, equipment or device used in the commission of any ICT-related offence.
It adds, �Any service provider who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N5m.
�In addition to the punishment under subsection (2), each responsible director, manager or officer of the service provider shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of not less than three years or to both such fine and imprisonment.�
While obtaining information under the proposed law, security agents are, however, expected to show due regard to the right of an individual to privacy as provided for in the 1999 Constitution.
Besides, such an official has to take appropriate technological and organisational measures to safeguard the confidentiality of the data retained, processed or retrieved for the purpose of law enforcement.
Reacting to the bill, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, said the proposed law was not a new one with operators globally.
He said operators would be willing to work with government in its implementation. He, however, expressed concerns over the process of implementation and the possible impact it could have on subscribers.
Adebayo also stated that implementing the access to content law could be difficult, as the mechanisms required is very cumbersome and complex. He added, however, that the law would be coming a bit late and would be more costly to implement since operators did not make it part of their network in the first place.