…Decry its use to target Rhoda Jatau.
…Claim that, “Act misuses, violates freedom of journalists; hinders rights groups’ independence.”
by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Rights groups, under the auspices of ‘Diaspora Alliance’ and the ‘African Working Group Int’l Road Federation (IRF) Roundtable Washington DC, Nigeria Centre,’ have strongly advocated the removal of Section 24 (1-2) of Nigeria’s Cyber Crimes Act, in its entirety, due to what they termed as its “history of misuse.”
The groups are also asking the Senate to work towards providing an effective legal review through an ombudsman or similar actor, to monitor the legality of charges brought under the Cyber Crimes Act, and to ensure that it’s not used to curtail Nigerian citizens’ fundamental freedoms or hinder the independence of journalists and human rights defenders in documenting human rights violations.
This was contained in a letter they addressed to the Committee Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security, Hon. Shuaib Salisu, at Senate Complex Abuja, Nigeria, penultimate Friday, and made available to newsmen.
The statement, signed by Emmanuel Ahim of Diaspora Alliance, and Scott Morgan, Co-Chair African Working Group IRF Roundtable Washington, DC, Nigeria Centre, noted with dismay that, the Cyber Crimes Act has been used discriminatorily and unlawfully by intolerant actors to target individuals they disagree with.
It stated that, “In the light of the above, it is clear that the Cyber Crimes Act has been used discriminatorily and unlawfully by intolerant actors to target individuals they disagree with.
“We call on the Senate to offer protection to those, who document attacks and human rights violations, and urge that Section 24 (1-2) be removed in its entirety due to its history of misuse.
“We also ask that the Senate looks into providing effective legal review via an ombudsman, or similar actor, to monitor the legality of charges brought under the Cyber Crimes Act.
“The Act should not be used to curtail Nigerian citizens’ fundamental freedoms, nor hinder the independence of journalists and human rights defenders in documenting human rights violations, as they play an important role in fighting impunity.
“As the Senate Speaker has raised, the current Cyber Crime Act (2015) fails to fulfill its core purpose to address and stem the 500 million dollars Nigeria loses annually due to cybercrime, including hacking, identity theft, cyber terrorism, harassment, and internet fraud.
“The Act, instead, has been implemented to silence and detain individuals for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief and freedom of opinion and expression,” it stated.
Earlier in the letter to the committee chairman, the group explained that “We, the undersigned, are a group of individuals and organizations that advocate for human rights and religious freedom around the world.
“We represent diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds but are united in our goal of promoting freedom of conscience, religion and belief for all. We are reaching out to you regarding the Cyber Crime Act (2015) Amendment Bill that was discussed in the Senate last week, on November 22nd.
“We have concerns not only with the proposed amendments but specifically with Section 24 and 26 of the current Act and how it has been misused to formally detain individuals for exercising their freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief and freedom of expression.
“We concur with the assessment that was made by Jide Oyekunle, the Chairman of the NUJ, FCT Correspondent Chapel, and representatives of Avocats Sans Frontiéres France during the hearing, that, Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act regarding cyber- stalking is incongruous with the provisions of Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, which grants freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
“We are especially concerned with how this section was initially used to target Rhoda Jatau, a Christian healthcare worker from Bauchi State.
“Authorities imprisoned her and are charging her with blasphemy for sharing a video on WhatsApp criticizing the murder of a Christian university student, Deborah Emmanuel, in May 2022.
“Another hearing was held on November 27th, which refused to dismiss the blasphemy charges, and this case will move forward to trial. Section 26 was also used initially to formally detain Humanist Mubarak Bala.
“Journalists, who document human rights violations, are also targeted by the Cyber Crimes Act. Luka Binniyat, who reported on religious groups and religious freedom conditions, was charged by authorities under Section 24 (b) of the Nigeria Cyber Crimes Act, before he was eventually released.
“The section criminalizes using computers or other devices to transmit information that the sender ‘knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill-will or needless anxiety’ to another or causes such a message to be sent.
“While authorities used the law to detain Luka Binniyat for a time, no individual was arrested for the murder of Deborah Emmanuel. It is also known that, militant groups and others use social media to document their attacks and even recruit new fighters,” it stressed.