General
SERAP Begs Court to Stop Plans to Monitor Nigerians on WhatsApp
By Adedapo Adesanya
The group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari over plans by his administration to monitor Nigerians on WhatsApp.
In the latest round of suit filed by its lawyers, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare and Miss Kehinde Oyewumi, the group is asking the court to “declare illegal and unconstitutional the plan by the administration to track, intercept and monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls, and text messages of Nigerians and other people, as it severely threatens and violates the right to the preservation of privacy.”
The suit followed the proposal in the Supplementary Appropriation Act signed in July 2021 to spend N4.87 billion to monitor private calls and messages.
The amount is part of the N895.8 billion supplementary budget approved by the National Assembly.
In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1240/2021 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP is seeking: “an order of perpetual injunction restraining President Buhari and any other authority, persons or group of persons from unlawfully monitoring the WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages of Nigerians and other people.”
SERAP is also seeking “a declaration that any monitoring of WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages is oppressive and draconian, as it threatens and violates sections 37 and 39 of Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended]; Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; and Articles 17 and 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a state party.”
According to the group, the plan to monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages is an arbitrary interference by the administration into respect for family and private life, the home, and correspondence.
“The Buhari administration has legal obligations to protect Nigerians and other people against arbitrary interference and violations of their human rights. Monitoring of WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages would grant free rein to government agencies to conduct mass surveillance of communications of people,” it said.
“The mere threat of mass surveillance, even when secret, coupled with the lack of remedy, can constitute an interference with human rights, including the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
“Privacy and expression are intertwined in the digital age, with online privacy serving as a gateway to secure exercise of the freedom of opinion and expression. Therefore, targets of surveillance would suffer interference with their rights to privacy and freedom of opinion and expression whether the effort to monitor is successful or not.”
Joined in the suit as respondents are the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mr Zainab Ahmed.
“The powers to conduct arbitrary, abusive or unlawful surveillance of communications may also be used to target political figures and activists, journalists and others in the discharge of their lawful activities.
“Any spending of public funds should stay within the limits of constitutional responsibilities, and oath of office by public officers, as well as comply with Chapter 2 of the Nigerian Constitution relating to fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy.
“The lack of any safeguards against discriminatory decision-making, and access to an effective remedy shows the grave threats the purported plan poses to constitutionally and internationally recognized human rights.
“Section 37 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provide for the right to freedom from arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy and correspondence, communications and private data.
“Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 19 of the Covenant also guarantee the right of everyone to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers and through any media.
“The UN General Assembly has condemned unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and interception of communications as ‘highly intrusive acts’ that interfere with fundamental human rights (see General Assembly resolutions 68/167 and 71/199).
“Interference with privacy through targeted surveillance is designed to repress the exercise of the right to freedom of expression. Surveillance of journalists, activists, opposition figures, critics and others simply exercising their right to freedom of expression – would lead to violations of other human rights.
“Targeted surveillance creates incentives for self-censorship and directly undermines the ability of journalists and human rights defenders to conduct investigations and build and maintain relationships with sources of information,” the statement read in part.
SERAP is also seeking the following reliefs:
A declaration that monitoring of WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages of Nigerians and other people is inconsistent with the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality and amounts to threat and infringement on the rights to private and family life, access to correspondence, and freedom of expression and the press guaranteed under sections 37 and 39 of Nigeria Constitution, 1999; Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Articles 17 and 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
A declaration that the act of the Defendants budgeting N4.87bn of public money to monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages of Nigerians and other people is unlawful and a violation of the rights to private and family life, access to correspondence, and freedom of expression and the press.
An order setting aside the budget line of N4.87 billion to monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages of Nigerians and other people for being inconsistent and incompatible with constitutional provisions, and international human rights treaties.
An order mandating the 1st Respondent to redirect public funds in the sum of N4.87 billion budgeted to monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages of Nigerians and other people to improve the working conditions of healthcare practitioners and improve public healthcare facilities across Nigeria.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has proposed a review of the current revenue-sharing formula among the three tiers of government, seeking to allocate more funds to the federal government.
The proposal is contained in a constitutional amendment bill titled Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Alteration) Bill, 2026, sponsored by Mr Karimi Sunday representing Kogi-West, which passed first reading during plenary on Tuesday.
Coming amid ongoing calls for a new revenue formula to favour states and local governments, the bill argues for an increased federal share from the existing formula.
Under the current revenue sharing formula designed during the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, the federal government takes about 52.68 percent of the total revenue generation by the nation in a month, the 36 state governments including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja get 26.72 per cent and the 774 local governments share 20.60 per cent. The oil producing states of the Niger Delta region receive 13 per cent revenue as derivation to compensate for ecological damage of oil production in the region.
Defending the bill, the senator in a media conference on Tuesday stated that the federal government is overburdened by responsibilities such as the rehabilitation of dilapidated Trunk A roads and rising security costs, adding that available funds are no longer sufficient.
Ahead of its second reading, the lawmaker alleged that some states have little to show for funds received from the federation account.
The battle to change the sharing formula has been ongoing for more than 12 years. In 2013, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) resolved to undertake a review to achieve a balanced development of the country.
To achieve that objective, the commission embarked on a nationwide consultation to the 36 states and also met with notable persons, including traditional rulers on the issue.
In December 2014, the commission came out with a proposed new revenue formula, which was submitted to the government. However, the report was not implemented.
Proponents have argued that the review of the revenue allocation among the federal, states and local governments of the federation has become necessary due to the current economic realities the country is facing.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The African Energy Bank (AEB) plans to raise $15 billion in its first three years of operations to fund strategic energy projects.
The Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), Mr Farid Ghezali, made this known at the opening session of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2026) on Tuesday.
The bank which is set to launch in Abuja in the first half of 2026 has set a target of mobilising $200 billion for midstream and downstream energy projects across the continent.
“The African Energy Bank is designed to unlock the 200 billion needed for our midstream-downstream project by 2030.
“Our goal is to raise $15 billion in just three years with this increased liquidity,” Mr Ghezali stated.
The APPO secretary general decried that Africa’s energy still faces huge export of its oil and gas despite having a huge market for its utilisation within the continent.
“We are still exporting about 70 per cent of our crude oil and 45 per cent of our natural gas, losing $15 billion per year. This is an added value that we could generate locally, especially in the midstream and downstream segments.”
He pinpointed that financing hurdles remained the main bottleneck for the continent, as the cost of financing in Africa was 15 to 20 per cent, compared to only 4 to 6 per cent in Asia.
He said the disparity was unacceptable and had stalled over 150 projects, including refineries and the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Natural Gas Pipeline.
Mr Ghezali also said that APPO’s 18 national oil companies face isolation, “Our 18 national oil companies’ NOCs in APPO often operate in isolation, without a common stock exchange, which severely limits regional synergies.
He noted that the AEB was set to offer “competitive regional pricing” through unified intra-African gas and oil pricing for “savings of up to 30 per cent on their energy imports, a potential gain of $1.4 billion for Africa,” plus “direct access to investors.
He highlighted the three-phase road map for the AEB to include: “Phase one, which, as I said in the first half of 2026, launches the African Energy Bank platform with 10-pillar projects involving countries such as Nigeria, Angola, and Libya. APPO certification and integration of IOCs such as Shell or ENI.”
“Phase two, in 2027, we plan to start a regional gas-oil trade, integrating the principles of the Bassari Declaration for 15 per cent local content.”
Phase three, reaching 2030, the African Energy Bank will be a true African financial hub, with $200 billion mobilised.”
He said expected results included, “Project financing for billions of dollars, regional savings of around 30 per cent of import costs, 500,000 direct jobs created in the local midstream.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned the former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, and his son, Mr Abudlazizz Malami, on a five-count charge of abetting terrorism financing and illegal possession of firearms.
They were arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja, where they pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In the charge, the former AGF was accused of knowingly abetting terrorism financing by refusing to prosecute terrorism financiers whose case files were brought to his office as the AGF in the last administration for prosecution.
Recall that the secret police had arrested Mr Malami, shortly after his release from Kuje prison in Abuja more than two weeks ago after Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja granted him and two others bail in the sum of N500 million in another case involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mr Malami and his son are also accused by the DSS of engaging in conduct in preparation to commit act of terrorism by having in their possession and without licence, a Sturm Magnum 17-0101 firearm, 16 Redstar AAA 5’20 live rounds of Cartridges and 27 expended Redstar AAA 5’20 Cartridges.
His arrest in January followed weeks of reports of surveillance by the secret police in front of the prison facility since the time Mr Malami, his wife and son were remanded there over the money laundering charges.
As per reports, Mr Malami had gathered that he would be picked up upon regaining his temporary freedom and so decided to wait out the DSS. However, after his eventual emergence, the operatives took the ex-AGF into detention again.
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