There is online speculation that the Nigerian Government is planning to make it obligatory for any licensee in the West African Nation's telecoms network to provide direct access to its communications facilities for possible interception by law enforcement authorities, the report say.
These activities by law enforcement authorities will be known as the 'Lawful Interception of Communications Regulations.
If Blackberry services are encrypted and where there is a criminal investigation, the co-operation will be prosecuted.
Section 13 of the regulation instils power to the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the State Security Service (SSS) to demand the disclosure of protected or encrypted communications. Failure to do so by any telecommunication network will subsequently results in a fine of N5 million (USD: 31,766.24). Repeated offender will constitute a fine of N500.000 (USD:3,176.62) per day for each offence.
The infamous regulation has attracted criticisms from owners of both Middle Eastern and Asian telecommunication company owners in Nigeria. They claimed that militants in country will take advantage of the it and will always be scapegoat for their actions.
Zimbabwe has similar law that refuses to give license to Blackberry suppliers in the country. Investors have not been coming into the country since there is no Blackberry services legally operating in the country.
Sources: Online Nigeria
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