$40 million (N6 billion) internet surveillance
contract awarded secretly by the Nigerian
government to an Israeli firm, be immediately
suspended.
In a resolution approved Thursday, the House
said no further action should be taken on the
controversial spy project, which has generated
widespread fury and condemnation, until three
of its committees complete an investigation in
three weeks.
The top secret project, was awarded by the
Jonathan administration to Elbit Systems, an
Israeli Info tech firm, to spy on millions of
Nigerian internet users; which is put at over 47
million. The move was viewed as an act of
desperation by a government which is
increasingly frustrated by the unrestrained use
of the internet to attack government officials and
policies.
But the authorities, who have maintained a
studied silence since the clandestine project
became public knowledge, passed it off as an
intelligence gathering effort in the face of
growing insecurity and fundamentalist threat.
In a motion moved by Ibrahim Gusau, the
House said the project will infringe on the
privacy of Nigerians and argued that the so-
called intelligence gathering, "may not be the
solution" to the nation's security woes.
The House also frowned at the secrecy
surrounding the contract award, which
lawmakers agreed contravened federal financial
regulations relating to contract awards, as
stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.
Three committees, namely, Information and
Computer Technology, Human Rights, and
National Security, are to conduct inquiry into the
project and make its findings known in three
weeks.
More details later…
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