BALANCING COMMUNICATION SURVEILLANCE AND THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The impact of terrorism in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. The negative effects ranges from loss of lives and livelihoods, displacements and other humanitarian crisis, to economic meltdown being witnessed in the country today. These distasteful effects appeared to have provided the basis for justifying any means, including communication surveillance, employed by security operatives in combating terrorism in Nigeria. However, there is a growing concern over the infringement of the right to privacy by these security operatives. It is against this background that this article examined communication surveillance and the right to privacy, with the purpose of striking a balance between the use of communication surveillance and other electronic correspondence in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria and the right to privacy to communication. To achieve its aim, the article adopted doctrinal methodology of legal research, which involves recourse to the primary sources of law such as statutes and case laws; and to secondary sources of law such as relevant textbooks and journals articles. On the basis of the analysis of these materials, the article finds that although there exist a robust regulatory framework on communication surveillance in Nigeria, the existing framework does not ensure adequate checks for the conduct of communication surveillance in order to forestall the erosion of an individual’s right to privacy in the fight against terrorism. To that effect, the article recommended among others, the introduction of the principle of good faith and bolstering the principle of legality in the framework.