BY JACOB BRIGHT
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project on Sunday handed a 48-hour ultimatum to the Federal Government to unblock millions of unregistered lines which it had directed operators to block.
SERAP in a statement issued on Sunday by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, charged President Muhammadu Buhari to “direct the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, and the Nigerian Communications Commission to immediately reverse the apparently unlawful decision to block over 72 million active telecommunication subscribers from making calls on their SIMs.”
The group stated that “Blocking people from making calls undermines their ability to communicate freely, and associate with others. It infringes their rights to freedom of expression and family life, as well as socio-economic rights.”
The group argued that the move is inconsistent and incompatible with the country’s international legal obligations to respect, protect, promote and facilitate economic and social rights. It added that the decision contradicts the tenets of the rule of law and democratic society.
Part of the statement reads: “Immediately reversing the decision would be in conformity with the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended), and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations. Reversing the decision would also improve the confidence of the international community in human rights and the rule of law in Nigeria.
“The decision will cause a wide variety of harms to economic activity, and personal safety, and disproportionately affect those on the margins of society. This will directly hinder the ability of the government to achieve the 2030 Agenda’s Goal 8 on the promotion of sustained, inclusive, sustainable economic growth.
“Millions of Nigerians including persons with disabilities, elderly citizens, persons living in remote areas have been unable to capture their biometrics, and obtain their National Identity Numbers (NINs) due to logistical challenges, administrative and bureaucratic burdens, as well as the persistent collapse of the national grid,” the statement added.
