Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Wednesday, dismissed a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) challenging the legality of the presidential directive for the barring of citizens’ SIM cards not linked with the National Identification Number (NIN).
Delivering the judgment, Justice Yelim Bogoro held that the policy of the Federal Government requiring the linkage of SIMs with NIN is reasonably justifiable. And that it is done in the interest of the country as one indivisible and indissoluble country.
The Judge stated the government is greater than the right of any individual in the country.
Recall that SERAP had taken the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC to court.
In the action filed, SERAP had argued that the directive barring over 72 million Nigerian subscribers was an infringement of the subscribers’ fundamental rights enshrined under the Constitution.
But in his argument, counsel to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Akintola Makinde, contended that none of the rights relied upon by SERAP was absolute. He stated that the presidential directive was in furtherance of sections 14(2)(b) and 45 of the Constitution. As well as the relevant provisions of the National Communications Act.
Makinde argued on behalf of the President that the directive was driven by the challenges of insecurity and kidnapping which are disclosed through alarming statistics.
The counsel also argued that the figures of kidnapped victims are quite alarming. And as a result, thereof, there was the need to address the development which has become a pressing social and security issue.
According to Makinde, since, the use of telephone is also very instrumental to the perpetration of kidnapping and other criminal vices, SERAP cannot rightly argue against the necessity of any measure which aims at ensuring that such crimes are tracked and busted through the use of technology and accurate data synchronization.
The counsel for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nnamdi Oragwu, toed the same line of argument. He contended that SERAP failed to discharge the burden of proof in respect of the allegations made.
Oragwu insisted that the action of the NCC was in line with the Constitution. He stated that as much as the rights of individuals are protected by the Constitution, they can be curtailed by any relevant government agency empowered to do so. This is in the line for peace, stability, unity and security of the country.
In his ruling, Justice Bogoro upheld the arguments advanced by the counsels to the President and NCC. He, therefore, strike out the petition by SERAP.
source: Channels TV
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