" ITREALMS: 70 telecom sites shutdown: Gov. Yahaya Bello breaches Cybercrime Act 2015 - ITREALMS

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

70 telecom sites shutdown: Gov. Yahaya Bello breaches Cybercrime Act 2015 - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

For the Kogi State government under the watch of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as governor, to shut down some 70 telecommunications sites, he may have breached the 2015 Cybercrime Act, and could be tried even after office, reports ITREALMS.

This action, ITREALMS gathered affected 10 states including Kogi and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

Also, this is coming in the wake of reports that the Office of the National Security Adviser had written the state government to advise against such shutdowns as it constitute security breach as evident in the Part II: Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure, because telecommunications is.

Investigations by ITREALMS showed that by the shutdowns, Kogi State under his watch has constituted a critical national security threat and could be tried after his immunity expires on leaving his current office.

The controversial Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello may have after all committed an offence under the Cybercrime Act of 2015 by ordering the sealing and shut downs of some 70 cell sites which have affected 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, reports ITREALMS.

Investigations by ITREALMS showed that by the shutdowns, Kogi State under his watch has constituted a critical national security threat.

Reacting to the shutdowns by Kogi government of telecommunications sites, the Executive Chairman, Consultancy Support Services Limited, a Cyber Security & Information Communication Technology (ICT) Consultancy, told ITREALMS the government, may be in breach of the Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act 2015.

This, he explained will amount to serious denial of service to the telecom consumers in the country.
He expressed displeasure on the fact that the shutdown may not affect only Kogi State alone but 10 others, just as Ajijola said even the decision at the time electioneering campaign for 2019 is stating is absurd.

Ajijola also cautioned the nation’s political class to draw a line between Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and creation of viable jobs.

He argued that the so-called IGR is actually out of value chain jobs emanating from broad technology adoption in the country by the small, medium enterprises.

“Our political class and many public sector decision makers are unable to appreciate that government revenues accrue from taxes as a result of job and wealth creation, not the other way around,” he said.

Alternatively, the affected states may have to get court injunctions to restrain the Kogi Government and its agents from shutting down telecom infrastructures considering their effects even beyond the state.

ITREALMS recalls that the shutting down of telecommunications facilities in Kogi State was as a result of disputes arising from unusual taxes and levies demanded by the Kogi State Government through its Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, Kogi State Environmental Protection Board, championed by the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KIRS), from the GSM Operators under the aegis of Association Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

And the affected states include the entire Kogi State, parts of Abuja the Federal Capital Territory and  those  states sharing borders with Kogi State.

These include Nassarawa, Benue, Enugu, Anambra, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Niger States.

Chuks Egbune/ED, Ops

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