CITAD urges FG to hasten passage of Digital Right Bill
By Aminu Garko
THE Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has stressed the need for Federal government ,to hasten the passage of Digital Right Bill,which has been with the National Assembly for over eight years
Making the call on Wednesday, the CITAD,Executive director Alhaji Yunusa Zakiri Ya’u,said that the passage of the bill into law,would not only safe guard internet users ,but would also curb cases of fraudulent activities, data privacy and protection.
Disclosing this at a two day training on digital rights,protection mechanism and online security tools for digital rights activists in Kano organised by CITAD in conjunction with Avocats San Frontieres France.
Ya’u noted that once the bill is legislated ,it would assured us that our digital rights are coded and guaranteed
He explained that the purpose of this gathering,is to enhance the capacity of journalists,activists and lawyers ,how they can remain online and also for them to identify threat as well responded to those threat online.
” Digital space has become, a critical components of our lives adding that digital space is not just free however has some challenges and threats to individual, especially the journalists, activists and lawyers.
” Our lives has becoming more and more online, we communicate with our friends, families and companies, at works digitally engage government digitally, do education, commerce and so forth”
Hence the need for journalists,activists and lawyers to understand what are these threats, the challenges and what do ,,when they have as a citizens, to protect these right and when they are violated digitally and ways to report these rights to appropriate authority”,he said.
He however added that though government had responded to one issue,which is data protection by signed it into law, which indicated that if ones data protection is being violated ,the person can reported to data protection agency for redress
But that issue ,is a piece meal approach to what Nigerians were yearnings and calling for saying that what we were calling for is for government to quickly legislate on digital rights bill
Speaking on the occasion,the Avocats San Frontieres France ,country director ,Angela Uwandu Uzoma- Iwuchukwu,disclosed that the workshop is organised for journalists,activists and lawyers to educate them.more on internet usage
“It was also to built their capacity on profession mechanism,safety use of internet without intimidation nor harassment while they were discharging their duties.
“The journalists, activists and lawyers were very crucial to democracy ,as they held government accountable and ensure the right of citizens were protected hence the need to ensure they were properly guided on the usage of internet.
“What we were urging government for ,is to scale up awareness for people, noting that when we were talking about right to data,the subjects need to know that they equally have rights and be able to know when that rights is breach.
“Government needs to do a lot more ,intern of awareness, intern of regulations and made sure that it does not over regulate, because if government over regulate,it also end up to breach of right .
We want government to balance out regulations by ensuring the promotion and protection of people rights”,she concluded.
