Some federal lawmakers, yesterday, exchanged heated arguments with telecom operators in the country over the roles they are supposed to play to stem the tide of incessant kidnapping and other phone-related crimes in the country.
The lawmakers said the telcos were not doing enough to track kidnappers, despite the number of calls they make to victims’ families demanding ransom.
The telcos swiftly responded that the lawmakers were mistaking them for security agencies, instead of the telecommunications services providers they were, clarifying that their duties were to provide telecom services to their subscribers and not to catch criminals.
They, however, clarified that where and whenever the security agencies had needed their support or services in information that would lead to locating or arresting kidnappers and other criminals, who perpetrated crimes through mobile phones, they had gladly and freely rendered result-oriented support.
The scene played out at the first day of the two-day colloquium on the Nigerian Communications Act, NCA 2003, at Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos, with the theme ’22 years after: Reassessing the Nigerian Communications Act –Challenges, Opportunities, and Future Directions for a Digital Nigeria’.
A member of House of Representatives, Ben Etanabene, representing Okpe, Sapele and Uvwie federal constituency, Delta State, was the first to throw the salvo, wondering why despite all the money and time expended in registering phone lines in the country, kidnappers were still operating freely without telcos tracking them.
‘Every part of this country, kidnappers are on the rampage, kidnapping and making demands for ransom. Why are the telecom operators not tracking and helping in arresting them before they wreak havoc?’ he queried.
Etanabene, who claimed to have been a victim of kidnappers in the past, queried why the telcos and the NCC couldn’t provide geo-location services that would ensure kidnappers were located and nabbed before they carried out their actions, even when all over the world, technology deployment stemmed same crime.
Corroborating him, another member of House of Representatives, who represents Ile-Oluji in Ondo State, Ayodele Festus, said the telcos should improve their services.
He alleged that the telcos were smiling to the bank at the expense of subscribers, who hardly finish a call without it dropping at least five times.
He alleged that there was an increase in customer dissatisfaction because, according to him, ‘millions of subscribers are deeply frustrated’.
Also, Mr Moshood Olawale, yet another member representing Lagos Mainland in the House of Representatives, alleged that while it was expected that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the telcos collaborated for the progress of the sector, what appeared to be playing out was connivance, explaining why telecom tariff goes up instead of coming down.
In a swift reaction, Chairman of Association of Licenced Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, punctured the claims of the lawmakers, saying operators were doing a lot to stem phone-related crimes in the country.
Adebayo said: ‘In the first instance, we are clearly telecom services providers and do not have the mandate to run around arresting criminals.
‘Again, kidnappers usually don’t use their own numbers to call families of their kidnapped victims for ransom. Rather, they use the phone of the kidnapped, while moving from one point to another.
‘Then, also remember that there is a privacy law, which gives every subscriber right to privacy until there is a lawful reason to intercept their conversations.
‘The worst is that the security agencies have not come to ask for geo-location of event and we refused giving it out. At least, there is Law of Lawful Interception, which gives them right in that regard’.
Also responding, Corporate Service Executive, MTN Nigeria, Tobechukwu Okigbo, told the lawmakers that in terms of affordability, Nigeria was one of the cheapest country with very low tariff in Africa, meaning that their allegation that Nigerians paid the highest price for telecom services was not based on empirical facts.
He also reminded the lawmakers to consider legislating on telecom infrastructure protection which would nip the cases of theft and incessant fibre cuts and vandalism, in the bud.
On his part, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, corrected the impression that the commission was conniving with telcos but stressed the importance of collaboration of the two bodies to deliver quality services to Nigerians.
