The Nigerian Senate has approved N4.8 billion (equivalent to US$11.6 million) to be allocated to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) for the monitoring of WhatsApp messages/calls, phone calls, text messages, among others.
This was contained in the supplementary budget approved by the National Assembly on Wednesday, July 7, 2021.
Premium Times reports that of that sum, N1.93 billion was earmarked for “WhatsApp Intercept Solution” and N2.93 billion for “Thuraya Interception Solution” – a communications system used for monitoring voice calls or call-related information, SMS, data traffic, among others.
A budget of N982 billion was also approved and passed by lawmakers for the 2021 fiscal year.
According to Pulse.ng, the legislative arm of government is also working on a raft of bills aimed at regulating the media space in the country.
Some of these bills include the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission Act and the Press Council Act.
