The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, to immediately withdraw the Lawful Interception of Communications Regulations, 2019.

SERAP issued a statement on Sunday calling the laws unlawful and incompatible with Nigeria's international responsibilities.

According to the group, the guidelines establish a comprehensive mass monitoring framework that harms Nigerians' constitutionally and internationally protected rights, like as privacy and freedom of expression.

In the statement, SERAP encouraged the government to immediately launch an open and inclusive legislative process to ensure that any lawful interception framework fully conforms with constitutional safeguards, judicial oversight requirements, and Nigeria's international commitments.

"The Regulations offer extremely wide and ambiguous authorities to intercept communications on grounds such as 'national security,' 'economic wellbeing,' and 'public emergency,' with no proper judicial safeguards, independent monitoring, transparency, or effective remedies.

"Serious violations of basic rights cannot be permitted through subsidiary legislation or carried out in secret without adequate protections.

"Surveillance measures that lack strict necessity, proportionality and independent judicial oversight can easily be weaponised against political opponents, journalists, civil society actors and election observers," according to the group.

SERAP’s call follows recent allegations by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai that a phone conversation involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, had been intercepted.

Nasir El-Rufai, who appeared recently on Arise TV, said he learned of an alleged plan to arrest him upon his return to the country on Thursday through a leaked conversation from the phone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.