Lawful Interception of Communications Regulations, 2019

The Lawful Interception of Communications Regulations 2019 are subsidiary legislation made by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and issued on 23 January 2019. They provide Nigeria's dedicated framework for the lawful interception of communications carried over licensed telecommunications networks, sitting alongside the interception and data-preservation powers in the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015 and giving the surveillance regime a telecoms-specific operational basis. The Regulations identify the agencies entitled to intercept communications, principally the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the State Security Service (also known as the Department of State Services), and provide that they may target communications provided by a licensee within or outside Nigeria. Interception must generally be authorised by a warrant issued by a judge of the Federal High Court. The Regulations frame interception as a measure of last resort: a warrant may be granted only where the information sought cannot be obtained by other lawful means, and the application must specify the type and scope of communication to be intercepted. The Regulations also provide for emergency interception without a prior warrant where there is an immediate danger of death or serious injury, an activity threatening national security, or conduct bearing the characteristics of organised crime. In such cases the authorised agency must apply for a warrant within 48 hours; if the application is not made, or is refused, the interception must terminate immediately and any continued interception is unlawful. On the provider side, licensees are required to ensure their networks are technically capable of supporting interception and to cooperate with authorised agencies in executing warrants. On oversight, the Regulations require each authorised agency to maintain logbooks of the interceptions it carries out and to prepare an annual report to the Attorney-General of the Federation covering the number of warrants requested and executed, the number of interceptions, an assessment of their value in addressing crime, and complaints received. These reporting duties provide a measure of executive accountability, but oversight is exercised principally through the warrant-issuing court and the Attorney-General rather than an independent interception commissioner, and the Regulations contain limited express protection for journalists, lawyers or other confidential communications. They form the operational core of telecoms-based surveillance in Nigeria and are frequently analysed alongside constitutional privacy guarantees in section 37 of the 1999 Constitution.

1. 1Made by the Nigerian Communications Commission under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 to govern lawful interception of communications carried over licensed networks.
2. 2Designates the Office of the National Security Adviser and the State Security Service (DSS) as the authorised agencies that may apply to intercept communications of a licensee's service in or outside Nigeria.
3. 3Requires a warrant issued by a judge of the Federal High Court, granted only where there is no other lawful means of obtaining the information sought.
4. 4Permits emergency interception without a warrant in cases of imminent danger to life, threats to national security, or organised-crime activity, provided a warrant is applied for within 48 hours, failing which the interception becomes unlawful and must cease.
5. 5Imposes obligations on licensees/service providers to deploy interception-capable systems and assist authorised agencies.
6. 6Requires authorised agencies to keep logbooks of interceptions and to submit annual reports to the Attorney-General of the Federation detailing warrants requested and executed, interceptions carried out, and complaints received.