WhatsApp Encryption: Finding A Balance Between Privacy And Security Challenges In Nigeria

  by Eromose Ileso

WhatsApp

The popular instant messaging service WhatsApp which is owned by Facebook announced on Tuesday that it has introduced end-to-end encryption to messages in it services. 

What this development means in a nutshell is once a message leaves a sender’s device, they are in scrambled or unintelligent form, and only the receiver of that message can decrypt or decode what the message says, thereby excluding the possibility of a third party’s ability to decipher what the message means. Third party here could include law enforcement agents, security officers or even criminals who would now be unable to read such messages when they are intercepted. This encryption also applies to video calls and other file transfers.

This development comes at a time when terrorist organisations worldwide are increasingly looking for ways to beat the sophisticated surveillance and monitoring of their communications by different spy agencies in the Western world. There have been calls by organisations that seek to protect the privacy of vulnerable individuals for more to be done to see that certain communication do not fall into the hands of wrong persons.

However, the new encryption introduced by Whatsapp, a messaging service that has over a billion users worldwide came just after America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took Apple Corporation to court demanding that the technology giants should design a software that would have enabled them to unlock the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino attackers Syed Farook in order to get more information about the said attack that claimed the lives of 16 persons. 

The phone in question had a password used by the attacker, and inputing the password four times would have led to the information in it to be wiped out. But the FBI wanted a situation where software would have been designed to enable different combinations of password without it leading to the loss of any information.

A United States District Court was set to rule on the matter before the FBI asked for the case to be dropped on the eve of the hearing, because an Israeli company had devised a means to unlock the iPhone, so Apple Corp. was no longer needed, and any ruling from the court would have been overtaken by events.

This was inevitably a dangerous territory that pitted the authorities against a technological giant and in-between was the issue of privacy.

While the advocates of privacy and free speech including the likes of Amnesty International hailed the move by Whatsapp, it is yet another setback in the fight against terrorism in the wider world.

In Nigeria, it is no longer news that terrorism has been vested on its territory by the deadly dark acts of Boko Haram. Besides, Boko Haram whose reign of terror has brought devastation to the North East of Nigeria especially in Borno and Yobe states, there are other criminal gangs that engages in kidnapping, abduction and armed robbery. And virtually these groups, be it terrorist or criminal gangs all engage in the use of technology. They all communicate using these instant messaging service(s).

No doubt with the introduction of Whatsapp end-to-end encryption, it would make it even more difficult for security agents to access the information from these devices with the app thereby denying them of vital information that could have led to the capture of a terrorist or a criminal.

Many of these terrorist organisations and criminal gangs already use cryptic communications to get across information within their groups, but that was informal, these new development has made it formal for such groups to perpetuate acts of terror by sending encrypted messages without having to be noticed by vigilant security organisations. 

What this means is that the larger society would have to pay the price, because if an orchestrated plan to unleash terror is not stopped at its planning stage, it means it is when the acts have been carried out and there are causalities, that is when the authorities would become aware of such development just like the Paris and Brussels attacks as well as the UN Building, Police headquarters and Yanya Motor Park that were bombed by Boko Haram in Abuja.

With the advancement in technology, so also have different groups devised means by which they beat any possible surveillance or monitoring that are put on them by security agencies.

In Nigeria, the country is still however, a distant time away from adequately using technology to fight crime. Instead there is a strong reliance on instinct and raw power to unravel certain mysteries, while on few occasions, intelligence has led to the capture of a criminal or terrorist. 

It is this archaic way of criminal investigation which has led to the various anti-corruption bodies to make arrest at first instance before commencing investigation on the detainee. Whereas in advanced societies, a person would have been undergoing underground investigation without his knowledge, and when they have gathered enough material evidence using both scientific and technological methods, such a person would be arrested and charged on the basis of such evidence.

If continuous encryption of communication will pose a huge problem to security agents in advanced countries when it comes to fighting crime, what does this mean in the fight of crime in Nigeria? 

Ultimately, it would make it even harder to use a method that has not even taken off in the first place to engage in crime fighting which is technology.

Over in the United States, the courts might have been prevented to rule over the FBI’s plans to get Apple Corp. to develop a special software to unlock an iPhone in respect of the San Bernardino attacks. However, in another case, a court in New York still denied the FBI’s demands for Apple to assist in getting data from the iPhone of a drug baron who had pleaded guilty to the charges levelled against him. However, a higher court on 8 April eventually granted the FBI prayers for Apple to assist in getting data out of the heavily encrypted iPhone of the Mexican drug baron.

The lines between privacy and free speech when it comes to fighting terrorism and criminal elements would remain a slipping slope so long as there are bumps in the way to fight crime.

The courts will have to decide on a case by case basis whether certain privacy of suspects should be allowed to remain absolute, because when it comes to resolving mysteries regarding crimes, any possible information that could aid in solving it could just be lodged in a mobile device in an encrypted Whatsapp message.

Edo State University Iyamho: Between Consolidating An Existing Legacy And Building A New One

by Eromose Ileso

 

Administrative Block, Edo State University Iyamho, Photo Credit: Edo University website

The Edo State University, Iyamho became the 41st state University in Nigeria and the 142nd University in Nigeria after it was approved by the Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC) on 23 March, 2016.

The University in Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State officially came into being following a law passed by the House of Assembly in 2013 which established it, and another law was passed that upgraded the College of Education, Ekiadolor to the status of a University now christened Tayo Akpata University. 

When the law was passed it was hotly debated in the local media, with the argument centred on the wisdom in the decision of the government to establish more tertiary institutions when the existing ones are bedeviled by chronic under funding and lack of any plan of sustainable infrastructural development. 

However, few, if nothing was said in the media circles for up to two years after the aforementioned law was passed, but after the Edo State University, Iyamho released a statement which announced vacancies to fill various positions at the institution, it suddenly awakened people's consciousness.

The announcement came as a surprise to many, as questions were asked about the fact that, while nothing had been done at the College of Education, Ekiadolor which was upgraded to a University, being an existing institution already on ground, meanwhile, an entirely new institution which started from scratch now have enough structure and infrastructure on ground to call for vacancies.

Lecture Thearte at Edo State University, Iyamho

When the law establishing the institution was passed, the debate was different because nothing was on ground at the time, but now that there are now physical structures and the announcement of the NUC of the university’s approval, the questions being asked now is whether it was a good move to build a new legacy or whether consolidating an existing legacy would have served a better purpose?

The existing legacy here refers to the Ambrose Alli University, (AAU) Ekpoma which was established by Professor Ambrose Alli. The Law establishing the institution was passed in 1981 by the Bendel state House of Assembly. It officially took off in 1982 to become the first state university in Nigeria. 

However, despite the fact that AAU is over thirty years old, it has not enjoyed any sustainable development plan since it was established. The institution suffers from under funding, and several of the courses at the school repeatedly suffer from lack of and withdrawal of accreditation from the various professional bodies.

1500 Capacity Auditorium at Edo State University, Iyamho

It is unfortunate that an institution that is over three decades old, does not sufficiently boast of the status of a university that is actually a University. 

Most state universities in Nigeria that are not as old as AAU can boast of more infrastructure, organisation and funding. With the problems facing the ivory tower at Ekpoma, one would have thought that it would be more economically viable and better for the state government to consolidate on the gains of previous governments by building on the structures already on ground at AAU. 

Ordinarily, nobody would leave a structure still under construction over the years, to commence the building of a new one. It could be possible in exceptional circumstances, but it is not the norm in a society where things actually work. 

With another state university coming on stream, bringing it to two the number of such institutions in the state, who is to say that the same problem that has bedeviled the Ambrose Alli University over the years, will not affect the new Edo State University in the years to come.

 

Already, with the country currently 

undergoing an economic crunch which has made it impossible for various state governments to pay salaries, building more institutions at this time raises questions bordering on motive and priority.  It is ironical that at a time when the Ambrose Alli University could do with more infrastructure and staffs, yet nothing is forth coming, while a new institution is calling on people to fill vacancies.

Lecture Theatre at Edo State University, Iyamho

There have been talks in some quarters that the establishment of another university in Edo state is a good move because it would create more employment, and that it would help open up another area of the state to development. However, should this be at the expense of an existing institution that is already struggling, and keeping it head just above water? 

Since the return of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, it has been the manner of various state governors to establish tertiary institutions in different places for motive that can seriously be questioned. It is this lack of continuity and consolidation of existing legacies that has caused the proliferation of abandoned projects all over Nigeria, with successive governments preferring to commence new projects instead of completing or building on the old ones left behind.

This attitude has made it almost impossible for Nigeria to have mega universities, at a time when universities all over the world especially in Europe are merging to form mega and specialist universities, meanwhile in Nigeria, there are universities springing up all over the place that do not meet the required standards.

Already the existing tertiary institutions in Edo State are all currently suffering from under funding, poor infrastructure, irregular payment of salaries and lack of a sustainable development plan. From the aforementioned Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma to the College of Education, Ekiadolor, College of Education, Abudu, College of Education, Igueben and Edo State Institute of Science and Technology, Usen, the situation is the same. With all these problems facing the existing tertiary institutions, who is to say that the new university at Iyamho will not suffer from the same fate.

The reason why most institutions are established in Nigeria in the present climate goes beyond a genuine attempt to address any educational problems that are on ground, rather the reason borders on the age long adage popularly referred to in local parlance as “let me develop my own” it is the same reason why government at different levels have over the years set up industries and institutions in places that do not need such, but because of political, ethnic  and personal reasons, structures are sited in places they should not be in the first place. When a dedicated attempt to develop what is already on ground would have served a better purpose.

The Ambrose Alli University was established in a little over a decade that the University of Benin came into existence, yet the contrast between both schools in terms of infrastructural development is very obvious. Why UNIBEN has continually expanded existing structures being a federal institution, AAU has stagnated in this area, with what could only be referred to as an haphazard development at the University in the more than three decades it has been in existence.

The reason why Edo University, Iyamho has taken off at such great speed and in such a short space of time, is because it is located in the country home of the present governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole. However, the situation will be different when he eventually leaves office as governor. At that time, it would be left to a new government to build on what is on ground. And with the existing Nigerian mentality of not wanting to build on existing legacies, it could go the way of other institutions in the state that has stagnated.

Whatever the reasons the Edo University, Iyamho was established; it would have been a better bet for the Edo state government to consolidate on the legacies of Professor Ambrose Alli by building and expanding on the existing structures at the University main campus in Ekpoma. 

Funding two universities will definitely be a financial challenge on the government in the long run especially with the present economic climate. The funding might end up coming from students that will be made to pay exorbitant tuition fees. With the university now in place, only posterity would judge whether it was a good decision. 

For now though, the problems aching existing institutions in the state remains.

The Gospel According To Fulani Herdsmen

Literally gospel according to the Concise English Dictionary means the teaching or the revelation of Christ or the record of Christ’s life and teaching in the first four books of the New Testament. 

There is also the gospel truth; something that is absolutely true. So it does not often come as a surprise that when the phrase ‘the gospel according to’ is used in a sentence, a biblical discernible person will quickly averts his or her mind to the aforementioned gospel of the opening books of the New Testament. 

However, good as that is with the different books, the gospel according to Fulani herdsmen has a rather complicated network of different books and chapters that leaves all who have been at the centre of their nefarious activities with bouts of snafu-ish nightmare, and that is for those who have been lucky enough to survive their menace. 

They have become a pest that has continually defiled pesticide. From the greenery of Benue to the plains of Taraba, and the forest reserves and farms of Edo, they kill, rape and destroy farm lands with impunity like a set of outlaws that are laws unto themselves.

For this, the gospel according to Fulani herdsmen takes the shape of the following volume of five books here.

            

            The Destruction of Farmlands

Fulani herdsmen are nomads that move around with their cattles, and this movement is common place in the dry season when the vegetation in the North is low which inevitably results in movement to the south which has more vegetation for their cattle, but these cattles do not just feed on vegetation by the road side, rather they end up in people’s farms destructing cash and commercial crops without regard for the efforts that these farmers have put into planting these crops. 

In January this year, hundreds of such cattles invaded a forest reserve and farm settlement in Uhunmwonde Local government Area of Edo State, these cattles destroyed plantains, ate all the yams that were harvested and left at some farm huts in these farms, and they practically destroyed what they met on their path. 

These led to the premature harvest of some of these crops from the few the farmers could savage. A common trend amongst these Fulani herdsmen is that they leave these cattles to wander around people’s farms while they disappear from site. Any attempt to inquire from them for these acts of agricultural sabotage is most times met with aggression which often leads to dead. 

All over the country especially in some of the North Central states, Fulani herdsmen destroys farm lands, and when they are challenged in return, they end up burning houses and driving away people from their homes. After their act of destruction, they suddenly disappear from site.

·        Possession of Firearms and dangerous weapons.

A common trend with Fulani herdsmen is that they always bear knifes and arrows. What is even strange is not the fact that they do this openly, but the fact that those that defend this, often claim that their possession of these weapons is part of their culture of dressing. 

However, culture of dressing all not, it’s the fact that they have used these weapons to send persons to their untimely grave just because, they had the temerity to ask them to leave their farms.

However, bearing of knifes is and has gradually become rather archaic. They now bear sophisticated firearms that some of Nigeria’s security agents cannot boast off.  

On February 7, 2016, a group of vigilante accosted two Fulani herdsmen in the Ikpoba Hill axis of Benin City, there were not with any cattle, but in their possession were two double barrel guns. Their defence was that they use it for hunting.

In a country where possession of firearms is to be illegal without the necessary permits, it should beat anybody hollow that some group of persons could openly bear firearms as if we are in a society without laws. 

And that is practically what plays out all over the place. You see a Fulani herdsman with his herd of cattle in front, with a gun and knife, and you begin to wonder, whether this is not a scene from 18^th Century Wild West.  And it is the same firearms and weapons they use in killing and maiming unsuspecting members of the society.

Which begs the question, how do they come about these weapons? In a country where there are so many questions where you cannot find direct answers, such inquiry is better left to the realm of imaginations, because it always a case of seeing less, whenever you try to look more as far as certain questions begging for answers in Nigeria is concerned.

·         

     Killings, Kidnappings, Robbery and Rape

The number of persons that have died from the activities of Fulani herdsmen cannot be quantified, especially when you consider the fact that the death of persons here is treated like a set of numbers rather than a genuine feel that a life or lives have been lost. 

Throughout the farm settlements of Ovia North East and Ovia South West Local Government Areas of Edo State and many other places throughout the country, women have been continually raped in their farms. 

There was a case of a woman, whose husband was hacked to death in their farm by some of group of Fulani herdsmen, while they also raped the woman there. 

Just in January, 2016, two brothers in Ovia North East went to farm, one of them left the other to go home, unfortunately for the other one, he met some Fulani herdsmen who had just kidnapped somebody and they were moving to their hideout in the bush. They shot him, and left him for death, he bled for two hours before his brother returned. In his dying declaration, he told his brother what happened. That man was in tears when he spoke live on radio. 

That was a Nigerian living a peaceable life by farming and tending to himself, yet his life was cut short by these agents of destruction. Throughout most of the farm settlements in Edo South, there is now a palpable fear from farmers especially women, who would rather stay at home than go to farm.

A person known to this writer, narrated how his neighbour went to his farm in the last quarter of 2015, and he saw group of Fulani herdsmen bearing AK 47 rifles. That man has not gone to that farm ever since, and he confessed that it was God that saved him. 

You have to ask yourself sometimes, what is wrong? Farms in Forest reserves used to be some of the most pristine places for farmers to hide away from the society while they tend to their crops, but many of these places have become so dangerous because of the activities of Fulani herdsmen.

There were times during 2014 and 2015 when a gang of Fulani herdsmen continually robbed passengers along the Benin-Auchi Highway by Ehor. They would abandon their cattles, and at certain time of the day, would rob several passengers traveling in buses to the Northern part of the State or country. When they were eventually caught after police set up surveillance, they were all Fulani herdsmen.

·        Environmental Nuisance

It is common place for these herdsmen to move with their cattles at night. But these cattle leave in their trail all manner of environmental nuisance with the faeces they defecate all over the place. 

At times, it can be so bad that you would be looking for a spot to put your foot when walking pass certain places. 

Besides that, these herdsmen sometimes leave their herd of cattle in the compound of individuals. 

A couple of years ago in the Uselu quarters of Benin at Medical Stores Road, a man suddenly woke up to sounds and lights of moving objects in his compound, a spiraling compound measuring 100 feet by 200 feet, when he got out from his house, he discovered several number of cattles ravaging the compound of eight flats, it is a fenced house, with gates, yet they found their way in. they messed up the entire place. 

And yet despite the fact that the cattles where in the compound, the Fulani herdsmen were nowhere to be found. 

They eventually showed up, and the 

inhabitants of the compound woke up that night, immediately the herdsmen saw them, they took their heels, and the cattle as if working on a remote followed their master in running out of the compound. 

Unknown to those in the compound, there were six other cattles somewhere in the compound that did not run out, it was little surprise therefore that some group of persons showed up in the morning to ask for these cattles. These are the principals of these Fulani herdsmen.  

Although, these cattles were eventually released to them, it was on the condition that they were never to bring the animals to those parts any longer.

The list of experience is endless for many that have been at the receiving end of these activities. All over the place, it is a signature of cattle faeces when you walk through your neighbourhood and in major roads during the dry season.

·      

            They Are Above The Law?

Many of these Fulani herdsmen that have been caught and arrested end up being released. And police officers will sometimes confide off the record that their hands are tied most times when it comes to dealing with the menace of these Fulani herdsmen. 

Except few that have met their death at the hands of security personnel, they are often left off the hook. In short, there are times; police do not like taking reports concerning the activities of Fulani herdsmen, because to them, their efforts most times end in futility in trying to investigate such matters. 

This is why there is a reticence on the part of the police to treat these matters with the seriousness it deserves.

Do this people operate within their own set of rules? The situation is such that what is applicable to other members of the society seem not to be applicable to them. 

These Fulani herdsmen are not direct owners of these cattles; rather they are agents to an affluent principal somewhere. It is this principal that pulls all the stunts to see that they are released whenever they are arrested for a crime.  Though there are admittedly bad eggs amongst them who embark on a frolic of their own.

Nigeria should practically be the only country in the world where herdsmen are allowed to wander about with cattles in the open across people’s farmlands, neighbourhood and build up areas at night and so on. 

There have been continuous talk of setting up ranches as it is done in most advanced countries in the world, yet as is mostly the case about so much talk, nothing has been done to make it work. And as a result, the Fulani herdsmen continue to wreak havoc through their various gospels of destruction.