A simmering disagreement may have emerged between members of the Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN) and Association of Cybercafe and Telecentre Operators of Nigeria (ACTONigeria) on the recent ban of night browsing nationwide.
ITREALMS Online recollects that fortnight ago, ACTON while rising from series of meetings with the officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) both in Lagos and Abuja, issued a communiqué, showing that the ban on night browsing was in tandem with EFCC and other stakeholders, including its members as well as ISPAN.
Browsing is the act of using the Internet for exchange of information. It is also referred to in some quarter as surfing the world wide web (www) and night browsing is engaged between 9pm and 6am.
Noteworthy here is that the membership of the two bodies inter-woven; since some ISPs also offer or provide cybercafe businesses.
Sources close to ISPAN top officials informed our correspondents that the issue of night browsing tops the agenda for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of ISPAN billed for Lagos, tomorrow, Thursday.
Our sources said the pronouncement from ACTON was in contrary of the actual resolution passed at the aforementioned between ACTON, EFCC and other stakeholders.
Even as EFCC was not comfortable as its name was being drawn into the subject on allusion of making the proclamation credible.
In the disputed communique, ACTON had insinuated that eventually ban has been placed on night browsing at cybercafes, nationwide.
President, ACTONigeria, Mr. Lai Omotola, who endorsed the press statement made available to our correspondents, had said that it was a deal reached between the two entities, that is, ACTON and EFCC.
“Finally, night browsing at cybercafes across the nation is hereby stopped until a more consolidated reason is given to act contrary,” he declared.
Mr. Omotola also said that the decision was in adherence to the recently assented to 419 Act 2006, which was endorsed by President Olusegun Obasanjo, on June 5, this year.
Also it would be recalled that the latest Act transferred the policing of cyber-crimes to telecommunications operators and also empowered the EFCC to enforce its provisions.
The decision followed several meetings between EFCC and ACTONigeria, according to Omotola, which spanned over three sessions both in Abuja and Lagos.
He further said, the meeting fall out included that subscriber identification remained a major content in achieving success in combating cyber-crimes, and to achieve this objective, EFCC suggested that each sector of the telecomm industry, namely the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Operator, Private Telecom Operators (PTOs) and Cyber cafes; should come up with a due care document that would be a standard guide and proffer measures for the effective policing of cyber crime in Nigeria.
Additionally, he said, that at the last meeting of ACTONigeria, a week ago, some measures of due care were adopted, including that henceforth all cybercafes must be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and EFCC.
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