A MEDIA advocate group, Media Rights Agenda (MRA), has expressed concern over the continued use of free email services by government officials to conduct official business.
The group alleged that the practice violated government policy and posed significant risks to national security, data privacy, and the integrity of government operations.
The MRA in a statement issued in Lagos State by its programme officer in charge of cyber-security, Esther Adeniyi, observed that popular free email services, including Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and Outlook.com, did not possess the requisite advanced security features to safeguard sensitive government information adequately.
Consequently, the group said their utilisation by government officials created exposures that might result in data breaches, cyber-attacks, and unauthorised access to sensitive information, potentially jeopardising national security and public trust.
Adeniyi recalled that on February 17, 2022, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) endorsed the National Policy on Nigerian Government Second-Level Domains.
According to the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, the policy aimed to secure official communications through government-controlled domains.
Adeniyi added that following the policy’s approval, the minister instructed government officials to switch from using generic domains for their websites and emails to the government’s top-level domain, emphasising that using private emails for official purposes would no longer be accepted.
She also recounted that at the formal unveiling of the policy on February 2, 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari similarly directed all government officials to use relevant government domains for official purposes.
Adeniyi observed that despite the implementation of the policy and numerous directives issued since the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency, as well as recent orders from Buhari and Pantami, a significant number of government officials across all levels continue to flout the rules with impunity.
“The government should invest in secure, government-operated email systems that offer the necessary protections and ensure that all official communications are conducted in a manner that upholds the integrity, security and professionalism of government operations while also better protecting sensitive information, maintaining public trust, and ensuring that the government meets its obligations to the Nigerian people.”
Adeniyi emphasized that using personal email platforms for official communication undermined the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011, by complicating record-keeping and archiving processes; hindering tracking, auditing, and transparency; and making it difficult to hold officials accountable.
Besides, she said when officials leave public service, their personal email records become inaccessible, creating a “black hole” in government records and rendering the FOI Act inapplicable to those records.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance