Fred Itua, Abuja
The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday ordered the federal Executive, through the Ministry of Communications, to halt the planned deployment of the 5G network in Nigeria until a proper investigation is conducted.
The decision follows the consideration of a motion sponsored by Senator Lilian Ekwunife (PDP, Anambra-Central) entitled ‘The present status of 5th Generation (5) Network in Nigeria’.
Senators who made their contributions said since experts in the communications sector were yet to conclude that its deployment will pose a health challenge, the 5G rollout should be suspended.
The Senate mandated a joint committee made of Communications, Science and Technology, ICT & Cyber Crimes to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the status of the 5G network in Nigeria and its technological impact on Nigerian citizens and report back within four weeks.
Senator Ekwunife said in her earlier argument that “5G reportedly holds a lot of promise for mobile broadband services because of its faster speed and better capacity.
“There is neither a conclusive proof nor has it been universally established that the deployment of 5G Network is neither harmful to the human body or is in anyway linked to the global pandemic of COVID-19.
“A lot of countries like South Korea, United Kingdom and Germany have successfully deployed and are using the 5G Network.”
She mentioned the uncertainty surrounding the launch of the 5G network in Nigeria “and its effect on the citizens of Nigeria.
“Several countries, including Switzerland, one of the world leaders in the rollout of 5G mobile technology, has placed an indefinite moratorium on the use of 5G network because of health concerns.”