A new report from the Institute of Development Studies reveals that six African countries currently invest thousands of dollars in surveillance technologies to spy on activists, business competitors, journalists, and other governments.

The document published on October 21 indicates Nigeria as the top spending state, having invested more than $127 million in surveillance-related activities and equipment in 2017. Egypt, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Sudan also made significant investments in surveillance technology, according to the report.

The report "Surveillance Law in Africa: A Review of Six Countries" adds that despite laws that aim to guarantee the right to privacy of communication and correspondence, Internet signal interception, citizen surveillance, and Internet spying often occur.

"Privacy rights in Africa are very well guaranteed in most countries," said Tony Roberts, one of the study's co-authors. "However, through these surveillance technologies, governments are violating these rights."

With mass surveillance in direct violation of citizens' constitutional rights and surveillance laws, existing legal protections need to be strengthened and citizens be prepared to hold governments accountable.

Egypt is singled out as one of the countries with the weakest privacy protection laws. Without an independent oversight body, the state is the sole "judge, jury and regulator," says the report.

"To get governments to value and respect the legislation that exists, it is important that the public is aware of the rights they have," Roberts said.

For these nations, national security and economic interests are the most frequent justifications for extending their surveillance power, often in violation of the privacy rights of citizens and civil society organizations.

The study comes amid concerns about "increased surveillance" of the digital as technologies become more sophisticated.

Many governments expanded their powers of surveillance and access to personal data during Covid-19.