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A lawsuit filed in the ECOWAS court in Abuja demanded that a minor injunction be suspended.
Many Nigerians and a civil rights group have filed a lawsuit against the district court seeking their removal Government ban on Twitter, describing the decision to suspend popular media activities in order to crack down on the government.
Officials announced the ban on Friday, two days after Twitter deleted a post from President Muhammadu Buhari threatening to expose the perpetrators.
The government’s move was encouraging return soon among media users and human rights activists, whose #NigeriaTwitterBan and #KeepitOn are on the platform while Nigerians use their networks to access the site. The government has said those who continue to use Twitter will be judgment.
On Tuesday, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a human rights group, and 176 Nigerians filed a complaint with the Economic Community of West African States Community Court of Justice in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, demanding that the law be enacted. of time to prevent the Government from instituting the ban.
“The suspension of Twitter is intended to intimidate and prevent Nigerians from using Twitter to monitor government regulations, expose corruption, and criticize the Federal government’s actions,” the report said, according to the group.
BREAKING: SERAP and 176 Nigerian stakeholders have asked the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja to overturn a law barring President Buhari’s government from illegally suspending Twitter in Nigeria and forcing Nigerians and others to use Twitter.
– SERAP (@SERAPNigeria) June 8, 2021
Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy to SERAP’s deputy, said the ban “has affected millions of Nigerians who run their day-to-day business on Twitter,” calling it “the final evidence of Nigeria’s geographical scarcity and the government’s intention to ban any protests” .
‘Wrong Choice’
In 2021, Nigeria ranked 120th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Border (RSF) World Press Freedom Index.
The most populous country in Africa has been proud to be one of the few countries to attract investment in technology but was soon abandoned when Twitter named neighboring Ghana as its first capital in Africa.
Gbenga Sesan, executive director of the Paradigm Initiative, an African business working in partnership with digital rights, told Al Jazeera The suspension of Twitter sent a false notification to foreign investors, adding that small businesses that use Twitter as a way to make money in Nigeria have been affected.
“Nigerian businesses use digital means to reach customers, disclose their products and communicate with their stakeholders. This is certainly a result of this wrong decision,” he said.
Information Minister Lai Mohammed told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the suspension was not about Buhari’s tweet, but about “separatists who cause violence” on the internet.
“Improving the social networking site does not mean undermining journalists. What we are talking about is making good use of these platforms, “said Mohammed, adding that Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube are still available.
Nigeria has joined forces with countries such as China, North Korea and Iran in issuing a ban on Twitter, while Uganda, Turkey and Egypt have suspended the program during elections or political unrest.
The US-based company said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” as the use of the internet is “a fundamental human right now” and “is working to restore access to all Nigerians who rely on Twitter to communicate”.
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