* Rights group kicks, threatens court action
The Federal government, in an apparently fight back, announced on Friday the indefinite suspension of the operations of the microblogging and social networking service – Twitter – in Nigeria.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday.
The statement was signed by Segun Adeyemi, the Special Assistant to the President (Media) Office of the Minister of Information and Culture.
He cited the persistent use of the platform for activities that were capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
The minister said the Federal government had also directed the
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the
process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.
But incensed by the Federal government action, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) condemned the “illegal and unconstitutional suspension of Twitter’s Operations in Nigeria,” and called on “the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately rescind the suspension within 48 hours or face legal action.”
SERAP in a statement by its Deputy Director, Mr. Kolawole Oluwadare, said: “The suspension of Twitter in Nigeria is a blatant violation of Nigerians’ rights to freedom of expression and access to information. The suspension has the character of collective punishment and is contrary to Nigeria’s international obligations. President Buhari must immediately rescind this unconstitutional suspension. We will see in court if the suspension is not rescinded within 48 hours.”
The statement, read in part: “Suspending Twitter in Nigeria would deny Nigerians’ access to information, and disrupt the free exchange of ideas and the ability of individuals to connect with one another and associate peacefully on matters of shared concern. It would also seriously undermine the ability of Nigerians to promote transparency and accountability in the country, and to participate in their own government.”
“We call on the Nigerian authorities to guarantee the constitutionally and internationally recognized human rights of Nigerians including online. Deletion of President Buhari’s tweets should never be used as a pretext to suppress the civic space and undermine Nigerians’ fundamental human rights.”