The ECOWAS Court has declared that the Federal Government’s order to ban Twitter in June 2021, as unlawful and a violation of the rights of Nigerians.
The court in a ruling yesterday held that the Federal government’s action was unlawful and inconsistent with Article 9 of the African Charter and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Recall that the Nigerian government had banned Twitter on June 5, 2021, after the platform deleted President Buhari’s tweets.
The Buhari administration in suspending the operations of Twitter violates the rights of SERAP and 176 concerned Nigerians to the enjoyment of freedom of expression, access to information and the media, as well as the right to a fair hearing.
The government also threatened to arrest and prosecute anyone using Twitter in the country, while the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) asked all broadcast stations to suspend the patronage of Twitter.
But delivering judgement in a suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), and 176 concerned Nigerians, the court declared that it has the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
The court ruled that “The Buhari administration in suspending the operations of Twitter violates the rights of SERAP and 176 concerned Nigerians to the enjoyment of freedom of expression, access to information and the media, as well as the right to a fair hearing,” and to ensure that such a ban is never repeated again.
The court also ordered that the government aligns its policies to give effect to the rights and freedom of Nigerians, and directed the Deputy Chief Registrar to assess the cost of the proceeding and ordered the Federal Government to bear the costs.
