Ebun Francis| Friday’s decision by the federal government to ban the operations of microblogging firm, Twitter in the country has come under criticism from various groups and individuals.
While some of the groups urged the federal government to reverse the suspension, others like SERAP and the NBA have threatened legal action.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) while condemning the “illegal and unconstitutional suspension of Twitter’s Operations in Nigeria,” called on “the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately rescind the suspension within 48 hours or face legal action.”
A statement by its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare read, “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 We will see in court if the suspension is not rescinded within 48 hours.”
“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.”
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in its response, said that there is no constitutional nor legal authority that supports the ban of Twitter by the Federal Government.
NBA President, Olumide Akpata disclosed this in a statement on Friday night.
Akapata described the government’s decision as illegal and threatened to challenge in court, the decision of the government to suspend the operations of the microblogging site.
Amnesty International has also asked the Federal Government to reverse its decision to suspend the operations of the social media platform, Twitter, in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Twitter, Amnesty International also urged the Federal Government to suspend plans to gag the media.
“Amnesty International condemns the Nigerian government’s suspension of Twitter in Nigeria-a social media widely used by Nigerians to exercise their human rights, including their rights to freedom of expression and access to information”.
“We call on the #Nigerian authorities to immediately reverse the unlawful suspension and other plans to gag the media, repress the civic space, and undermine Nigerians’ human rights”.
“This action is clearly inconsistent and incompatible with Nigeria’s international obligations including under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”.
Professor Wole Soyinka in his response, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve his problems with Twitter privately if such problems exist and leave Nigeria out of it.
The Nobel Laureate said the move is a “petulant gesture” that is “unbecoming of a democratically elected president”.
Soyinka noted that a Twitter ban in the country is a “technical issue Nigerians should be able to work their way around”.
He added that “the field of expression remains wide open, free of any dictatorial spasms”.
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