FG adamant over ECOWAS court ruling on Nigeria’s Twitter users

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that Nigeria as a sovereign country will not be ruled by the policies or laws of a multinational corporation, no matter “how powerful” it may be.
He was apparently reacting to a ruling on Tuesday by the court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) restraining the Nigerian government from prosecuting Twitter users in the country.
The court held that “any interference with Twitter is viewed as interference with human rights, and that will violate human rights.”

The minister spoke at an interactive session with members of the House of Representatives Joint Committees on Information, ICT and Justice, probing the circumstances around the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria over national security.
He denied that Twitter was suspended because it deleted Buhari’s tweet.
“The only reason we suspended the operation of Twitter is because it was promoting disunity in Nigeria and it became a national security risk,” he stated.
The minister also said, “Who is Twitter? We are talking about a sovereign country. Nigeria will not be ruled by the laws of a multinational no matter how powerful it is.
“So, for us, why did we act now? There is no time we took the decision that we will not have the kind of reaction we have now. But it has gone to a stage after persistent appeal to Twitter, and we saw how policemen and soldiers were being killed, and we said enough is enough.
“We owe no responsibility to Twitter. It’s not registered in Nigeria. It does not employ any Nigerian or pay taxes. There are other platforms available to Nigerians to make money.
“In the press release, we also said henceforth, all OTT must register first as Nigerian companies and be licensed by the Broadcasting Commission before they can carry out business as social media platforms.
“We realised that many of the OTT social media platforms operating in Nigeria today are not registered in Nigeria. They make billions of naira out of our country. They pay no taxes. They employed nobody.
“That’s why we said we are going to suspend Twitter and at the same time all other social media platforms that are not registered in Nigeria must register.
“I know it’s true that many Nigerians have accused the FG of an attempt to stifle media and free speech and we say no at all.
“There is absolutely no intention on the part of government to stifle free speech or the media because as you will see, while it is true that Sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the constitution actually provide for freedom of speech, it is actually qualified by Section 45 of the same constitution.”

The ECOWAS court ruling followed the suit filed against the government by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 176 concerned Nigerians arguing that “the unlawful suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, criminalization of Nigerians and other people using Twitter have escalated repression of human rights and unlawfully restricted the rights of Nigerians and other people to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom in the country.”
The court gave the order after hearing arguments from Solicitor to SERAP, Femi Falana SAN, and lawyer to the government Maimuna Shiru.
The FG in early June indefinitely suspended Twitter, two days after the platform removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists, which Twitter said violated its rules.
Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Malami, further said those who defied the ban should be prosecuted, but did not provide any details as to which law would be invoked.
In response, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a local rights group, along with 176 other Nigerians, went to court to fight the ban.
On Tuesday, a statement describing the decision to suspend the hugely popular social media platform’s operations as an attempt to silence criticism of the government from SERAP quoted the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as saying it was restraining the government from acting against citizens or media outlets over the use of Twitter, pending a substantive ruling on the core issue.
“The court has listened very well to the objection,” SERAP said.
The lawsuit’s applicants had argued that the Twitter suspension “escalated repression of human rights and unlawfully restricted the rights of Nigerians and other people to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom in the country”.
Applicants also urged the court to hold the Nigerian government liable for the violation of “their fundamental human right and for breaching its international obligations” by banning Twitter.
The government’s move prompted an immediate backlash among social media users and human rights activists, with #NigeriaTwitterBan and #KeepitOn trending on the platform as Nigerians used virtual private networks to access the site.
Alhaji Mohammed said Nigeria had the duty of protecting national security, and warned that Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media platforms would be suspended should they go against Nigeria’s interest.