News
Buhari can’t prosecute Twitter users, ECOWAS Court rules
Economic Community of West African States Court of Justice in Abuja has ruled that the Federal Government and its agents can’t arrest or prosecute anyone for defying its order against the use of Twitter.
WuzupNigeria had reported that the Nigerian Government suspended the platform two weeks ago and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, subsequently threatened to arrest and prosecute Nigerians who were using Virtual Private Network to reach the platform, defying the governments’ order.
Civil Society Organisation, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 176 concerned Nigerians, however, instituted a suit before the ECOWAS court, arguing that the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria was unlawful.
SERAP also said criminalisation of Nigerians and other people using Twitter had 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, according to The PUNCH.
After hearing arguments from Solicitor for SERAP, Femi Falana (SAN), and lawyer for the government Maimuna Shiru, the ECOWAS court passed its judgement on Tuesday.
SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said in a statement that in a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the ECOWAS Court restrained the government and its agents from “unlawfully imposing sanctions or doing anything whatsoever to harass, intimidate, arrest or prosecute Twitter or any other social media service provider, media houses, radio, television broadcast stations, the plaintiffs and other Nigerians who are Twitter users, pending the hearing and determination of this suit.”
The ECOWAS court further stated, “The court has listened very well to the objection by Nigeria. The court has this to say. Any interference with Twitter is viewed as inference with human rights, and that will violate human rights. Therefore, this court has jurisdiction to hear the case. The court also hereby orders that the application be heard expeditiously. The Nigerian government must take immediate steps to implement the order.”
Reacting to the ruling, Falana said the intervention of the ECOWAS Court is a timely relief for millions of Nigerians using Twitter who have been threatened with prosecution under the provision of the Penal Code relating to sedition.
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