The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court of Justice in Abuja has restrained the Federal Government and its agents from arresting or prosecuting Nigerians using Twitter, which was suspended by the Nigerian government two weeks ago.
Recall that the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, had threatened to arrest and prosecute those still using Twitter through the Virtual Private Network (VPN).
A suit was filed before the ECOWAS Court by Civil Society Organizations, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), and 176 concerned Nigerians over the unlawful suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, criminalization 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.
However, on Tuesday, SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said in a statement that in a landmark ruling, the ECOWAS court restrained administration of President Muhammadu Buhari 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 court gave the order after hearing arguments from SERAP’s solicitor, Femi Falana, and lawyer to the government Maimuna Shiru.
The ECOWAS court said, “The court has listened very well to the objection by Nigeria. The court has this to say. Any interference with Twitter is viewed as interference 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.”
Falana reacting to the ruling said, the intervention of the ECOWAS Court was right on time and a relief for millions of Nigerians using Twitter who have been threatened with prosecution under the provision of the Penal Code relating to sedition.
Falana said, “It is extremely embarrassing that the Federal Government could threaten to jail Nigerians for sedition, which was annulled by the Court of Appeal in 1983, in the case of Arthur Nwankwo vs The State,” .
The substantive suit has been adjourned till July 6, 2021 for hearing.
