BREAKING: ‘Don’t Repeat It Again’, ECOWAS Court Faults Buhari’s Govt, Declares Twitter Ban Unlawful

• ‘Don’t Repeat It Again’, ECOWAS Court Faults Buhari’s Govt, Declares Twitter Ban Unlawful.

• The development is coming following a suit by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 176 concerned Nigerians…

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the ECOWAS Court of Justice on Thursday, July 14, declared illegal and unlawful the ban on Twitter by the Nigerian government last year.

The Court has warned President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration never to repeat it again.

The development is coming following a suit by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 176 concerned Nigerians.

SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare made the disclosure on Thursday.

It would be recalled that following the deletion of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed announced the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria.

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 in the judgment delivered today, the ECOWAS court declared that it has the jurisdiction to hear the case, and that the case was therefore admissible.

The Court also held that the act of suspending the operation of Twitter is unlawful and inconsistent with the provisions of Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights both of which Nigeria is a state party.
According to the Court,

“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 fair hearing.”

The Court also ordered the Buhari administration to take necessary steps to align its policies and other measures to give effect to the rights and freedoms and to guarantee a non-repetition of the unlawful ban of Twitter.

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The Court also ordered the Buhari administration to bear the costs of the proceedings and directed the Deputy Chief Registrar to assess the costs accordingly.

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