Babajide Okeowo
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has announced that it is suing the Nigerian government over the illegal indefinite suspension of micro blogging site, Twitter in Nigeria.
The organization made the announcement on Twitter saying Nigerians have right to freedom of expression and access to information including online
“We’re suing the Federal Government of Nigeria over their ILLEGAL indefinite suspension of Twitter in Nigeria.
Nigerians have a right to freedom of expression and access to information including online, and we plan to fight to keep it that way. Nigeria Government, we’ll see you in court” the organization wrote.
Recall that Federal Government and microblogging and social networking service, Twitter have been embroiled in a face-off since Twitter deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari’s official account.
The Federal Government on Friday said it has indefinitely suspended the operations of the site in Nigeria sparking a row.
The indefinite suspension was announced by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in a statement issued by his office in Abuja.
The statement, signed by Ministry spokesperson, Segun Adeyemi, cited the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
According to the statement, the Minister said the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.
It is not yet clear how the suspension will work but the Twitter website was still accessible from Lagos as of Friday afternoon.
