The suspension of the operations of Twitter in June 2021 was ruled illegal by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court on Thursday, July 14, and the Nigerian government was told not to make a similar decision again.
This decision was made in a lawsuit brought by Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo, who claimed that the prohibition violated his and other Nigerian citizens’ fundamental rights to freedom of expression, speech, and association.
Malcolm’s lawsuit was combined with others that have a related cause of action.
Twitter was formally outlawed by the Nigerian government from 5 June 2021 to 13 January 2022, which limited its ability to operate there.
Read Also: FG: Twitter, Facebook, Others Under Strict Mandates To Delete Harmful Content
The restriction came about after Twitter removed comments from President Muhammadu Buhari in which he warned the Igbo majority in southern Nigeria that the current insurgency there could lead to a recurrence of the Biafran Civil War of 1967.
However, the decision was ultimately based on “a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real-world violent consequences,” citing the platform’s persistent use for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
The Nigerian government claimed that the removal of the president’s tweets was a factor in their decision.
Reacting to the judgment, Femi Falana, SERAP’s lawyer in the suit said;
We commend the ECOWAS Court for the landmark judgment in the case of SERAP v Federal Republic of Nigeria in which the Judges unanimously upheld the human rights of community citizens to freedom of expression, and access to information. Even though the Court had granted an interim order of injunction last year which restrained the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN from prosecuting Nigerians who defied the Twitter ban, SERAP deserves special commendation for pursuing the matter to a logical conclusion.
Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and the full enjoyment of this right is central to achieving individual freedom and to developing democracy. It is not only the cornerstone of democracy, but indispensable to a thriving civil society.
