The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has demanded the immediate reversal of the Federal Government ban on Twitter, saying the ban has no place in Constitutional Democracy.
This was made known by the President of the association, Olumide Akpata, in a tweet on Friday that said, the Federal Government ban on social media handle, Twitter, has no basis in Nigerian law, and therefore, means a suspension of Nigerian’s right to freedom of expression.
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Akpata added that, the decision of the Federal Government to suspend the operations of Twitter in Nigeria, and by necessary implication, the rights of Nigerians to freely express their constitutionally guaranteed opinions, through that medium.
The association finds no constitutional or legal authority to support the peremptory action of the Federal Government to suspend the operations of Twitter in Nigeria, beyond the dent in Nigeria’s constitutional democracy, at a time when the Nigerian economy is struggling.
The Federal Government had on Friday announced the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, and had also directed the Nigeria Communications Commission to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria, which is, at best, yet another disguised attempt, to regulate social media, restrict freedom of speech, and shrink the civic space.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
