ECOWAS Court on Thursday ruled the decision of the federal government of Nigeria, to ban Twitter illegal, ordering the government not to repeat such human rights violations.
The case was instituted by different civil liberties advocates, media rights practitioners and members of the public led by the Socio-economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP), following the ban on Twitter on June 4, 2021.
The federal government’s decision to ban Twitter came after the platform deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari.
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The tweet reads: “Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”
His reference to the Nigerian civil war, which claimed more than 2 million lives, mostly Igbos, and the threat to “treat them in the language they understand” provoked a global backlash. It was widely perceived as a threat to repeat the war actions against the Igbos.
Twitter deleted the tweet for violating its “abusive behavior” policy, and in retaliation, the Buhari administration announced the suspension of the social media app in Nigeria, though it claimed that the deletion of the president’s tweet was just part of the many reasons for the ban. The government claimed that Twitter had become a platform for many injurious things that can no longer be tolerated. Referencing the End SARS protest, the government claimed the continuous uncontrolled use of Twitter may undermine Nigeria’s corporate existence.
The ban, which received global condemnation, lasted four months before it was lifted. The government claimed that Twitter had agreed to its terms and conditions which includes registering with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission, opening an office in Nigeria, paying taxes and policing people’s contents on the platform among others that are yet to materialize.
But the lawsuit, which was instituted on behalf of the group by Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga, an Abuja based legal practitioner, continued after the ban was lifted.
“Although we had expected this judgment a long time ago, we’ll still take it,” Ms Ogunlana-Nkanga said in a statement after the ruling. “Now we can have closure. It may not be the kind of justice we want but it’s still a valuable one for the protection of the freedom of expression and the civic space of the entire continent.”
Twitter has remained silent on the issue since the ban took effect.
Nigerians using Twitter for business lost billions of dollars as a result of the ban. Now SERAP is collecting signatures as it seeks compensation for the losses.
“Following the ECOWAS Court judgment today declaring Buhari’s Twitter ban, we’re preparing court papers to seek compensation for ALL victims of the ban,” it said.