Few days after the All Progressive Congress-led Federal Government of Nigeria announced the suspension of Twitter in the country, the People’s Democratic Party has said it is perfecting legal action against the APC.
This was contained in a statement on Monday by the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan.
“Already, the PDP is perfecting processes for a legal action against the APC-led Federal Government’s suspension of Twitter and the directive to broadcasting stations to pull out of Twitter,” he stated.
He also blasted the government over the harassment of foreign envoys and other members of the international community for speaking out against the infringement on the rights of Nigerians by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ologbondiyan was reacting to the summoning of the envoys of the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada among others, by the Nigerian government, for standing on the side of citizens in criticising the unwarranted suspension of Twitter.
He said the opposition party is alarmed by the development which smacks of intolerance towards the international community, as obtained in Idi Amin’s dictatorial Uganda of 1971 to 1979. “Our party notes that there is no law or statute that prohibits foreign envoys from speaking out against clear violation of internationally enshrined freedom of expression and right to social interactions, as provided by Twitter and other social media platforms.
“In fact, the defence of such rights is a fundamental duty which envoys owe their host nations and the international community,” the PDP spokesman said.
He, therefore, cautioned that any harassment or assault on foreign envoys places them at great risk and pitches the nation against other members of the international community.
“It is instructive for the APC and the Buhari administration to note that given the current downturn of our national life under their misrule, Nigeria cannot afford being declared a pariah nation.
“Our party therefore demands that the Federal Government should listen to the voice of reason, end its misrule and desist from infringing on the rights of Nigerians as being witnessed in the illegal and vexatious ban on Twitter,” he added.
The opposition party was equally quoted as considering “a directive to all our wards, local governments and state structure to commence peaceful civil protests against suspension of Twitter, the spate of insecurity and the failures of the Buhari administration.”
