Five non-governmental organisations and four journalists have filed a suit against the Federal Government of Nigeria at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, according to a statement on Monday by the Communications Officer of Media Rights Agenda, Lagos, Idowu Adewale.
In the statement made available to Financial Street, the party is praying the court to declare the indefinite suspension of Twitter in Nigeria a violation of human rights under international law, and to order the government to immediately rescind the suspension order and pay compensation for rights violation.
The applicants in the suit are MRA, Paradigm Initiative, Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, the International Press Centre, and Tap Initiative for Citizens Development. The journalists in the suit include David Hundeyin, Samuel Ogundipe, Ms Blessing Oladunjoye, and Mr Nwakamri Apollo.
The suit, lodged with number ECW/CCJ/APP/29/21 ECW/CCJ/APP/29/21, in a 73-page documentation, was filed on their behalf by Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Mrs Mojirayo Nkanga, under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Revised ECOWAS Treaty, and the Nigerian Constitution, among others, Financial Street gathered.
“They claim that Nigeria’s ongoing suspension of Twitter, which came into effect around June 4, 2021, violated their right to freedom of expression and interfered with the ability of the journalists to do their work.
“The NGOs and journalists are also alleging that the general situation in Nigeria, with respect to human rights, has created an environment where freedom of expression is stifled, which has contributed to creating a chilling effect on press freedom and which the ongoing suspension of Twitter is a continuation of,” part of the statement read.
According to them, Nigeria has consented to be bound by the obligation to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression under the ICCPR and the ACHPR and, therefore, any limitation imposed by the government on the right to freedom of expression can only be justifiable where the restriction is provided by law, serves a legitimate aim, and is necessary and proportionate in a democratic society.
The applicants argued that these three conditions must all be met before any restriction on the right to freedom of expression can be considered legitimate.
They argued further that the suspension of Twitter was not provided by law, that there was no justification for it under Nigeria’s domestic laws, at such it was done by the government in an arbitrary manner in circumstances where there was no public or judicial oversight, transparency or accountability.
“The NGOs and journalists are asking the court to declare the indefinite suspension of Twitter a continuous violation of their human rights under international law, particularly the right to seek and receive information, as well as the right to express and disseminate opinions under Article 9(1) and (2) of the African Charter; Article 19(2) of the ICCPR and the rights of journalists under Article 66(2)(c) of the Revised ECOWAS Treaty.
“They are also seeking a declaration that the Government’s directive, through the National Broadcasting Commission, for the deactivation of Twitter accounts in Nigeria, violates their human rights under international law and that the threat by the Attorney-General of the Federation to criminally prosecute anybody found to be using Twitter in Nigeria following the suspension of the platform also violates their human rights under international law,” they submitted.
The groups, therefore, urge the court to issue orders mandating the government to immediately take all necessary measures to rescind the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria; to guarantee non-recurrence; to make adequate compensation; as well as restrain the government and its agents from imposing criminal sanctions on individuals, including the applicants, who use Twitter or any other social media.
Date has yet to be fixed for the hearing on the suit, which is being litigated with the support of Media Defence, a London-based NGO that provides legal assistance to journalists.
