The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said on Friday night rejected the Federal Government’s decision to suspend Twitter operations in the country.
The NBA President, Olumide Akpata, who reacted to the development in a statement, described the government’s decision as unconstitutional.
The federal government had on Friday morning suspended Twitter’s operation in Nigeria just two days after the microblogging platform deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s civil war tweet.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who announced the suspension in a statement, cited the “persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
NBA threatened to challenge the suspension of the platform in court if the decision is not reversed by the federal government.
The statement read: “The Nigerian Bar Association Association has noted with great concern the extraordinary decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to suspend the operations of Twitter in Nigeria and, by necessary implication, the right of Nigerians to freely express their constitutionally guaranteed opinions through that medium.
“The Federal Government also directed the Nigerian 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 civic space.
“Whether one likes it or not, we are operating a constitutional democracy, the primary consequence of which is that everything must be done according to law; and government must be conducted within the framework of recognized rules and principles which restrict discretionary power.
“The Nigerian Bar Association finds no constitutional or legal authority to support the peremptory action of the Federal Government to suspend the operations of Twitter in Nigeria and deprive Nigerians of their right to freely express their constitutionally guaranteed opinions.
“Beyond the dent on our constitutional democracy, at a time when the Nigerian economy is unarguably struggling, the impact of arbitrary decisions such as this on investor confidence is better imagined.
“Consequently, if this decision is not immediately reversed, the Nigerian Bar Association will have no choice but to challenge same in the interest of the public and our democracy.”
