ECOWAS Court of Justice sitting in Abuja, Nigeria, on Tuesday restrained the Federal Government and its agents from prosecuting or doing anything whatsoever to harass, intimidate or arrest people for using Twitter.
In its ruling on an interlocutory application, the court restrained the Muhammadu Buhari-led government from, “unlawfully imposing sanctions or doing anything whatsoever to harass, intimidate, arrest or prosecute Twitter and/or any other social media service provider(s), media houses, radio and television broadcast stations, the plaintiffs and other Nigerians who are Twitter users, pending the hearing and determination of this suit.”
The ruling of the court followed the suit filed against the government by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 176 concerned Nigerians arguing that “the unlawful suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, criminalisation of Nigerians and other people using Twitter have escalated repression of human rights and unlawfully restricted the rights of Nigerians and other people to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom in the country.”
In its ruling delivered after hearing arguments from Femi Falana SAN, representing SERAP and counsel to the Federal Government, Maimuna Shiru, the court said, “any interference with Twitter is viewed as inference with human rights and that will violate human rights.”
The court, which assumed jurisdiction to hear and determine the case further ordered that the suit, as filed by SERAP be heard expeditiously and that the Federal Government must take immediate steps to implement the order, which restrained it from prosecuting or harassing Twitter users.