5th June, 2021
By Abankula
In announcing the suspension of Twitter on Friday 4 June, the Buhari government violated a 2018 UN resolution, that it sponsored, affirming that the rights that citizens have offline must apply online.
That right was brazenly denied by the suspension announced by Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The resolution on “the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet” was adopted by consensus at the 38th Session of the HRC in Geneva.
As reported by Article 19, it is the joint initiative of Brazil, Nigeria, Sweden and Tunisia (“the core group”), and attracted co-sponsorship from more than 60 States at the time of adoption.
It is the fourth HRC resolution with this title, forming part of an initiative dating back to 2012. No States formally disassociated from language in the resolution at adoption, as some States have previously.
A digital rights group, Paradigm Initiative, drew attention to the breach of this resolution on Friday night, in a statement.
It described it as a brazen affront on citizens fundamental human rights and advised its users and other social media platforms in the country to download virtual private networks (VPNs) to enable them continue to use the platforms for their economic survival and social and political engagements while the “push back on this draconian order by the Nigerian government.”
The group said: “Today, the 4th of June 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced its suspension of Twitter operations, that the application can be used as a platform for activities capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
“Many Nigerians read the announcement of the ban on Twitter as a reflection of the importance of the platform and other digital (social media) platforms to Nigerians in accessing information and disseminating the same.
“The directive by the Nigerian government is at its core, an abuse of the rights of Nigerians not just to freedom of expression, but many other rights guaranteed in the Nigerian 1999 Constitution (as amended), the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This suspension, which is a reaction of the Nigerian government to the company’s enforcement of its platform rules, is aimed at insulating the government from criticism, especially by Nigeria’s youth who are over 70per cent of the country’s population.
“It must be noted that Nigeria’s President has notably been insulated from every form of public accountability. He is perhaps the only president since the country’s return to democracy in 1999 who never grants live interviews or holds media chats. This move is therefore aimed at making him unaccountable to the people of Nigeria who constantly take to social media platforms to share their views on the actions and policies of the government.
“It is evident that shutting down Twitter is illegal and illegitimate policies such as this are unacceptable!
“We will further contact the Ministry of Information to get exact details of this announcement, and the legal framework that supports such undemocratic pronouncement.
“We advise all users of Twitter and other social media platforms in Nigeria to download virtual private networks (VPNs) to enable them continue to use the platforms for their economic survival and social and political engagements while we all push back on this draconian order by the Nigerian government.”