Twitter: Akalites happy over ECOWAS Court judgment.
2 min read
A reprieve seems to have come the way of many Akalites and other Nigerians who use the famous social media outlet, Twitter to do business and carry out their freedom of expression interactions. Last week, the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja delivered a landmark judgment in a case filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) challenging the ban on Twitter by the Federal Government of Nigeria. In the ruling, the ECOWAS Court bluntly “restrained the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and its agents 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.”
Umuaka Times gathered that a total of 176 users of Twitter dragged the Federal Government to the ECOWAS Court through the services of SERAP. Before arriving at the ruling, the ECOWAS Court had listened to the arguments of both parties, Femi Falana SAN, represented SERAP and Maimuna Shiru who represented the Federal Government.
In finality, the court states: “The court has listened very well to the objection by Nigeria. The court has this to say. Any interference with Twitter is viewed as inference with human rights, and that will violate human rights. Therefore, this court has jurisdiction to hear the case. The court also hereby orders that the application be heard expeditiously. The Nigerian government must take immediate steps to implement the order.”
Meanwhile many Akalites who use the famous Twitter handle have been expressing their joy over the judgment. For now Twitter users are on the wait to see what happens next between the Federal Government and Twitter.
