ECOWAS Dragged FG to Court Over Twitter Ban

The lawsuit was filed by SERAP and 176 concerned Nigerians against the Nigerian government.

The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has been taken to court for banning Twitter in Nigeria.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 176 concerned Nigerians filed a lawsuit against the government of President Muhammadu Buhari over “the unlawful suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, criminalization of Nigerians and other people using Twitter, and the escalating repression of human rights, particularly the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom in the country.”

The suit was filed today.

This comes after Buhari through his Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed banned Twitter and also ordered the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to direct all broadcast stations to suspend the patronage of Twitter.

In the suit No ECW/CCJ/APP/23/21 filed today before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, SERAP and the concerned Nigerians are seeking: “An order of interim injunction restraining the Federal Government from implementing its suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, and subjecting anyone including media houses, broadcast stations using Twitter in Nigeria, to harassment, intimidation, arrest and criminal prosecution, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”