Socio Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has secured a court injunction stopping the Federal government from prosecuting twitter users in the country.
The ECOWAS Court of Justice sitting in Abuja on Tuesday restrained the federal government and its agents from unlawfully imposing sanctions or doing anything whatsoever to harass Nigerians who are Twitter users, pending the hearing and determination of the suit filed by Socio Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)
SERAP and 176 concerned Nigerians secured the ruling on Tuesday at the ECOWAS Court sitting in Abuja.
The court also restrained government and its agents from intimidating, arresting or prosecuting any Twitter and/or any other social media service provider(s), media houses, radio and television broadcast stations.
The court gave the order after hearing arguments from Solicitor to SERAP, Femi Falana SAN, and lawyer to the government Maimuna Shiru.
The plaintiff had argued that “the unlawful suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, criminalization 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.”
The court said: “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.”
This development was disclosed in a statement issued Tuesday by SERAP’s deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare.
