Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “urgently withdraw the impermissible conditions imposed on Twitter pending the final determination of the suit at the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja challenging the legality of the suspension of Twitter, to allow the court to render a decision on the central issues in the case, and protect the plaintiffs’ rights and interests.”Buhari had stated in his address to mark Nigeria’s 61th independence anniversary, that the Federal Government would only lift the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria if certain conditions, including concerns around national security, are met. The address also seems to suggest that even when the suspension is lifted, Nigerians will only be allowed to use Twitter “for business and positive engagements.”In an open letter dated 2 October 2021 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “The conditions imposed on Twitter while the ECOWAS case is pending constitute an interference with the right of SERAP and other plaintiffs to fairly and effectively pursue a judicial challenge to the decision by your government to suspend Twitter in Nigeria. SERAP said: “The conditions make a mockery of the case pending before the ECOWAS court, and create a risk that the course of justice will be seriously impeded or prejudiced in this case. “It is in the public interest to keep the streams of justice clear and pure, and to maintain the authority of the ECOWAS court in the case. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…

Source: Nigerian Tribune October 03, 2021 07:52 UTC