Soyinka, NBA, Amnesty to FG, you have no constitutional authority to ban Twitter

Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, Friday described the ban on Twitter by President Muhammadu Buhari as “A petulant gesture, unbecoming of a democratically elected President”.

Soyinka also said “if President Muhammadu Buhari has a problem with the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, then he should sort it out privately”.

In a swift reaction to the ban Soyinka noted that a Twitter ban in the country is a “technical issue Nigerians should be able to work their way around”.

He added that “the field of expression remains wide open, free of any dictatorial spasms”.

In their own reaction to the ban place on Twitter operations in Nigeria, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said that there is no constitutional nor legal authority that supports the ban of Twitter by the Federal Government.

NBA President, Olumide Akpata disclosed this in a statement on Friday night.

Akapata described the government’s decision as illegal and threatened to challenge in court, the decision of the government to suspend the operations of the microblogging site.

Similarly, Amnesty International has asked the Federal Government to reverse its decision to suspend the operations of the social media platform, Twitter, in Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Twitter, Amnesty International also urged the Federal Government to suspend plans to gag the media.

The tweet thread reads:

Amnesty International condemns the Nigerian government’s suspension of Twitter @Twitter in #Nigeria🇳🇬 — a social media widely used by Nigerians to exercise their human rights, including their rights to freedom of expression and access to information. #TwitterBan

— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) June 4, 2021

We call on the #Nigerian authorities to immediately reverse the unlawful suspension and other plans to gag the media, repress the civic space, and undermine Nigerians’ human rights. #TwitterBan

— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) June 4, 2021

This action is clearly inconsistent and incompatible with Nigeria’s international obligations including under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. #TwitterBan #Nigeria

— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) June 4, 2021 (Text excluding headline from Channels TV)