ECOWAS court: Twitter ban in Nigeria unlawful

The 2021 Twitter by the Nigerian government has been ruled “unlawful” by the court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

In June 2021, minister of information, Lai Mohammed, announced the “indefinite” suspension of Twitter’s operations in the country.

According to the minister, the social media platform was engaging in activities that “undermine Nigeria’s existence”.

On July 6, the court consolidated different suits instituted against the federal government for banning Twitter.

In the ruling on Thursday, the court held that Nigeria’s ban on Twitter was unlawful.

The consolidated suits are by Malcolm Omirhobo who approached the ECOWAS court in suit ECW/CCJ/APP/26/21, challenging the ban as a violation of his fundamental rights to freedom of expression, speech and association and those of the Nigerian public.

The registered trustees are the Social Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP) and 12 others vs the federal republic of Nigeria.

But the federal government on January 12, 2022, had approved the lifting of the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria after giving several conditions to the micro-blogging platform.