On Tuesday, non-governmental organizations operating in Nigeria filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari, before the Court of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), for issuing a decision to suspend the activity of the Twitter platform.
Femi Falana, one of the most prominent human rights defenders in Nigeria, stated in a press statement that several NGOs operating in the country and 176 citizens have filed a lawsuit against Buhari before the aforementioned court, due to the Twitter comment.
Fellana added, in an interview with local media, that this ban undermines the right of Nigerians to freedom of expression and access to information, including via the Internet.
And last Friday, the government announced that the platform would be suspended indefinitely, after it had deleted a tweet by President Buhari.
And last Wednesday, Twitter deleted a tweet by Buhari, described as offensive, after the president threatened suspected “separatist militants” in the southeast of the country.
In the context of reactions, Amnesty International condemned the decision, noting that the platform is a social network widely used by Nigerians to exercise their human rights, including freedom of expression and access to information.
And the diplomatic missions of Canada, the European Union, Ireland, Norway, Britain and the United States – in a joint statement – expressed their “frustration” with this step.
More than a million people died during the 1967-70 civil war that erupted when separatists sought the independent state of Biafra in Nigeria, in which Buhari fought the separatists.