Amnesty International (AI) has
described the suspension of Twitter by the federal government as “unlawful”.
The non-governmental organisation
condemned the development and called for an immediate reversal.
Lai Mohammed, minister of
information, had announced the “indefinite” suspension on Friday.
The minister said the move was
necessitated by the “persistent use of the platform for activities that are
capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
In reaction, AI said the
suspension is not compatible with Nigeria’s international obligations under the
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights.
“Amnesty International condemns
the Nigerian government’s suspension of 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,” AI said in a statement
posted on Twitter.
“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.
“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.”
Twitter’s suspension by the
federal government comes days after a post by President Muhammadu Buhari on the
1967 civil war was deleted by the microblogging platform.
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