THE NIGERIAN Bar Association has challenged the Nigerian government over the suspension of the operations of a US-Based social media platform, Twitter in Nigeria.
In a statement made by its president, Olumide Akpata, the NBA on Friday evening said Nigeria operates a constitutional democracy, which does not conform with the suspension placed on Twitter by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Everything must be done according to law; government must be conducted within the framework of recognised rules and principles which restrict discretionary power.”
Buhari had in a statement signed by the Special Assistant to the President (Media), Office of the Minister of Information and Culture Segun Adeyemi in Abuja on Friday, announced the suspension of Twitter, saying the platform was persistently used for activities that could undermine the corporate existence of Nigeria.
While challenging Buhari’s decision in a statement on the verified Twitter handle of its president, the NBA added that it finds no constitutional or legal authority to support the Federal Government’s action.
“Beyond the dent on our constitutional democracy, at a time when the Nigerian economy is unarguably struggling the impact of arbitrary decisions such as this on investor confidence is better imagined.”
The NBA, however, threatened to challenge the decision for the interest of public and the sake of democracy.
'Niyi worked with The ICIR as an Investigative Reporter and Fact-checker from 2020 till September 2022. You can shoot him an email via niyioyedeji1@gmail.com. You can as well follow him on Twitter via @niyi_oyedeji.