Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has saluted the ruling of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS’ Court which on Thursday declared the federal government’s suspension of Twitter as unlawful.
The court also ordered the federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari never to repeat it again.
SERAP and 176 concerned Nigerians, had sued the federal government over the Twitter ban.
In its response to the judgment, SERAP’s lawyer in the suit, Femi Falana, SAN, applauded the ruling.
He said, “We commend the ECOWAS Court for the landmark judgment in the case of SERAP v Federal Republic of Nigeria in which the Judges unanimously upheld the human rights of community citizens to freedom of expression, and access to information.
“Even though the Court had granted an interim order of injunction last year which restrained the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN from prosecuting Nigerians who defied the Twitter ban, SERAP deserves special commendation for pursuing the matter to a logical conclusion.
“Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and the full enjoyment of this right is central to achieving individual freedom and to developing democracy. It is not only the cornerstone of democracy, but indispensable to a thriving civil society.
“With the latest decision of the Court to declare the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria illegal it is hoped that the Heads of State and Governments of the member states of the Economic Community of West African States will henceforth respect and uphold the human right of the community to freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.”