Shortly after the Federal government of Nigeria announced its suspension of Twitter, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) Nigeria challenged the decision hinting at a court order.
The non-profit human rights body said via its official handle, “…we’re suing Nigerian authorities over their ILLEGAL indefinite suspension of Twitter in Nigeria. Nigerians have a right to freedom of expression and access to information including online, and we plan to fight to keep it that way. @NigeriaGov, we’ll see you in court.”
Also in a statement by its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the body wrote; “The suspension of Twitter in Nigeria is a blatant violation of Nigerians’ rights to freedom of expression and access to information. The suspension has the character of collective punishment and is contrary to Nigeria’s international obligations. President Buhari must immediately rescind this unconstitutional suspension. We will see in court if the suspension is not rescinded within 48 hours.”
SERAP has in the past made relative progress with challenging government policies and demanding accountability from government, its officials and agencies, but the bone in its throat seems to (often) be the judiciary and that, unfortunately, has not changed this time.
The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) -technically the lifeblood of Nigerian courts- has been on strike since April 6 2021 agitating for the financial autonomy of the judiciary particularly at the state level.
This strike action has resulted in the closure of state and federal courts for weeks and counting thus crippling the intentions of SERAP to sue the government over the unexpected Twitter ban.