Five non-governmental Organisations and four journalists have filed a suit yesterday against the federal government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja.
In the suit filed, they asked the court to declare the indefinite suspension of Twitter in Nigeria a violation of their human rights under international law.
They also requested that they want the court to order the government to immediately withdraw the suspension order and compensate them for the violation of their rights.
The NGO applicants are: Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Paradigm Initiative (PIN), Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), the International Press Centre (IPC), and Tap Initiative for Citizens Development (TICD), while the journalists are:David Hundeyin, Samuel Ogundipe, Blessing Oladunjoye, and Nwakamri Apollo.
They alleged that the general situation in Nigeria with respect to human rights has created an environment where freedom of expression was stifled, stressing that it has contributed to creating a chilling effect on press and media freedom.
According to them, Nigeria has agreed to be bound by the obligation to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression under the ICCPR and the ACHPR and therefore, any limitation imposed by the government on the right to freedom of expression can only be justifiable where the restriction is provided by law, serves a legitimate aim, and is necessary and proportionate in a democratic society.
Credit: EONS Intelligence
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