The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says it will institute a lawsuit against the Federal Government following the decision to suspend Twitter’s operations in the country.
The federal government announced the suspension of the micro-blogging site on Friday, accusing it of “undermining Nigeria’s existence”.
A statement by Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, said the government was forced to act because of “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
The federal government decision came two days after Twitter deleted President Muhammadu Buhari ‘s tweet on Civil war, which Twitter said it violated its policy.
However, the NBA in a statement by its President, Olumide Akpata, NBA president, said the federal government lacked constitutional authority to back its decision.
Akpata described the government’s action as a “disguised attempt to regulate social media, restrict freedom of speech and shrink civic space”.
He said the government has also “suspended the right of Nigerians to freely express their constitutionally guaranteed opinions” through Twitter.
He said if the decision is not reversed, the NBA will sue the government to protect the country’s democracy.
“Consequently, if this decision is not immediately reversed, the NBA will have no choice but to challenge same in the interest of the public and for the sake of our democracy,” the statement said.
