The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to disclose the details of the agreement the Federal Government had with X (formerly Twitter) over the lifting of the ban the FG imposed on the microblogging site during the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The Deputy Director of the Social Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Kolawole Oluwadare, in a statement made available to The PUNCH on Sunday, disclosed that the judgment was delivered by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba in May 2024 while the certified true copy of the judgment was released last Friday.
The FG had on June 4, 2021 officially banned Twitter (now X) indefinitely, thereby restricting it from operating in Nigeria after the social media platform deleted tweets made by then President Buhari, warning the Indigenous People of Biafra that they “will be treated in the language they understand.”
Meanwhile, in January 2022, Buhari lifted the ban on the microblogging site after 222 days.
Speaking on the suspension of the ban, the ex-minister had in December 2022 disclosed that Twitter negotiated with the Nigerian Government in the wake of the suspension of the microblogging site.
Mohammed clarified this while reacting to the claim by a former senior X official that there was no negotiation between the company and Nigeria to rescind its suspension on Twitter.
The minister, who spoke at a news conference in Abuja, described the attempt to deny what transpired between the two parties as “ludicrous.”
Meanwhile, SERAP, in a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/L/CS/238/2022, had demanded that the details of the agreement be disclosed to the public, expressing concerns that the agreement may not comply with the exercise of Nigerians’ human rights online.
According to SERAP, the former minister had in its defence “unequivocally argued that the disclosure could harm X’s business interests in other jurisdictions, potentially with X’s contractual negotiations.”
Delivering the judgement, the judge held, “The former minister and the Ministry of Information are directed and compelled to provide a copy of the agreement between the Nigerian Government and Twitter to SERAP solely to ascertain its impact on the protection of fundamental human rights of Nigerians.
“Disclosing the details of the agreement between the Nigerian Government and Twitter is in the public interest and does not affect Twitter’s business interest as a third party. It is also not prejudicial to Nigeria’s sovereignty and national security.
“The agreement between the Nigerian Government and Twitter must still be disclosed irrespective of the harm to Twitter if it would be in the public interest to make such disclosure.”
Reacting, Oluwadare noted that the judgment was a victory for freedom of expression and privacy of social media users which he described as central to achieving individual freedom and to developing democracy.
He added that a letter had been addressed to President Bola Tinubu to compel the ministry and the Attorney General of of Federation to provide details of the agreement to members of the public.
“The immediate enforcement and implementation of the judgment by your government will be a victory for the rule of law and freedom of expression including digital and data rights in Nigeria.
“SERAP trusts that you will see compliance with this judgment as a central aspect of the rule of law, an essential stepping stone to constructing a basic institutional framework for legality and constitutionality.
“We, therefore, look forward to your positive response and action on the judgment,” Oluwadare said.
