Following its recent “declaration” of lifting the country’s ban on the use of Twitter, the House Minority Caucus accused the federal government of wanting to “suppress” constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens in Nigeria.
The caucus stated in a statement released on Friday, January 14, by its Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, that the constitution guarantees Nigerians’ freedom of speech and opinion, including the ability to express such through social media tools such as Twitter.
According to the lawmaker, this freedom of expression should not be subject to partisan approval or regulation under democratic rules.
“That is why, in the aftermath of the ban on the use of Twitter in Nigeria in June 2021, the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives forcefully condemned the decision as a provocative, obnoxious, and unjustifiable clampdown on the rights of Nigerians, which also demonstrated the APC government’s intolerance and aversion to the views, opinions, and aspirations of Nigerian citizens, particularly the youths, on matters of state,” the statement read. In light of this, the Minority Caucus in the National Assembly stood by the law and urged Nigerians to continue using Twitter despite the unconstitutional ban because they would not be violating any known Nigerian or international statutes.
“Our caucus believes that the declaration of a lifting of the Twitter ban amounts to regulatory approval of free speech, which is completely unknown under our laws.” The APC government should instead apologize to Nigerians for infringing on their rights and for the massive economic losses caused by the ban.”
The caucus also praised Nigerians for their resilience, innovations, and resistance to ‘suppression’ by the APC government, urging the APC-led administration to be open to Nigerians’ views and make changes for the good of the country. They also stated that they would not give up the fight for people’s rights at any cost.
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