The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the State Security Service (SSS), also known as the Department of State Services (DSS), to immediately withdraw its implied threat to ban the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The threat was made in response to a tweet by journalist Omoyele Sowore. In a statement, SERAP stated that such a move would be a form of collective punishment and a direct crackdown on Nigerians’ fundamental rights to freedom of expression, media freedom, and access to information online.
The organisation highlighted that the ECOWAS Court of Justice has previously ruled that access to Twitter is a fundamental human right.
SERAP stressed that freedom of expression is protected under Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, as well as Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a state party.
The group reminded authorities of their responsibility to protect independent media, both online and offline, to ensure the free exchange of information and ideas between citizens and their elected representatives.
Also see: Sowore Slams DSS Over Move to Deactivate His X Account
The organisation warned that any restriction on online expression must meet constitutional and international standards of legality, necessity, proportionality, and legitimacy. They believe the current threat constitutes an unnecessary and disproportionate interference with freedom of expression.
SERAP also recalled that the previous administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari had suspended Twitter, an act that the ECOWAS Court subsequently declared unlawful and ordered not to be repeated. The court had held that the suspension was inconsistent with Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
Finally, SERAP called on the DSS to stop pressuring X to censor online content and vowed to take the administration to court if the threat to ban the platform is not withdrawn immediately.
The group’s statement underscores a commitment to safeguarding digital rights and preventing a replay of past actions that were deemed illegal by a regional court.
