The court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has ruled that Federal Government’s banning of Twitter operations by was “unlawful”.

In June 2021, Informations and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed announced the “indefinite” suspension of Twitter’s operations in the country.

According to the minister, the social media platform was engaging in activities that “undermine Nigeria’s existence”.

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On July 6, the West African court consolidated different suits instituted against the Federal Government for banning Twitter. In the ruling yesterday, the court held that Nigeria’s ban on Twitter was unlawful.

The consolidated suits are by Malcolm Omirhobo, who approached the ECOWAS court, challenging the ban as a violation of his fundamental rights to freedom of expression, speech and association and those of the Nigerian public.

The registered trustees are: the Social Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 12 Others vs the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

But the Federal Government, on January 12, 2022, approved the lifting of the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria after giving several conditions to the micro-blogging platform.