Sterling Centre for Law and Development has Applauded the judgment of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on its ruling which declared the suspension of Twitter operations by the federal government in June 2021 as unlawful.
In a statement issued on Friday by its executive director, Deji Ajare, the centre described the ruling as a hard-won victory for people’s rights.
The centre which represented Amnesty International, Access Now, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Open Net Association served as amici curiae on the case.
Ajare said even though, in effect the ban has been lifted, the judgment came as a great relief and hope booster and will serve to deter the Nigerian government as well as other governments within the West African sub-region from such future disruptions.
He said, “These interferences in the face of the unprecedented power of the internet to enable milions to freely express opinions, seek, impart, and recelve intormation, while improving their economic lot is worrisome, as the actions of these governments stem the flow of opinions and information by technical means in an autocratic fashion.
These concerns are further aggravated in a world that is stll grappling with the devastating effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, Which has made people more dependent on the internet than ever, in every aspect of life, making societies even more vulnerable to internet disruption”.
“Multiple UN bodies and the African Commission on human and people’s rights have called on states to refrain from internet shutdowns, since the pandemic has made people more dependent on the internet in their daily lives”, the statement added.
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