Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) is asking Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari to use his good offices to direct the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to provide our organization with a copy of the agreement recently signed with Twitter, Inc, and to widely publish the details of any such agreement.

We, the undersigned, also want Alhaji Lai Mohammed to clarify the manner and scope in which the agreement with Twitter will be enforced.

Did the agreement incorporate provisions of Chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] on fundamental human rights and the country’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights?

According to our information, the approval was given to lift the suspension of Twitter operation in Nigeria at 12 a.m, 13th January 2022 following the memo by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami to the President’s office. The decision to lift the suspension was reportedly based on the recommendations by the Technical Committee on Nigeria-Twitter Engagement.

But the official statement by the Government lifting the suspension of Twitter used overly broad terms and phrases like “prohibited publication”, “Nigerian laws”, “national culture and history”. These open-ended terms and phrases may be used to suppress the legitimate exercise of human rights online.

We’re concerned that the operation and enforcement of the agreement may be based on broadly worded restrictive laws, which may be used as pretexts to suppress legitimate discourse and interfere with online privacy in ways that deter the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression.

SERAP, therefore, urges the President to direct the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed to clarify the following:

1. It is stated in the statement by the Federal Government that Twitter Inc has reached an agreement with the government “to manage prohibited publication in line with Nigerian laws.”

We would be grateful for clarifications on the definition of “prohibited information,” and the specific applicable Nigerian laws in the context of the agreement.

2. It is stated in the statement by the Federal Government that Twitter has agreed to “act with a respectful acknowledgment of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built.”

We would be grateful for clarifications on the specific and applicable Nigerian laws, national culture, and history upon which the operation and enforcement of the agreement will be based.

Providing us with a copy of the agreement with Twitter Inc, and widely publishing the agreement would allow Nigerians to scrutinize it to:

1. Ensure that the conditions for lifting the suspension of Twitter in the country are not used to restrict people’s enjoyment of human rights online.

2. Promote transparency and accountability, and help to mitigate threats to Nigerians’ human rights online.

Nigerians are entitled to their constitutionally and internationally recognized human rights such as the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, privacy, peaceful assembly, and association, as well as public participation both offline and online.

What Nigerians need to know

Our requests are brought in the public’s interest.

By the combined reading of the provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria, the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, applicable throughout Nigeria, there are transparency obligations imposed on your government to widely publish the agreement and details of the conditions upon which the suspension of Twitter Inc. was lifted.

While human rights law requires States to prohibit “advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence”, States must still satisfy the cumulative conditions of legality, necessity, and legitimacy in any agreement with social media companies.

The government has a legal obligation to promote universal Internet access, media diversity, and independence, as well as ensure that any agreements with Twitter and other social media companies are not used to impermissibly restrict these fundamental human rights.

SERAP is a non-profit, nonpartisan, legal, and advocacy organization devoted to promoting transparency, accountability, and respect for socio-economic rights in Nigeria.

Website: www.serap-nigeria.org

Twitter:   @serapnigeria

Facebook: @serapng

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