Twitter Ban: Be Ready To Build Thousands Of Prisons, Ozekhome SAN Tackles AGF, Malami

Human rights lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, says the
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,
Abubakar Malami, SAN, lacks the powers to make laws through his
declarations or pronouncements, adding that only the National
Assembly has the exclusive preserve to make laws in the
country.

Ozekhome also said the AGF should be prepared to build thousands
of prisons to host the millions of Nigerian Twitterati community
who defy the government’s ban of the microblogging site.

In a statement on Sunday titled, ‘The Twitter Ban, Prosecution,
More Prisons And The Link With The JUSUN Strike’, the senior
advocate also urged the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria to call off
its strike to enable citizens challenge the excesses of the Federal
Government in court.

Though mobile operators have blocked their customers in the
country from using Twitter, however, many Nigerians have switched
to the use of Virtual Private Networks to bypass the blockage.

Malami subsequently directed the Director of Public Prosecution
of the Federation to “swing into action and commence in earnest the
process of prosecution of violators of the Federal Government
de-activation of operations of Twitter in Nigeria”.

But Ozekhome said, “How I wish that Malami’s APC (All
Progressives Congress) Government, has displayed such alacrity and
sense of urgency on the grave insecurity challenges of the country;
the parlous economy and the mounting corruption ravaging our
land.”

The senior advocate also said it is “crystal clear that neither
Malami, the DPP, nor this government, can prosecute any Twitter
user.

“Using Twitter is not a known crime or written offence. The NASS
has not enacted any law banning the use of the social media,
including Twitter. Mere verbal pronouncement, declaration,
directives or threats by the Attorney-General, do not amount to a
Law validly passed by the NASS.”

“Any Nigerian arrested or detained should immediately proceed to
the sub-regional West African Court situate in Abuja. The African
Charter on Human and People’s Rights is there to protect the rights
of citizens of Nigeria. The Court that operates it (the West
African Court) is there right now, fully operational.

“We operate a constitutional democracy where things are done
according to the Rule of Law and within our Constitutional
organogram. We do not operate rule of the thumb or rule of men. It
is always better to build strong institutions rather than strong
men. My one kobo piece of advice to this clueless Government that
spreads pains, agony, pangs and blood like manure on plants,” he
added.

Nigeria had about 33 million active social media users as of
January 2021. WhatsApp is the most popular platform used in the
country, with over 90 million users according to Statista. Also,
according to Statista, about 61.4 per cent of Nigerian social media
users use Twitter, 86.2 per cent use Facebook, 81.6 per cent use
YouTube, 73.1 per cent use Instagram, and 67.2 per cent use
Facebook Messenger.

Recall reported that Twitter deleted a post by the Nigerian
President, Muhammadu Buhari, last week.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, subsequently
accused Twitter of double standards and of being complicit in some
‘insurrections’ in the country since last October during the
#EndSARS protests. Mohammed later announced the suspension of
Twitter on Friday, citing the “persistent use of the platform for
activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate
existence”.

Human rights lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, says the
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,
Abubakar Malami, SAN, lacks the powers to make laws through his
declarations or pronouncements, adding that only the National
Assembly has the exclusive preserve to make laws in the
country.

Ozekhome also said the AGF should be prepared to build thousands
of prisons to host the millions of Nigerian Twitterati community
who defy the government’s ban of the microblogging site.

In a statement on Sunday titled, ‘The Twitter Ban, Prosecution,
More Prisons And The Link With The JUSUN Strike’, the senior
advocate also urged the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria to call off
its strike to enable citizens challenge the excesses of the Federal
Government in court.

Though mobile operators have blocked their customers in the
country from using Twitter, however, many Nigerians have switched
to the use of Virtual Private Networks to bypass the blockage.

Malami subsequently directed the Director of Public Prosecution
of the Federation to “swing into action and commence in earnest the
process of prosecution of violators of the Federal Government
de-activation of operations of Twitter in Nigeria”.

But Ozekhome said, “How I wish that Malami’s APC (All
Progressives Congress) Government, has displayed such alacrity and
sense of urgency on the grave insecurity challenges of the country;
the parlous economy and the mounting corruption ravaging our
land.”

The senior advocate also said it is “crystal clear that neither
Malami, the DPP, nor this government, can prosecute any Twitter
user.

“Using Twitter is not a known crime or written offence. The NASS
has not enacted any law banning the use of the social media,
including Twitter. Mere verbal pronouncement, declaration,
directives or threats by the Attorney-General, do not amount to a
Law validly passed by the NASS.”

“Any Nigerian arrested or detained should immediately proceed to
the sub-regional West African Court situate in Abuja. The African
Charter on Human and People’s Rights is there to protect the rights
of citizens of Nigeria. The Court that operates it (the West
African Court) is there right now, fully operational.

“We operate a constitutional democracy where things are done
according to the Rule of Law and within our Constitutional
organogram. We do not operate rule of the thumb or rule of men. It
is always better to build strong institutions rather than strong
men. My one kobo piece of advice to this clueless Government that
spreads pains, agony, pangs and blood like manure on plants,” he
added.

Nigeria had about 33 million active social media users as of
January 2021. WhatsApp is the most popular platform used in the
country, with over 90 million users according to Statista. Also,
according to Statista, about 61.4 per cent of Nigerian social media
users use Twitter, 86.2 per cent use Facebook, 81.6 per cent use
YouTube, 73.1 per cent use Instagram, and 67.2 per cent use
Facebook Messenger.

Recall reported that Twitter deleted a post by the Nigerian
President, Muhammadu Buhari, last week.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, subsequently
accused Twitter of double standards and of being complicit in some
‘insurrections’ in the country since last October during the
#EndSARS protests. Mohammed later announced the suspension of
Twitter on Friday, citing the “persistent use of the platform for
activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate
existence”.