A major legal battle brews as Nigerian telecoms giants, MTN, Glo, Etisalat and Airtel have been dragged to court for blocking Nigerians from accessing social media website, Twitter.
The Concerned Nigerians group has announced intentions to sue the telecoms companies over the blockage. It can be recalled that the Nigerian government suspended all activities of Twitter in the country over the deletion of a tweet on President Muhammadu Buhari’s handle.
The President has made a threat to people of the South-east region referencing the1967 Civil war, a message that violated the platform’s rules and regulations.
Convener of the group, Deji Adeyanju argued that the directive which was issued to the telcos throught the National Communications Commission, NCC, lacked any legal backing.
“At @ConcernedNIG, we will be suing the telecom companies for disconnecting Twitter in the country without a valid court order immediately the courts resumes because this is a clear breach of SC 37 CFRN. The constitution guarantees the privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications which Twitter is inclusive. This guaranteed rights cannot be taken away by executive fiat.”
“The ban on Twitter is not only unconstitutional but null and void because it has no legal backing. And as such, the telecommunication companies that implemented the illegal ban blindly without a valid court order must be made to pay for the damages suffered by Nigerians.”
“Many business who rely on Twitter for patronage have suffered great loss and as such, this and many other reasons will serve as locus.”
