Suspension to Remain Indefinitely Until Twitter Shows Remorse, Says FG

•NBC to license OTT

•House probes legality of stoppage, summons information minister

•Despite ordering violators’ prosecution, Malami accesses Twitter, deactivates account

•Trump lauds Nigeria over Twitter’s suspension

Ezeobi Chiemelie in Lagos, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Adedayo Akinwale and Udora Orizu in Abuja

The suspension of the operation of American microblogging company, Twitter, in Nigeria by the federal government is to remain indefinitely until the company shows remorse, a top federal government official told THISDAY yesterday.

According to him, since the suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria last Friday, the company has not reached out to the federal government for dialogue.

However, the House of Representatives has waded into the dispute as it mandated its Committees on Communication, Justice, Information and Culture, and National Security and Intelligence to investigate the circumstances leading to the suspension of operations of Twitter in Nigeria and the legality of the action.

It also summoned the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to shed light on the matter.

But despite the suspension and the order by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), to prosecute violators of the suspension directive, many prominent Nigerians and some organisations have remained active on the microblogging site.

Notwithstanding his order, Malami yesterday logged on to Twitter, using Virtual Private Network (VPN) to bypass the blockade by telecoms companies that have blocked access to the site, to deactivate his account.

THISDAY also learnt that contrary to the impression given to the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth-Leonard, that Twitter was already holding talks with the federal government, the source said no discussion was going on.

Beth-Leonard had led heads of the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union and Ireland missions to a meeting with the Minister Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, on Monday in Abuja, where she said she was glad to learn that Twitter was negotiating with the Nigerian government.

But the source said: “As we speak, there has been no communication between Twitter and the federal government, and until the company does the needful, its operations will remain suspended indefinitely.”

The source said the federal government suspended Twitter because it had persistently made its platform available for the propagation of activities of persons who want to destabilise the country.

He said when the federal government complained, Twitter said the propagandists had not violated its rules.

“For instance, the federal government approached Twitter to remove a tweet by Nnamdi Kanu but the company responded that the material did not offend its rules,” he said.

He stated that even after that, Kanu used Twitter to ask his followers to kill Nigerian soldiers and police personnel and they obeyed.

He added: “If that is not offensive, what is?”

According to him, over the top (OTT) companies operate in Nigeria without registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and paying tax on the billions they make in the country.

This, he said, would no longer happen as henceforth, the OTTs would now have to register as Nigerian companies and would be expected to comply with the terms of their registration with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

“Anyone of them that is not registered would not be allowed to operate. Anyone that abuses the terms of its registration would have its licence withdrawn,” he added.

House Investigates Legality of Suspension, Summons Information Minister

The House of Representatives has mandated its various committees to probe the circumstances of the decision by the federal government to suspend the operations of Twitter in Nigeria and the legality of the suspension.

The House also summoned the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to appear before it and explain the reasons for the action.

The directives were contained in an address delivered by the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, at the resumption of plenary yesterday.

Gbajabiamila said the lawmakers were aware that the suspension of Twitter had generated a fierce debate, adding that the House has since the announcement been inundated with comments about the decision, requests for intervention and criticism.

He stated that the House recognised that Twitter, like other social media networks, is an important tool for communication and commerce in Nigeria, particularly among the younger generation who have used these networks for enterprise and innovation.

He, however, said the House also recognised that as social media has been a tool for good, it could also be a tool for bad actors, hence the government has a legitimate interest in ensuring that these platforms are not used to commit vile actions against individuals and the state.

According to him, it’s the proper role of the legislature in circumstances like this to unravel the issues until they develop an understanding of the why and the how of executive decisions.

Gbajabiamila added that the legislature must ensure that regulatory and enforcement actions by the government are in accordance with the laws, due process followed and the outcomes of regulatory decisions do not result in adverse consequences for the country and its people.

He gave the committees 10 days to conclude the assignment and report back to the House for further legislative action.

He said: ”We listen to the agitation of the people, but we also hear from the government so that from the abundance of information, we reach the level of awareness that allows us to discharge our role dispassionately. It is in service of our obligations under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and our moral duty to the Nigerian people.”

The speaker also decried the spate of killings across the country.

He said the attacks called for coordinated and targeted action by government at all levels to address the menace and save the nation.

PDP House Members Stage Walkout at Plenary

However, a mild drama ensued yesterday when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House staged a walkout at the plenary after Gbajabiamila ruled out of order, their prayer calling on the federal government to reverse the suspension of Twitter operations in the country.

Gbajabiamila, in his address, had apparently preempted the opposition lawmakers when he mandated the various committees to probe the circumstances of the decision by the federal government to suspend the operations of Twitter in Nigeria.

But the leader of the PDP caucus, Hon. Kingsely Chinda, raised a point of order, citing section 39 of the constitution, section 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human and Peoples Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights and commended the steps taken so far by the speaker.

He added that while he agreed with the submission of the leadership of the House, the House should urge the executive arm to reverse the suspension, while the committees continue their assignment within the stipulated 10 days.

He said: “While I agree with the submission of the leadership of this House completely, I will only want to add that for the breach of our fundamental human rights, particularly the right to fair hearing, right to freedom of speech and expression, we should urge the executive arm in the interim to reverse the ban pending our interaction with the executive.”

But the speaker ruled him out of order, saying that since the matter has been referred to committees already, it was wrong for it to be revived again.

He said: “Let me quickly refer you to Order 9, Rule 1 Sub Rule 6 of our rules, which states that it shall be out of order to reconsider any specific question upon which the House has come to a conclusion during the current session except upon a substantive motion for rescission.

“This matter has already been sent to the committees to look at the issues you are talking about and will report to us within 10 days. Even if you had brought a motion here, it would have been referred to a committee. We are not even sure if your motion would not have been killed. This day, we have saved the day. So you are ruled out of order.”

Chinda, however, insisted on being heard, but the House Leader, Hon. Alhassan Doguwa, and Chief Whip, Hon. Mohammed Tahir Mongunu, asked him to be guided.

It was at this point that a visibly angry Chinda and some other members of the caucus walked out of the plenary.

The opposition lawmakers later addressed the press on their grievances, saying that the members would continue to tweet in disregard of the suspension and are ready to be jailed.

However, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, later raised a point of order, alleging that there was an earlier plan by some members to disrupt the business of the House if their demands were not granted.

Suspension Unprofessional, Ill-advised, Says Catholic Church

The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) has described the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria as ill-advised.

In a statement yesterday by the Secretary of CSN, Rev. Fr. Mike Umoh, the church said the action was condemnable.

“While the Catholic Church is not against regulations of media use, she abhors when such action is selective or used as tool for suppressing the people.

“This is one decision that will further paint this government in darker pigments as anti-people and anti-democratic,” he said.

Umoh stated that as a mark of the futility of such actions, even some people in the government are reported to have still used the facility after the suspension, while many Nigerians resorted to the use of VPN and remote proxy options.

Despite Ordering Violators’ Prosecution, Malami Accesses Twitter, Deactivates Account

Meanwhile, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice , Mr. Abubakar Malami, yesterday deactivated his account.

Malami posted the screenshot of his deactivated account, which showed a VPN symbol, on his Facebook page.

He, however, did not state how he was able to access his Twitter account since all telecommunication companies had blocked access to Twitter through their networks, forcing Nigerians to download VPN.

His Facebook post attracted varied reactions from his followers, with,l some Nigerians, mostly supporters of the government, praising him for compliance with the directive.

But another follower, Masta Pee, who wrote: “How did he deactivated his account without logging in to Twitter?”

He was followed by Roy Ekwueme who wrote: “This is an evidence that you logged in Twitter today via VPN to deactivate your account, which is punishable under your unlawful law.

“Let’s see how you will prosecute others without throwing yourself in jail.”

Akintunde Babatunde said: “How are you able to deactivate Twitter without VPN? You should be arrested.”

Trump Lauds Nigeria over Twitter’s Suspension

Former President Donald Trump has praised Nigeria for banning “evil” Twitter and encouraged other countries to do the same in the name of “free and open speech.”

A report on the website of DAILY BEAST, a news publication based in the United States, yesterday quoted

Trump, who himself was banned by the platform for incendiary rhetoric, as saying in a statement that “more countries should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech—all voices should be heard. Who are they to dictate good when they themselves are evil?”

“Perhaps I should have done it while I was president,” he added.

Trump also appeared to confuse Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. “Zuckerberg kept calling me and coming to the White House for dinner telling me how great I was. 2024?” he wrote. The praise comes after it was announced earlier this month that Trump’s Facebook and Instagram would remain banned until early 2023.