Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Lagos has asked the Ministry of Information and Culture to make public the agreement between the federal government and X, formerly Twitter..
Justice Dimgba held that the disclosure would allow the plaintiff in the suit, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), to assess whether the agreement complies with the exercise of Nigerians’ human rights online.
The Nigerian Government suspended Twitter on June 4, 2021 after it removed a post from former president Muhammadu Buhari. The former president was joined in the suit as Co-respondent but the court gave the orders against the minister.
The suit was filed against the former minister of information and culture by SERAP through a freedom of Information /suit number FHC/L/CS/238/2022. The suit followed the Nigerian Government’s statement on 13th January 2022 after lifting the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria, to the effect that, “Twitter has agreed to act with a respectful acknowledgement of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history.” with details not revealed.
In the judgement, Justice Dimgba held that the disclosure of the details of the agreement between the Nigerian government and Twitter is in the public interest, does not affect Twitter’s business interest as a third party, and is prejudicial to Nigeria’s sovereignty and national security.
The court also held that the agreement between the Nigerian government and Twitter must still be disclosed irrespective of the harm to Twitter if it would be in the public interest to make such disclosure.
