Information minister Lai Mohammed’s press release banning Twitter operations in Nigeria is a federal law, according to the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. 

Mr Malami made his argument in a 17-page defence document filed before the ECOWAS court on September 27. 

“Consequently, the order banning the use and operation of Twitter by the Minister of Information through his press release constitute a valid order made in compliance with the provisions of sections 39 (2), 45 (1)(a)&(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), sections 419, 420 of the Penal Code Federal Provisions Act and it is no way an infraction/breach of the provisions of section 39 of the Constitution,” the court document said. 

Mr Malami made his defence, through lawyers from the justice ministry, against the case filed by a consolidation of activists and media houses, including Amnesty International and Peoples Gazette, challenging the ban of Twitter’s operations in the country. 

The court has set January 2022 for ruling on the matter.

In Nigeria, before any bill becomes a law, it is subjected to deliberation by the House of Representatives and the Senate and must have received the president’s assent. An exception to this is in the event of the president delaying or refusing to assent to the bill. Then, the National Assembly may pass the law by two-thirds of both chambers and overrule the veto, and the president’s consent will not be required.

The banning of Twitter via a press release and the defence of this action by Mr Malami is another instance of a deviation from standard legal principles synonymous with the Buhari-led regime. 

In June, President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime indefinitely banned the operations of the microblogging platform, considered an infringement on Nigerians’ constitutionally protected right of freedom of expression. 

Mr Mohammed announced the suspension in a press statement claiming that the persistent use of the mobile application could undermine Nigeria’s corporate existence. 

Download the government’s full defence here.