SERAP Sues Lai Mohammed, Buhari Over Unpublished Twitter Agreement
The SERAP also joined the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, as a respondent in the suit.
This was contained in a press statement made available on Sunday.
The lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Opeyemi Owolabi insisted that Nigerians are entitled to their human rights, peaceful assembly, and association, public participation on and off the internet.
SERAP stated that Mohammed responded to its request on the grounds of the freedom of information act, but gave “completely unsatisfactory” information. The minister told them that the details of their request were “in the public space”.
In its statement, the organisation argued, “It is in the interest of justice to grant this application. Publishing the agreement would enable Nigerians to scrutinise it, seek legal remedies as appropriate, and ensure that the conditions for lifting the suspension of Twitter are not used as pretext to suppress legitimate discourse
“Publishng the agreement with Twitter would promote transparency, accountability, and help to mitigate threats to Nigerians’ rights online, as well as any interference with online privacy and freedom of expression.”
“Any agreement with social media companies must meet the constitutional requirements of legality, necessity, proportionality, and legitimacy.
“Secretly agreed terms and conditions will fail these fundamental requirements.”