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Twitter Suspension Well Founded in Law – Lai Mohammed
Barely 24 hours after the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) court restrained Nigeria from prosecuting providers and users of Twitter, the Federal Government said its decision to suspend the activities was under the ambit of the law and has not breached citizens’ rights.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a presentation to the House of Representatives Joint Committee on the Suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, that the suspension “is well founded in law”.
In the presentation, a copy which was made available, the minister contended that Twitter activity in the country was in violation of public interest and negate some provisions of Terrorism Act as well as Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).
The minister said Twitter suspension was in line with national and international laws, which Nigeria derived the “power to regulate its cyber space and give all necessary orders designating any computer system, network or application as forming part of its national infrastructure”.
Mohammed, a lawyer, contended the freedom of expression guaranteed in Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution is not absolute.
He explained that Section 49 of the same Constitution permits restrictions of civil liberties in the public interest stressing, “public Interest takes precedent over individual interest’’.
“The operations of Twitter in the Nigerian social space are not legally permissible when it is used in airing of information that endangers the life and security of the majority of citizens of Nigeria.
“This is in light of the fact that the platform affords IPOB, an organisation already proscribed by the Federal High Court, to champion its seditious and terrorist based activities
“The principles of law are clear on the exercise of personal human rights in the face of national security threats which affects the larger citizen,’’ he said.
The minister also argued that the federal government is empowered to take all reasonable steps to defend its cyber space where it perceives or finds that a Cyber-crime, is threatened to be committed or has been committed.
He said both national and international statutes empower the federal government to regulate and promote the security of the Nigerian cyber space, including but not limited to organisation and user’s assets.
“Organisation and users’ assets include connected computing devices, personnel, infrastructure, applications, services and telecommunications systems.
“It also included the totality of transmitted and/or stored information within the Nigerian cyber-Space/environment including social media such as Twitter, Facebook…, applications, internet platforms, and cloud computing platforms,’’ he said.
Mohammed stressed that where a seditious act has been committed against the Federal Government through the Cyber Space the perpetrators shall be liable.
The minister noted that the rights to freedom of expression on the Twitter platform are qualified by the provisions of sections 5(1) and (2) of the Terrorism Act of 2011.
He said the sections provide that any person who directly or indirectly solicit or render support for commission of an act of terrorism commits an offence liable on conviction to not less than 20 years.
“This includes incitement to commit a terrorist act through the internet or any electronic means or through the use of printed materials or through the dissemination of terrorist information”.
Mohammed said the operation of Twitter as business entity in Nigeria without fulfilling the conditions precedent by registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission is illegal.
“CAMA, the primary law governing businesses in Nigeria provides that a foreign company must take necessary steps to obtain incorporation as a separate entity before engaging in any business.
“Until so incorporated, the foreign company shall not carry on business in Nigeria or exercise any powers of a registered company as provides in Section 78 (1) of CAMA, 2020.
“Hence, flowing from this background a foreign Company as Twitter cannot be clothed with the legitimate rights to operate as a company registered in Nigeria, as they are not licensed accordingly,’’ he said.
The minister said that the State Security Services (SSS) which provided the lawful basis for the suspension of Twitter, acted in line with its power of prevention and detection of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria.
He reiterated government position to the committee that the ban on the operation of the micro blogging platform, Twitter, was in the interest of the country.
Federal Government on June 4 suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the micro-blogging and social networking service, Twitter in Nigeria.
Mohammed who announced the suspension cited the persistent use of the platform for activities capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
He said the Federal Government had also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all Over the Top (OTT) and social media operations in the country.
Following the outcry that greeted the suspension by a section of Nigerians the House of Representatives had referred the case to the joint committee which in turn summoned the minister for interrogation.
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Petrol Price Hike: Residents Stranded as Transporters Protest in Ilorin
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Several commercial transport operators in Ilorin on Thursday stormed some major streets in the metropolis to protest the new hike in petrol pump price.
During the protest, they expressed their displeasure with the sudden price hike, with the action leading to untold hardship for thousands of commuters.
The protests which commenced on Thursday morning significantly disrupted the movement of commercial vehicles across the city.
This forced passengers to resolve to trekking to their destinations.
The protest was spearheaded by some operators of commercial tricycles and commercial motorcycle riders who blocked several major roads in the city.
The road blocks occurred at Taiwo Isale, Coca-Cola road Junction, Maraba, Gambari Road and Offa Garage, bringing traffic to a standstill for several hours.
Consequently, commuters faced severe delays as the protesters restricted vehicular movements, demanding immediate action to address the situation.
Jimoh Abubakar, a commercial tricycle operator who spoke with newsmen at Maraba, revealed that the protest was because of the sudden hike in fuel pump price.
Abubakar said the increase was unfair, adding that transporters hardly made profit due to money spent on fuel.
“In fact, when we were charging N50 per drop, it was more profitable than now. The hardship is too much, the government should help us,” he said.
Another tricycle rider, Yusuf Issa, also called on government to reduce fuel pump price, saying tricycle riders now spend all their income on fuel.
“They (government) should reduce it totally. It is becoming very difficult to make any profit, not to talk of taking care of the family from what we do for a living,” he said.
The focal points of the protest, such as Maraba and Murtala Mohammed Way Junction, witnessed aggrieved transporters chanting “(We say) ‘No’ to consistent price hike”.
Security operatives, including personnel of the Nigerian Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), were deployed to key areas in the metropolis to ease the tension and ensure orderliness.
The presence of security agents helped to prevent any escalation into violence and ensured that the protest remained largely peaceful in spite of the significant disruptions to daily activities.
The protest caused widespread disruption as residents who relied on public transport as they were stranded and could not go for their daily activities.
Many of them later resolved to trekking to their various destinations.
Report says that most independent petroleum marketers in Kwara now sell at different prices ranging from N950 to N1200 per litre.(NAN)
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Anti-bullet Charm Trial: Native Doctor in Police Net for Allegedly killing Client
Police in Edo have detained a 19-year-old native doctor, Timothy Dauda, for allegedly shooting his client, Alex Ezekiel, to death during an “anti-bullet” charm trial.The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Moses Yamu, confirmed the incident to Newsmen on Monday.Yamu said that the incident happened on August 20 in Onumu Community, near Igara, Akoko Edo Local Government Area of the state.
He said that the suspect was arrested by operatives from Igarra Divisional Police Station in Akoko-Edo. The suspect allegedly claimed to specialise in preparing charms against gunshots and machete cuts.A source further told NAN that the deceased had visited the native doctor’s home to obtain the charm.It said that “in a shocking turn of events”, Dauda attempted to test the efficacy of the charm by shooting the client with a gun.The charm was said to have failed as he sustained fatal injuries.“When he was rushed to a hospital in Igarra, he was pronounced dead by a medical doctor,” the source further said.Meanwhile, the police spokesman said that the suspect would face prosecution as soon as investigations were concluded(NANUncategorized
Police Arrest 2 for Allegedly Robbing Commercial Sex Workers in Lagos
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The Police Command in Lagos State says it has arrested two men for allegedly robbing three commercial sex workers.
The Command’s Spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrest to newsmen on Saturday.
Hundeyin said that the three sex workers reported the case to the police on Wednesday at about 2.
20a.m.He disclosed that the victims reported that they sighted two robbery suspects at an undisclosed place, who allegedly robbed them of their valuables on Aug.
23, at about 4.30a.m.“They stated they were picked up being commercial sex workers at Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Bode Thomas, Surulere by the two suspects.
“They were taken to where they claimed the (suspects) lodged.
Suddenly, the suspects parked and ordered them to surrender their valuables.“In the process, two Iphone valued at N1.05 million, one REDMI Note 12 valued at N140,000, Iphone SR valued at N240,000 were collected from them.
“The suspects also compelled the victims to transfer ₦25,OOO to an Opay Account and N8, 000 to same account,” he said.
The police spokesperson said that during investigation, the suspects confessed to the crime.
He disclosed that the suspects operational vehicle, a Toyota Camry with Reg. No. APP335 JA, two other blank number plates they were using for their operation were recovered.
Hundeyin said that one of the victim’s cell phone, REDMI NOTE 12, was also recovered from the suspects, while investigation was ongoing. (NAN)