• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
    • Government
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
    • NAHCON

      Renewed Hope in Hajj Operations: NAHCON Records Milestone Achievements Under Tinubu…

      Mohammed Idris Malagi, Honorable Minister of Information and National Orientation

      FG Reaffirms Non-Interference in ICPC, EFCC Operations

      ICPC Secures Conviction of Rector for Running Unaccredited Degree Programmes

      Engr Abba Babagana Dalori

      Engr Dalori Forfeits Galaxy Hospital, Petrol Station, Properties & Cash

      Chinese nationals jailed in Lagos

      Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime in Lagos

  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
    • FG, States, LGs Share N2.225trn Revenue for August – FAAC

      Nigeria Customs Aligns with Finance Ministry over 4% FOB Policy Review

      Members Board of Directors of Dangote Refinery

      Dangote Refinery Deploys 4,000 CNG Trucks, Promises 24,000 Jobs as Fuel…

      Renewed Hope in Central Banking

      Book Review: Renewed Hope in Central Banking – A Blueprint for…

      NAHCON

      Renewed Hope in Hajj Operations: NAHCON Records Milestone Achievements Under Tinubu…

  • National
    • NAF Air Strikes Kill Scores of Terrorists, Destroy Enclaves in Borno

      FG, States, LGs Share N2.225trn Revenue for August – FAAC

      Tinubu Lifts State of Emergency in Rivers, Reinstates Fubara, Legislators

      Crowned Prince Salman of Saudi Arabia

      Saudi Frees Nigerian Pilgrims Framed by Drug Syndicate

      President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Minister of Women Affairs Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim presenting a cheque to women

      Renewed Hope Agenda: Group Passes Vote Of Confidence On Tinubu’s Minister,…

    • Government
      • FG, States, LGs Share N2.225trn Revenue for August – FAAC

        ICPC Secures Six-Year Jail Term for Sokoto River Basin Director

        Chairman NAHCON Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman meets with Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda

        NAHCON Boss Meets Katsina Governor, Pushes for Early 2026 Hajj Payments,…

        MURIC to Alaafin: No Law Grants You Power to Appoint Chief…

        President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Minister of Women Affairs Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim presenting a cheque to women

        Renewed Hope Agenda: Group Passes Vote Of Confidence On Tinubu’s Minister,…

  • Security
    • NAF Air Strikes Kill Scores of Terrorists, Destroy Enclaves in Borno

      ICPC Secures Six-Year Jail Term for Sokoto River Basin Director

      Police Officer

      Kaduna Police Arrest Two Suspects Over Illegal Possession of Firearms

      Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar,meets with Security Leaders in Beijing

      Badaru Joins Global Leaders at Beijing Forum on Peace, Security

      Crowned Prince Salman of Saudi Arabia

      Saudi Frees Nigerian Pilgrims Framed by Drug Syndicate

  • Features
    • A Group of Terrorists/Bandits

      Nigeria Fights Back Against Banditry and Insecurity By Senator Iroegbu

      A Group of Terrorists/Bandits

      Nigeria Fights Back Against Banditry and Insecurity

      Engr. Suleiman Bolakale Kawu Agaka

      Engr. Kawu: A Heroic Homecoming for a Man of the People…

      Prof Isa Pantami, former Minister of Communication and Digital Economy

      Gombe Tech Training: Pantami’s Call for a Paradigm Shift By Muhd…

      Healing Nigeria: A Chronicle of Health Reforms

      Book Review: Is This the Cure? A Look into Healing Nigeria…

  • State
    • ICPC Secures Six-Year Jail Term for Sokoto River Basin Director

      Chairman NAHCON Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman meets with Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda

      NAHCON Boss Meets Katsina Governor, Pushes for Early 2026 Hajj Payments,…

      Police Officer

      Kaduna Police Arrest Two Suspects Over Illegal Possession of Firearms

      Crowned Prince Salman of Saudi Arabia

      Saudi Frees Nigerian Pilgrims Framed by Drug Syndicate

      MURIC to Alaafin: No Law Grants You Power to Appoint Chief…

  • Event
    • Chairman NAHCON Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman meets with Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda

      NAHCON Boss Meets Katsina Governor, Pushes for Early 2026 Hajj Payments,…

      Flier for the programs that happened for the elderly by members of BUKAA FCT

      BUKAA FCT Appreciates Sponsors after Aerobics, Football Exercises

      Prof. Abubakar Mu’azu

      UNIMAID appoints Prof. Mu’azu as Pioneer Dean, Faculty of Communication

      NIPR President Ike Neliaku

      NIPR Inducts 422 New Members, Urges Commitment to National Unity

      Baze University Management visits TETFUND, Showcases Tech-Driven Growth, National Impact

    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Home Government The Legal Backings on Lawful Ban of Twitter on Nigeria- Lai Mohammed
  • Government

The Legal Backings on Lawful Ban of Twitter on Nigeria- Lai Mohammed

By
Prnigeria
-
June 23, 2021

The Legal Backings on Lawful Ban of Twitter on Nigeria- Lai Mohammed

Presentation by the Honorable Minister of Information & Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed to the House Representatives Joint Committee on the Suspension of Twitter in Nigeria

Notes on the lawful Ban on Twitter in Nigeria.

1. Public Interest takes precedent over individual interest

Section 45(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is to the effect that:

“45 (1) Nothing in Sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of this Constitution shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society:
a. In the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health or;
b. The purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other person”

The above provisions of Section 45 of the Constitution leave no one in doubt that the provisions of Section 39 of the Constitution on Freedom of Expression is not absolute. The right to free expression within the contemplation of Section 39 makes it a qualified right in light of the aforementioned Section 45, which permits restrictions of civil liberties in the public interest. In the circumstance the provisions of Section 3 of the National Security Act, which clothes the State Security Services (SSS) with the powers to preserve the internal security of Nigeria is instructive, as it provides a lawful basis for the Federal Government to maintain that the ban of Twitter was pursuant to the security reports of the SSS in this regard.

For clarity, Section 3 of the National Security Act reads:

​(3) The State Security Service shall be charged with responsibility for-

(a) the prevention and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria;

(b) the protection and preservation of all non-military classified matters concerning the internal security of Nigeria; and

(c) such other responsibilities affecting internal security within Nigeria as the National Assembly or the President, as the case may be, may deem necessary.
(Underlined is ours for emphasis)

Furthermore, the rights to Freedom of Expression on the Twitter platform is further qualified by Section 45 of the Constitution in light of the provisions of Section 5(1) and (2) of the Terrorism Act of 2011. For clarity, the section reads:

Any person who knowingly in any manner directly or indirectly solicits or renders support:

“1 (a) for the commission of an act of terrorism; or
(b) to a terrorist group, commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than twenty years
2 For the purposes of sub section 1 of this section, “support” includes:
(a) 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”.

Furthermore, Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government.

2. CAMA’s POSITION: TWITTER NOT LICENSED TO DO BUSINESS IN NIGERIA

Read Also:

  • NAF Air Strikes Kill Scores of Terrorists, Destroy Enclaves in Borno
  • FG, States, LGs Share N2.225trn Revenue for August – FAAC
  • ICPC Secures Six-Year Jail Term for Sokoto River Basin Director

• The primary law governing businesses in Nigeria is the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (the Act). As it regards that operation of a foreign companies in Nigeria, the law provides that a foreign company which fails to take necessary steps to obtain incorporation as a separate entity in Nigeria for that purpose, but until so incorporated, the foreign company shall not carry on business in Nigeria or exercise any powers of a registered company. See Section 78 (1) Companies and Allied Matters Act, 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.

3. PERSONAL LIBERTY CAN BE SUSPENDED WHEN THE INTEREST/RIGHTS OF THE MAJORITY IS AT STAKE

• Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is also observed that the operations of Twitter in the Nigerian social space is not legally permissible when it is used in airing of information that endangers the life and security of the majority of citizens of Nigeria. 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.

THE REQUISITE LEGAL BACKING FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA, TO PROTECT OUR CYBER SPACE.

THE COMBINED EFFECT OF THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS VIZ:

ARTICLE 24,25 AND 26 OF AFRICAN UNION ON CYBER SECURITY AND PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION.
ARTICLE 19(2) AND (3) OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS (ICCPR)
SECTION 1, 2, 3 AND 4 OF THE CYBER CRIMES (PROHIBITION AND PREVENTION E.T.C.) ACT.

•​Empowers the Federal government of Nigeria to regulate and promote the security of the Nigerian Cyber space, including but not limited to:

The cyber environment and organization and user’s assets. Organization and ​user’s assets include connected computing devices, personnel, infrastructure, applications, services, telecommunications systems, and 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)

•​Furthermore, the Federal Government of Nigeria is empowered to take all necessary measures, give all necessary Orders designating any computer system, network or application as forming part of our national infrastructure, and take all necessary steps, (including suspension of Twitter or any other social media) to protect Nigeria’s critical infrastructure from a cyber-Threat or attack.

•​Following the above, the Federal Government of Nigeria is further 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, has been committed, or is being committed on and through its cyber space. For instance, where a seditious act has been committed against the Federal Government through the Cyber Space. (See Section 51 (2) of the Criminal Code which punishes the crime of sedition). In the circumstance, the decision of the Federal Government to ban the activities of Twitter for being a national security threat is well founded in law 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.

By PRNigeria

VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
  • TAGS
  • Lai Mohammed
  • Legal
  • Nigeria
  • Twitter
Previous articleThe Birth of National Traffic Radio for Road Safety, By Bisi Kazeem
Next articleNYSC Sanctions Corps Members over Unethical Practices
Prnigeria
Prnigeria
Xing

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

NAF Air Strikes Kill Scores of Terrorists, Destroy Enclaves in Borno

FG, States, LGs Share N2.225trn Revenue for August – FAAC

ICPC Secures Six-Year Jail Term for Sokoto River Basin Director

Chairman NAHCON Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman meets with Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda

NAHCON Boss Meets Katsina Governor, Pushes for Early 2026 Hajj Payments, Promises Easier Exercise

Tinubu Lifts State of Emergency in Rivers, Reinstates Fubara, Legislators

MURIC to Alaafin: No Law Grants You Power to Appoint Chief Imam of Oyo

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Minister of Women Affairs Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim presenting a cheque to women

Renewed Hope Agenda: Group Passes Vote Of Confidence On Tinubu’s Minister, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim

Court Reaffirms ICPC’s Power on Investigation of Kano Scholarship Funds

Engr. Suleiman Bolakale Kawu Agaka

Engr. Kawu: A Heroic Homecoming for a Man of the People By Adegboyega Ajadi

Omoyele Sowore and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Finally, DSS Files Charge Against Sowore, Twitter, and Facebook over Anti-Tinubu Post

HCSF, Didi Esther Walson-Jack

Federal Govt Moves to Fill 5 Permanent Secretary Positions

Commissioner of Police, CP Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, and Chief Medical Director of AKTH, Prof. A. Abba Sheshe, and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of KEDCO, Dr. Abubakar Shuaibu Jimeta

Power Outage: Police Broker Peace Between AKTH, DisCos in Kano

Recent Posts

  • NAF Air Strikes Kill Scores of Terrorists, Destroy Enclaves in Borno
  • FG, States, LGs Share N2.225trn Revenue for August – FAAC
  • ICPC Secures Six-Year Jail Term for Sokoto River Basin Director
  • NAHCON Boss Meets Katsina Governor, Pushes for Early 2026 Hajj Payments, Promises Easier Exercise
  • Kaduna Police Arrest Two Suspects Over Illegal Possession of Firearms
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
NAF Air Strikes Kill Scores of Terrorists, Destroy Enclaves in BornoFG, States, LGs Share N2.225trn Revenue for August – FAACICPC Secures Six-Year Jail Term for Sokoto River Basin DirectorNAHCON Boss Meets Katsina Governor, Pushes for Early 2026 Hajj Payments, Promises Easier ExerciseKaduna Police Arrest Two Suspects Over Illegal Possession of FirearmsTinubu Lifts State of Emergency in Rivers, Reinstates Fubara, LegislatorsBadaru Joins Global Leaders at Beijing Forum on Peace, SecuritySaudi Frees Nigerian Pilgrims Framed by Drug SyndicateTroops Ambush Bandits in Plateau, Neutralise One MURIC to Alaafin: No Law Grants You Power to Appoint Chief Imam of OyoRenewed Hope Agenda: Group Passes Vote Of Confidence On Tinubu’s Minister, Imaan Sulaiman-IbrahimNigeria Fights Back Against Banditry and Insecurity By Senator IroegbuNigeria Fights Back Against Banditry and InsecurityNavy Retrains Personnel on Weapon Handling to Boost Operational EfficiencyFirefighters Rescue Nine Victims from Burning 6-Storey Building in Lagos
X whatsapp