House of Reps summons Lai Mohammed over Twitter ban

Nigeria's House of Representatives has mandated its committees on Communication, Justice, Information and Culture; and National Security and Intelligence, to immediately commence an investigation into the suspension of the operations of Twitter, a microblogging, social media platform, in Nigeria.

The federal government announced an indefinite Twitter ban in Africa's most populous nation on Friday, June 4, 2021 and legislators have been inundated with phone calls and text messages from an army of young constituents, to intervene.

During plenary on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, Speaker of the House Femi Gbajabiamila said the committees have been tasked with determining "the circumstances of the decision by the Federal Government of Nigeria to suspend the operations of Twitter in Nigeria, and the legal authority for the ban on the operations of Twitter in Nigeria."

The Speaker added that “it is in service of our obligations under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and our moral duty to the Nigerian people" to investigate why the ban was issued.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (Guardian) Pulse Nigeria

According to the Speaker, “the House of Representatives recognises that Twitter, like other social media networks, is an important tool for communication and commerce in Nigeria, particularly amongst the younger generation who have used these networks for enterprise and innovation with great success.

“The committees are additionally mandated to invite the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to brief the House of Representatives on the objectives, intent, and duration of the suspension on the operations of Twitter in Nigeria, and to report to the House within ten days.”

The ban has been widely condemned as a suppression of free speech in Nigeria and a contravention of section 39 (1) of the nation's constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights which Nigeria has ratified and domesticated.