Malami orders prosecution of Nigerians violating Twitter ban

Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, has ordered the prosecution of Nigerians who are violating the ban on Twitter.

The directive was announced in a statement issued by Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, media aide of Malami, on Saturday, June 5, 2021.

The minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had on Friday, June 4, 2021, announced the suspension of the social media company citing “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”

On Saturday, the government ordered telecommunication and network service providers in the country to block access to Twitter.

But Nigerians have been skirting around the restriction by using Virtual Private Network to access the social media platform.

However, in the statement by Gwandu, the Attorney-General of the Federation is said to have ordered the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) to begin the process of prosecuting violators of the Federal Government’s suspension of Twitter.

The statement reads, “Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has ordered the prosecution of offenders of the federal government ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria.

“The AGF directed the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) at his office to swing into action and commence in earnest the process of prosecution of violators of the Federal Government De-activation of operations of Twitter in Nigeria.

“The DPPF is to liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, National Communication Communication (NCC) and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of offenders without any further delay.”

In spite of the ban, Twitter has promised to restore access for Nigerians to connect with the rest of the world.

The social media giant said access to the free and open internet is an essential human right in modern society.