“Twitter ban is a violation of our human rights” – Desmond Elliot

Nigerian actor, director, and politician Desmond Elliot has lent his voice over the ongoing Twitter ban in Nigeria.

Recall that the Minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed announced the indefinite suspension of the operations of the micro-blogging platform, Twitter in Nigeria.

The statement reads;

“The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria. 

“The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, citing the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

“The Minister said the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.”

The Twitter ban took effect yesterday, as many Nigerians claim that their account has not been loaded, hence, ranting out their displeasure over their violation of human rights to information.

In a Twitter thread, Elliott, the lawmaker representing Surulere at the Lagos state House of assembly has beckoned on the federal government to review their suspension of the ban of Twitter in Nigeria.

He had described it as “trampling upon our fundamental right as a people”.

Here’s what he tweeted;

“I want to admonish our government to always remember that the people’s right to express themselves freely must not be compromised. This ban, no matter the reasons proffered tramples upon our fundamental rights as people.”

“In a democratic society like ours, we must weigh the economic and social impact of this ban on the populace — especially our teeming youths and entrepreneurs who depend solely on this platform to carry out their legitimate business.

“In the past, our government have shown the required goodwill to stand on side of the people even when it’s not too convenient for them to do so. I believe that this won’t be an exception. I want to appeal to the government to reconsider this ban in the interest of our people and our country at large.”