The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered Alhaji Lai Mohammed, former Minister of Information and National Orientation, and the Ministry of Information to disclose the details of the agreement between the Federal Government and X (formerly Twitter) to assess whether the agreement complies with Nigerians’ human rights online.
The judgment was delivered in May 2024 by Hon. Justice Nnamdi Okwy Dimgba following a Freedom of Information suit (FHC/L/CS/238/2022) brought by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
The certified true copy of the judgment was obtained last Friday.
In his judgment, Justice Dimgba held that “The former minister and the Ministry of Information are directed and compelled to provide a copy of the agreement between the Nigerian Government and Twitter to SERAP solely to ascertain its impact on the protection of fundamental human rights of Nigerians.”
Justice Dimgba stated that “Disclosing the details of the agreement between the Nigerian Government and Twitter is in the public interest and does not affect Twitter’s business interest as a third party. It is also not prejudicial to Nigeria’s sovereignty and national security.”
Justice Dimgba also stated that “The agreement between the Nigerian Government and Twitter must still be disclosed irrespective of the harm to Twitter if it would be in the public interest to make such disclosure.”
Justice Dimgba dismissed the objections raised by the minister’s counsel and upheld SERAP’s arguments. Consequently, the court entered judgment in favor of SERAP against the minister.
The Nigerian Government suspended Twitter on June 4, 2021, after it removed a post from former president Muhammadu Buhari.
The former president was joined in the suit as co-respondent, but the court gave the orders against the minister.
