FG Has No Right To Regulate Freedom Of Expression, Reps Caucus Insists

Demands Apology From APC Presidency

T HEminority caucus in the House of Representatives has said that the Federal Government has no right to regulate freedom of expression, especially in a democracy.

It described the lifting of the ban on Twitter by the Federal Government as a demonstration of its appetite to suppress constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights of citizens.

The decision by government to ban the social media platform, according to the caucus, was unconstitutional in the first place, as it violated the right to freedom of expression and opinion.

Leader of the caucus, Ndudi Elumelu, stated in Abuja, yesterday, that the lawmakers held that freedom of speech and opinion by Nigerians, including expressing such through social media tools like

Twitter, is clearly guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution and cannot be subjected to partisan approval or regulation under a democratic rule.

“That is why at the wake of the ban on the use of Twitter in Nigeria in June 2021, the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives forcefully condemned the decision as provocative, obnoxious and unjustifiable clampdown on the rights of Nigerians, which also showed the All Progressives Congress ( APC) government’s intolerance and aversion to the views and aspirations of Nigerian citizens, especially the youths, on matters of state.

“It was also in that light that the caucus stood by the law and charged Nigerians to continue using Twitter, irrespective of the unconstitutional ban, since they would not be contravening any known law in Nigeria or international statutes,” the statement read in part.