The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States has adjourned, for ruling, the case brought against the Federal Republic of Nigeria over the ban of Twitter in Nigeria till January 2022.
The cases marked as ECW/CCJ/APP/23/21, ECW/CCJ/APP/29/21, ECW/CCJ/APP/24/21, and ECW/CCJ/APP/26/21 were previously consolidated in July. This was done to enable all parties prepare for trial.
The cases were filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, and 196 others, Media Rights Agenda and 8 others.
The suit against the Federal Republic of Nigeria challenges the action of the Buhari-led administration of banning Twitter’s operations in the country.
The ban took effect on June 4 after the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, announced the indefinite suspension of the social media app, claiming it was being used to spread false information and “activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
The ban, now 116 days in, has negatively affected Nigeria’s economic growth. A report in August said Nigeria lost over N150 billion as a result of the suspension of the app. Small and medium-sized businesses which relied on Twitter’s reach for marketing also suffer from the effects of the ban, as business owners reduced or completely cut off their operations from the app.