Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information, has made it clear that Nigerians who accessed Twitter, including Pastor Enoch Adeboye, should expect prosecution.
The Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture stated this in an interview with BBC Africa Focus on Monday.
He insisted that the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, would ensure that Nigerians who accessed Twitter after the imposition of a ban on would be prosecuted.
When asked if RCCG’s Pastor Enoch Adeboye will be prosecuted for using Twitter, Mohammed emphasised that the persistent use of Twitter in Nigeria is undermining the country’s corporate existence.
“The government has suspended indefinitely, the operations of Twitter in Nigeria because of the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence and the government
“Also directed the National Broadcasting Commission to immediately commence the process of licencing all social media operations in Nigeria,” he said
“The attorney-general has made it clear that if anyone violates the regulation, that such person will be prosecuted. I think it is the right of the attorney-general to decide who to prosecute,” he added.
Pastor Adeboye had justified his insistence on using the platform with Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Article 19 of the UDHR states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Aside from Adeboye, the founder of Deeper Life Church, W.F. Kumuyi has also insisted that his church would not respect the federal government’s ban on Twitter because its Twitter handle reaches a global audience.
Also Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo and Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna had also published statements on Twitter despite the ban.
