June 09, (THEWILL)- The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Saudi Arabia and other members of the international community to immediately impose a visa ban on President Muhammadu Buhari and members of his cabinet involved in stifling free speech in Nigeria.
In a statement by its national Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP insisted that banning Twitter in Nigeria is a clear violation of Article 19 of the UN Charter on Human Rights as well as Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guaranteed Freedom of Expression to all Nigerians.
The party also urged the world bodies to also sanction the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami as well as “certain leaders of the APC for their individual ignoble roles in the ban imposed on Twitter in addition to associated harassments and threats to Nigerians.”
The PDP urged the countries to bar Buhari, Mohammed, Malami and their family members from entering their territories for any private purposes whatsoever.
For the avoidance of doubt, Article 19 of the UN Charter on Human Rights provides that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinion without interference and to seek, receive and impact information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”, the PDP stressed.
In the same vein, Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that, “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference”, the opposition party further emphasised.
The party submitted that, “The trio of President Buhari, Lai Mohammed and Abubakar Malami and their agents cannot continue to enjoy diplomatic privileges and rights extended by virtue of their offices in Nigeria, while at the same time blatantly flouting the UN Charter, which Nigeria is a signatory to, as well as the 1999 Constitution (as amended) upon which provisions they hold office.”
It called on the international community to hold the trio responsible for the escalated abuse of Human Rights, constitutional violations as well as the situations that emboldened terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and vandals in our country.
Meanwhile, The Joint Minority Caucus of the Senate and the House of Representatives has called on Nigerians to ignore the ban placed by the Federal Government on Twitter and continue to use the social media platform.
The National Assembly caucus, which described the ban as draconian, decried that many Nigerians were losing their sources of livelihood to the action.
The Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, and Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu, stated this in a statement issued on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the joint caucus met over the ban by the All Progressives Congress government and “restates its condemnation of the embargo as draconian and unacceptable.”
The opposition lawmakers also dismissed threats by the government to arrest and prosecute Nigerians for using Twitter, calling on Nigerians to “go ahead and use their Twitter (handles) as they would not be contravening any law in Nigeria or any international statute.”
The lawmakers said they recognised the provisions of Articles 19 and 20 of the United Nations Charter on Fundamental Human Rights, which Nigeria was a signatory to, as well as provisions of Sections 39 and 36 (12) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), stating that “by these provisions, no one will be violating any law for using twitter in Nigeria.
The statement partly read, “As lawmakers, the joint caucus is pained by the anguish Nigerians, especially the youths, who find the use of twitter as a means of livelihood and genuine social interaction, are passing through just because the APC-led Federal Government feels slighted that an individual’s post, was deleted by Twitter for ethical violation.
“The joint caucus, therefore, calls on Nigerians to use various opportunities offered by technology and continue making use of twitter since such does not violate any law in our country.
“It is agonising that Nigeria and Nigerians have been losing billions of naira on a daily basis since the ban on Twitter. This is completely unacceptable as it is worsening the already biting economic hardship and frightening unemployment level in the country.
“Moreover, the ban on Twitter in Nigeria appears to be in favour of criminal and terrorist elements, whose activities fester in an environment of suppressed information flow.”
The caucus sympathised with the organised private sector, manufacturing and service providing companies; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; online businesses owners and other hard working entrepreneurs across the country, “whose genuine business and means of livelihood have been crippled by the unwarranted ban on Twitter by the APC Federal Government.”
The minority lawmakers also identified with students, research-based organisations, media houses, the organised civil society, faith-based organisations and community groups, among others, whose information-based activities have been violently disrupted by the ban.
The caucus said: “In the same vein, the joint caucus sympathises with regional, states, local government as well as members of the international community, whose genuine and constructive activities have been crippled by the prohibition of Twitter in Nigeria
“It also identifies with traditional rulers, who have even found Twitter as a means of communicating with the constituents, especially in this era of insecurity in the country.”
The Joint Caucus berated the APC-led government for abandoning its duty of addressing the serious economic and security problems confronting our nation to rather focus on dissipating energy victimizing Nigerians over their disagreement with Twitter for deleting a post by an individual.
It counselled the Federal Government to swallow its pride, accept its misdoing and go and settle whatever issue it has with Twitter instead of this resort to inflicting pains on Nigerians.
