Posted by Samuel on Wed 12th Jan, 2022 - tori.ng
The hearing which held today in Lagos before Hon. Justice A. O. Faji of the Federal High Court was subsequently adjourned to the said date.
Inibehe Effiong
A Federal High court sitting in Lagos State has adjourned the hearing of a suit instituted by human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, to March 18.
This was disclosed by the lawyer in a tweet on his verified Twitter handle on Wednesday.
The hearing which held today in Lagos before Hon. Justice A. O. Faji of the Federal High Court was subsequently adjourned to the said date.
He wrote on Twitter, “My fundamental rights suit against the AGF, Minister of Information and the FGN which I instituted in June last year to challenge the ban and suspension of Twitter in Nigeria came up today at the Federal High Court in Lagos before Hon. Justice A. O. Faji for hearing.
“I appeared in person (for myself) while the Respondents were represented by government lawyers who came in from Abuja. Judgment has been reserved for the 18th day of March, 2022. History will vindicate the just.”
SaharaReporters had reported how the Nigerian government in June 2021 suspended Twitter, saying it threatened its corporate existence.
The platform was suspended after Twitter deleted a statement tweeted by President Muhammadu Buhari, which many Nigerians found distasteful.
Effiong subsequently sued the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, the AGF, Abubakar Malami, and the Federal Government for suspending the social media platform.
In the fundamental human rights suit marked FHC/L/CS/542/2021, Effiong is seeking nine reliefs, including an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from further suspending, deactivating or banning the operation and accessibility of Twitter or any other social media service in Nigeria because the act was in violation of his rights.
Effiong asked the court to declare as illegal the threat of criminal prosecution by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami and Lai Mohammed against Nigerians who ‘violate’ the suspension or ban of Twitter, despite the absence of any written law.