Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has ordered the immediate prosecution of Nigerians accessing microblogging platform, Twitter, through a virtual private network (VPN).
This is a follow-up to the Friday indefinite ban of Twitter operations in Nigeria.
The latest development is against the backdrop of reports that Nigerian users of the platform are bypassing the restriction posed by the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with a VPN since the wee hours of Saturday when the suspension order took effect.
Malami, in the statement which was signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr Umar Gwandu, directed the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, DPPF, “to swing into action and commence in earnest the process of prosecution of violators of the Federal Government De-activation of operations of Twitter in Nigeria”.
He further directed the DPPF, “to liase with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, National Communication Communication, NCC, and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of offenders without any further delay”.
The statement reads: “Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has directed the immediate prosecution of offenders of the Federal Government ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria.
“Malami directed the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation at the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, to swing into action and commence in earnest the process of prosecution of violators of the Federal Government De-activation of operations of Twitter in Nigeria.
“Malami directed the DPPF to liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, National Communication Communication and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of offenders without any further delay.”
The Federal Government had on Friday, announced its decision to indefinitely suspend the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in the country.
Information and Culture minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who announced the suspension, cited “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
He added that government had also directed the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, “to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria”.
The action had since elicited varied reactions from Nigerians, with many, urging the government to rescind the decision.
