Court Orders Lai Mohammed To Disclose Agreement Between Federal Government And X- See Details
In a significant ruling, the Federal High Court in Lagos has mandated that Alhaji Lai Mohammed, former Minister of Information and Culture, along with the Ministry of Information, disclose the details of the agreement between the Nigerian Government and X, formerly known as Twitter. This decision marks a crucial step toward transparency and accountability in the government’ s dealings with social media platforms.
The judgment was delivered by Hon. Justice Nnamdi Okwy Dimgba in May 2024, following a Freedom of Information suit (FHC/L/CS/238/2022) filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). A certified true copy of the judgment was obtained last Friday, underscoring the public’s right to know the terms of the agreement that impacts their fundamental rights.
Justice Dimgba directed that ” The former minister and the Ministry of Information are compelled to provide a copy of the agreement to SERAP solely to ascertain its impact on the protection of fundamental human rights of Nigerians. “He emphasized that disclosing the agreement’ s details is in the public interest and does not compromise either Twitter’s business interests or Nigeria’ s national security.
The court’s decision came after dismissing objections from the minister’ s counsel, thereby upholding SERAP’ s arguments. The ruling favored SERAP, highlighting the court’ s commitment to ensuring government transparency. It was noted that the minister failed to demonstrate that the President followed due process in designating Twitter as a Critical National Information Infrastructure. Moreover, there was no evidence of an order in the Federal Gazette to support this designation
Justice Dimgba further stated, “The disclosure of the Twitter agreement is not prejudicial to Nigeria’s sovereignty and national security or protected by the Official Secrets Act, as the minister has failed to prove the same. “He added that the minister’ s arguments about potential harm to Twitter’s business interests were hypothetical and lacked evidence of specific business or contractual interests that could be adversely affected.
Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director of SERAP, hailed the judgment as a victory for online freedom and democracy. He urged President Bola Tinubu to comply immediately with the court’ s orders. In a letter dated July 13, 2024, SERAP called on President Tinubu to direct the Ministry of Information and Culture and the Attorney General’s office to disclose the Twitter agreement details as mandated by the court.
This suit originated after the government announced on January 13, 2022, that it would lift Twitter’s suspension, following the platform’ s commitment to adhere to Nigerian laws and culture. The suspension had been imposed on June 4, 2021, after Twitter removed a post by former President Muhammadu Buhari, sparking widespread criticism and concerns over free speech and digital rights. The court’ s orders specifically target the former minister, with the former president named as a co- respondent in the suit. This ruling is a milestone in the ongoing efforts to ensure government accountability and the protection of digital rights in Nigeria. By enforcing transparency in the agreement between the Nigerian Government and Twitter, the court has reinforced the principle that governmental actions affecting public interest must be open to scrutiny.
