The Canadian and the British missions in Nigeria have expressed their concern over the federal government’s ban on Twitter operations in the country.
Gill Atkinson, the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, noted that Nigerian citizens have the right to freedom of speech and the federal government must not take actions that will suppress their human rights freedom.
“All Nigerians have the right to freedom of speech and the responsibility not to misuse that right. Any action taken by Government must be measured, proportionate and not supress basic freedoms,” @GillAtkinson11 tweeted
Also, the High Commissioner of Canada in Nigeria, Nicolas Simard, via his Twitter handle said, that freedom of speech is fundamental human rights protected by the constitution and a cornerstone for democracy across the world.
“Freedom of speech, used responsibly online and off line, and access to reliable information are fundamental human rights protected by #Nigeria’s constitution and a cornerstone of democratic life around the world. (1/2) #TwitterBan,” Mr Simard tweeted via @NicolasJSimard.
“These #HumanRights should be fully protected, while preventing inflammatory rhetoric and hate speech that could fuel tension and conflict. (2/2) #TwitterBan #Nigeria”.
On June 4, the federal government of Nigeria took measures to ban the activities of Twitter and other social media platforms after the micro logging site deleted President Buhari’s tweet for violating its community rules.