SERAP to Buhari: Order Military to end monitoring of Nigerians on social media

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari requesting him to instruct the military authorities to immediately end any monitoring of activities of Nigerians on the social media.

The organisation is also asking the President to ensure that military operations comply with Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s obligations under international human rights law.

In the letter dated 25 August 2017 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Timothy Adewale the organization expressed concern that any monitoring of Nigerians on social media by the military authorities would directly violate the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression and privacy online.

“Instructing the military to end any such monitoring would help your government to defend and keep to its oft-repeated commitment to human rights, transparency and accountability.

“Monitoring of the social media by the military is neither necessary nor proportionate, and could portray your government as working to control the political and social media space.

Classifying legitimate exercise of freedom of expression as ‘hate speech’ is counter-productive, In exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and privacy, Nigerians should be allowed to speak truth to power and stand up for their rights.”

According to the organization, “Monitoring Nigerians on social media would criminalize their freedom and the activity of journalists that are critical of the government and censor the media from reporting on sensitive and critical information that is relevant to the public interest but controversial to the government. It would have a chilling effect on media activities in Nigeria, and pose a serious threat to the ability of Nigerians to meaningfully participate in their own government.”

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