Nigeria orders speedy prosecution of offenders violating order banning Twitter
The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami has ordered the immediate prosecution of Nigerians accessing microblogging platform, Twitter, through a virtual private network (VPN).
The development follows the Friday indefinite suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria.
There have been reports of Nigerian users of the platform 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.
The marching order instructing the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation was contained in a statement by Malami’s spokesman, Umar Gwandu.
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.”
