• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Download Platform Times app
  • Privacy-Policy
  • Terms
Platform Times
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Metro
    • Science
    • World
    Adeboye Declares ” I won’t endorse Atiku, Tinubu, Obi As President

    Pastors, Bishops Engaging In Illicit Affairs With Women Need Prayer ,Says Adeboye

    20 bandits killed, five kidnap victims rescued in Niger

    NAF Jet killed 30 , Displaced 8,000 persons in Niger,Says SSG

    Tragedy Struck As DPO, Footballer Slump Die

    Tragedy Struck As DPO, Footballer Slump Die

    Buhari directs ministry to address menace of explosive remnants in N/East

    ACF Canvasses Deadline Extension Of Old Naira Notes

    Man defiles daughters after spiking their drinks

    Suspected Rapist Arrested For Defiling Two Minors

    Wife drags husband to court over ‘denial of sex’

    My Husband Attempted To Use Our Children For Money Ritual – Wife Tells Court

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Education
    • Campus Times
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Gaming
    • Lifestyle
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Travel
    Ladies should be free to woo men – Ugoccie

    Ladies should be free to woo men – Ugoccie

    BBtitans, Ebuka are distractions – Austin Faani

    BBtitans, Ebuka are distractions – Austin Faani

    Can alcoholic bitters prevent next pandemic?

    Can alcoholic bitters prevent next pandemic?

    My body not so succulent – Nancy Isime

    My body not so succulent – Nancy Isime

    AGN stands with Njamah, seeks ex-lover’s arrest

    AGN stands with Njamah, seeks ex-lover’s arrest

    Actress Uche Ogbodo ties knot, urges singles to hope on God

    Actress Uche Ogbodo ties knot, urges singles to hope on God

    • Lifestyle
      Can alcoholic bitters prevent next pandemic?

      Can alcoholic bitters prevent next pandemic?

      Five ‘demonised’ beauty accessories

      Five ‘demonised’ beauty accessories

      15 reasons you should drink enough water daily

      15 reasons you should drink enough water daily

      10 tips to manage morning sickness

      10 tips to manage morning sickness

      Shooting More than 40 Years of New York’s Halloween Parade

      Why Millennials Need to Save Twice as Much as Boomers Did

      Trending Tags

      • Golden Globes
      • Game of Thrones
      • MotoGP 2017
      • eSports
      • Fashion Week
  • Fact Check
  • Metro
  • Special Reports
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Metro
    • Science
    • World
    Adeboye Declares ” I won’t endorse Atiku, Tinubu, Obi As President

    Pastors, Bishops Engaging In Illicit Affairs With Women Need Prayer ,Says Adeboye

    20 bandits killed, five kidnap victims rescued in Niger

    NAF Jet killed 30 , Displaced 8,000 persons in Niger,Says SSG

    Tragedy Struck As DPO, Footballer Slump Die

    Tragedy Struck As DPO, Footballer Slump Die

    Buhari directs ministry to address menace of explosive remnants in N/East

    ACF Canvasses Deadline Extension Of Old Naira Notes

    Man defiles daughters after spiking their drinks

    Suspected Rapist Arrested For Defiling Two Minors

    Wife drags husband to court over ‘denial of sex’

    My Husband Attempted To Use Our Children For Money Ritual – Wife Tells Court

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Education
    • Campus Times
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Gaming
    • Lifestyle
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Travel
    Ladies should be free to woo men – Ugoccie

    Ladies should be free to woo men – Ugoccie

    BBtitans, Ebuka are distractions – Austin Faani

    BBtitans, Ebuka are distractions – Austin Faani

    Can alcoholic bitters prevent next pandemic?

    Can alcoholic bitters prevent next pandemic?

    My body not so succulent – Nancy Isime

    My body not so succulent – Nancy Isime

    AGN stands with Njamah, seeks ex-lover’s arrest

    AGN stands with Njamah, seeks ex-lover’s arrest

    Actress Uche Ogbodo ties knot, urges singles to hope on God

    Actress Uche Ogbodo ties knot, urges singles to hope on God

    • Lifestyle
      Can alcoholic bitters prevent next pandemic?

      Can alcoholic bitters prevent next pandemic?

      Five ‘demonised’ beauty accessories

      Five ‘demonised’ beauty accessories

      15 reasons you should drink enough water daily

      15 reasons you should drink enough water daily

      10 tips to manage morning sickness

      10 tips to manage morning sickness

      Shooting More than 40 Years of New York’s Halloween Parade

      Why Millennials Need to Save Twice as Much as Boomers Did

      Trending Tags

      • Golden Globes
      • Game of Thrones
      • MotoGP 2017
      • eSports
      • Fashion Week
  • Fact Check
  • Metro
  • Special Reports
No Result
View All Result
Platform Times
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT

SERAP wants court to stop Buhari, others from shutting down telecoms

by Editor
December 5, 2021
in Featured, Politics
Reading Time:4min read
0 0
0
End SARS: SERAP gives NBC 48 hours to withdraw fines






ADVERTISEMENT

Estimated reading time: 16 minute(s)

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has filed a case asking the Federal High Court, Abuja, for “an order of perpetual injunction to restrain President Muhammadu Buhari from unlawfully shutting down telecommunication networks in any part of the country.”

The SERAP also asked the court to restrain the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami .

SERAP in the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1323/2021 is asking the court to “determine whether the shutdown of telecommunication networks in any part of Nigeria by the Buhari administration is unlawful, and a violation of the rights of access to correspondence, freedom of expression, information, and the press.”

SERAP is also asking the court to “determine whether the shutdown of telecommunication networks in any part of the country is inconsistent with the principles of legality, proportionality and necessity, and the rights of access to correspondence, freedom of expression, information, and the press.”

The suit, which has been assigned to Honourable Justice Ahmed Mohammed at Court 4, is fixed for hearing on 11th January, 2022.

Joined in the suit as Defendant is the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

SERAP is arguing that, “Large-scale shutdowns of communication networks are a form of collective punishment. Shutdowns exert significant chilling effects, with direct implications on participatory democracy, whose existence depends upon an active and informed citizenry capable of engaging with a range of ideas.”

According to SERAP, “The Buhari administration has constitutional and international legal obligations to enable access to the Internet for all, as access to the Internet is inextricably linked to the exercise of freedom of expression and information.”

SERAP is also arguing that, “Access to information, the ability to exercise the right to freedom of expression and the participation that internet and telecommunication networks provide to all sectors of society is essential for a truly democratic society.”

SERAP said: “The rights to freedom of expression and information may be restricted only in specific circumstances. Restrictions on these rights must be provided by law, proportionate, and necessary for respect of the rights or reputations of others or for the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health and morals.”

SERAP is also arguing that, “While the authorities have a legal responsibility to protect, ensure and secure the rights to life and property, any such responsibility ought to be discharged in conformity with constitutional and international human rights standards.”

SERAP said: “The suspension of internet and telecommunication networks in Zamfara and Katsina states is particularly egregious, and suggests a disturbing trend, especially given the escalating repression and restriction of civic space in Nigeria. Shutdowns should never become an entrenched practice in the country.”

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, read in part: “Internet and telecommunication shutdowns amount to inherently disproportionate interference with the rights to freedom of expression and information. Necessity requires a showing that shutdowns would achieve their stated purpose, which in fact they often jeopardize.”

“In their 2011 Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and the Internet, four special mandates on freedom of expression emphasised that ‘Cutting off access to the Internet, or parts of the Internet, for whole populations or segments of the public can never be justified, including on public order or national security grounds.’”

“The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has affirmed the principle of non-interference with access to internet and telecommunication networks and stressed that States including Nigeria ‘shall not engage in or condone any disruption of access to the internet and other digital technologies for segments of the public or an entire population.’”

“In June 2016, the UN Human Rights Council, condemned ‘measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online in violation of international human rights law.’ The Council called on all States, including Nigeria, to refrain from and cease such measures.”

“The rights to freedom of expression and access to information are protected by Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999 [as amended], Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights both of which Nigeria has ratified.”

“These rights must be protected online as they are protected offline. Access to the Internet is a fundamental right. Access to the internet is also a necessary precondition for the exercise and enjoyment of other human rights online and offline.”

“Shutdowns generate a wide variety of harms to human rights, economic activity, public safety and emergency services that outweigh the purported benefits. Any shutdown has the potential to affect millions of internet and telecommunication users, and those on the margins of society are most impacted by it.”

“The suspension of the internet and telecommunication networks in Zamfara and Katsina states, without any legal justification, is inconsistent with the principles of necessity and proportionality. The suspension is a form of collective punishment of Nigerians resident in these states.”

“The imposition of any restrictions should be guided by the objective of facilitating the right, rather than seeking unnecessary and disproportionate limitations on it. Restrictions must not be discriminatory, impair the essence of the right, or be aimed at causing a chilling effect. Internet and telecommunication shutdowns fail to meet all of these conditions.”

It would be recalled that the NCC recently ordered telecom operators to suspend all telecommunications networks in some states, including Zamfara State, and at least 13 local government areas of Katsina State purportedly to check “banditry”/terrorism.

ADVERTISEMENT

Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s)

FOOTNOTE: Do you want to share a story with us? Do you want to advertise with us? Do you need publicity for a product, service, or event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348183319097 or email: platformtimes@gmail.com

ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Former acting DG calls for increased dialogue between NBC, media practitioners

Next Post

Abuja varsity employs hunters, vigilantes to check abduction, probes sexual harassment

Editor

Related Posts

I’m Not A Stranger To Nigerian Problems,Says Obi
Featured

Obi Vows To Turn Sambisa Forest Into Farmland

January 30, 2023
2023 Election : SS2 Student Donates N100,000 To Obi
Featured

2023 Election : SS2 Student Donates N100,000 To Obi

January 30, 2023
APC, PDP bicker over rescue of U.S. hostage
Featured

APC Raises Alarm, Accuses PDP Of Alleged Plot To Unleash Fake News On Tinubu

January 30, 2023
I’ll Make Money For Nigeria, Increase Citizens’ Wages, Says Tinubu
Featured

I’ll Make Money For Nigeria, Increase Citizens’ Wages, Says Tinubu

January 30, 2023
Adeboye Declares ” I won’t endorse Atiku, Tinubu, Obi As President
Featured

Pastors, Bishops Engaging In Illicit Affairs With Women Need Prayer ,Says Adeboye

January 30, 2023
Tension in Bauchi as 30 people tested  positive for Lassa fever
Featured

40 Persons Still In Hospital Over Lassa Fever In Edo — Govt

January 30, 2023
Next Post
Abuja varsity employs hunters, vigilantes to check abduction, probes sexual harassment

Abuja varsity employs hunters, vigilantes to check abduction, probes sexual harassment

ADVERTISEMENT
Platform Times Newspaper

Copyright © Platform Times Newspaper published by Pendulum Media

Navigate Site

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Download Platform Times app
  • Privacy-Policy
  • Terms

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us
  • DONATE
  • Download Platform Times app
  • News
  • Fact Check
  • Special Reports
  • Politics
  • Metro
  • Education
  • Business
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment

Copyright © Platform Times Newspaper published by Pendulum Media

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist