Nigeria: CFWIJ condemns the ban on Twitter as it bars access to information for women journalists

June 15, 2021- CFWIJ is concerned about the Twitter ban in Nigeria as the journalists suffer from obstruction in accessing the information. The suspension of Twitter operations in the country was announced after it deleted one of the tweets of the President as it violated the Twitters’ policy. CFWIJ spoke to prominent multimedia journalist Bukola Adebayo on this ill-intentioned and ill-advised decision as her work mainly focuses on the Africa region.

Bukola Adebayo shared via email, “ Nigeria’s Twitter ban is a clampdown on freedom of expression and a huge blow to women's rights effort and the already shaky #Metoo movement in Nigeria. In recent years and most recently last year, Twitter, as much as the streets, was the platform where women spoke boldly and loudly about the spate of rape and murder incidents involving young women across the country.” The journalist further stated that “The platform -- with hashtags-- gave visibility and a sense of community to Nigerian women and CSOs organizing protests across the country, consequently forcing state governments to take decisive actions and make pronouncements to address the rape epidemic in the country. The hashtags led me to activists and some sources outside Lagos who were tweeting out their work with victim’s families.”

“I can't overemphasize how vital access to Twitter in Nigeria is for women journalists because it gets more eyeballs to our work on these issues globally and regionally. But the Nigerian government says it's a democracy, and it must be held to account by those ideals, and one of such is freedom of speech for all. Restore access and commit to never switching it off.” She went on to add.

A reporter for Order Paper, Lizzy Chikpi also shared that “We don't know what is happening and what is being said on issues.” The national broadcasting commission in Nigeria has ordered Radio and TV stations to delete their Twitter handles and if they are found violating the orders, strict action will be taken. The usage of Twitter is being propagated as something unpatriotic and against democracy. According to a report shared by the Foundation of Investigative Journalism, Government machinery in Nigeria met the cyberspace administration of China on June 5 and the formulation of an Internet Firewall in Nigeria is under consideration like the one Chinese authorities have built in the country to bar access to information.   

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the ban on digital communication and finds it against the values of press freedom. We urge the Nigerian government to rethink the decision as suspending the operations of a site that has 40 million Nigerian users is definitely against democracy. We stand in solidarity with Nigerian journalists and condemn any government action against them for raising their voice for the rights of their people.