Disclose details of FG’s agreement with Twitter, court orders information ministry

A federal high court in Lagos has ordered Lai Mohammed, a former minister of information, and the ministry to disclose the details of the agreement between the federal government and X, the micro-blogging platform, formerly known as Twitter.

In June 2021, the former minister announced the “indefinite” suspension of Twitter’s operations in the country.

Six months later, the federal government approved the lifting of the suspension after giving several conditions to the micro-blogging platform.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a civil society organisation (CSO) holding the government accountable, then instituted a freedom of information suit marked FHC/L/CS/238/2022.

Delivering judgment in the suit in May 2024, Nnamdi Dimgba, the presiding judge, ordered that the details of the agreement should be released to SERAP to assess whether it complied with the exercise of Nigerians’ human rights online.

The judge held that the former minister failed to show the court how disclosing the agreement would be prejudicial to national security, as he had claimed.

Dimgba held that “the former minister and the ministry of information are directed and compelled to provide a copy of the agreement between the Nigerian government and Twitter to SERAP solely to ascertain its impact on the protection of fundamental human rights of Nigerians”.

“Disclosing the details of the agreement between the Nigerian government and Twitter is in the public interest and does not affect Twitter’s business interests as a third party. It is also not prejudicial to Nigeria’s sovereignty and national security,” the judge said.

“The agreement between the Nigerian government and Twitter must still be disclosed, irrespective of the harm to Twitter, if it would be in the public interest to make sure disclosure.

“The minister has failed to prove that the president has followed due process of law to designate Twitter as a critical national information infrastructure upon the National Security Adviser’s recommendation and issued an order in the Federal Gazette in that regard.

“Therefore, I hold that the disclosure of the Twitter agreement is not prejudicial to Nigeria’s sovereignty and national security or protected by the Official Secrets Act, as the minister has failed to prove the same.

“The first question that needs to be answered is how the need to disclose the agreement is outweighed by the importance of protecting the commercial interests of the third party, Twitter.

“The former minister has unequivocally argued that the disclosure could harm Twitter’s business interests in other jurisdictions, potentially with Twitter’s contractual negotiations.

“However, this defence is hypothetical and does not point to the specific business or contractual interests of Twitter that could be affected.”

“It is my view that the disclosure of the details of the agreement as requested by SERAP will not interfere with the commercial interests and trade secrets of Twitter or lead to financial losses to it, as the former minister has failed to prove the same.

“Besides, Section 15(4) of the Freedom of Information Act envisages only real and not hypothetical financial loss or gain to or prejudice to the competitive position of or interference with contractual or other negotiation of a third party like Twitter which could be affected by the disclosure.”

“No evidence was placed before this court pointing to the fact that Twitter has an agreement with another country as a precondition for its operation in such jurisdiction as obtainable in Nigeria.”

In July 2022, the court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ruled that the banning of Twitter by the Nigerian government was “unlawful”.