The House of Representatives has mandated its Committees on Communication, Justice, Information and Culture, and National Security and Intelligence to immediately commence investigation into the circumstances leading to the decision by the Federal Government to suspend the operations of Twitter in Nigeria and the legal authority for the ban on the operations of the microblogging platform.

The House also summoned the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to appear before it and explain the reasons for the ban.

The directives were contained in a welcome address delivered by the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, at the resumption of plenary on Tuesday.

Gbajabiamila said the lawmakers are aware that the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria has generated fierce debate and the House has since the announcement been inundated with comments about the decision, requests for intervention and criticism.

The Speaker said the House recognises that Twitter, like other social media networks, is an important tool for communication and commerce in Nigeria, particularly amongst the younger generation who have used these networks for enterprise and innovation with great success.

He however said the House also recognises that as social media has been a tool for good, it can also be a tool for bad actors, hence the government has a legitimate interest in ensuring that these platforms are not used to commit vile actions against individuals and the state.

He said that it’s the proper role of the legislature in circumstances like this to peel back the layers of the decision-making process to unravel the issues until they develop an understanding of the why and the how of executive decisions.

According to him, the legislature must make sure that regulatory and enforcement actions by the government are in accordance with the laws of the land, that due process of law has been followed to the letter and that the outcome of regulatory decisions do not result in adverse consequences for the country and all the people.

The Speaker gave the committees 10 days to expeditiously conclude the assignment and report back to the House for further legislative action.

He said:

We listen to the agitation of the people, but we also hear from the government so that from the abundance of information, we reach the level of awareness that allows us to discharge our role dispassionately. It is in service of our obligations under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and our moral duty to the Nigerian people.

The Speaker further decried the spate of killings across the country.

He said the attacks call for coordinated and targeted action by governments at all levels to address the menace and save the nation.

He disclosed that the House will, on Wednesday, begin consideration of a slate of bills intended to reform the national security statutory framework.

Gbajabiamila said:

Over the last couple of weeks, across our country, there has been a marked increase in the incidents and severity of violent outbreaks, kidnapping, banditry and murder in broad daylight. From Owerri in Imo State to Igangan in Oyo State; from Niger to Kaduna, and across the states of the North-east, we are witnessing bloodshed and violence of the sort usually associated with war. These are trying times for all our nation’s people. Families are in mourning; communities are under siege and even those who have thus far escaped the direct impact of the escalating violence cannot help but feel as if they are living on borrowed time.

We intend to change the way the Armed Forces conduct operations so that the three arms of our military can work more effectively together to overcome shared challenges. And we want to change the nature of interactions between the civilian population and the military so that the conflicts that breed resentment and undermine national security can be eliminated once and forevermore.

These bills are only the first of the legislative interventions relating to national security that we will be considering. Also, the final report of the summit, including the recommendations for legislative action will shortly be presented to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.