Reps summons Lai Mohammed, investigates #TwitterBan

The House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to invite the Minister of Culture and Information, Lai Mohammed, as the lawmakers are set to investigate the law backing the federal government’s ban of Twitter operations in Nigeria.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, at plenary on Tuesday, directed the House Committees on Justice, Commerce, and Information to investigate the process that led to the suspension of the Twitter operations in the country. The Speaker noted that the House recognizes that Twitter is a very important means of communication. Gbajabiamila stated that the microblogging site has been used for both good and bad, noting that the legislature must make sure that the policies of government are in accordance with the law and do not have adverse consequences on the people.

The Speaker disclosed that relevant House Committees have been mandated to constitute a single committee and commence investigation into the circumstances surrounding the ban, and its legality.

The committee would invite the Minister of Information for explanation.

Lai Mohammed had last week announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria by the federal government, giving reasons that the persistent use of the platform for activities that are “capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence,” was responsible for the ban.

As telecom operators in Nigeria blocked access to Twitter on the order of the government, several Twitter users in Nigeria activated the Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to access the microblogging website.