ECOWAS Court Orders Nigeria Govt To Amend Section 12 Of Cybercrime Law
LAGOS MARCH 29TH (NEWSRANGERS)-The ECOWAS Court of Justice, sitting in Accra, Ghana, has ordered the Federal Government of Nigeria to amend Section 24 of its Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act of 2015, in order to ensure conformity with the country’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Delivering judgement on Friday, 25th March, 2022, in a case filed by the Registered Trustees of the Socio-Economic and Accountability Project (SERPA), a Non-Governmental Organisation, Justice Keikura Bangura, who read the decision of the Court, said that the Section was not in conformity with Articles 9 of the ACHPR and 19 of the ICCPR to which the country is signatory.
SERAP filed the claim before the Court, challenging the legality and compatibility of Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act 2005 in relation to the guarantees of freedom of expression and information enshrined in Article 9 of the ACHPR and Article 19 of the ICCPR, respectively.
It particularly alleged that the Section 24 violated the rights to freedom of expression, information and other rights of human rights defenders, activists, bloggers, journalists, broadcasters and social media users through the repressive use, interpretation and by agents of the Respondent, the same being vaguely worded and ambiguous.
The applicant contended that since the passage of the Act, the Respondent and its agents have used the provisions of the act to harass, intimidate, arbitrarily arrest and detain and unfairly prosecute users of the social media, human rights defenders, activists, journalists, broadcasters and bloggers, who express their views perceived to be critical of the Government both at the Federal and State levels.
The applicant listed twelve high profile cases of the alleged victims of harassment, intimidation, arrest unlawful detention, prosecution and imprisonment of journalists, bloggers, broadcasters, social media users, human rights defenders and activists, by the Respondent, its agents and several states of Nigeria between August 2015 and November 2018, for alleged cyberstalking and urged the Court to make several declarations and orders that will underscore the incompatibility of the Act with the provisions of the two international instruments.
TheWill
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Posted by News Rangers
on Mar 29 2022. Filed under National.
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