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Five NGOs, four journalists sue FG at ECOWAS court over Twitter ban

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Twitter ban

Five non-governmental organizations and four journalists have filed a suit against the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja.

The NGO applicants are asking the Court to declare the indefinite suspension of Twitter in Nigeria a violation of their human rights under international law, order the Government to immediately rescind the suspension order, and compensate them for the violation of their rights.

The NGO applicants in the suit are Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Paradigm Initiative (PIN), Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), the International Press Centre (IPC), and Tap Initiative for Citizens Development (TICD) while the journalists are Mr. David Hundeyin, Mr. Samuel Ogundipe, Ms Blessing Oladunjoye, and Mr. Nwakamri Zakari Apollo.

The suit, lodged with number ECW/CCJ/APP/29/21 ECW/CCJ/APP/29/21, in a 73-page documentation, was filed on their behalf by Abuja-based human rights and free expression lawyer, Mrs. Mojirayo Ogunlana Nkanga, under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Revised ECOWAS Treaty, and the Nigerian Constitution, among others.

They are claiming that Nigeria’s ongoing suspension of Twitter, which came into effect on or around June 4, 2021, violated their right to freedom of expression and interfered with the ability of the journalists to do their work.

The NGOs and journalists are also alleging that the general situation in Nigeria with respect to human rights, has created an environment where freedom of expression is stifled, which has contributed to creating a chilling effect on press and media freedom and which the ongoing suspension of Twitter is a continuation of.

According to them, Nigeria has consented to be bound by the obligation to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression under the ICCPR and the ACHPR and therefore, any limitation imposed by the government on the right to freedom of expression can only be justifiable where the restriction is provided by law, serves a legitimate aim, and is necessary and proportionate in a democratic society.

Contending that these three conditions must all be met before any restriction on the right to freedom of expression can be considered legitimate, they noted that the suspension of Twitter is not provided by law, that there is no justification for it under Nigeria’s domestic laws, and that it was done by the government in an arbitrary manner in circumstances where there was no public or judicial oversight, transparency or accountability.

The NGOs and journalists are asking the Court to declare the indefinite suspension of Twitter a continuous violation of their human rights under international law, particularly the right to seek and receive information as well as the right to express and disseminate opinions under Article 9(1) and (2) of the African Charter; Article 19(2) of the ICCPR and the rights of journalists under Article 66(2)(c) of the Revised ECOWAS Treaty.

They are also seeking a declaration that the Government’s directive, through the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), for the deactivation of Twitter accounts in Nigeria violates their human rights under international law and that the threat by the Attorney-General of the Federation to criminally prosecute anybody found to be using Twitter in Nigeria following the suspension of the platform also violates their human rights under international law.

The NGOs and the journalists are therefore urging the court to issue orders mandating the Government to immediately take all necessary measures to rescind the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria; to take all necessary measures to guarantee non-recurrence in order to prevent the same violation occurring again in future; compelling the Government to issue adequate reparations, including restitution, compensation and measures of satisfaction to them to be specified and submitted to the court; as well as to issue an order of injunction restraining the Government, its servants and agents from imposing criminal sanctions on individuals, including the applicants, who use Twitter or any other social media service provider.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

The suit is being litigated with the support of Media Defence, a London-based NGO, which provides legal assistance to journalists, citizen journalists and independent media.

GrassRoots.ng is on a critical mission; to objectively and honestly represent the voice of ‘grassrooters’ in International, Federal, State and Local Government fora; heralding the achievements of political and other leaders and investors alike, without discrimination. This daily, digital news publication platform serves as the leading source of up-to-date information on how people and events reflect on the global community. The pragmatic articles reflect on the life of the community people, covering news/current affairs, business, technology, culture and fashion, entertainment, sports, State, National and International issues that directly impact the locals.

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inq.Digital Supports Payments Forum Nigeria [PAFON 1.0]

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PAFOn 1.0
PAFON SPEAKERS

Inq. Digital Nigeria Limited has been announced as a sponsor of Payments Forum Nigeria [PAFON 1.0] maiden edition holding this Thursday in Lagos.

inq. Digital Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of inq. Group is an emerging leading digital and cloud solutions provider that delivers simpler seamless solutions to complex business challenges.

With offices in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano, inq. provides reliable and affordable Intelligent Connectivity, SDN/NFV, Cloud and Digital services (including Edge –AI) for Nigerian businesses including those in the payment space.

Participation is FREE, however, pre-registration is required: https://bit.ly/4c4N19H.

Speaking ahead of Payments Forum Nigeria [PAFON 1,0] scheduled to take place at Oriental Hotel, Lekki Road, Lagos on Thursday, March 21, 2024 by 9am under the theme: “Payments: Trust, Security and Privacy in AI Era”, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, the co-founder of TechCastle Foundation, the organisers, said the goal is to enable information exchange and knowledge sharing on key industry insights issues amongst key stakeholders, with the objective of ensuring a collaborative and proactive approach to push for policies that enable growth, tackling/mitigating fraud and limiting occurrences and losses.

Speakers

The following speakers are lined up for the Forum: Chibuzo Efobi, Director, Payments System Management, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Festus Amede, Chairman, Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigerian Financial institutions (CCISONFI; Dr. Adewale Peter Obadare, Chief Visionary Officer (CVO), Digital Encode Limited; Adetokunbo Omotosho, Chief Executive Officer, Cybervergent; Roosevelt Elias, Founder, Payble; Ikenna Ndugbu, chief compliance officer, Moniepoint MFB, and Peter Evbota, Sales Director at inq. Digital Nigeria Limited.

Payments Forum Nigeria is organised by TechCastle Foundation and sponsored by: inq. Digital Nigeria Limited, Cybervergent, Moniepoint, Digital Encode Limited, Payble with support from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

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Meet Kingsley Adonu

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In the dynamic world of entrepreneurship, there are visionaries who not only navigate the business landscape but redefine it. Meet Kingsley Adonu, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the SMobile Group, a conglomerate that stands as a beacon of excellence and diversity in the global business arena.

Kingsley Adonu is a visionary entrepreneur and the Founder of the SMobile Group, a conglomerate synonymous with excellence and diversity. As the Chief Executive Officer, he has steered the group to remarkable heights, overseeing a spectrum of businesses that span across Telecommunications, Oil and Gas, Real Estate, Hospitality, Water Production, Agriculture, Technology, E-commerce, Energy, Sports, Entertainment, Education, Health, Logistics and Financial Services, with branches extending globally to UK, USA, China, South Africa, and Canada.

Under Kingsley’s astute leadership, SMobile Group has emerged as a major partner for MTN, evident in the impactful presence of the SMobile brand in the telecommunications landscape. His strategic insights and forward-thinking approach have positioned the group as a dynamic player in multiple industries.

Beyond the boardroom, Kingsley Adonu is a dedicated philanthropist, committed to making a positive impact in communities. His philanthropic efforts extend beyond business, reflecting a deep-seated belief in the responsibility of successful individuals to contribute meaningfully to society.

Kingsley’s influence is not confined to national borders; he has actively participated in numerous international telecom conferences, further enriching his understanding of global industry trends and fostering valuable connections with industry leaders worldwide.

With an unwavering commitment to excellence, Kingsley Adonu continues to inspire and lead the SMobile Group towards new horizons, blending business acumen with a passion for positive societal change.

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Only 26% of Surveyed Organizations Stopped Data Encryption by Cybercriminals – Sophos

Retail organizations attacked by ransomware increasingly unable to halt an attack in progress, Sophos Survey Finds, writes SANDRA ANI

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Sophos The State of Ransomware in Retail 2023
  • This Is the Lowest Rate of Disruption in 3 Years  

Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, today shared findings from its sector survey report, “The State of Ransomware in Retail 2023,” which found that only 26% of retail organizations this past year were able to disrupt a ransomware attack before their data was encrypted.

Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, today shared findings from its sector survey report, “The State of Ransomware in Retail 2023,” which found that only 26% of retail organizations this past year were able to disrupt a ransomware attack before their data was encrypted.

This is a three-year low for the sector—a decline from 34% in 2021 and 28% in 2022—suggesting the sector is increasingly unable to halt ransomware attacks already in progress.

“Retailers are losing ground in the battle against ransomware. Ransomware criminals have been encrypting increasingly greater percentages of their retail victims in the last three years, as evidenced by the steadily declining rate of retailers stopping cybercriminal attacks in progress. Retailers must up their defensive game by setting up security that detects and responds to intrusions earlier in the attack chain,” said Chester Wisniewski, director, global field CTO, Sophos.

In addition, the report found that, for those retail organizations that paid the ransom, their median recovery costs (not including the ransom payment) were four times the recovery costs of those that used backups to recover their data ($3,000,000 versus $750,000).

“Forty-three percent of retail victims paid the ransom according to our survey respondents, yet the median recovery cost to victims who paid the ransom was four times the cost to those who used backups and other recovery methods. There are no shortcuts in these situations and rebuilding systems is almost always required. It’s better to deprive the criminals of their spoils and build back better,” said Wisniewski.

Additional key findings from the report include:

  • In line with a broader, cross-sector trend, the retail sector experienced its highest rate of encryption over the past three years, with 71% of those organizations targeted by ransomware stating that attackers successfully encrypted their data
  • The percentage of retail organizations attacked by ransomware declined from 77% last year to 69% this year
  • The percentage of retail organizations that recovered in less than a day decreased from 15% to 9% this year, while the percentage of retail organizations that took more than a month to recover increased from 17% to 21%

Sophos recommends the following best practices to help defend against ransomware and other cyberattacks:

  • Strengthen defensive shields with:
    • Security tools that defend against the most common attack vectors, including endpoint protection with strong anti-ransomware and anti-exploit capabilities
    • Adaptive technologies that respond automatically to attacks, disrupting adversaries and buying defenders time to respond
  • Optimize attack preparation, including regularly backing up, practicing recovering data from backups and maintaining an up-to-date incident response plan
  • Maintain security hygiene, including timely patching and regularly reviewing security tool configurations

To learn more about the State of Ransomware in Retail 2023, download the full report from Sophos.com.

The State of Ransomware 2023 survey polled 3,000 IT/cybersecurity leaders in organizations with between 100 and 5,000 employees, including 355 from the retail sector, across 14 countries in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific.

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