Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has written an open letter asking President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the military monitoring Nigerians on social media.
The 25 August letter signed by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale spoke of “serious concern that any monitoring of Nigerians on social media by the military authorities would directly violate the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression and privacy online.
“Instructing the military to end any such monitoring would help your government to defend and keep to its oft-repeated commitment to human rights, transparency and accountability,” it said.
“Monitoring of the social media by the military is neither necessary nor proportionate, and could portray your government as working to control the political and social media space.
“Classifying legitimate exercise of freedom of expression as ‘hate speech’ is counter-productive, In exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and privacy, Nigerians should be allowed to speak truth to power and stand up for their rights.”
It said monitoring would criminalize freedom and the activity of journalists critical of the government, and censor the media from reporting on sensitive and critical information relevant to public interest but controversial to the government.
SERAP’s letter follows reported statement by the Director of Defence Information, Major-General John Enenche that the activities of Nigerians on the social media are now being monitored for hate speech, anti-government and anti-security information by the military.
He justified this move on the alleged grounds of “troubling activities and misinformation capable of jeopardizing the unity of the country.”
