Group Alleges Internet Was Disrupted To Sabotage Hunger Protests

By Jacob Okpanachi

Facts have emerged on how the internet was disrupted to sabotage the Hunger Protests which commenced in Nigeria last Thursday. A group of 36 civil society organizations which monitored the development, condemned the action which it said was an “intentional disruption of access to the internet in Nigeria”.

It said the action constitutes an unacceptable breach of established norms and standards under regional and international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a State party.

In a statement issued on Saturday by the Media Rights Agenda, the group made up of 36 organizations, warned that “the weaponization of Internet disruptions and blocking or shutdowns during political unrest only exacerbates the underlying concerns of citizens”.

Among the signatories to the statement are the Human Rights Journalists Network Nigeria, the Institutional and Sustainable Development Foundation (ISDF), Africa Cybersecurity Alliance and the The African Internet Rights Alliance (AIRA). The statement was copied to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

A joint reading of investigative reports by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism fij.ng, Peoples Gazette, and individual measurements by netizens using internet measurement tools have revealed throttling of internet speed nationwide, aimed at slowing down information dissemination.

This explains the unusual difficulty experienced by netizens and other users in accessing the internet in the past few days.

The group said “these shutdowns go against Chapter four of Nigeria’s Constitution that assures its citizens of their rights to freedom of conscience, expression, assembly and association”.

Article 9(1) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights guarantees access to information as the right to receive information, a principle also upheld by Article 19(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Furthermore, it said disruptions create significant obstacles that damage free flow of information, which may in turn erode trust and increase the likelihood of hostilities and violence. Shutdowns also disrupt financial transactions, commerce, industry, labour markets and essential service delivery platforms. The government must note that the majority of its citizens are currently at home and need digital platforms to work and communicate. Disruptions such as this can lead to further apprehension and heating up of the polity.

It referred to the suit filed to challenge the Twitter ban by the Nigerian government in June 2021, in which the ECOWAS Court declared that Nigeria’s seven-month Twitter ban was unlawful. The Court held that it violated the freedom of expression of people in Nigeria and required the government to take steps to ensure it does not repeat similar acts of censorship in the future.

Furthermore, the Coalition calls on the government of Nigeria to adhere to the objective of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance under Article 2(10) to promote the establishment of necessary conditions to foster citizen participation, transparency, access to information, freedom of the press and accountability in the management of public affairs. An open internet will ensure this compliance and the promotion of human rights under Article 4 of the Charter.

“At uncertain times such as this, it is important to keep all communication channels open without disrupting and impacting quality of access. This is necessary to ensure citizens are able to communicate seamlessly and access accurate information about the state of things:.

Signatories to the statement include;