Published 13th Jan, 2022

By Daniel Ojukwu

Exactly 223 days after Lai Mohammed’s Ministry of Information and Culture tweeted a notice for the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, services of the micro-blogging platform were restored to the country’s users.

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, chairman, Technical Committee, Nigeria-Twitter Engagement, and Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), announced the president’s decision to lift the ban in Abuja on Wednesday.

Although the lifting was to take effect from 12 am on Thursday, Nigerians could not access Twitter until much later.

During the seven months Nigerians were unable to access the platform without the aid of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), many significant events happened. Here are some of them:

KANU, IGBOHO ARRESTED IN KENYA, BENIN

On June 27, 2021, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, and extradited to Nigeria to face treason charges.

He was first arrested in 2015, but jumped bail in 2017 and had been on the run ever since. Kanu’s arrest led to a sit-at-home order by IPOB and multiple casualties in the southeast as the group employed extreme measures to enforce the order.

Similarly, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, a separatist and Yoruba Nation campaigner, was arrested in Benin Republic on July 19.

Igboho’s arrest came three weeks after he was declared wanted by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Like Kanu, he continues to stand trial till today.

MALAMI APPLIES SHARIA LAW IN TWITTER BAN DEFENCE

In his defence against a lawsuit challenging the legality of Twitter’s suspension, Abubakar Malami, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, quoted the penal code of Northern Nigeria.

A document tendered before the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court on September 27, 2021, by Malami’s team of lawyers, argued that Nigerians who not only used the application but had it on their devices were seditious.

The document partly read, “It is apt to note that the possible prosecution of violator(s) does not only lie against the use and operation of Twitter in Nigeria. A careful examination of section 419 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act shows that the installation of Twitter App alone could suffice as an offence under the section, that is the offence of possession of seditious articles”.

The suit was initiated by civil society organizations and media houses. The matter was adjourned until January 2022.

BUHARI PASSED PIA, SHUNNED ELECTORAL BILL

On August 16, days after returning to Nigeria from London, England, Buhari assented to the Petroleum Industry Bill, bringing an end to a long debate which had lingered since he assumed office in 2015.

His assent meant the bill became an act, and is now legally binding.

The Petroleum Industry Act provides legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, the development of host communities, and related matters.

The Senate passed the bill on July 15, while the House of Representatives followed suit a day after.

However, in December, Buhari refused to assent to the electoral bill, claiming direct primaries would be too expensive for much smaller political parties, and security challenges might arise.

FG LAUNCHED E-NAIRA

Few weeks after declaring war on AbokiFX, a research and information service company that publishes currency rates on the parallel market, Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), launched Nigeria’s digital currency, eNaira.

CBN said the guidelines on how to navigate the applications “seeks to provide simplicity in the operation of eNaira, encourage general acceptability and use, promote low cost of transactions, drive financial inclusion while minimizing inherent risks of disintermediation of any negative impact on the financial system”.

The launch did not improve the naira’s value, and with a little over 100,000 downloads on Google’s Playstore, it has not gained popularity among Nigerians yet.

WORLD BANK CONDEMNS FG’S POLICIES

The World Bank, in the November 2021 edition of its Nigeria Development Update, condemned Nigeria’s “business-as-usual policy approach”, saying it might see the economy and job market deteriorate.

The report read, “Nigeria faces a critical choice: it can continue to pursue a business-as-usual policy approach while its economy and job market deteriorates, or it can undertake bold reforms that put Nigeria on a robust and sustainable long-run growth trajectory.

“A favorable external context marked by higher oil prices could bolster growth and job creation, but only if the government successfully addresses key weaknesses in the country’s macroeconomic framework.”

The bank also raised concerns over the country’s debt servicing, describing it as potentially crowding out public investment.

#ENDSARS PANEL CONFIRMED LEKKI MASSACRE

On October 20, 2021, protesters in Lagos gathered at the Lekki tollgate to mark one year since soldiers shot and killed civilians at the same location.

Wielding flags, placards and powerful stories of their experiences, they demanded justice for the slain, and accountability from the government.

However, this would prove too tall an order as Lai Mohammed and the Lagos State Government both rejected the findings of military culpability by the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and other Matters.

Mohammed said the panel relied on unsubstantial evidence, while the Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led government in its white paper, said only one person died at the tollgate.

#NORTHISBLEEDING TRENDS ON TWITTER

In the second week of December, #NorthIsBleeding trended in Nigeria as residents of northern states took to the streets with placards to protest against incessant killings.

Zainab Naseer Ahmed, one of the conveners of the protests, was later picked up and interrogated by the DSS.

The DSS went on to arrest and intimidate other protesters, coercing them to abandon the demands for a safer region.

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