The representatives of several European countries including the UK, Canada, European Union and the Republic of Ireland insisted on Monday, that the Nigerian Government did wrong in banning Twitter in Nigeria.
All the western countries maintained that the ban is a violation of the freedom of expression of Nigerians.
They said this after meeting with Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama.
All the countries had, last week condemned the action of the government in joint and separate messages.
READ: US, UK, Canada, Sweden and Twitter React to Twitter Ban in Nigeria
Their action prompted the Nigerian government to convene a meeting to discuss its decision to ban Twitter.
Speaking on behalf of other envoys, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Berth Leonard is reported to insist on their earlier position that banning Twitter was a violation of freedom of expression.
She insisted that in as much as they understand what government means by responsible use of social media, citizens’ right to freedom of expression must be protected.
According to her, “We recognise the official position of the Nigerian government on the responsible use of social media but we remain firm in our position that free access to information is very important and perhaps more important during troubled times.
Leonard added that, “We are here as partners and we want to see Nigeria succeed. It’s very clear that we are Nigeria’s strongest partners on issues of security and we recognise the daunting times in the way of the security challenges that confront Nigeria. While they are daunting, they are not insurmountable and part of the way to surmount them is the partnership of the people you see represented here.”
The envoys insisted that the government reverses the ban of Twitter operations in Nigeria. On his part, The Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama said that government has already begun talks with Twitter Abubakar the development.
“We know the power of words and when you have that kind of power to manage and facilitate communication to billions of people, it has to come with responsibility.
“So, we are taking measures to see to what extent we can rebalance this media as forces of good and stop them being used as a platform for destabilisation and facilitation of criminality,” Onyeama said.
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