{"id":85855,"date":"2021-09-12T16:05:02","date_gmt":"2021-09-12T15:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=85855"},"modified":"2021-09-12T16:05:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-12T15:05:02","slug":"serap-threatens-to-sue-fg-if-it-fails-to-lift-suspension-of-communication-in-zamfara-katsina-within-7-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/serap-threatens-to-sue-fg-if-it-fails-to-lift-suspension-of-communication-in-zamfara-katsina-within-7-days\/","title":{"rendered":"SERAP threatens to sue FG if it fails to lift suspension of communication\u00a0in Zamfara, Katsina within\u00a07 days\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to lift the suspension of internet and telecommunication networks in Zamfara State, and 13 local government areas of Katsina State.<\/div>\n
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SERAP said this request if it is not carried out within seven days, may force the human rights group to\u00a0take all appropriate legal actions in the public interest.<\/p>\n

Pointblanknews.com reported that<\/p>\n

NCC had recently ordered telecom operators to suspend all telecommunications networks in Zamfara State, and at least 13 local government areas of Katsina State purportedly to check \u201cbanditry\u201d\/terrorism.<\/p>\n

But SERAP in an open letter dated 11 September, 2021 and signed by its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, said: \u201cThe suspension of the internet and telecommunication networks in Zamfara and Katsina states, without any legal justification, is inconsistent with the principles of necessity and proportionality. The suspension is a form of collective punishment of Nigerians resident in these states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe suspension of internet and telecommunication networks in Zamfara and Katsina states is particularly egregious, and suggests a disturbing trend, especially given the growing restriction of civic space in Nigeria.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cWhile the authorities have a legal responsibility to protect, ensure and secure the rights to life and property, any such responsibility ought to be discharged in conformity with constitutional and international human rights standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter, read in part: \u201cLarge-scale shutdowns of communication networks are a form of collective punishment. Shutdowns exert significant chilling effects, with direct implications on participatory democracy, whose existence depends upon an active and informed citizenry capable of engaging with a range of ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cShutdowns generate a wide variety of harms to human rights, economic activity, public safety and emergency services that outweigh the purported benefits. The suspension has the potential to affect millions of internet and telecommunication users in these states, and those on the margins of society are most impacted by it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe suspension of internet and telecommunication networks in Zamfara and Katsina states fails to meet the requirements of legality, necessity and proportionality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe requirement of necessity also implies an assessment of the proportionality of restrictions such as the telecoms blackout in these states, with the aim of ensuring that restrictions target a specific objective and do not unduly intrude upon human rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile \u2018checking the activities of bandits\/terrorists\u2019 in these states could conceivably be viewed as justification for exceptional measures necessary to protect public order or national security, the authorities have so far failed to show how shutting down internet and telecommunication networks in the entire Zamfara State, and 13 local government areas of Katsina State is necessary to achieve the stated purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would be grateful if the suspension of internet and telecommunication networks in Zamfara and Katsina states is reversed within 7 days of the receipt and\/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions in the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to lift the suspension of internet and telecommunication networks in Zamfara State, and 13 local government areas of Katsina…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":84859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\nSERAP threatens to sue FG if it fails to lift suspension of communication\u00a0in Zamfara, Katsina within\u00a07 days\u00a0 - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/serap-threatens-to-sue-fg-if-it-fails-to-lift-suspension-of-communication-in-zamfara-katsina-within-7-days\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SERAP threatens to sue FG if it fails to lift suspension of communication\u00a0in Zamfara, Katsina within\u00a07 days\u00a0 - 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