By Gabriel Atumeyi
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, says tweeting is in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations universal declaration of human rights.
Adeboye, who holds a large following in Nigeria, made this known in a tweet on Monday, adding that his church is present across the world.
The tweet read, “The Redeemed Christian Church of God is domiciled in more than 170 nations and territories. The tweets here are in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations universal declaration of human rights.”
Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights read, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
The Federal Government of Nigeria had last Friday suspended Twitter barely two days after the social media platform deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari which many Nigerians believed was repugnant.
The government has come under fire from several rights groups and governments across the world for stifling free speech.
Despite the ban, however, many Nigerians have been using Virtual Private Networks to access Twitter, a move which has further infuriated the government even as the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, said on Saturday that those still tweeting would be prosecuted.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) which regulates broadcasting in Nigeria on Monday ordered all television and radio stations to deactivate their Twitter accounts and stop picking content from the platform.