Is using VPN legal in Nigeria?
Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has directed the immediate prosecution of offenders of the Federal Government’s ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria.
This was announced in a statement issued by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice on Saturday, June 5.
Spokesperson of the Ministry, Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, said the AGF has directed DPPF to swing into immediate action and commence prosecution of the violators of the ban.
MY OPINION:
Mind you, I am not a lawyer, but I think the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, have no right to order for the arrest and prosecution of any Nigerian for whatever reason.
You know, Malami is one of the dumbest AGF Nigeria ever had. He talks as though he never finished primary School, so I’m not surprised. Were you? Lol 🤣
Offenders? How? What offense did we commit and under which section of the law? Was VPN illegal in Nigeria before now? It’s completely legal to use a VPN in Nigeria!
In fact let talk about VPN legality and illegality.
QUESTION: Are VPNs legal?
ANSWER: Yes! As a matter of fact, VPNs were originally used to provide a secure network for big businesses and organizations. However, VPNs can also be used for illegal or unrecommended activities and for this reason, some countries like Russia and China, have declared VPNs illegal. Yet, other countries still allow the use of them.
What everyone should know is that, while VPN is legal, the illegal activity with them is not permissible. If you’re doing something illegal over a VPN, then you are bound to be prosecuted under the laws of your country. A VPN can help conceal your identity but selling drugs, copyright material, spreading viruses etc, is still illegal and can obviously land you in trouble.
Yes the FG suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria indefinitely, but it was never stated that whoever violated or bypass the restriction, would be arrested and prosecuted.
The federal government must judicially ban VPNs in Nigeria according to whatever section of the 1999 Constitution. Secondly, they must also state that whoever violated the order of the Federal Government’s ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria, shall be punish according to whatever section of the 1999 Constitution. Until then, they have no right to arrest and prosecute anyone.
China, Iraq, UAE, Turkey, Belarus, Oman, Iran, Russia and few other countries judicially and officially banned VPN. Nigeria govt should do same. You can’t just wake up and started quoting laws that doesn’t exist out of ignorance or hatred.
We actually, violated Twitter Policy here. Accessing your Twitter account with a VPNs, does breach their terms of use. But they overlooked due to the situation on ground. They knew that we had no choice. We owe the FG no apology and had not committed any offense.
AGF Malami Have No Right To Arrest & Prosecute Nigerians For Using Twitter or VPN
YOU MAY AGREE OR DISAGREE.
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By Richard Idasenibo