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Following plans by the Federal Government to sanction those who flout its Twitter ban, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ruled out the possibility of prosecuting any subscriber who breach the directive.
Recall that the government had placed a ban on the use of Twitter last week.
Consequently, the NCC as the regulator of the telecoms sector in the country, in compliance with Government directive had instructed telecoms operators to cut off access to Twitter for subscribers.
Speaking through the Director of Affairs, Dr Okechukwu Adinde, the NCC said it is not within its purview to arrest and prosecute violators of the Twitter suspension order.
Adinde while responding on Monday on how far the Commission is collaborating with the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to prosecute offenders insisted that it is not within the power of the commission to arrest or prosecute.
“The NCC is a regulator. It is not within our power to arrest or prosecute. Based on our statement, we limited ourselves based on the order given to us by the government, which was to instruct the operators to disconnect, which was what we did. So, the other aspects are not within our purview,” he said.
The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, had directed the DPP to liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, the NCC and other relevant government agencies “to ensure the speedy prosecution of offenders without any further delay.”