Anthony Russell Tatum, a shareholder in Twitter (now X), has revealed that lifting the months-long ban on Twitter by the Muhammadu Buhari regime was not the result of negotiations with Twitter executives, contrary to the claims made by the Nigerian government two years ago.
Tatum alleged that the false claims, left unchecked by Twitter, had detrimental effects on free speech and harmed shareholders.
In a 119-page lawsuit filed in Pender County, North Carolina, USA, against X and its owner, Elon Musk, Tatum accuses the company, based on the actions of its former management, of hiding relevant information from shareholders and being reckless.
He claimed that Twitter failed to disclose take-down requests for tweets from foreign governments hostile to free speech, which had negative consequences for shareholders.
The lawsuit, issued summons in January 2024, stems from events in June 2021 when Lai Mohammed, then information minister, announced a Twitter ban following the deletion of President Buhari’s tweet for inciting violence.
Despite claims by the Nigerian government of negotiations with Twitter, Peiter Zatko, a former Twitter employee, disputed this in a whistleblower report to the US Congress.
Tatum relies on Zatko’s whistleblower complaint to bolster his argument against Twitter and Musk. Although Musk wasn’t directly responsible for the accusations, as the owner of the company, he bears liability.
The lawsuit alleged that Twitter’s failure to correct misinformation allowed the Nigerian government to negotiate unilaterally and impose unfavourable conditions.
According to Tatum, Twitter’s inaction enabled the spread of false narratives and allowed the Nigerian government to impose conditions that infringed on free expression rights and democratic accountability for Nigerian citizens.