The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced the suspension of Twitter in the country,
According to the Special Assistant to the President on Media, Office of the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Segun Adeyemi, in a press statement , quoted the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed as saying that the suspension is indefinite.
“The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria,” he said.
The suspension on Friday in Abuja, cited the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
The Minister said the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all Over-the-top media service and social media operations in Nigeria.
Industry watchers also told that the suspension is not unconnected with the recent deletion of President Mohammadu Buhari’s tweet which some especially digital rights advocates classified as hate speech on Ndigbo.
However, in a swift reaction, Twitter reported noted that despite considerable criticism that followed the tweet, accusing the president of declaring a genocidal war on the Igbos, Twitter confirmed in a statement that General Buhari did not break its guidelines.
“We’re writing to let you know that, after examining the available information, we didn’t detect a breach of our rules in the content you reported,” the firm wrote after numerous Nigerians complained about the president’s post and demanded that he be suspended from the platform.
“W appreciate that you let us know that happened,” Twitter said, adding that “We encourage you to call out again in the future if you identify any possible violations.”