FG Suspends Twitter’s Operations In Nigeria

The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria.

 

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday,

citing the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

 

 

Segun Adeyemi, Special Assistant To The President (Media),Office of the Minister of Information and Culture stated this in Abuja.

 

The Minister said the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.

 

 

President Muhammadu Buhari

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari had his Twitter account suspended by the social media platform

 

 

Twitter had temporarily suspended Nigeria’s president from the site over complaints that he had threatened genocide against rebels.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday warned insurrectionists that they were in for a “rude shock” — then tweeted a message referring to the 1967-70 civil war that killed 1 million people.

 

“Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War,” he tweeted.

 

“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” he wrote in what was taken as a warning of a fierce crackdown on rising violence in the southeast.