FG suspends Twitter operations in Nigeria (Details)

The Federal Government of Nigeria has just announced the suspension of the Twitter operation in the most populous black nation.

The Nigerian Government led by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari took to Twitter to announce the suspension via the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture Twitter account.

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.

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

The statement read;

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.

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

This is coming after Twitter deleted Buhari’s tweet where he issued a threat to deal with “misbehaving” elements in “the language they understand” while making reference to Nigeria’s civil war.

While defending its action, the tech company said the President’s tweet violated its rules.