Nigeria on Friday announced that it has indefinitely suspended Twitter’s operation in the country. The suspension came a day after the social media giant deleted a tweet posted by Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari about a secessionist movement.
Explaining the reason for the suspension¸ Information Minister Lai Mohammed told the media that the government officials were forced to take the step as the platform was being used for activities that were capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence. He also criticized Twitter for deleting President Buhari’s post “The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very suspicious,”. The Nigerian minister went on to allege that Twitter had ignored “inciting” tweets against the Nigerian government in the past.
"When people were burning police stations and killing police officers during #ENDSARS, for Twitter it was about the right to protest. But when a similar thing happened on the Capitol, it was insurrection", africanews quoted Lai Mohammed as saying.
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The Nigeria govt has not revealed when the suspension would go into effect and what form of suspension it is going to be.
The social media platform deleted Nigeria President Buhari’s tweet on Wednesday after he threatened suspected separatist militants in the southeast.
Twitter is investigating its suspension of activities by the Nigerian government.
"will provide updates when we know more," the US Tech Firm said in a statement.
