Nigeria government announced on Friday it had indefinitely suspended Twitter’s operations following the deletion of a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish Biafra secessionists.
Information Minister Lai Mohammed used his Twitter account to announce the suspension “with immediate effect “ and said the government had acted because of “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
Despite the suspension, Twitter’s website and app continued to work in Nigeria’s capital Abuja and commercial hub Lagos on Friday.
The Minister said the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to i8mmediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria. On Wednesday, the U.S. tech firm said Buhari’s post threatening to punish groups blamed for attacks on government buildings had violated Twitter’s “abusive behavior” policy.
Niger is the fifth country to block access to Twitter after China, Iran, North Korea, and Turkmenistan.
The post Social Media Giant Twitter Suspended in Nigeria first appeared on The African Gazette.