JUST IN… Nigerian govt suspends Twitter, soon after president’s ‘offensive’ tweet was deleted

The Nigerian government on Friday suspended activities of micro-blogging site, Twitter, from operating in the country.

This is coming barely 48 hours after the company deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari which was considered as promoting violence

This was contained in a statement issued by the minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed via Segun Adeyemi, his aide on Media, in Abuja on Friday.

According to him, the ban became necessary due to the constant undermining of Nigeria’s sovereignty by Twitter.

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

READ ALSO: Lai Mohammed accuses Twitter of ‘double standards’ for deleting Buhari’s ‘civil war’ tweet

“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 Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria, the statement reads.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that the Twitter account of President Muhammadu Buhari was reported by Twitter users after a tweet referencing the Civil War in the wake of attacks in the South-East.

Consequently, Twitter deleted the post citing a violation of its rules.

By Mayowa Oladeji

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