Nigerian govt insists Twitter ban is in national interest, confirms talks with platform

The Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed, said on Tuesday the Federal Government’s ban on Twitter’s operations was in the country’s interest.

 The minister, who stated this when he appeared before the House Committee on Information in Abuja, cited various sections of the 1999 Constitution in support of the action.

According to him, the ban on Twitter was in response to the security challenges facing the country.

Mohammed said the federal government had commenced talks with Twitter to resolve the matter, adding, however, that until then, the micro-blogging platform remained banned.

READ ALSO: ECOWAS Court stops Buhari govt from prosecuting people for using Twitter

The federal government had on June 4 banned Twitter in Nigeria over the persistent use of the platform to destabilise the country.

In his contributions, a member of the committee, Shaba Ibrahim, said everything would pale into insignificance where national interest and security were at stake.

He said the minister did a good rendition of the legal framework that supported the steps taken, adding that allowing such infractions by Twitter to go unchecked, until President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet was taken down, would amount to a disservice to the country.

 

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