Twitter will be suspended in Nigeria indefinitely, the Nigerian government is flooded with criticism from home and abroad



On Saturday, June 5, 2021 Japan time, the Nigerian government announced to Twitter that it had 'disposed to suspend domestic operations indefinitely.' In addition, the Nigerian judiciary has indicated that it will prosecute individuals and organizations using Twitter from within the country.

FG Suspends Twitter's Operations in Nigeria --Federal Ministry of Information and Culture

https://fmic.gov.ng/fg-suspends-twitters-operations-in-nigeria/

Nigeria bans Twitter after company deletes President Buhari's tweet --CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/04/africa/nigeria-suspends-twitter-operations-intl/

Nigerians can now be prosecuted for sending tweets following ban on Twitter --CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/05/africa/nigeria-prosecute-twitter-users-intl/

On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari wrote in his Twitter account, 'Many of the ill-mannered people are in the Nigerian Civil War,' in a statement condemning the attack on government facilities. It's too young to notice the destruction and loss of life that happened to us. We who have experienced the civil war will treat them in our words. '

Many Nigerians have asked Twitter to remove this post as a 'threat against people in certain areas.' Then, on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, Twitter deleted the posting in question as a 'violence policy violation.' However, Nigeria's Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, questioned the operation of Twitter in Nigeria, saying, 'Twitter's mission in Nigeria is doubtful.'

Then, on Saturday, June 5, 2021 Japan time, the Nigerian Ministry of Information and Culture said, 'The Nigerian government has suspended the domestic operation of Twitter, a microblogging and social networking service, indefinitely. I posted a statement to my official Twitter account that included the content 'I've done it.'




In addition, a spokesman for the Attorney General of Nigeria told CNN that 'violators who have left Twitter will be prosecuted, whether individually or organized.' It's a duty, 'he said, and stated that he would prosecute Twitter users.

The image below shows the 'blocking status of communication with Twitter in Nigeria as of June 5, 2021' reported by NetBlocks, an organization that monitors the blocking status of the Internet. If you look at the image, you can see that access to Twitter is blocked by major Nigerian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as MTN , Glo , Airtel, and 9mobile.



'The Nigerian Bar Association is paying close attention to the Nigerian government's anomalous decision to shut down Twitter,' Ormode Akapata, chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, wrote in his Twitter account. .. In addition, if the decision to stop the Twitter of the business is not canceled, and take legal action in order to protect the public's rights and democracy remarks , and it has criticized the decision of the Nigerian government.




Following the suspension of operations by Nigeria, Twitter issued a statement on Saturday, June 5, 2021 Japan time, saying, 'We are deeply concerned about blocking Twitter in Nigeria. It is open to the public. Access to the Internet is an essential right in modern society. '' We will work to restore access for the people of Nigeria who are interacting with the world using Twitter. '




In addition, the EU embassy in Nigeria has issued a statement criticizing the Nigerian government's measures against Twitter in collaboration with Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the Nigerian government is inundated with criticism from home and abroad. ..




According to a 2019 (PDF link) survey , the number of Twitter users in Nigeria is reported to be 39.6 million, which is 20% of the population. Also, it seems that many users are connecting to Twitter via VPN even when domestic ISPs are blocking access to Twitter.


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