Why federal government banned Twitter in Nigeria

 

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

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

The minister cited the persistent use of the platform for activities capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

He said the Federal Government had also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in the country.

The statement was released by Mr Segun Adeyemi,Special Assistant to the President (Media), office of the Minister

There are indications that federal government has directed all telecom operators in the country to deactivate twitter on their networks by 12 midnight.

This may not be unconnected with the decision of government to ban activities of twitter in the country following the deletion of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet, which the microblogging site deemed offensive.

Vanguard gathered authoritatively that after 12 midnight Friday, no twitter account of Nigerians will work within the country.