The Nigerian government announced on Friday (06.04.2021) that it has suspended Twitter activities in the most populous country in Africa, two days after the suppression by the social network of a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The federal government suspended, for an indefinite period, the activities of the microblogging service and Twitter social network in Nigeria,” the Ministry of Information and Culture said in a statement.
By late Friday afternoon, the social network was still operating in Nigeria, AFP journalists in the country observed. The statement was also posted on the ministry’s Twitter account.
On Wednesday, Twitter suppressed a message from President Buhari threatening those responsible for the ongoing violence in southeastern Nigeria, as he considered that the head of state violated the rules of use.
A tweet with threats
The social network had deleted on Wednesday a post by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, where he condemned the attacks on various government buildings in the country and threatened those responsible for those attacks.
Through a statement, Twitter explained that the president’s tweet violated its regulations, which prohibit content that incites or promotes violence against an individual or a group of people.
Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa, but the government is frequently accused by human rights organizations.
In November 2019, the government applied stricter measures to regulate the media and fight misinformation on social media, measures that were perceived by civil society as a restriction on freedom of expression.
jc (afp, efe)
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