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Nigerian government wants to suspend Twitter indefinitely

The suspension comes days after Twitter removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari.

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Nigeria said it wants to suspend Twitter.

Image: Protocol

Nigeria's Ministry of Information and Culture announced on Friday an indefinite suspension of Twitter. The Ministry said the suspension was made due to Twitter's "persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence."

It's unclear how the Ministry intends to enforce the ban. Twitter was still accessible in Nigeria after Friday's announcement, according to the BBC. Nigeria likewise continued to exist.

The suspension comes days after Twitter removed a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari.

Referring to the separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), President Buhari tweeted: "Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand."

Twitter deleted the post for violating its abusive behavior policy. It also froze President Buhari's account such that he could not post for 12 hours.

In a press conference following the ban, Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed

said "the agenda of Twitter in Nigeria is very, very suspect." Lai Mohammed also drew attention to Twitter's decision to support "the right to protest" in Nigeria while acting against those involved in the U.S. Capitol riots.
Hirsh Chitkara

Hirsh Chitkara ( @HirshChitkara) is a reporter at Protocol focused on the intersection of politics, technology and society. Before joining Protocol, he helped write a daily newsletter at Insider that covered all things Big Tech. He's based in New York and can be reached at hchitkara@protocol.com.

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