The Nigerian Government has officially lifted the Twitter ban in Nigeria. This is after seven months of blocking access to the social media site to individuals and the general public. This ban was lifted on January 12 2022, some few minutes before midnight. The Government had a meeting with Twitter officials concerning meeting some requirements on October 2021.
Chairman, Technical Committee, Nigeria-Twitter Engagement and Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi gave the announcement. In a statement, Abdullahi said “The FGN has asked Twitter to fulfil some conditions before restoring its services. These conditions addressed legal registration of operations, taxation, and managing prohibited publication in line with Nigerian laws.”
“Twitter has agreed to meet all the conditions set by the FGN. Consequently, the FGN and Twitter have decided on an execution timeline, which has started this week. Our engagement with Twitter opens a new chapter in global digital diplomacy and sets a new operational template for Twitter to come back stronger for the benefit of Nigerians.” Users before the ban were lifted had to make use of VPNs in order to access Twitter in the country. What is a VPN?
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President Buhari during the country’s Independence Day on 1st October 2021 gave the requirement remark for lifting the Twitter ban. “Following the extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed, and I have directed that the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements.”
The incumbent ban started in June 2021, based on “activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence” the Nigerian Government claimed. In the same statement by the government “Twitter has agreed to comply with applicable tax obligations on its operations under Nigerian law and has agreed to enrol Nigeria in its Partner Support and Law Enforcement Portals,”
“The Partner Support Portal provides a direct channel for government officials and Twitter staff to manage prohibited content that violates Twitter community rules. At the same time, the Law Enforcement Portal provides a channel for the law enforcement agencies to submit a report with a legal justification where it suspects that content violates Nigerian Laws.”
Twitter has successfully worked with the Nigerian government to reverse the twitter ban in Nigeria. It seems most of the suspension was based on economic reasons and not social or national challenges.
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