Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced that the current twitter ban can be lifted however they must meet certain conditions. While the president speaking to the nation during the country’s 61st Independence Day anniversary.
President Buhari, acknowledged the fact that Twitter is used to disseminate information. Still, he warned about bad actors who misuse the platform to “organise, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments.”
In August, for instance, the nation’s information minister Lai Mohammed said Nigeria was in talks with Twitter to reinstate the company’s operations in the country.
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He said 10 requests had been made but the government only reached an agreement with Twitter on seven — the other issues yet to be sorted out include Twitter setting up a local office, paying tax locally and cooperating with the Nigerian government to regulate content and harmful tweets.
“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 to continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements,” he said.
Twitter spokesperson said, “We continue to engage with the Nigerian government and we are committed to charting a path forward to the restoration of Twitter for everyone in Nigeria. Discussions with the Nigerian government have been respectful and productive — we look forward to seeing the service restored very soon.”
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