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Buhari referred to the country’s civil war four decades ago in a warning about recent unrest. PA

Twitter suspended in Nigeria after president's tweet deleted for violating rules

The government directive has been condemned by international human rights groups.

TELECOMS OPERATORS IN Nigeria say they have complied with a government directive to suspend access to Twitter indefinitely, two days after the social media giant deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari’s account for violating its rules.

International human rights groups and diplomats have condemned the move, which followed previous attempts by the government of Africa’s most populous country to regulate social media.

“The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria,” ministry of information and culture spokesman Segun Adeyemi said in a statement yesteday.

The Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) confirmed its members had received formal instructions from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator to suspend access to Twitter.

It said in a statement that members had “acted in compliance”.

“Network data show that access to the Twitter platform and backend servers is now restricted on leading networks MTN, Globacom, Airtel and 9mobile,” the London-based internet monitor Netblocks wrote on its website.

Another group representing local telecoms, the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) said it was working with the authorities “to ensure a speedy resolution of the suspension.”

“While the Association and its member companies understand the position of the federal government, the reasons for the directive, and have complied with the directive, it is pertinent that the issue is resolved soon in the interest of all,” ATCON president Ikechukwu Nnamani said.

Twitter on Wednesday deleted a remark on the president’s account after he referred to the country’s civil war four decades ago in a warning about recent unrest.

The 78-year-old president, a former general, referred to “those misbehaving” in recent violence in the southeast, where officials blame separatists for attacks on police and election offices.

“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” the president had posted on Twitter.

‘Repressive action’ 

Amnesty International has condemned the moved, calling on Nigeria to “immediately reverse the unlawful suspension”.

“This repressive action is a clear attempt to censor dissent & stifle the civic space,” Human Rights Watch researcher Anietie Ewang said.

Twitter said that the move was “deeply concerning”.

“We’re investigating and will provide updates when we know more,” the company said in a statement.

The minister of information and culture Lai Mohammed accused Twitter of double standards by ignoring violent messages from a separatist leader.

“The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very, very suspect,” Mohammed told reporters after the US company deleted the president’s tweet.

Reacting to suspencion of Twitter in the country, the UK’s deputy high commissioner in Nigeria Gill Atkinson said “any action taken by government must be measured, proportionate and not suppress basic freedoms”.

“VPN app” was the second most searched trend Saturday on Google in Nigeria, as virtual private networks can enable Twitter users to bypass the ban.

Nigeria warned however that it would prosecute violators.

Twitter has millions of users in Nigeria where the median age is 18, and has played a role in public discourse with hashtags #BringBackOurGirls, after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls, and #EndSARS, during anti-police brutality protests last year.

Several countries including China and Turkey have come under fire for putting restrictions on social media platforms such as Twitter.

In February Twitter condemned Myanmar for blocking access to its platform as part of a crackdown on social media, days after a coup that saw Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders jailed.

- © AFP 2021

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    Mute bread of heaven
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    Jun 5th 2021, 7:30 PM

    Good move by the Nigerians, I think. Give twitter a taste of their own medicine.

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    Mute Johnny Harris
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    Jun 5th 2021, 7:41 PM

    @bread of heaven: place is was and will be for ever more a dump

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    Mute bread of heaven
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    Jun 5th 2021, 7:43 PM

    @Johnny Harris: twitter or Nigeria?

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    Mute David A. Murray
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    Jun 5th 2021, 7:50 PM

    @bread of heaven: The state of mind where you can equate Twitter’s ban of Trump with Twitter deleting a implying a warning of concerted violence by the Nigerian president. Trump was banned from Twitter. Twitter was not banned in America. I really hope you are doing ‘performance art’, or trolling.

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    Mute John O Reilly
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    Jun 5th 2021, 7:57 PM

    @bread of heaven: you clearly don’t understand how Nigeria works

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    Mute David Bohane
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    Jun 5th 2021, 8:03 PM

    @David A. Murray: Would you ever stop banging your drum about Trump on here, you are relentless when almost all have moved on, also 75 million Americans voted for him, so just because you have personal hatred for the man, others don’t, get over yourself FFS

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    Mute Contrary Mary
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    Jun 5th 2021, 8:25 PM

    @bread of heaven: It is their legal right to have Twitter! Amnesty International says so!

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    Mute Contrary Mary
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    Jun 5th 2021, 8:28 PM

    @John O Reilly: enlighten us.

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    Mute Pseud O'Nym
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    Jun 5th 2021, 8:37 PM

    Ah lads, the BofH account is purely for trolling. Used to troll the rugby articles until he outed himself as, let’s say, one of Munster’s more verbose supporters. He’s spread his wings now to troll on other subjects, still not great at it though.

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    Mute James Dara Brady
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    Jun 5th 2021, 9:01 PM

    @Pseud O’Nym: oh! Who, do tell!

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    Mute JG
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    Jun 5th 2021, 9:29 PM

    @bread of heaven: yeah yeah yeah… You just don’t get it, Do you?

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    Mute Teddy Bear
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    Jun 5th 2021, 10:56 PM

    @bread of heaven: you are brain-dead pal.

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    Mute Earth Traveller
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    Jun 6th 2021, 12:58 PM

    @Johnny Harris: Bit harsh on Nigeria. Have you ever been there?

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    Mute John Lally
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    Jun 5th 2021, 6:52 PM

    Nigeria is a bit of a shambles the last few years. They need a bit of Goodluck

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    Mute Adrian O'Donnell
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    Jun 5th 2021, 9:04 PM

    Why didn’t ol’ bone spurs think of that??

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    Mute ed w
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    Jun 5th 2021, 11:19 PM

    no loss

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