BREAKING: Buhari set to lift Twitter ban

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the conditional lifting of the ban on microblogging giant Twitter, TopNaija reports.

President Buhari made this position known during a broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 61st Independence Anniversary on Friday in Abuja.

The Buhari Government suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria on June 5, to allow the government put measures in place to address identified negative trends exhibited by the social media platform.

Buhari announced that the Presidential Committee he constituted, along with its Technical Team, to engage Twitter to explore the possibility of resolving the issue that led to the suspension of Twitter’s activities in Nigeria had successfully addressed a number of key issues.

“Following the suspension of Twitter operations, Twitter Inc. reached out to the Federal Government of Nigeria to resolve the impasse. Subsequently, I constituted a Presidential Committee to engage Twitter to explore the possibility of resolving the issue.

“The Committee, along with its Technical Team, has engaged with Twitter and have addressed a number of key issues. These are: National Security and Cohesion; Registration, Physical presence and Representation; Fair Taxation; Dispute Resolution; and Local Content.

“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 president stated that government was committed to ensuring that digital companies use their platform to enhance the lives of citizens, respect Nigeria’s sovereignty, cultural values and promote online safety.

TopNaija recalls that the current Nigerian government has long held concerns over the use of Twitter in the country. The ongoing local End SARS protest began on Twitter and got amplified in 2020 when it had 48 million tweets in ten days. The current government has floated the idea of social media regulation on different occasions prior to banning Twitter.

Attempts to pass an anti-social media bill in the past have failed majorly due to massive outcry on Twitter. Days before the ban, the country’s minister of information called Twitter’s activities in Nigeria suspicious, citing its influence on the End SARS protests.