Festus Keyamo, Lai Mohammed threaten Nigerians against Twitter

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo has insisted that some Nigerians have taken undue advantage of the suspension of microblogging and social network platform, Twitter, in Nigeria to blackmail the Federal Government.

Keyamo, speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, said the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government has never used any social media platform to promote contents capable of setting Nigeria ablaze.

He, however, stressed that the goal of the Federal Government over the ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria was not to asphyxiate free speech.

Keyamo said, “As a political party APC, can you tell us examples when we tried to use social media platforms to set the country ablaze?

“We should not be blackmailed into a corner and behave as if we are acting against our own principles.

“We are not talking about stifling free speech. People have been using this as a blackmail weapon that we rode to power using social media. That is blackmail because we need to set specific examples where we use social media to undermine the territorial integrity and peace and unity of Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday, said Nigerians who are bypassing the restriction on Twitter with Virtual Private Network (VPN) are at risk.

He stated that VPN users are putting their data, including bank details, at risk.

The minister spoke at the investigative hearing into the ban of Twitter organized by the committees on Information, Justice, Communications and National Security and Intelligence.

It would be recalled that the committees were given the mandate by the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila on the 8th of June following the ban.

The committee was mandated to determine the legality of the ban, the circumstances surrounding it and its duration.