NIGERIA LIFTS ITS BAN ON TWITTER AFTER SEVEN MONTHS

Thu 13 January 2022:

A senior government official of Nigeria said on Wednesday that a ban on Twitter will be lifted from midnight (23:00 GMT) onwards after the social media platform pledged to open a local office, among other agreements made with authorities in the West African country.

On June 4, the Nigerian government suspended Twitter after President Muhammadu Buhari’s post threatening to punish regional secessionists was removed. Users in Nigeria were then denied access by telecommunications companies.

Buhari had given approval to lift the suspension, according to Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general of the National Information Technology Development Agency.

“Twitter has agreed to act with a respectful acknowledgement of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built…,” Abdullahi’s statement said.

The company would work with the federal government and the broader industry “to develop a Code of Conduct in line with global best practices, applicable in almost all developed countries,” it said.

“Therefore, the [federal government] lifts the suspension of the Twitter operations in Nigeria from midnight of 13th January 2022.”

According to Abdullahi, who also chaired a joint technical committee of Nigerian and Twitter officials, Twitter agreed to appoint a country representative to engage with Nigerian authorities and comply with local tax obligations.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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