Thu 12 August 2021:
Nigeria’s ban on Twitter will be lifted soon after the government and Twitter reach an agreement to resolve their issues, the administration announced on Wednesday.
The ban was announced in June, only days after President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement was removed off Twitter, sparking an international outrage over freedom of expression.
According to NOI surveys, a local research organization, the restriction shocked Nigeria’s hyper-connected youth in a country where 40 million people, or around 20% of the population, have a Twitter account.
“The ban on Twitter will soon be lifted as we are getting close reaching full agreement,” Information Minister Lai Mohammed told reporters in Abuja.
“We have agreed on some areas, hopefully in the next few days or weeks we will conclude.” Twitter’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for details on any negotiations.
The social media giant raised serious concern about the ban, calling free and open internet access a fundamental right.
Foreign nations, including the United States, the European Union, and Canada, joined rights groups in criticizing the ban as a threat to freedom of expression in Africa’s most populous country.
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