Blocking of Twitter in Nigeria

Twitter was blocked in Nigeria from 5 June 2021 to 13 January 2022.[1][2] The government imposed a ban on the social network after it deleted tweets made by, and temporarily suspended, the Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, warning the southeastern people of Nigeria,[3][4] predominantly Igbo people, of a potential repeat of the 1967 Nigerian Civil War due to the ongoing insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria.[5][2][6][1][7][8] The Nigerian government claimed that the deletion of the president's tweets factored into their decision, but it was ultimately based on "a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences",[9] citing the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence.[10]

In January 2022, Nigeria lifted its blocking of Twitter after the platform agreed to establish a legal entity within the country sometime in the first quarter of 2022.

  1. ^ a b "Nigeria suspends Twitter after the social media platform freezes president's account". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Nigeria bans Twitter after company deletes President Buhari's tweet". CNN. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Twitter removes Nigerian president's 'abusive' civil war post". Reuters. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Nigeria Condemns Twitter for Deleting President Buhari's Tweet". Bloomberg.com. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Twitter deletes Nigerian leader's 'civil war' post". BBC News. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  6. ^ Maclean, Ruth (5 June 2021). "Nigeria Bans Twitter After President's Tweet Is Deleted". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Nigerians on Twitter react to Nigeria's Twitter suspension". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Twitter blocked in Nigeria after deleting a tweet by its president". www.theverge.com. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Nigeria's Twitter ban: Government orders prosecution of violators". BBC News. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Breaking: FG suspends Twitter's operations in Nigeria". The Informant247 News. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.