Twitter responds to Buhari’s speech on lifting ban

Micro-blogging platform, Twitter, which is banned in Nigeria, said it looked forward to being reinstated following “productive” discussions with the Federal Government.

This followed the Independence Day announcement by the President Muhammadu Buhari that the ban on Twitter would be lifted after certain conditions might have been met.

Responding, an unnamed Twitter spokesperson said on Friday: “We continue to engage with the Nigerian government and we are committed to charting a path forward to the restoration of Twitter for everyone in Nigeria.

“Discussions with the Nigerian government have been respectful and productive – we look forward to seeing the service restored very soon.

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Buhari, had on Friday, said he had directed a conditional lifting of the ban placed on the operations of the micro blogging site, Twitter, in Nigeria in June.

Buhari disclosed this in his nationwide broadcast to Nigerians to mark the nation’s 61st independence.

He described the social media as a very useful platform but regretted that some users had misused the platform to organise, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments.

The President said: “Social media is a very useful platform that has enabled millions of Nigerians to connect with loved ones, promote their businesses, socialise, and access news and other information.

“However, recent events have shown that the platform is not just an innocuous platform for information dissemination.

“Rather some users have misused the platform to organise, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments.

“To address these negative trends, the Federal Government of Nigeria suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria on June 5, 2021 to allow the Government put measures in place to address these challenges. (The Punch)