Nigeria Shuts Down Twitter After They Removed a Tweet from Its President

The Nigerian government has suspended Twitter and its operations within the country “indefinitely” after they deleted a tweet by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari for violating its abusive behavior policy.

According to CBS News: Information and Culture Minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the suspension is due to “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”

PRESS RELEASE

FG Suspends @Twitter Operations in Nigeria pic.twitter.com/7z5BQ0Mi3U

— Fed Min of Info & Cu (@FMICNigeria) June 4, 2021

The events began Wednesday when Buhari published a tweet referring to Nigeria’s civil war in 1967, and resulted in the president being suspended from the social media platform for 12 hours.

Nigeria says it suspends Twitter days after president’s post removed https://t.co/AqeqyVO990 pic.twitter.com/bHUuW2bfdS

— Reuters U.S. News (@ReutersUS) June 4, 2021

That tweet has since been deleted by Twitter.

“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” he wrote, according to Reuters. The Associated Press said he was referring to suspected separatist militants in the southeast.

We are deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in Nigeria. Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society.

We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world. #KeepitOn

— Twitter Public Policy (@Policy) June 5, 2021

Twitter’s Public Policy team said they were “deeply concerned” by the suspension. “Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society,” the team tweeted. “We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world #KeepitOn.”