The Federal Government of Nigeria has indefinitely suspended, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, citing the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
According to the minister, the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.
Twitter has reacted to the suspension of its operations by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Sarah Hart, Twitter’s Senior Policy Communications Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa, in a statement issued on Friday said the micro-blogging platform is investigating the development as it expresses “deep concern”.
The statement read: “The announcement made by the Nigerian Government that they have suspended Twitter’s operations in Nigeria is deeply concerning.
“We’re investigating and will provide updates when we know more.”
