The suspension follows a government decision announced on Friday evening, June 4. The platform has been in the eyes of the authorities for several months, especially due to its mobilizing role during the demonstrations against police violence in October last year.
as reported from Lagos, Liza Fabbian
Despite the restrictions, Nigerians were still tweeting this Saturday, thanks to VPN networks that circumvent the access restrictions imposed in their country.
Astonishment and great concern were reflected in their messages. “This ban looks like death. The death of our freedom of speech, ”writes one of the figures in the #EndSars movement against, for example police violence, where Twitter had played a big role.
In a statement, the Twitter team said they were “very concerned” about the shutdown of the platform in Nigeria. They promised “to do everything possible to restore access” to the social network of Nigerians.
The Nigerian presidency spoke on the subject on Saturday. The spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari this time evoked a “temporary shutdown” of Twitter and provoked “disinformation and fake news” spread on the social network, which “removes his responsibility”, according to him.
This press release also returns to the controversial tweet from the head of state that Twitter had deleted. In it, Muhammadu Buhari threatened in very harsh terms the members of Ipob’s independence movement in Biafran.
“It was not hate speech,” said the presidency, which in passing argued that there was only “the force that is an appropriate response to the display of power” from the separatist group.
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