International human rights groups have condemned the Nigerian government to suspend Twitter indefinitely for activities “that could undermine the existence of Nigerian companies.” Telecom operators in Nigeria restricted Twitter on Saturday, a day after the government announced its decision.
The suspension in Africa’s most populous country came two days after the social media giant deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari’s account for violating its rules.
“The federal government has temporarily suspended the activities of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria,” Ministry of Information and Culture spokeswoman Segun Adeyemi said in a statement on Friday.
The Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) confirmed that its members had received formal instructions from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator, to suspend access to Twitter.
It said in a statement that a robust assessment of the request had been made and that members had “acted accordingly.”
“Network data shows that access to the Twitter platform and backend servers is now limited on leading networks MTN, Globacom, Airtel and 9mobile,” London-based internet monitor Netblocks wrote on its website on Saturday.
‘Repressive action’
Amnesty International on Friday condemned the proposal and called on Nigeria to “immediately repeal the illegal repeal.”
“This oppressive measure is a clear attempt to censor disagreement and stifle civilian space,” said Human Rights Watch researcher Anietie Ewang.
Twitter said the move was “deeply troubling.”
“We are investigating and will provide updates when we know more,” the company said in a statement.
Nigeria in 2019 had announced that they would tighten the rules on social media to combat fake news and misinformation, which has raised concerns about freedom of expression.
Twitter on Wednesday deleted a comment about the president’s account after he referred to the country’s civil war in a warning about the recent unrest in the southeast.
The 78-year-old president, a former general, referred to “those behaving” in the latest violence in the Southeast, where officials blame separatists for attacks on police and polling stations.
“Those of us in the field for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” the president had posted on Twitter.
In response to the government’s decision to shut down the platform, Britain’s Deputy High Commissioner for Nigeria Gill Atkinson said “all measures taken by the government must be measured, proportionate and not suppress fundamental freedoms.”
Several countries, including China, have been exposed to restricting social media platforms such as Twitter. Russia recently fined the company for failing to remove “illegal” content.
In February, Twitter condemned Myanmar for blocking access to its platform as part of a social media campaign, days after a coup in which Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders were detained.
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