The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has lifted the suspension on Twitter operations in the country, effective from midnight, January 13, 2022.
The decision was announced by the Chairman Technical Committee Nigeria-Twitter Engagement and Director-General National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE.
He said, “The Federal Government of Nigeria directs me to inform the public that President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the lifting of the suspension of Twitter operation in Nigeria effective from midnight tonight, January 13, 2022.
“The approval was given following a memo written to the President by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami.”
It’s been 222 days since Twitter operations were suspended in Nigeria accusing the social media platform of “activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.” The ban followed a few days after Twitter removed a threatening tweet by Buhari that it said violated its policy against abusive behaviour.
Twitter had to agree to meet up with some conditions set by the Nigerian government before lifting the Twitter ban in Nigeria. Here are the conditions:
- Twitter has committed to establishing a legal entity in Nigeria during the first quarter of 2022. The legal entity will register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
- Twitter has agreed to appoint a designated country representative to interface with Nigerian authorities. The Global Public Policy team is also directly available through a dedicated communication channel.
- Twitter has agreed to comply with applicable tax obligations on its operations under Nigerian law. The Partner Support Portal provides a direct channel for government officials and Twitter staff to manage prohibited content that violates Twitter community rules. At the same time, the Law Enforcement Portal provides a channel for the law enforcement agencies to submit a report with a legal justification where it suspects that content violates Nigerian Laws.
- Twitter has agreed to act with a respectful acknowledgement of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built and work with the FGN and the broader industry to develop a Code of Conduct in line with global best practices, applicable in almost all developed countries. Therefore, the FGN lifts the suspension of the Twitter operations in Nigeria from midnight of 13th January 2022.
With this, Nigerian citizens can access the social media platform without the aid of a VPN or proxies from midnight, January 13, 2022.
