Activists and the West have denounced Nigeria’s “authoritarian” ban on Twitter
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It has appeared that Nigeria has backed down Twitter ban, diplomats said it was “temporary” after condemning the move and activists said the company was linked to government anger last year using the hashtag “#EndSARS” after police brutality protests dominated the country.
Telecommunications operators shut down Nigerians’ access to Twitter on Saturday after government orders deleted a message Because President Muhammadu Buhari has violated his abusive speech policies. Buhari’s message was deleted on Wednesday that he would threaten to confront separatists in south-eastern Nigeria.
“There have been many problems on the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and false news spread through it have had real violent consequences,” said Garba Shehu Buhari’s spokesperson. “In the meantime, the company has escaped liability.”
The government, which has tried to regulate social media, has blamed intense violence in the south-east on the banned secessionist group of Indigenous Biafra. Shehu said Buhari deleted the tweets “he just repeated that their strength will be filled with force.”
“Large technology companies have to fulfill their responsibilities,” Shehu said, without specifying when the “temporary suspension” on Twitter will end.
The section is just the latest example of the growing tensions between social media companies and political leaders. Twitter fired former US President Donald Trump in January, and said he would keep Facebook last week Trump extended for at least two years.
Buhari is 78 years old and has been accused of living in the past, especially when the former general ruled Nigeria as a military dictator in the early 1980s and when press freedoms were curtailed.
Nigerian Attorney General Abubakar Malami said on Saturday that he will try those who violate the Twitter ban. But on Sunday, many Nigerians circumvented the ban by using VPNs and sent messages with the hashtag #KeepItOn.
Local activists have said the Twitter episode is just the latest example of government authoritarianism. He was linked to protests against police brutality last year when Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, tweeted his support using the hashtag #EndSARS.
“Since EndSARS, the government is uncomfortable with Twitter, so that’s all [come to a] The head of President Buhari’s tweet has been deleted, “said Idayat Hassan, director of the Center for Democracy and Development in Abuja.” This government does not look favorably on critics or understand the power of youth and social media.
The ban on Twitter is “just part of a coherent attack on civilian space and a complete decline in Nigerian authoritarianism,” Hassan added.
The EndSARS movement, which refers to the Special Anti-Robbery Squadron of Nigeria, has been at a standstill since the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters at the gates of the Lekki toll booth in Lagos last October.
The Twitter ban “is about EndSARS. Young people who felt disrespected by the country’s leadership were showing good governance against bad leadership. [shown] all these years, ”said the 22-year-old activist Rinu Oduala.
Twitter is only used by a small percentage of Nigerians, but is popular among activists, journalists and politicians. The company said in a statement that it was “very concerned” about the ban and would “work to restore access for all Nigerians based on Twitter.”
Diplomats from the EU, the UK, Ireland, Norway and Canada criticized the move in a joint statement. The U.S. embassy in Nigeria added that the ban “harms the ability of Nigerians to exercise” freedom of expression and “sends a bad message to citizens, investors and businesses.”
“The way to make Nigeria safer lies in more communication, not less, along with joint efforts for unity, peace and prosperity,” the embassy said in a statement.
Ayisha Osori, head of West Africa’s Open Society Initiative, said it was “worrying” that even telecom operators Airtel and MTN had immediately implemented the policy without a court order. He said the ban reflected the way power in the country has long been exercised.
“We would not be here if there was more than one way to be in power and have power over the people,” he said in Nigeria. “But because Nigerian power must always be handled hard – we are here.”
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