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Nigerians react with joy and determination to lift Twitter ban | Social Networking News

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Lagos, Nigeria – Solomon Elusoji, a journalist living in Lagos, felt a relief on Thursday morning after being able to access Twitter for the first time in seven months.

“Freedom is felt,” Elusoji told Al Jazeera. “As a journalist, I use Twitter a lot to follow what is happening in Nigeria, so the last few months have been pretty good. challenge. So it was nice to have free access to the site again. ”

The Nigerian government on Wednesday night he said it would lift the ban on the country’s social media giant’s operations after Twitter approved the terms, including opening a local office.

According to a government statement, the conditions also include dealing with transactions and tax issues and “managing banned publications in accordance with Nigerian law”.

In June 2021, it was taken over by the Nigerian authorities announced An indefinite suspension of Twitter in the country has been accused of allowing the U.S. company to use its platform “for activities that could undermine Nigeria’s corporate existence”.

The disruption comes two days after Twitter temporarily suspended President Muhammadu Buhari’s account for violating Twitter’s abusive behavior policy, following a tweet threatening to punish secessionists in the region for attacks on public property.

Outraged and shocked, many Twitter users at the time referred to a wave of popular protests against police brutality, which saw young people mobilize on social media with the hashtag #EndSARS, one of the reasons for the move.

The disruption prompted access to virtual private networks (VPNs) to access the network platform. Despite the massive use of VPNs, experts said the ban sent the wrong signal to foreign investors and harm small businesses Using Twitter as a livelihood.

#EndSARS trends again

Following the government’s announcement, Twitter Public Policy on Thursday said it was “pleased” that the service had been “restored for all in Nigeria”.

The Nigerian branch of Amnesty International has welcomed the lifting of the ban and called on the Nigerian authorities to “end all acts of violation of freedom of expression, access to information and freedom of the press.”

Social media users also flooded Twitter, reacting to the suspension by using hashtags like #TwitterisBack and #TwitterBan. The hashtag #EndSARS was trending again.

Well-known comedian Frank Donga and Nollywod actor volunteer to help small businesses recover lost revenue.

Lagos-based lawyer Ridwan Olayemi, meanwhile, raised the issue worries At the time of the ban, “they put their business interests above the basic human rights of Nigerians” about telecommunications companies.

Ikemesit Effiong, head of research for the political risks study at SBM Intelligence Lagos, told Al Jazeera that the government’s decision was taken in light of the 2023 elections.

“With less than a year to go before the election, the current government party, largely promoted nationwide as a result of a successful social media campaign, understands the importance of Twitter as a public square, and more importantly, its impact. Nigerians’ views. Twitter is banned, ”said Ikemesit.

Here’s how other Twitter users reacted to the lifting of the ban:



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