NATION

  Nigeria unbans Twitter

The Nigerian Government has lifted its ban on Twitter, the micro-blogging site.

The government had restricted Twitter operations in the country seven months ago, after the latter took down a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Twitter flagged down the tweet, in which President Buhari vowed to deal with insurrectionists “in the language they understand”, citing a violation of its policy.

Although the government said the ban would take effect 12 a.m on Wednesday, it did not. Twitter did not work without a VPN across many networks until around 4a.m on Thursday, said FIJ.

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the Chairman, Technical Committee, Nigeria-Twitter Engagement and Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency, announced the unbanning.

“The FGN has asked Twitter to fulfil some conditions before restoring its services. These conditions addressed legal registration of operations, taxation, and managing prohibited publication in line with Nigerian laws, said Abdullahi.

Twitter has agreed to meet all the conditions set by the FGN. Consequently, the FGN and Twitter have decided on an execution timeline, which has started this week. Our engagement with Twitter opens a new chapter in global digital diplomacy and sets a new operational template for Twitter to come back stronger for the benefit of Nigerians.”

Twitter has agreed to comply with applicable tax obligations on its operations under Nigerian law and has agreed to enrol Nigeria in its Partner Support and Law Enforcement Portals,” the statement added.

It continued, “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.”

TheCornet reports Twitter had contacted the Nigerian government to resolve lingering ban.

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