Tag: #Twitterban

  • #TwitterBan: Twitter Promises to Restore access to its platform to Nigerians

    #TwitterBan: Twitter Promises to Restore access to its platform to Nigerians

    Twitter on Saturday promised to restore access to its new platform to all Nigerians.

    A tweet by Twitter’s Public Policy on Saturday said open internet is an essential human right and it will help Nigerians who rely on its platform connect with the world.

    The micro-blogging site, made the vow in reaction to the indefinite suspension slammed on it by the Nigerian Government.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had on Friday announced the suspension of Twitter during a press conference in Abuja.

    Explaining the reason for the ban, Mohammed had said Nigerians were persistently using the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

    The action taken by the Nigerian government now puts the country in the class of North Korea, Iran, China and Turkmenistan that banned access to Twitter.

    Egypt, Turkey, and the United Kingdom have also temporarily suspended the use of Twitter.

    The decision to ban Twitter was taken just a few days after the site deleted an offensive tweet from Buhari threatening the Southeast with war.

    The tweet reads, “We are deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in Nigeria. Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society.

    “We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world. #KeepitOn.”

  • BREAKING: Malami Orders Prosecution Of Nigerians using Twitter

    BREAKING: Malami Orders Prosecution Of Nigerians using Twitter

    Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has directed the immediate prosecution of offenders of the Federal Government’s ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria.

    This was announced in a statement issued by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice on Saturday.

    Spokesperson of the Ministry, Umar Jibrilu Gwandu said the AGF has directed DPPF to swing into immediate action and commence prosecution of the violators of the ban.

    “Malami directed the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) at the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, to swing into action and commence in earnest the process of prosecution of violators of the Federal Government De-activation of operations of Twitter in Nigeria.

    “Malami directed the DPPF to liase with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, National Communication Communication (NCC) and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of offenders without any further delay,” the statement read in part.

    The Federal Government of Nigeria on Friday announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter in the country.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed while announcing the suspension cited the persistent use of the platform for activities that are “capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”

    Following the announcement, telecom operators in Nigeria blocked Twitter leaving users in the country unable to access the microblogging website while some navigated the hurdle using Virtual Private Networks (VPN).

  • #Twitterban: Halt this international shame by rescinding this ugly decision- PDP tells Buhari

    #Twitterban: Halt this international shame by rescinding this ugly decision- PDP tells Buhari

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the decision of the Federal government to suspend the operation of Twitter in Nigeria as an international shame and has called on the President to immediately rescind it.

    The party shared its thought in a statement released by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbodiyan.

    In the statement, the party reminded President Buhari that it was on the same Twitter that he used to campaign for President in 2015 and 2019.

    Read the statement below

    ”The party said it vehemently rejects the unwarranted suspension of the social media platform, Twitter, by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government, describing it as a draconian action and a slide towards a fascist regime in our country.

    The party asserts that the suspension of twitter, is a vexatious, condemnable and barbaric move to muzzle Nigerians, particularly the youths, ostensibly to prevent them from holding the overtly corrupt, vindictive and divisive Buhari administration accountable for its atrocities, including human right violations, patronizing of terrorists and outright suppressive acts against innocent Nigerians.

    Our party is appalled that the Federal Government could exhibit such primitive intolerance and power intoxication because the social media giant demonstrated international best practices in not allowing the Buhari presidency to use Twitter as a platform to propagate and spread the Buhari administration’s hatred towards Nigerians.

    The PDP insists that rather than being a platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence, as claimed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Nigerians, particularly the youths, have been using the social media platform, largely, for activities that promote unity, as well as social, economic and commercial interaction in our country.

    Our party notes that Mr. Lai Mohammed, in his statement, failed to cite an example of where Nigerians used Twitter as a platform to promote acts that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence as he claimed.

    Of course, the failure to give any such instance, confirms that the Federal Government is only out to victimize Nigerians.

    The Buhari Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration are only afraid of Nigerians on Twitter because of their evil machinations for which they dread the Nigerian youths.

    Moreover, freedom of speech is firmly guaranteed in our constitution and the Buhari administration should be ready to face Nigerians over its misrule.

    In the case of any infringement, our nation has adequate extant laws to deal with such and not this move to gag the people.

    The PDP therefore charges President Buhari to end this assault against Nigerians by immediately and unconditionally rescinding its decision to ban Twitter, as such amounts to pushing our citizens to the wall.

    Afterall, it was the same Twitter that provided President Buhari and the APC the platform to campaign in 2015 and 2019.

    It is also on record that President Buhari would not be the first President in the world whose tweet would be deleted.

    When it happened to former US President Donald Trump, he was not known to have deployed any act coercion against Twitter.

    Our party invites President Buhari to halt this international shame by rescinding this ugly decision.”

  • #Twitterban: Nigerians Opt For VPN as FG Suspends Twitter

    #Twitterban: Nigerians Opt For VPN as FG Suspends Twitter

    Nigerians have opted for the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to continue their online activities following the suspension of Twitter by the Federal Government.

    Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, had on Friday announced the suspension of the social media platform’s operation in Nigeria.

    The minister based the action on the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

    Following the development, many Nigerians took to their social media handles to express dissatisfaction with the development, highlighting the benefits of the micro blogging site.

    However, DAILY POST on Saturday morning gathered that some Nigerians have been able to resume their normal Twitter activities through the help of VPN.

    Also, Shehu Sani, a former Kaduna Central Senator, has been tweeting on the platform since morning.

    “I’m sure Baba will be asking of the ‘meaning’ of that VPN.

    “Those of you from the North, if you want to tweet, take a train to Maradi in Niger Republic, tweet and return home.

    “ If you live in Lagos and want to tweet, just go to Cotonou, tweet and come back.

    “Those of you from the South South who want to tweet,.take a boat through your Creeks to Cameroun, tweet and come back,” he wrote.

    Also, Femi Fani Kayode, a former Minister of Aviation in a tweet via his Twitter account this morning said

    suspension of Twitter by the FG has proved to the civilised world that they are weak, unstable, paranoid, insensitive, vindictive & delusional.

    “The suspension of Twitter by the FG has proved to the civilised world that they are weak, unstable, paranoid, insensitive, vindictive & delusional.

    “It is a grave abuse of power & a perfidious, insidious & brazen attempt to deny the Nigerian people of their right to free speech,” he wrote.

  • #Twitterban: Nigerian First Lady deactivates Twitter handle

    #Twitterban: Nigerian First Lady deactivates Twitter handle

     …President Buhari’s Twitter handle still remains active

    The Twitter handle of Nigeria’s First lady, Aisha Buhari, has been deactivated. This comes hours after the Buhari-led government announced the suspension of the micro-blogging site’s operations in the country.

    Aisha made the announcement before deactivating it on Friday night.

    She tweeted, “I will be deactivating my Twitter account for now.

    “Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    A search on Twitter for her handle shows it has been deactivated. See a screenshot below

    Aisha Buhari

    Meanwhile President Buhari’s Twitter handle is still active.

    Aisha Buhari