The presidency says the “temporary suspension” of Twitter’s
operations in Nigeria is part of efforts to prevent the “violent” consequences
usually linked to the spread of fake news and misinformation.
Lai Mohammed, minister of information, had announced the
suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria on Friday.
The suspension of the social networking service in the
country came days after Twitter deleted a post by President Muhammadu Buhari on
the Civil War experience.
However, in a statement on Saturday, Garba Shehu,
presidential spokesman, said the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria is not only
because Buhari’s post was deleted.
“The temporary suspension of Twitter is not just a response
to the removal of the President’s post. There has been a litany of problems
with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news
spread through it have had real world violent consequences. All the while, the
company has escaped accountability,” the statement reads.
“Nevertheless, the removal of President Buhari’s tweet was
disappointing. The censoring seemed based on a misunderstanding of the
challenges Nigeria faces today.
“The President in his address at the United Nations General
Assembly, UNGA in 2019 said “the world was shocked and startled by the massacre
in New Zealand by a lone gunman taking the lives of 50 worshippers. This and
similar crimes which have been fueled by social media networks risk seeping
into the fabric of an emerging digital culture.
“Major tech companies
must be alive to their responsibilities. They cannot be allowed to continue to
facilitate the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages
capable of inciting whole communities against each other, leading to loss of
many lives. This could tear some countries apart.
“President Buhari has therefore been warning against social
media’s disruptive and divisive influences and the government’s action is not a
knee-jerk reaction to Twitter’s preposterous deletion of his tweet which should
have been read in full. The tweet was not a threat, but a statement of fact.”
He explained what Buhari meant by the post on the Civil War
experience, adding that with the current security challenges, the federal
government needs to take measures to prevent escalation of tensions.
“A terrorist organisation (IPOB) poses a significant threat
to the safety and security of Nigerian citizens. When the President said that
they will be treated “in a language they understand,” he merely reiterated that
their force shall be met with force. It is a basic principle of security
services response world over,” Shehu said.
“This is not
promotion of hate, but a pledge to uphold citizens’ right to freedom from harm.
The government cannot be expected to capitulate to terrorists.
“IPOB is proscribed under Nigerian law. Its members murder
innocent Nigerians. They kill policemen and set government property on fire.
Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across the
country.
“Twitter does not seem to appreciate the national trauma of
our country’s civil war. This government shall not allow a recurrence of that
tragedy.”
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Dictator,if youve got a personal problem with twitter,why bringing a whole 206million people in it???dont you reason atall?
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