Nigeria unban Twitter after seven months

Seven months after enforcing a ban on the social networking site, Nigeria has relaxed its restrictions.

When President Muhammadu Buhari tweeted about punishing secessionists from his region, the social media platform erased the post and suspended Nigeria’s government.

Social media firm accused of siding with secessionists by authorities

It was revealed that Nigeria’s government has reversed the ban after Twitter agreed to certain requirements, including the opening of a local office in the country.

As reported by the Nigerian government, Twitter agreed to the following terms and conditions:

Decide to register in Nigeria in the first three months of 2022
The country representative should be designated.
Pay your taxes on time in Nigeria.
Affiliate with its portal for government-to-tweeter interactions and the management of content that breaches Twitter’s standards
Maintain an attitude of reverence for Nigerian law in all of your actions.
Instead of responding directly to the government’s requests, Twitter just expressed its pleasure at being back in Nigeria and its commitment to the country’s future.

As a result of this change, millions of people in the most populous country in Africa can once again access the platform.

Even though many Nigerians used virtual private networks (VPNs) to continue to access the site after it was shut down, many businesses and media organizations also complied with the government’s decision.

As a result of Nigeria’s ban, small firms are estimated to have lost millions of dollars in revenue, according to analysts.

Freedom of expression was outraged around the world following Nigeria’s government’s decision last year.

In Nigeria, the government’s information technology development agency claimed that the social media company’s choice to register itself there demonstrated its commitment to the country.

It had been claimed that Twitter was being used by the government to undermine “Nigeria’s business life” by distributing “false news” that could lead to “violent consequences”.

President Buhari’s post about addressing “those misbehaving today” in “the language they would understand” and referencing the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War was removed by Twitter as a result.

This famous social media site has been used by Nigerians as a means of organizing. As part of the #EndSars protests against police brutality, activists used the hashtag to mobilize support.

Many Nigerians continued to tweet despite the ban, and some are now taking the time to thank the VPNs that allowed them to do so.

On Twitter, user Ugegbe stated that she was reluctant to remove her virtual private network because it would seem like betrayal.